Pakistan: Shagufta Kiran , A Christian Woman Sentenced To Death For Blasphemy
New Age Islam News Bureau
21 Sep 2024
· Pakistan: Shagufta Kiran , A Christian Woman Sentenced To Death For Blasphemy
· Globetrotting Career, Ph.D In Physics: Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono Linked To Lebanon Pager Blasts
· Young Pakistani Women Are Reclaiming the Sari as Their Own
· Is It Time For A Law Addressing Sexual Violence Against Muslim Women in India?
· From Schools to Silence: Three Years of Taliban’s Systematic Erasure of Education for Afghan Girls
· Pakistan: Nadia Mirza Speaks Out Against Relentless Online Harassment
· Celebrating this Year’s 25 Under 40 Energy Women Rising Stars
· 13 Million ‘Missing’ Women Sinking Gulf Economies
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Pakistan: Shagufta Kiran, A Christian Woman Sentenced To Death For Blasphemy
File photo of Christians in Pakistan attending Mass in Faisalabad after a mob attacked several Pakistani churches over blasphemy allegations (AFP or licensors)
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20 September 2024,
Shagufta Kiran, a 40-year-old Pakistani Christian woman, has been found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to death under Article 295-C of Pakistan’s Penal Code, which punishes offences against the Prophet Muhammad.
The charge stems from a message shared on the social media platform WhatsApp. According to Fides News Agency, Kiran’s lawyer, Rana Abdul Hameed, reported that the judgment was handed down by a lower court judge in Islamabad, under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). Along with the death sentence, Kiran has been fined 300,000 rupees (approximately 1,000 US dollars) following a legal process that lasted three years.
Her defence team argued that Kiran was not the author of the offensive content but had simply forwarded it in a group chat without reading it, yet this defence was insufficient to prevent her conviction.
Detained in Rawalpindi
Shagufta Kiran, who is a wife and mother to four children, was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on July 29, 2021, in Islamabad for sharing blasphemous content in a WhatsApp group in September 2020. She is currently being held in the Central Adyalaa prison in Rawalpindi, where she will remain until her sentence is carried out.
Vulnerable as a Christian
Her lawyer has announced plans to appeal the decision to the Islamabad High Court. He emphasized that "the person who originally wrote the incriminating message is still free, while the one who merely shared it without endorsing it is condemned." There is a strong belief that Shagufta has been targeted because she is Christian, making her an easy and vulnerable scapegoat.
In Pakistan, there is an increased focus on monitoring potential blasphemy offences online, with Islamic organizations viewing such actions as a growing threat that must be met with the harshest penalties. FIA’s Cyber Crime Wing is tasked with monitoring and reporting online content deemed blasphemous, leading to further police action.
Soource: vaticannews.va
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2024-09/pakistan-blasphemy-death-sentence-christian-woman-whatsapp.html
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Globetrotting Career, Ph.D In Physics: Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono Linked To Lebanon Pager Blasts
Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, is the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting.
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Sep 21, 2024
She speaks seven languages, has a PhD in particle physics, an apartment in Budapest plastered with her own pastel drawings of nudes, and a career that took her around Africa and Europe doing humanitarian work.
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
After her company was revealed to have licenced the design for the pagers from their original Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, Barsony-Arcidiacono told NBC News that she didn't make them.
"I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong," she said.
Since then, she has not appeared in public. Neighbours say they haven't seen her. Barsony-Arcidiacono has not responded to Reuters calls and emails and there was no answer when Reuters visited her private address in downtown Budapest. Her flat in a stately old Budapest building, where a door to a vestibule had been open earlier in the week, has been shuttered.
Following publication of this story, Reuters again reached out to her but received no reply. The Hungarian government said on Wednesday that BAC Consulting was a “trading-intermediary company” which had no manufacturing site in the country and that the pagers had never been to Hungary.
Discussions with acquaintances and former work colleagues paint a picture of a woman with an impressive intellect with a peripatetic career in a string of short-term jobs in which she never quite settled down.
An acquaintance of hers, who, like others who knew her socially in Budapest, asked not to be identified, called her "Good-willed, not a business type". The person said she appeared to be someone who is always enthusiastic about trying something new and readily believed things.
Kilian Kleinschmidt, a veteran ex-U.N. humanitarian administrator who hired Barsony-Arcidiacono in 2019 to run a six-month Dutch-funded programme to train Libyans in Tunisia in subjects such as hydroponics, IT and business development, described hiring her as a big "mistake". After disagreements about how she managed staff, he said he let her go before her contract was over, which Reuters could not independently verify.
