Noted Delhi-Based Author, Activist, Filmmaker Sadia Dehlvi Dies At 63
New Age Islam News Bureau
6
Aug 2020
•
‘I Am in My Home with My Kids’: Asia Bibi Speaks Out About Her New Life in
Canada
•
Prosecutor Denies Ban on Women's Cycling in Iranian City
•
Lebanese Singer Nancy Ajram To Perform Concert on Tiktok
•
Woman Killed In Name Of ''Honour'' By Sister In Pakistan
•
Sudanese Women Welcome Freedom to Travel Abroad with Children
•
Muslim Women Sing Ram Dhun in Varanasi
•
Turkey Considering Quitting Treaty on Violence Against Women
•
Morocco Puts 4 Women on Trial for Witchcraft
•
Bahraini Artist Mayasa Al-Sowaidi: ‘I Am Not A Commodity’
•
Nigeria: 'Women Gain Economic Benefits from Greater Trade'
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/noted-delhi-based-author-activist/d/122561
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Noted
Delhi-Based Author, Activist, Filmmaker Sadia Dehlvi Dies At 63
August
6, 2020
Sadia
Dehlvi (Image: Twitter)
----
Noted
Delhi-based writer and activist Sadia Dehlvi has passed away after a prolonged
battle with cancer. She was 63.
Sadia
was admitted to a city hospital recently where she was undergoing treatment.
She died at her home on Wednesday.
"Sad
to hear about the tragic demise of Sadia Dehlvi, a well known cultural figure
of Delhi, a dear friend and a wonderful human being. Rest in Peace,"
tweeted eminent historian S. Irfan Habib.
Sadia,
who hailed from the royal 'Shama' family, edited Bano, an Urdu women's journal.
Her grandfather, Hafiz Yusuf Dehlvi, founded in 1938 Shama, an iconic Urdu film
and literary monthly.
A
well-known food connoisseur, she wrote a book on Delhi's culinary history in
2017, titled Jasmine & Jinns: Memories and Recipes of My Delhi.
A
woman of many talents, Sadia also produced and scripted documentaries and
television programmes, including "Amma and Family" (1995), starring
Zohra Sehgal, a veteran stage actor.
She
was a close friend and confidante of the late author Khushwant Singh. Singh
dedicated his book Not a Nice Man to Know to her.
He
wrote, "To Sadia Dehlvi, who gave me more affection and notoriety than I
deserve."
Singh's
book Men and Women in my Life has Sadia's photo on its cover and the book has a
chapter dedicated to her.
Sadia
produced the television show "Not a Nice man to Know" with Singh
interviewing women from various fields.
She
is survived by her son Arman Ali Dehlvi.
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/citytimes/bollywood/sushant-singh-rajput-case-dino-morea-denies-hosting-actor-at-house-party-on-june-13
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‘I
Am in My Home with My Kids’: Asia Bibi Speaks Out About Her New Life in Canada
August
6, 2020
Asia
Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy describes her new life
in Canada. Global News
------
After
nearly 10 years in a Pakistani prison, Asia Bibi says she’s enjoying a quiet
life with her family in Canada.
The
Christian farm worker brought international attention to Pakistan’s
controversial blasphemy laws after she was convicted of insulting the prophet
Mohammed and sentenced to death in 2009.
Pakistan’s
supreme court overturned her conviction in 2018 and in early 2019, Bibi was granted
asylum with her family in Canada.
“I
am feeling really good here because I am in my home and with my kids,” Bibi
said in Urdu during her first interview with Canadian media since moving.
Global News has agreed to keep her location secret as she believes there are
still many people who wish to see her dead.
“When
people are watching or listening to media, then you become vulnerable. You need
to secure yourself and need safety.”
Bibi’s
two youngest daughters, Esham and Esha Masih were just eight and nine years old
when their mother was arrested in June of 2009.
“I
will never forget the time when my daughters came from school, hugging me while
a cried. A crowd was taking me away from
them. That time, I will never forget.
