Protests And Fury at Pakistan’s ‘Rape Epidemic’ After Woman Attacked in Fatima Jinnah Park
New Age Islam News Bureau
10 February 2023
• Saba Kordafshari and Other Women Activists Released
By Iran Chant Pro-Protest Slogans outside Jail
• Uorfi Javed:
I Want To Stay In A Democratic Rashtra! Neither Hindu Rashtra nor Muslim
Rashtra
• Laila
Bin Hareb Almheiri, the Emirati Woman Beat Paralysis to Fulfil Her Dreams
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/pakistan-rape-fatima-jinnah/d/129074
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Protests And Fury at Pakistan’s ‘Rape Epidemic’ After
Woman Attacked in Fatima Jinnah Park
Representatives of
Pakistani rights groups hold placards during a 2021 protest after the Prime
Minister, Imran Khan, blamed vulgarity for the rise in rape cases and sexual
violence. Photograph: Sohail Shahzad/EPA
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9 Feb 2023
The gang-rape of a woman in Pakistan’s capital,
Islamabad, has sparked furious protests at the country’s “rape epidemic” and
the culture of impunity that surrounds violence against women.
The 24-year-old was walking with a male colleague
through Fatima Jinnah Park – known locally as F-9 Park, the city’s largest – at
about 8pm last Thursday when they were attacked by two armed men. The man was
chased away and the woman raped.
The attackers told the woman that she should not have
been in the park at that time of night, and threatened to call their friends to
assault her again if she spoke about the incident.
Sources from the medical team involved with the case
said the woman had clear marks of torture on her legs and face. Hundreds of
people protested in the park this week over the police handling of the assault
and demanded the arrest of the attackers. The crime also triggered widespread
anger on social media.
“Horrified to hear of rape at gunpoint in F9 park
which is full of families and kids esp on weekends. Why our public spaces are
not safe for all citizens? Why is there no security at Islamabad’s biggest
park?” journalist Sana Jamal wrote on Twitter.
The victim is now in a secure location, but is said to
be concerned about her safety after activists claimed police leaked her name,
profession and contact number to reporters.
“The negligence from police is evident – [they are]
not taking the case seriously and have failed to arrest the culprits, even a
week after the incident,” said Farzana Bari, a women’s rights activist. “This
is not the first incident in this park and police should take it seriously,”
she added, referring to an occasion in 2018 when a woman was raped by a park
worker. “It is their responsibility to make public places safer for women.”
Bari, also the civil society member of the police
investigation committee, said: “Local media is insensitive and ratings driven;
they should have not revealed the personal details of the victim.”
On Tuesday the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory
Authority (Pemra), an independent regulatory body, prohibited television
channels from airing news or reports on the case to protect the woman’s
identity.
The police said that investigations were ongoing. “We
have conducted raids to arrest the prime suspect, but no progress has been made
yet,” said investigation officer Mumtaz Habib.
A Supreme Court order after the 2018 attack to install
a lighting system in the park has not been complied with, and two-thirds of the
300-hectare (750-acre) space is still unlit.
In a statement, the police warned people to avoid
unlit areas of the park in the evenings.
Pakistan’s conviction rates in rape cases are less
than 3%, despite the country’s authorities strengthening anti-rape laws in 2016
and 2020, introducing longer sentences, and creating special courts to try
cases within four months.
Rape survivors and their families, fearing the stigma
of a trial, often settle out of court and face threats and coercion by their
attackers, their own families and the wider community.
“There is a rape epidemic in the country, and it is
growing,” said human rights lawyer Osama Malik. “It could well be that rape
cases are being reported more often these days and the trial and conviction
rates are subsequently lower. While rape laws have been modernised over the
past two decades and there have been some revolutionary steps such as banning
virginity tests, there are still laws that use the language of morality to
define sexual crimes against women. Add to that the misogynistic attitude of
law enforcement, investigators, judicial officials who tend to indulge in
victim blaming.”