At her Budapest home, a steel outer gate encloses a small vestibule where life drawings of nudes sketched in red and orange pastels can be seen taped up on the wall. An inner door leading into her apartment was ajar when Reuters first visited the building on Wednesday, and closed when the reporter returned on Thursday. No one answered the bell.
A woman living in the building for the past two years said Barsony-Arcidiacono was already a resident when she moved in, and described her as kind, not loud, but communicative.
She practiced her drawing as part of a Budapest art club, though she hadn't attended for a couple of years, said the organiser of the group, who said she seemed like more of a businesswoman than an artist but was upbeat and outgoing.
A schoolmate of Barsony-Arcidiacono said she grew up in a family with a working father and housewife mother in Santa Venerina, near Catania in eastern Sicily, and attended high school nearby. He described her as a quite reserved youngster.
In the early 2000s she earned her PhD in physics at University College London, where her dissertation on positrons - a subatomic particle with the mass of an electron and a positive charge - remains available on the UCL website. But she appears to have left without pursuing a scientific career.
"As far as I know she has not done scientific work since then," AkosTorok, a retired physicist who was one of her professors at UCL and published papers with her at the time, told Reuters by email.
A resume she used to get the job working for Kleinschmidt included references to other post-graduate degrees, in politics and development, from the London School of Economics and the School of Oriental and African Studies, which Reuters was not able to verify.
She then went on to describe a string of jobs working on NGO projects in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
In a separate CV on the BAC Consulting website, she described herself as a "Board Member at the Earth Child Institute", an educational and environmental charity in New York. The group's founder, Donna Goodman, told Reuters Barsony-Arcidiacono had never held any role there.
"She was a friend of a friend of a board member, and contacted us about a job opening" in 2018, Goodman said. "But she was never invited to apply."
That CV also described her as a former "Project Manager" at the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2008-2009, who organised a nuclear research conference. The IAEA said its records indicated she had been an intern there for eight months.
On BAC Consulting's website, which was taken down by the end of this week, the company gave little idea of its actual business in Hungary. Its registered address is a serviced office in a Budapest suburb.
"I am a scientist using my very diverse background to work on interdisciplinary projects for strategic decision-making(water & climate policy, investments)," Barsony-Arcidiacono wrote on her CV.
"With excellent analytical, language, and interpersonal skills, I enjoy working and leading in a multicultural environment where diversity, integrity, and humour are valued."
Source: indiatoday.in
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/israel-hezbollah-war-lebanon-explosive-pagers-bac-gold-apollo-2603838-2024-09-21
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Young Pakistani Women Are Reclaiming the Sari as Their Own
September 20, 2024
Ayesha Lari, 24, is known to be a sari connoisseur among her peers. Last year, she spent her first Eid away from home draping saris with six of her closest friends. It was a unique way of celebrating the festival since most women in Pakistan dress up in the traditional shalwarkameez (tunic and trouser set), or some variation of it, on special occasions. For Lari, however, the silhouette had become a regular part of her wardrobe after she found one of her late grandmother’s saris almost a decade ago. She now wears saris regularly to social gatherings and work.
Several young women, especially in urban spaces in Pakistan, have begun to embrace the sari (or saree), which had disappeared as daily wear in upper- and middle-class circles in the 1980s because of a perceived ban and changing fashion trends. There was also public backlash against the sari because of its association with India and Hinduism. In addition, the Islamization drive under President Gen. Zia-ul-Haq in the 1970s led to the perception that the garment was not appropriate for Pakistan’s Muslim women.
This perception has stuck, and many in Pakistan think that one cannot wear it without showing the midriff, though there are ways to wrap it without doing so. Indian pop culture, which often sexualizes the sari and makes it look sensual, contributed to this idea.
Yet in the past few years, young, urban women in Pakistan have been reclaiming the sari, and it has become a way for them to exert their agency in society.
In the past decade, they have been finding ways to make feminist interventions and reclaim public space. For instance, the annual Women’s March emphasizes messages like “my body, my choice.” The Girls at Dhabas movement in 2015 encouraged women to drink a cup of chai or hang out at the roadside eateries and tea shops that dot a very male-dominated public space.
“In one way there’s a bit of rebellion. It says I’m not conforming to what I’m meant to look like but I’m wearing something that’s mine and my own and I feel good and representative of my culture in it, even if it’s something we’re not ‘supposed’ to wear,” said radio jockey and journalist Sabah Bano Malik.
Many women, including fashion and social media influencers, are growing more comfortable with posting their photos online with hashtags like #Sarisforallsizes, and newer sari brands are popping up on Instagram. For instance, The Saree Girl, which has over 173,000 followers on the social media platform, has leading celebrities like Mahira Khan and Hania Aamir endorsing it.