Bibi’s
arrest followed an argument with some of her Muslim co-workers. She was eventually convicted of blasphemy
after the women alleged Bibi made derogatory comments about Islam which, under
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, carry a punishment of death.
In
November 2010, Asia Bibi became the first Pakistani woman to receive this fate.
Amnesty
International has called for the laws to be repealed. In a 2016 report, the international human
rights organization said, “the accused are often presumed to be guilty, on the
basis of little or no evidence.”
There
are those within Pakistan’s government who have pushed to change the laws. In
2011, Salman Taseer, the governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province was murdered
after seeking a presidential pardon for Bibi.
Two
months later, Shabaz Bhatti, a Christian cabinet minister who had been
advocating for changes to the laws, was shot and killed.
Saif
ul Malook became Bibi’s lawyer in 2014.
He says anyone who challenges the country’s blasphemy laws does so at
great, personal risk.
“Since
2011 I am under armed police escort, along with my family. Armed police
officials, they stay 24 hours with me wherever I go. ”
ul
Malook took Bibi’s case to Pakistan’s Supreme court which in late 2018, in a
historic ruling, overturned Bibi’s conviction.
The moment of joy, however, was fleeting. Outside, protestors demanded
Bibi and the judges be killed.
“The
motorways, all (the) highways of the country were closed by these Mullahs and
religious people. The country was (at a)
standstill.” Ul Malook said.
The
lawyer was forced to flee the country and it became clear Bibi would no longer
be safe in Pakistan. Quiet negotiations began and in early 2019, the world
learned Canada would become Asia Bibi’s new home.
Bibi
is now living a quiet life with her family.
She says her days are filled with, “cooking, cleaning and
gardening.” As she makes up for lost
time with the daughters she was forced to spend so many years away from.
No
longer a government-sponsored refugee, she admits it has been difficult to make
ends meet. She cannot speak English or
French and still fears an international assassin could find her.
There
are other lives at risk, too. Shaghufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel have also
been convicted under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and have been on death row since
2013.
“After
Asia Bibi’s freedom, our hope was quite boosted up,” said Kausar’s brother,
Joseph, who has asked that his last name not be published.
The
couple is accused of sending blasphemous text messages insulting the Prophet
Muhammad to a local imam from a phone registered to Kausar’s name. Joseph says
the years in prison have been difficult for his sister’s mental health.
“(She
is) very stressed, crying, begging for help, begging, ‘Please, for God sake, do
something! I can’t take it anymore, I can’t take it anymore, I can’t take it
anymore.’ This was her call.” he said.
With
the help of Asia Bibi’s former lawyer, the couple is appealing their
conviction.
Back
in Canada, Bibi says she is grateful for her second chance at freedom and hopes
to one day become an advocate for religious freedom.
“To
help the Christian community living in underdeveloped countries because (in)
countries like Pakistan, Christians have lots of issues and difficulties. I wish to work for those Christians for their
safety and security.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/7251880/asia-bibi-canada-interview/
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Prosecutor
Denies Ban On Women's Cycling In Iranian City
August
05, 2020
In
many cities, including Tehran, an increasing number of women have been riding
bikes in recent years.
------
The
prosecutor in the northeastern Iranian province of Khorasan Razavi has denied
that women in the provincial capital, Mashhad, have been banned from cycling.
Prosecutor
Mohammad Hossein Doroody was quoted on August 5 by the semiofficial ISNA news
agency as saying that the judiciary had not issued any ban in this regard.
His
comments came a day after Mehdi Roozbehaneh, the head of the province's cycling
board, said a ban on women's cycling in public places in Khorasan Razavi had
come into effect following a decision by the province's Islamic morality
authority, the Headquarters for Promoting Virtue.
Mashhad
is home to the shrine of the eighth Imam of the Shi'a.
The
city’s Friday Prayer leader, Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, is known for his
hard-line views, including his opposition to concerts and more freedoms for
women. He has spoken against women's cycling in the past.