Malik added, “The second gang-rape case in the past
few years in Islamabad’s largest urban park, only a couple of minutes’ walk
from my office, has shocked us all. I am sure it has traumatised women across
Islamabad who visit this park and made them feel very vulnerable in public
spaces.”
In another incident last week, a bus guard allegedly
raped an 18-year-old in the central Vehari district at gunpoint on a moving
bus. The woman was taken to hospital in a critical condition. A suspect has
been arrested.
Source: The Guardian
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Saba Kordafshari and Other Women Activists Released By
Iran Chant Pro-Protest Slogans outside Jail
Media based outside Iran said a total of seven women
were released, while Iran continues to press a crackdown against protests that
erupted in September. (Twitter)
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09 February, 2023
Iran has released a number of prominent women
activists and journalists from Tehran’s Evin prison, campaigners said Thursday,
with video showing them defiantly chanting pro-protest slogans outside the
jail.
Media based outside Iran said a total of seven women
were released, while Iran continues to press a crackdown against protests that
erupted in September.
They included campaigner Saba Kordafshari, held since
2019 after she campaigned against the obligatory hijab for women, and prominent
photographer Alieh Motalebzadeh whose latest stint in jail began in April last
year, the reports said.
After being released, they chanted the slogan of the
protest movement “Woman, Life, Freedom” and also “down with oppressors
worldwide,” according to a video posted by Motalebzadeh on her Twitter account.
The Dublin-based rights group Front Line Defenders
said Kordafshari and Motalebzadeh “have played a pivotal role in the women’s
rights movement and have been unjustly in prison in the past years.”
The others released were Fariba Asadi, Parastoo Moini,
Zahra Safaei, Gelareh Abbasi and Sahereh Hossein, all campaigners who in some cases
had been serving years-long sentences.
Earlier this week, Iran released the young protester
Armita Abbasi, whose case prompted international concern after she was arrested
in October over protests in the city of Karaj outside Tehran.
In November US news outlet CNN, citing leaks and an
anonymous medical source, had reported she was rushed to hospital after
allegedly being raped while in custody. Iranian authorities have denied the
allegations.
After her release, Abbasi posted a video on Instagram
thanking those who had supported her for their help.
It was not clear if the releases were linked to an
announcement by the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that he had agreed to
pardon a large number of convicts, including those detained over the protests.
Rights activists have urged skepticism over the
announcements, noting many prominent figures remain in jail and activists
continue to be arrested.
“Khamenei’s hypocritical pardon doesn’t change
anything,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based Iran
Human Rights (IHR) group, describing the move as “propaganda.”
Iranian authorities have arrested thousands since
nationwide protests broke out following the September 16 death in custody of
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old ethnic Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly
breaching the country’s strict dress rules for women.
Women still detained include prize-winning rights
defender Narges Mohammadi, the two journalists who helped expose the Amini
case, Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, as well as foreigners including
German national Nahid Taghavi and French academic Fariba Adelkhah.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Uorfi Javed: I
Want To Stay In A Democratic Rashtra! Neither Hindu Rashtra nor Muslim Rashtra
February 09, 2023
Bollywood actor Uorfi Javed is known for her bold
fashion choices. She has often been the subject of internet trolls for her
wardrobe choices although she seems to be paying little attention to what her
detractors say about what she wears.
It appears that the actor isn't fearless just about
her fashion choices, but expressing her opinion on other issues as well.
Taking to Twitter, Uorfi Javed on Thursday, posted an
old news report about the proposal to rename Lucknow into Laxmanpuri and sought
to know what benefit such a name change would result in.
"Faida batao koi Iska ? I want to stay in a
democratic Rashtra! Neither Hindu Rashtra nor Muslim Rashtra," she wrote.
Knowing fully well that her remarks would attract much
criticism, Uorfi Javed clarified that she is not saying this because she is a
Muslim. She said she does not follow Islam or any other religion.