Despite the growing popularity of the sari, not all women have embraced the trend. Malik said her mother scolds her every time she wants to wear one. “For my mom, the sari was associated with sexualizing women’s bodies,” she said, alluding to the influence of Indian pop culture on her mother’s views. This did not stop Malik from modeling in one for a brand in 2021, but not only was she heavily trolled online for wearing a sari because of its association with India, she was also fat-shamed.
In response, Malik and another social media influencer, Baemisaal, who highlights Pakistani fashion, ran social media campaigns and appeared on TV talk shows to highlight the sari culture while also raising awareness about body positivity. But their efforts received mixed reactions from viewers.
Beauty standards, rooted in the marriage market in South Asia, have long dictated that an ideal woman needs to be fair with clear skin, thin and not too short. But these expectations have recently come under scrutiny, as has the culture of body shaming and moral policing of young women’s and girls’ bodies, often expressed by way of unsolicited comments from relatives and acquaintances.
Growing up, I had seen many photos of my mother wearing the sari, but they were from a time before she had begun to wear the hijab. No one in my family wore the sari and instead preferred the shalwarkameez. Wearing saris was considered too provocative.
When I asked my mother if we could style it in a hijab-friendly way, she discouraged me because she thought it would not look good. Nevertheless, I wore the sari to my high school prom almost a decade ago and often wear it to social gatherings now.
Miral Khwaja, the founder of online sari brand Beenarasee, echoed my sentiments: “I strongly feel that if you are told not to behave a certain way, you usually have the urge to rebelliously do it more.”
For Khwaja, saris were a key part of her household. “When Zia banned the sari [for women in public-facing roles], I think my family was busy buying their new stock of saris,” she said. “My mother and aunt took me to India with them so many times that I never even cared for the taboo regarding saris.”
For many families in Pakistan who have relatives across the border, and even those who migrated during the Partition of India and Pakistan, saris remained a connection to their family traditions and history. Even though the sari was marginalized in mainstream Pakistani society, some families held on to heirloom pieces passed down by their mothers and grandmothers or those they sourced from India whenever possible.
Until the 1980s, saris were common in the country. Naseema Begum, daughter of former President Ayub Khan, would often wear silk saris while accompanying her father at political engagements. Nusrat Bhutto, wife of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who founded the Pakistan Peoples Party, was also known as a style icon, particularly because of her saris. It would also not be unusual to see women wearing the outfit in advertisements, movies and on the news.
However, saris moved out of the mainstream in Pakistan for two reasons. First, there was a widespread misconception that Zia-ul-Haq banned the sari in Pakistan. However, the ban was partial and applied only to women working in government or who held public roles such as newscasters, explained journalist and author Saba Imtiaz, who writes on culture and human rights. Second, he characterized wearing saris and showing the midriff as Indian and non-Islamic, which created a sense that an outright ban existed.
“Since newscasters were seen as big trendsetters at the time, to no longer see them wear saris had a big impact. When you remove something from the public space, it trickles down into society,” Imtiaz told New Lines.
Later, when Benazir Bhutto — Nusrat and Zulfikar’s daughter, who became Pakistan’s first woman prime minister in 1988 — started wearing the shalwarkameez with her signature white scarf during public and political engagements, the outfit not only gained widespread popularity but also became the de facto traditional Pakistani attire, setting fashion trends for women who wanted to emulate the political icon.
Currently, many young, urban women have started experimenting with the sari. Instead of the traditional blouses, women have started pairing the sari with button-down shirts, crop tops and even sports bras. Niche fashion brands are also experimenting with the silhouette. One of them is the “pant sari,” which is a mix of the pantsuit and the sari.
“It has made saris easier and more accessible, and it’s one of the really ‘in’ designs for the younger generation to wear,” said Karachi-based Andaleeb Rana, who runs craft-focused fashion brand Bulbul.
But its association with India persists. Imtiaz recalled a time when a cab driver in Karachi asked whether she was Hindu or from India because he couldn’t imagine a Pakistani Muslim woman casually wearing a sari.
Many in India also hold this perception. Last year, when the media reported that a Pakistani woman had illegally traveled to India to live with her romantic partner, the couple’s landlord said he couldn’t have guessed she was Pakistani because she wore saris.
Yet despite the sari’s recent resurgence, Imtiaz is wary of describing recent trends as a rebirth of sari culture. “To say sari culture is growing or reviving would mean that everyone stopped wearing it, but really these changes are only being seen in [the] upper middle class in Karachi.”
While the sari was pushed out of upper- and middle-class circles in the 1980s, it continued to be a staple for Hindu women belonging to economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Because such an interpretation does not account for class differences, Imtiaz does not call the recent surge in popularity a “revival.” What the poor wear doesn’t seem to define trends, she said.