However,
Roozbehaneh said the cycling board was working to remove the ban for women who
observe the compulsory hijab rule that requires them to cover their hair and
body in public.
Many
women oppose the compulsory hijab rule and an increasing number of them have in
recent years flouted the rule by wearing small scarves and short and tight
coats.
"We
are trying to ensure that women who observe their hijab and adhere to the norms
given the religious nature of Mashhad will not face any problem regarding
cycling," Roozbehaneh was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
Roozbehaneh
blamed the ban on women who had not fully respected the hijab rule while
cycling.
"These
restrictions were caused by people who, without properly respecting the hijab
and while wearing garish clothing, had been cycling and attracting a lot of
attention," he said.
The
ban comes days after reports in the Iranian media that some members of the
cycling board of the city of Sabzevar, also located in Khorasan Razavi
Province, resigned in protest at a decision by the city's own Islamic morality
authority to ban women from riding bikes.
In
2016, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a religious pronouncement
-- a fatwa -- that women cycling in public was "haram," or forbidden,
but the fatwa was not strictly enforced.
In
many cities, including Tehran, an increasing number of women have been riding
bikes in recent years despite opposition by hard-liners.
In
2019, a judiciary spokesman said women's cycling was not banned provided
religious rules were respected.
Since
the 1979 revolution and the creation of an Islamic republic, Iran's clerical
establishment has enforced Islamic laws that deny women equal rights in areas
such as divorce and inheritance while also setting guidelines for their
appearance and behavior in public.
https://www.rferl.org/a/ban-on-women-cycling-takes-effect-in-iranian-holy-city-of-mashhad/30767772.html
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Lebanese
singer Nancy Ajram to perform concert on TikTok
August
04, 2020
DUBAI:
Lebanese superstar Nancy Ajram announced on Monday that she will be hosting a
live virtual concert on the viral social media app TikTok.
The
“magical show”, which is set to take place on Aug. 6 at 9 p.m. (Saudi time), is
to celebrate the star joining the application.
Last
week, the “Ma Tegi Hena” singer teased a short creative video on Instagram with
her daughters, Mila and Ella, who were seen nagging their mother, in the video
shot at home, to create a TikTok account.
This
is not the star’s first online concert. In May, during Eid Al-Fitr holiday, the
music sensation streamed a widely-viewed virtual show on YouTube, shot on a
building rooftop in Beirut.
Ajram
recently released a new documentary entitled “The Full Story,” on Arabic
streaming service Shahid VIP, that revisits the burglary that took place at the
singer’s Beirut residence earlier in the year.
Back
in January, Ajram’s husband, celebrity dentist Fadi El-Hachem, reportedly shot
and killed an armed assailant who broke into the superstar’s property in the
early hours of the morning while their three young children were sleeping.
The
documentary features real-life footage from the night of the home invasion.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1714576/lifestyle
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Woman
Killed In Name Of ''Honour'' By Sister In Pakistan
By
M Zulqernain
August
6, 2020
Lahore,
Aug 5 (PTI) A 20-year-old woman was shot dead in the name of "honour"
allegedly by her elder sister for wanting to marry a man of her choice against
the wishes of her family in Pakistan''s Punjab province, police said.
The
incident took place in Khushal Singh village, 50 kms from Lahore on Tuesday
when Tahira Bibi left her house to go to court to register marriage with the
man from her locality.
"Her
elder sister Aasia Bibi followed her and opened fire on her near the court.
Tahira suffered bullet injuries and was shifted to hospital where she succumbed
to her injuries,” police said.
Aasia
managed to flee and a case has been registered against her on the complaint of
her father, they said.
Police
said that it was a rare incident of honour killing in which a woman is involved
in shooting down her sibling.
According
to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), every week in Pakistan,
wives are strangled, daughters shot or sisters slaughtered for a perceived
slight to family “honour”.
“Sometimes
a single person is responsible, more often male family members are involved.
The vast majority of the killers usually go unpunished,” it says.