"Before the Hindu extremists start attacking me
let me tell y’all , I do not follow Islam or any religion as a matter of fact .
I just don’t want people to fight because of their religion," the actor
wrote.
Source: The Week
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Laila Bin Hareb Almheiri, the Emirati Woman Beat
Paralysis to Fulfil Her Dreams
By Mazhar Farooqui
9 Feb 2023
Laila Bin Hareb Almheiri had two choices when
complications arising from a severe case of encephalitis left her paralysed in
2002: Go with the flow, or swim against the current.
The Emirati software engineer chose the latter. Using
the limitless power of hope and resilience, she overcame her debilitating
medical condition, and went on to head key positions at top government
departments in the UAE.
In an illustrious career spanning 30 years, Laila has
worked in managerial and directorial roles at Dubai Electricity and Water
Authority (DEWA), Road Transport Authority (RTA) and the UAE General Civil
Aviation Authority (GCAA).
Now a serial entrepreneur with business interests in
cyber security, event management and holistic healthcare, the multi-talented
single mother recounted her extraordinary journey in a freewheeling interview
with Khaleej Times.
“Nothing is impossible if you set your heart to it,”
said Laila. “For one year I remained wheelchair bound. Those were the darkest
days of my life, but I never gave up hope, and pushed past every hurdle that
came my way with sheer grit.”
Laila began her career with DEWA in 1994 after getting
a bachelors degree in software engineering. She started off as a trainee but
rose through the ranks to become a senior manager.
“I was happy, but the paralytic stroke brought my
world crashing down. I didn’t have any strength in my body, but my resolve and
faith in God remained strong. With each day it grew only stronger. Over time, I
made a complete recovery. It was a miracle.”
Once she was back on her feet, Laila joined the RTA as
director of strategic planning and corporate performance. Following the
successful launch of Dubai Metro in 2009, she quit the job and joined the GCAA,
where she worked for more than 10 years as assistant director general.
Laila played a key role in transforming the GCAA, and
scaling its operations to international standards.
She was the UAE’s lead negotiator for air transport
agreements and economic regulations, and also founded the authority’s commercial
wing to provide consultancy and training services in aviation safety, security,
air transport, corporate development, strategic planning and organisational
development. Under her, the GCCA won the prestigious Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid
Government Award for the best strategic planning in a government entity.
Laila was recognised as one of the 70 Inspiring Women
of the World by the International Aviation Women’s Association, and won a
Stevie Award in 2014 for her contribution to aviation. She was also recognised
by Dubai Quality Group in 2015 as one of the leading female professionals in
the aviation industry.
Curiously, Laila had little understanding of the
industry when she joined GCAA in 2010.
She recalled how everybody stared at her in disbelief
when she raised her hand during a senior management aviation course in
Singapore, and asked the speaker what he meant by the term “airplane taxiing.”
“I am a life-long learner with a child like curiosity.
I joined the course as a novice but gained the respect of my peers when I
passed it with [a] distinction,” said Laila, who later obtained an MBA degree
in general aeronautics, aviation, aerospace science, and technology, and went
on teach aviation management to director generals outside the UAE.
She retired in 2019, but a personal tragedy spurred
her to make a foray into holistic healthcare.
“In 2020, I lost my mother to a heart ailment caused
by suspected sleep apnea. She could have been still with us if she were
diagnosed and treated on time,” said Laila, who recently founded the Alive
Holistic and Medical Rehabilitation Centre.
Located in Mirdif, the medical facility offers a wide
range of holistic health care services, including alternative therapies to help
treat sleep apnea.
“The greatest businesses came from a need to help
others,” said Laila. “I want to make holistic healthcare accessible and
affordable for everyone. For 30 years, I served my country and its people as a
government employee. Now I want to do that as an entrepreneur in an extremely
vital area: public health.”
Source: Khaleej Times
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/true-grit-how-an-emirati-woman-beat-paralysis-to-fulfill-her-dreams
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