Source: newlinesmag.com
https://newlinesmag.com/spotlight/young-pakistani-women-are-reclaiming-the-sari-as-their-own/
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Is It Time For A Law Addressing Sexual Violence Against Muslim Women in India?
Saqib Rasool And HarshadaBargal•
SEPTEMBER 20, 2024
Muslim women in India are under a unique threat in India at the intersection of the rising crimes against both Muslims and women. Is it time for the law to recognise and address this?
ON August 15, 2022, the government of Gujarat granted remission to all the 11 convicts sentenced in the case of Bilkis Bano gang rape and murder of her seven family members during the 2002 riots.
Upon their release, they were garlanded and greeted with sweets by supporters, some of whom touched their feet. C.K. Raulji, who was a member of the Gujarat legislative assembly (MLA) from Godhra and one of the two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who were part of the Gujarat government panel that unanimously decided to release the rapists, said at that time, “They were Brahmins and Brahmins are known to have good sanskaar.”
However, on January 8, 2024, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and UjjalBhuyan quashed the remission. In the 251-page judgment authored by Justice Nagarathna, the court held the remission invalid and ordered the perpetrators to return to jail.
An unnamed identity?
The crucial aspect of ‘identity’ appears to be missing in the judgment as is often overlooked in many writings on this case. This becomes evident more so from the line of reasoning in the judgment which focuses solely on the ‘gender identity’ of Bano bereft of any consideration for her ‘religious identity’.
It cannot be emphasised enough that Bilkis Bano petitioned not just as a woman and a victim of sexual violence but also as a woman of the Muslim faith. The preface of the judgment reads, “The issue is between heinous crimes against women and the remission of the perpetrators.”
Another part of the judgment reads: “A woman deserves respect, however high or low she may be otherwise considered in society or to whatever faith she may follow or any creed she may belong to.
Also read: What if? Indian Feminist Judgments Project imagines a more feminist and caste, class and religion-sensitive versions of judgments
“Can heinous crime, inter alia, against women permit remission of the convicts by a reduction in their sentence and by granting them liberty? These are the issues which arise in these writ petitions.”
All women indeed deserve respect and the basic dignity that is the right of all human beings. As principles of equality and non-discrimination in the Indian Constitution seek to secure dignity for all, it is equally true that the distribution of these rights is seldom even for everyone.
There is also a growing discourse on violence, harassment and marginalisation of Muslims in general in contemporary India.
However, the discourse around the judgment in Bilkis Bano’s case and the rise in the number of atrocities committed against Muslims in general fail to underscore and acknowledge the need for protection for Muslim women from sexual violence. Muslim women experience violence and marginalisation due to an intersection of multiple identities.
This article argues that the sexual violence experienced by Muslim women during communal violence in India is contextual and should be understood from the intersectional framework of religion and gender.
To do so, we have argued that sexual violence against Muslim women operates within the context of the power relationship between the majority (Hindus) and the minority (here Muslims) in addition to the power dynamic between the male and female genders. In doing that, this essay poses questions about the need for greater protection of Muslim women.
What is intersectionality?
The term intersectionality was first coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American civil rights advocate, in the year 1989. She introduced the term to address oppressive experiences that could not be fully explained as the outcome of common discriminatory patterns.
Crenshaw explains how the experience of women of colour with violence and vulnerability occurs at the intersections of gender and race. She argues that characterising rape as a function of patriarchy ignores how it may act as a “weapon of racial terror”.
She explains, “[W]hen Black women were raped by White males, they were being raped not as women generally, but as Black women specifically: their femaleness made them sexually vulnerable to racist domination, while their Blackness effectively denied them any protection.”
In the Indian context, noted feminist activist and women’s rights lawyer Flavia Agnes employs an intersectional approach to explain the violence committed against Muslim women during the 2002 Gujarat riots, of which Bilkis is one of the many victims but also a survivor.
Similarly, historian Tanika Sarkar’s work suggests targeted and deliberate violence against Muslim women by Hindutva supremacists that is justified on the basis of two elements of the Hindu nationalist ideology. The first element is the creation of an image of the ‘Self’ and the ‘Other’ and the second one is vengeance for past crimes against Muslims.
Historian Megha Kumar traces the above facets to the writings of early Hindutva proponents such as V.D. Savarkar. She shows how sexual violence against Muslim women during riots is not just a women’s issue but also needs to be understood as a religious issue, i.e., if a Muslim woman faces sexual abuse during communal riots, it is because she is both a Muslim and a woman.