The
HRCP says over 1,000 women lost their lives to honour killing last year.
Pakistan''s
parliament unanimously passed legislation against killings linked to the
concept of “honour” following the murder of social media sensation Qandeel
Baloch in 2016.
Baloch
was killed by her brother in the name of “honour.” It sparked international
outrage.
The
bill has authorised life imprisonment for convicted murderers. Previously,
killers could win or buy freedom if the victim''s relatives forgave them. PTI
MZ RS RS
https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/woman-killed-in-name-of-honour-by-sister-in-pakistan/1909751
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Sudanese
Women Welcome Freedom to Travel Abroad with Children
By
Naba Mohiedeen
July
14, 2020
KHARTOUM
- Sudan's transitional government amended a law last week to allow women to
travel abroad with their children without the father's permission — a move
welcomed by women's rights groups.
Thirty-year-old
divorced mother Manya Hamid recalls how her ex-husband continued to torment her
using Sudan’s laws even after their marriage ended.
In
2015, she wanted to take her one-year-old daughter to meet her grandfather, who
was living in the United States, and dying of cancer. But under Sudan’s Muslim Personal Law Act of
1991, only the father could decide if his child was allowed to travel abroad,
even if he was a former husband.
Hamid’s
former husband would not allow it and, fearing that he might disappear with the
child. She stayed in Sudan.
Her
father died in 2017.
But
last week, Sudan's transitional government amended several laws on personal
freedom, allowing women to travel abroad with their children without the
father's permission.
Hamid
says when she heard the new amendments regarding the personal law act, she
cried a lot, remembering all of her divorce.
She congratulates all Sudanese mothers who suffered and couldn’t travel
freely.
Under
the 1991 law, women in Sudan also required the consent of their husband or a
male guardian to travel outside the country.
Rights
groups welcomed the changes and noted the conflict with Sudan’s constitution,
which guarantees freedom of religion and says women should be treated equally
under the law.
Women’s
rights activist Shahinaz Jamal says the amendment was long overdue.
She
says the legal change is a step forward and a result of great efforts and
struggles by all Sudanese women. They
need more achievements to be fulfilled, says Jamal, but also welcome this step
and see it as a big victory.
Legal
expert Mohamed Makki says the amendments are a welcome change after decades of
abuse under the laws during the rule of ousted former president Omar
al-Bashir.
He
says amending the personal law act is definitely a victory for the majority of
Sudanese people who suffered legally under the former regime. But he notes lawyers like himself hope to see
civilian authorities like the legislative council making the legal changes, as
they represent the Sudanese people.
Sudan’s
justice minister announced the legal changes Saturday.
They
included criminalizing female genital mutilation, decriminalizing drinking
alcohol for non-Muslims, and removing the death penalty for Muslims who
convert.
https://www.voanews.com/africa/sudanese-women-welcome-freedom-travel-abroad-children
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Muslim
Women Sing Ram Dhun In Varanasi
Aug
6, 2020
VARANASI:
People in PM Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi organised
various religious events to celebrate the occasion of the bhoomi pujan ceremony
for the Ram mandir in Ayodhya, in which the PM participated, on Wednesday.
Many
people lit earthen lamps and distributed sweets while a group of Muslim women
performed aartis, chanted the Ram Dhun, sang in his praise and lit earthen
diyas. The group of Muslim women, who have been performing “Shri Ram aarti” on
auspicious occasions for the past 14 years, organised a special fest at Subhash
Bhavan in Lamahi village on Wednesday to celebrate the occasion. The entire
building was decorated with Hanuman dhwaja, earthen lamps and images of the
deities. They also placed soil from Ram Janmabhoomi for darshan and puja.
“We
have changed our religion and are Muslims today, but not our ancestors. Shri
Ram is our ancestor, and construction of a Ram mandir will strengthen the
country’s unity,” said Nazneen, a member of the group.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/muslim-women-sing-ram-dhun-in-varanasi/articleshow/77383696.cms
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Turkey
Considering Quitting Treaty on Violence Against Women
August
06, 2020
ISTANBUL:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party is considering whether
to pull Turkey out of an international accord designed to protect women, party
officials said, alarming campaigners who see the pact as key to combating
rising domestic violence.
The
officials said the AKP is set to decide by next week whether to withdraw from
the deal, just weeks after the vicious murder of a woman by an ex-boyfriend
reignited a row over how to curb violence against women.
Despite
signing the Council of Europe accord in 2011, pledging to prevent, prosecute
and eliminate domestic violence and promote equality, Turkey saw 474 femicides
last year, double the number seen in 2011, according to a group which monitors
murders of women.
Many
conservatives in Turkey say the pact, ironically forged in Istanbul, encourages
violence by undermining family structures. Their opponents argue that the deal,
and legislation approved in its wake, need to be implemented more stringently.
The row reaches not just within Erdogan’s AKP but even his own family, with two
of his children involved in groups on either side of the debate about the
Istanbul Convention.
The
AKP will decide in the next week whether to initiate legal steps to pull out of
the accord, a senior party official told Reuters.
“There
is a small majority (in the party) who argue it is right to withdraw,” said the
official, who argued however that abandoning the agreement when violence
against women was on the rise would send the wrong signals.
Another
AKP official argued on the contrary that the way to reduce the violence was to
withdraw, adding that a decision would be reached next week. The argument
crystallized last month around the brutal killing of Pinar Gultekin, 27, a
student in the southwestern province of Mugla, who was strangled, burned and
dumped in a barrel — the latest in a growing number of women killed by men in
Turkey.
Opponents
of the accord say it is part of the problem because it undermines traditional
values which protect society.
“It
is our religion which determines our fundamental values, our view of the
family,” said the Turkish Youth Foundation, whose advisory board includes the
president’s son Bilal Erdogan. It called for Turkey to withdraw from the
accord.
“This
would really break Turkey away from the civilized world and the consequences
may be very severe,” Gamze Tascier, a lawmaker from the main opposition
Republican People’s Party, told Reuters.
The
Women and Democracy Association (KADEM), of which Erdogan’s daughter Sumeyye is
deputy chairwoman, rejects that argument. “We can no longer talk about
‘family’... in a relationship where one side is oppressed and subject to
violence,” KADEM said.
Many
conservatives are also hostile to the principle of gender equality in the
Istanbul Convention and see it as promoting homosexuality, given its principle
of non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
Critics
of the bid to withdraw from the pact say it would put Turkey further out of
step with the values of the EU, which it has sought to join for decades.
“This
would really break Turkey away from the civilized world and the consequences
may be very severe,” Gamze Tascier, a lawmaker from the main opposition
Republican People’s Party, told Reuters.
Turkey
would not be the first country to move toward ditching the accord. Poland’s
highest court is to scrutinize the pact after a Cabinet member said Warsaw
should quit the treaty which the nationalist government considers too liberal.
Turkish
women’s groups were set to protest on Wednesday to demand better implementation
of the accord, taking to the streets after an online campaign in the wake of
Gultekin’s killing where they shared black-and-white selfies on Instagram.
Turkey
does not keep official statistics on femicide. World Health Organization data
has shown 38 percent of women in Turkey are subject to violence from a partner
in their lifetime, compared to about 25 percent in Europe.
The
government has taken measures such as tagging individuals known to resort to
violence and creating a smartphone app for women to alert police, which has
been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1715356/middle-east
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Morocco
Puts 4 Women on Trial for Witchcraft
August
5, 2020
A
self-styled fortune teller and three of her clients are on trial after one of
them sought out her services in order to prevent her husband from having a
second wife, they are also accused of desecrating a grave, reported World
Morocco News yesterday.
The
four women are standing trial at the Court of First Instance of Sale, next to
the Moroccan capital, Rabat, after three of the women travelled from Fez to
Sale to seek the consultation from a shawafa or fortune teller in Arabic.