Intersectionality and Indian Law
In addition to this growing recognition of intersectionality among academic literature on India, there is also an increasing acknowledgment of the framework within Indian jurisprudence. Several judgments by courts in India have expressly mentioned intersectionality as a framework to look into women’s issues.
In Patan Jamal Vali versus The State of Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court discussed the difference between intersectional discrimination (discrimination because of intersecting identities) and single-axis discrimination (discrimination that considers single, rather than multiple identities).
The court also held that: “When the identity of a woman intersects with, inter alia, her caste, class, religion, disability, and sexual orientation, she may face violence and discrimination due to two or more.”
In the same judgment, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud (as he was then) draws attention to the possibility that individuals who hold marginalised positions within multiple oppressive systems may experience oppression as a result of two or more of these systems.
Justice Chandrachud refers to the statement of Combahee River Collective and Crenshaw, which discusses the intersectional oppression of Black women in America, to arrive at this conclusion.
Besides this judgment, the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) (SC/ST) Act,1989 also acknowledges a person’s multiple identities. Under this Act, if a member belonging to a Scheduled Tribe (ST) or a Scheduled Caste (SC) community is subject to sexual atrocities from any person not belonging to such a community, he or she shall be tried under provisions of both the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as the SC/ST Act. Section 3(2)V of the SC/ST Act enhances the punishment for offences in which the victim is a member of an ST and SC community.
In the case of sexual abuse, if the perpetrator has mere knowledge that the victim belongs to an ST or SC community, it will be sufficient to hold that person under the SC/ST Act.
Intersectionality and the growing marginalisation of Muslims
There is growing marginalisation of Muslims in India. Muslims lag behind on all socio-economic indexes. This marginalisation is not a recent phenomenon, it has been a slow but sure process since the Independence of India, not denying the fact that its pace has increased manifold post-2014.
The Sachar committee report, The Social, Economic and Educational Status of Muslim Community in India, revealed that the socio-economic condition of Muslims in India is much worse than that of ST and SC communities.
The Muslim community regularly experiences discrimination in areas including housing, education and employment. It also faces barriers at both structural and social levels in achieving political power and wealth, and lacks access to healthcare and basic services. This growing marginalisation along with the structural discrimination exposes it to more vulnerabilities.
Authors such as Flavia Agnes and Megha Kumar have applied the framework of intersectionality to understand the sexual violence against Muslim women during the extraordinary times of riots. The power imbalance during riots is stark and can be identified more easily than in ordinary times.
However, with the growing marginalisation and increased hate crimes against Muslims, the fear that the community will be forced to live under a permanent state of siege is not misplaced. Some of the manifestations of this state of siege are already here in the form of mob lynching, violence against those offering namaz or wearing hijab and ‘bulldozer justice’.
This means the line between extraordinary (riot) and ordinary (normal) has become blurry. In these circumstances, sexual violence faced by Muslim women needs to be understood through the lens of intersectionality as it provides the necessary nuance in understanding the nature of this violence as a power play of multiple identities.
Once this permanently extraordinary situation of Muslim lives in India is acknowledged, the need for enhanced protection for Muslim women from targeted sexual violence should be further introspected.
In the context of ST and SC communities, the legal system does not differentiate between ordinary and extraordinary times. Rather, the emphasis is on the perpetrators. Here, the identity of the perpetrators is important. Any kind of sexual violence against a woman belonging to an SC or ST community by a member not belonging to an SC or ST community leads to the perpetrator being held under both the IPC and SC/ST Act.
Numerous reports have shown that during communal riots, Hindutva supremacists frequently target and subject Muslim women to horrific sexual violence. That being said, the acts of sexual violence are not exclusive to the riots. Hindutva supremacists have been known to target Muslim women even during ‘normalcy’.
Events like the ‘Sulli deal’ and other incidents of sexual assault must also be understood in the context of power dynamics and intersectionality.
As stated above, the line between ordinary and extraordinary is blurred when it comes to Muslim women in India. One should not shy away from the fact that it is complicated to provide any solution to this multi-layered problem.
However, a new pattern of thinking and discourse is required especially in the legal sphere. Muslim women who suffer sexual assaults and other forms of violence at the hands of Hindutva forces still do not have any special legal protections, unlike women belonging to ST and SC communities.
Is it possible that a measure comparable to the SC/ST Act could be instituted to protect Muslim women from the horrifying sexual violence to which they have been subjected for years? Can we imagine a law of such nature for Muslim women, too? If yes, what would this imagination look like? How could such an imagination be sought?
A discussion around this line of thought that considers the intersectionality of this violence is the need of the hour in both academic and legal spheres.