The
shawafa, who operated out of a hair salon, is alleged to have led the three
women to a cemetery between Rabat and Sale where they intended to bury objects
including locks of hair and undergarments. However, their suspicious activity was
spotted by a cemetery guard who informed the police leading to their arrest.
The clients were taken into police custody while the shawafa was detained at a
prison for “recidivism of witchcraft activities and grave desecration”.
The
practise of witchcraft is taken seriously in Morocco where it also deemed
anti-Islamic, however despite this, the practise is prevalent in the country
and many people resort to it hoping to resolve a variety of issues ranging from
love to infertility and other health issues. There are YouTube tutorials on the
matter, magic spells and recipes are also widespread on Whatsapp according to
Yabiladi.
According
to the World Morocco News report, shawafa are known to use talisman, herbs and
supernatural practices to ward off djinns (spirits) and claim to predict the
future.
Last
year US-Moroccan rapper, French Montana said in an interview that he was
afflicted by Moroccan witchcraft that led to his hospitalisation. “I think I
ate something bad. I think someone was trying to … you know,” he trailed off.
“They don’t got no guns over there, they fight with spirits and s**t like that
[sic].”
The
popularity of witchcraft has also led other countries in the Arab world
stereotyping Moroccan women as engaging in black magic, although its practise
is used across the region too. Back in 2010 it was reported that a Kuwaiti TV
channel had to apologise to Moroccans after it aired an animated comedy series
depicting Moroccan women as witches trying to ensnare rich Kuwaiti husbands by
using spells, while Saudi Arabia banned Moroccan women “of a certain age” from
performing umrah (the lesser pilgrimage) over fears their visas could be used
for other purposes.
A
year later, Saudi’s quasi-legislative body, the Shura Council granted
permission for Moroccan women to work as maids in Saudi households, although
this caused a backlash as hundreds of Saudi women complained that the move was
tantamount to allowing black magic in their homes with their husbands at risk
of being seduced and unable to ward off spells. Witchcraft and sorcery are
crimes punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200805-morocco-puts-4-women-on-trial-for-witchcraft/
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Bahraini
Artist Mayasa Al-Sowaidi: ‘I Am Not A Commodity’
August
06, 2020
LONDON:
Barcodes. Those little black lines are everywhere, enabling machines to read
data and identify products. But they tell us nothing about the unique
characteristics of those products.
So
when Bahraini artist Mayasa Al-Sowaidi was preparing to contribute to “I AM” —
an exhibition organized by the peace-building NGO Caravan, which “focused on
the crucial role that Middle Eastern women play in shaping a harmonious world”
— she decided that, instead of the figurative painting of a woman she initially
planned to create, she would use the barcode as a symbol of the
depersonalization of women and the danger of labeling women in ways that erase
their individuality. Her statement: “I am not a commodity to be consumed.”
Al-Sowaidi
has continued to develop her barcode theme through a range of media including
video as she addresses issues related to dehumanization. She told Arab News how
inspired she had been by “The 25th Hour,” a 1949 novel by Romanian author
Constantin Virgil Gheorghiu that depicts the plight of a young Romanian
farmhand, Johann Moritz, under German, Soviet and American occupation of
Central Europe.
“Moved
from prison to prison, he ends up losing his identity. He is known not by his
name but merely by a number,” she explained.
She
believes that pigeon-holing people based on their appearance is a common but
very damaging trait.
“I
wear a hijab and I often feel that people judge me by the way I dress,”
Al-Sowaidi said. “People also make assumptions based on where people come from
or how they talk. Everyone has their own identity and you need to take time to
get to know them. We have to learn acceptance and respect for the difference of
others.”
Al-Sowaidi
is a professor at the University of Bahrain, where she teaches Management and
Organizational Behavior in the business school. Prior to joining the university
she worked for the Central Bank of Bahrain. As a student she majored in
mathematics and computer science. Her family did not approve of her interest in
art, fearing it would be a distraction from her studies and career.
“This
attitude, in fact, made me work harder to try and find myself as an artist,”
she said.
She
recalled how nervous she felt when she first showed her work in an exhibition
organized by the university.
“I
didn’t have the courage to stand beside my artwork. I just observed from a
distance and I noticed that people were taking a real interest,” she said. “I
thought to myself, ‘My paintings have more courage than me.’”
Al-Sowaidi
said she is currently focusing on collage, as illustrated by “The Identity,” a
piece she contributed to Caravan’s virtual exhibition “To Heal the World,”
which runs until August 18.
“I
like to explore using new materials. I have a container full of all kinds of
papers including news clippings and train, or flight, tickets I have collected
on my travels. Incorporating these into my artwork is my way of making it
representative of the global situation. I just pick out a piece randomly.
Working with collage is like solving a puzzle — it’s not something you plan,”
she said.
Her
love of art has opened many doors outside of her academic specialization. For
instance, she is involved in delivering the newly introduced Art & Heritage
program at the university.
“Art
has given me opportunities to meet many different kinds of interesting people.
I love artists — their way of thinking. I think the main element that you need
to succeed is passion. Art is my way of expressing my feelings and thoughts and
learning more about myself. It is like a need,” she said. “I have met artists
from all over the world. I realize we are all trying to understand ourselves
and our communities.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1715441/lifestyle
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Nigeria:
'Women Gain Economic Benefits From Greater Trade'
6
AUGUST 2020
Trade
increases women's wages and helps close the wage gap between men and women
while creating better jobs for women, a new World Bank Group report has stated.
It
stated that countries that are open to international trade tend to grow faster,
innovate, improve productivity, and provide higher income and more
opportunities to their people. Countries that are more open to trade, as
measured by the trade-to-GDP ratio, have higher levels of gender equality.
The
report, produced in collaboration with the World Trade Organisation, marked the
first major effort to quantify how women are affected by trade using a new
gender-disaggregated dataset.
The
dataset, developed by the World Bank Group, allows researchers to understand
how women are employed, in which industries they work, how much they earn, and
whether or not they are involved in global trade. This analysis helps
governments see how trade policies can affect women and men differently.
"Over
the past 30 years, trade has been the engine of poverty reduction. This report
shows that, provided the right policies are in place, it can also provide an
engine to reduce the gender gap," World Bank Managing Director, Mari
Pangestu said.
"Trade
can expand women's role in the economy and decrease disparities with men by
giving women more and better employment opportunities. Seizing these
opportunities will be even more important in a post-COVID-19 world."
The
report titled, 'Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Women's
Equality,' offers several key findings.
It
showed that firms that are part of global value chains (GVCs) employ a greater
percentage of women (33 percent) relative to non-GVC firms (24 percent).
"When
countries open themselves to trade, women's share of wages in the manufacturing
sector increase by 5.8 percentage points on average. When women are employed in
sectors with high exports, they are more likely to be formally employed. Formal
employment means better job benefits, training, and job security,"nit stated.
The
report also highlighted the importance of addressing discrimination against
women in trade policy. Although no country overtly imposes tariffs according to
gender, implicit biases can amount to "pink tariffs" that put women
at an economic disadvantage.
Furthermore,
it showed that products specifically consumed by women face a higher tariff
burden than men's products.
In
the textile sector, for instance, tariffs on women's apparel are $2.77 billion
higher than on men's clothing, a consumption gap that grew about 11 percent in
real terms between 2006 and 2016.
"Disparities
like this can hurt women consumers all over the world. Targeted policies can
help women maximise the benefits of trade. These include removing trade
barriers that impede women's access to international markets and improving
women's access to education, financial services, and digital technologies.
"Governments can design trade facilitation measures that remove
gender-specific barriers to trade. These measures could address burdensome
customs requirements, limited access to trade finance, and exposure to
extortion or physical harassment at borders," it added.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202008060283.html
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/noted-delhi-based-author-activist/d/122561