Source: theleaflet.in
https://theleaflet.in/is-it-time-for-a-law-addressing-sexual-violence-against-muslim-women/
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From Schools to Silence: Three Years of Taliban’s Systematic Erasure of Education for Afghan Girls
9/20/2024
by ZULEIMA NORIEGA
This week marks three years since the Taliban banned secondary education for girls in Afghanistan. The patriarchal fundamentalist group has not only stripped girls of their basic right to education but also imposed other restrictions, imprisoning them in their homes and erasing them from public life entirely. Women and girls are now forbidden from even speaking in public, as their voices are considered intimate and must be concealed.
In Afghanistan, girls are prohibited from attending school beyond sixth grade. Earlier this month, the Taliban’s minister of education refused to hear further inquiries about the ban and imposed additional restrictions on broadcasting educational programs later that week.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, some Afghan organizations and media outlets have attempted to broadcast school curricula to girls confined to their homes via radio and television. However, recent restrictions imposed on the media in the Southeastern province of Khost have cut off educational opportunities further.
The Taliban justify their ban on women and girls’ education by invoking religion and culture—claims refuted by Muslim scholars worldwide, who argue they contradict Islamic teachings. In Islam, education is an obligation, and it is a duty to educate both boys and girls. Afghan women and girls, along with many others in the country, have also challenged the cultural justifications for the bans, stating that Afghan culture does not prohibit women and girls from education.
Data highlights the widespread disagreement with the Taliban’s restrictions on girls’ education.
According to a 2019 survey from the Asia Foundation, just two years before the Taliban takeover, 87 percent of Afghan respondents said that girls should have access to education at all levels.
A 2022 Gallup poll, post-Taliban takeover, shows only 11 percent of surveyed Afghans thought children in Afghanistan had the opportunity to learn and grow. Women were less satisfied with the quality of education provided for their children. Only 19 percent of all respondents reported being satisfied—the lowest level of satisfaction measured in any country.
Amidst a sea of protests and condemnation from Afghans and the international community, the Taliban has made no effort to change their demonstrable violations of women’s rights, and have instead increased their prohibitions against women and girls.
Under the Taliban regime, women in the education sector cannot teach boys, and they must wear all black and dress from head to toe. Female students as young as 10 years old have been subjected to puberty tests, in which principals or gunmen determine if they are to continue schooling. Any student who shows signs of puberty is expelled. The Taliban has also changed school curriculum for boys, adding more religious subjects and reducing science courses.
As more women face a lack of opportunities, the rates of child marriage, poverty and poor mental health in the country continue to rise. These dystopian changes are occurring at an alarming rate, following the many years of hard-fought progress to put women in schools and on the path to success.
Before the Taliban’s oppressive bans, 3 million of Afghanistan’s 9 million schoolchildren were girls. The future of Afghan women and girls hinges on collective international action. Allies must amplify the voices of Afghan women who continue to speak out despite facing life-threatening risks.
The international community holds power, and the past three years have proven that mere condemnation is not enough. Real action is essential to help Afghan girls return to school—because every child deserves that right.
Soource: msmagazine.com
https://msmagazine.com/2024/09/20/taliban-women-girls-education-afghanistan/
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Pakistan: Nadia Mirza Speaks Out Against Relentless Online Harassment
September 21, 2024
Women Press Freedom strongly condemns the relentless organized troll campaigns targeting Dawn News anchor @nadia_a_mirza, attacked for her critical coverage on women rights, corruption, and religious extremism.
This is part of a troubling pattern we have been worryingly monitoring in Pakistan, with prominent figures like Gharidah Farooqi and Asma Shirazi among those targeted.
We call on Pakistani authorities to take immediate action to protect women journalists, both online and offline.
Source: womeninjournalism.org
https://www.womeninjournalism.org/alerts/pakistan-nadia-mirza-speaks-out-against-relentless-online-harassment
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Celebrating this Year’s 25 Under 40 Energy Women Rising Stars
September 20, 2024
As Africa’s energy sector continues to grow, a new generation of women is breaking barriers and redefining leadership in this critical industry. The African Energy Chamber (AEC) proudly announces the 2024 edition of the 25 Under 40 Energy Women Rising Stars – a group of outstanding individuals whose innovation, perseverance and passion are transforming the landscape of African energy. These trailblazers are not only reshaping a traditionally male-dominated field but are also playing a vital role in the journey to end energy poverty by 2030. The AEC proudly honors these women as they lead the charge toward a more sustainable and equitable energy future.
In alphabetical order:
Amena Bakr, Senior Research Analyst, Energy Intelligence
Amena Bakr is a Senior Research Analyst at Energy Intelligence. Specializing in the energy transition, corporate strategy and market analysis, Bakr leads insights on oil markets, OPEC policies and political trends in the Middle East and Gulf Arab region. Her previous roles include Chief OPEC Correspondent and Dubai Deputy Bureau Chief, where she earned accolades such as the OPEC Award for Best Journalist and the IAEE Excellence in Written Journalism Award. Bakr holds a BA in Business Administration from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport, Egypt.
AmoetsoeMkwena, Senior Associate, Watson Farley & Williams (Middle East)
AmoetsoeMkwena is a Senior Associate at Watson Farley & Williams, specializing in energy and infrastructure with a focus on Africa. She advises on international projects, including the $15 billion Simandou project in Guinea. Mkwena’s expertise includes power, renewables, oil and gas, and mining. Her legal skills and ability to bridge cultural divides make her a key player in Africa’s energy sector.
Asha Amani, General Manager, INTERAFCON
Asha Amani is the General Manager at INTERAFCON, where she blends strategy and leadership to drive growth in complex energy projects. With seven years in Industrial Engineering and five years in the energy sector, Amani excels in business strategy, opportunity identification and project management. Her previous role as a Business Development Consultant at Tetco Consulting focused on delivering tailored solutions for the energy, engineering, and construction sectors.
BlandineBiaou, Geological Engineer, Head of Research and Prospection Department, SNH-Benin
BlandineBiaou, Head of the Research and Prospection Department at SNH-Benin, specializes in hydrocarbon exploration. She has optimized Benin’s energy sector through resource management and contract revisions. Biaou has developed a modern data center and interactive database, contributing to national projects and representing Benin in international conferences, positioning it as a hydrocarbon hub.
Charné Hollands, Deputy Editor, Energy Capital & Power
Charné Hollands is the Deputy Editor at Energy Capital & Power, the leading investment platform for the African energy sector. She produces content on the entire energy value chain in Africa, with a focus on oil, gas, renewable energy and energy policy. Hollands holds a Master’s in Media Studies from the University of Cape Town and has co-authored African Energy Chamber: Road to Recovery.
EmokiniovoDafe-Akpedeye, Managing Partner, Compos Mentis Legal Practitioners
EmokiniovoDafe-Akpedeye, a leading dispute resolution lawyer, specializes in complex oil and gas cases. She has represented Shell Petroleum and serves as company secretary for the Ebendo Host Community Trust Board. With degrees from Oxford and Bristol, she shapes oil and gas law and is implementing digital solutions to streamline board operations.
FatimatAdenikeOlanrewaju, General Field Engineer, SLB
FatimatAdenikeOlanrewaju, a Chemical Engineering graduate, is a General Field Engineer at SLB, focusing on wellhead installations and emissions reduction. She excels in a male-dominated field and leads community service through SLB’s SEED initiative, advocating for gender diversity and mentoring.
Gracia Munganga, Senior Technical Advisory, ABT Global
With a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town, Gracia oversees operations for the company, which has been designing and commissioning solar PV systems across sub-Saharan Africa since 2018. Her career includes roles at GreenCape, Anaergia Africa, the Climate Innovation Centre South Africa (CIC-SA), and the Carbon Trust.
IfeomaAdeoye, CEO, IMSE Energy Resources Limited
IfeomaAdeoye, CEO of IMSE Energy Resources Limited, leads the company in EPCI services and innovative crude evacuation technology. A graduate of the University of Manchester and Warwick, she also founded Business Nest Investments and BNI Insurance Brokers Limited, to empower and protect people and businesses through microfinance and insurance.
JamillaMassamba, Health Safety and Environment Manager, SLB Congo
JamillaMassamba, Health, Safety & Environment Manager at SLB Congo, leads HSE initiatives across Africa. With a Master’s in Environmental Management Sciences, she has conducted over 100 audits and received awards for her work. Massamba also mentors young women in STEM and leads green energy projects.
Janice Faria, CEO, Enagol: Energias de Angola
As CEO of Enagol, Janice Faria has elevated the company’s national and international profile. Under her leadership, Enagol competes globally and services International Oil Companies, setting a precedent for local enterprises in the global market.
Jocelyne Machevo, Communication, Commercial & Marketing Manager, Vivo Energy Mozambique
Jocelyne Machevo, formerly with Eni Mozambique, played a key role in the Coral FLNG Project and led the company’s local brand transformation. Now at Vivo Energy Mozambique, she focuses on energy transition and decarbonization projects.
Lilian Kamanja, Electrical Engineer, Kenya Power
Lilian Kamanja is a Renewable Energy Specialist at Kenya Power with over nine years of experience in electrical engineering, network operations, and renewable energy development. She holds a BSc from the University of Nairobi and an M.Tech from IIT Delhi, focusing on renewable energy projects that enhance power accessibility and reliability.
KanniTouray, Deputy Director General, Petroleum Commission, The Gambia
KanniTouray, The Gambia’s youngest and first female Deputy Director General at the Petroleum Commission, has enhanced the organization’s efficiency and visibility. She champions sustainable development and energy transition, positioning The Gambia as a growing player in the global energy market.
Lizette Bouddhou, Human Resources Manager, SLB Congo and Gabon SLB
Lizette Bouddhou, HR Manager at SLB Congo and Gabon, drives diversity and workforce development. She leads recruitment and training initiatives, boosts employee engagement, and advances community outreach through educational partnerships, supporting women in STEM.
Maggie Mutesi, Managing Editor, Mansa Media
Maggie Mutesi is the Managing Editor at Mansa Media, with over 15 years of experience in major media outlets including CNN, BBC and CNBC. Her reporting spans over 30 African countries, focusing on trade and investments. At the BBC, she managed BBC Africa’s daily live program, Money Daily. Mutesi has also extensively covered the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, working with the African Union and Afrochampions Initiative to enhance awareness among Africa’s private sector.
Marilia Sitoe, Subsea Engineer, Eni Rovuma Basin
Marilia Sitoe, a Subsea Engineer at Eni Rovuma Basin, focuses on optimizing Mozambique’s gas sector. Her work includes deep-water gas production and subsea infrastructure for Coral South FLNG. Sitoe’s research supports Mozambique’s economic growth and sustainability goals.
Mervin Azeta, Engineer, SLB
Mervin Azeta, a leader at SLB, has advanced from field engineer to corporate strategist. Recognized for her impact on African communities and the global industry, she is active in non-profit boards and connects young Africans with top leaders, fostering learning and inspiration.
Munolwisho Elizabeth Ipangelwa, Green Hydrogen Advisor, GIZ
Munolwisho Elizabeth Ipangelwa, Green Hydrogen Advisor at GIZ, advocates for women in oil and gas and green hydrogen development in Namibia. She has educated over 200 Namibians and leads green industrialization studies to boost local industries and reduce youth unemployment.
OziomaAgu, Partner, Stren&Blan Partners
OziomaAgu, a Partner at Stren&Blan Partners, excels in high-profile energy and infrastructure transactions. Her work includes advising on Mobil and Shell divestments and renewable projects. Agu has earned awards for her expertise in oil and gas and green hydrogen.
Pauline Murari, Contracts Manager SLB Angola, Central and East Africa
Pauline Murari, Contracts Manager at SLB, is known for her negotiation skills and leadership. She has driven growth in SLB’s regional portfolio and contributed to projects like the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. Murari supports STEM education and local development.
Pearl EnyamAkosuaAkude, Business Line Job Delivery Lead, SLB
Pearl EnyamAkosuaAkude, with over 35 wells drilled, is a leader in the energy sector. She handles complex projects, trains engineers, and has contributed to innovations like TerraSphere and Net Zero Development in Africa, impacting the region’s energy landscape.
Rita BagaineKagoro, Talent Acquisition Manager SLB: Angola, Central and East Africa
Rita BagaineKagoro, a Ugandan Petroleum Engineer, has seven years of experience and holds degrees from China University of Petroleum and Delft University of Technology. Her roles include Measurements and Logging While Drilling Engineer and Drilling Product Engineer. Kagoro has innovated drilling technologies to enhance efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. She is passionate about leadership, mentorship, and advocating for diversity in hiring and women in energy.
Tania Silva, CEO, Angola LNG Marketing
Tânia Silva is the CEO of Angola LNG Marketing, the company’s first female and youngest CEO. She oversees LNG sales, liquids contracts, and the shipping fleet. Previously, Silva was Head of Non-Operated Assets at SonangolGás e EnergiasRenováveis, S.A., where she managed non-operated assets and contributed to renewable energy projects. Her career is marked by leadership and innovation in the energy sector.
TokolloMatsabu, Women Leader in Energy & Climate Fellow, Atlantic Council
TokolloMatsabu is a 2024 Women Leaders in Energy and Climate Fellow and Director at Patlong Advisory, a consulting firm focused on energy programs and carbon sequestration in Africa. She is pursuing an MS in Global Energy and Climate Policy at the University of London’s School of Oriental & African Studies, with a focus on critical minerals. Matsabu has a background in financial journalism and has conducted risk analyses for various stakeholders in the Global South. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, Media and Writing from the University of Cape Town.
Source: energychamber.org
https://energychamber.org/celebrating-this-years-25-under-40-energy-women-rising-stars/
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13 million ‘missing’ women sinking Gulf economies
By AMR SABER ALGARHI AND KONSTANTINOS LAGOS
SEPTEMBER 21, 2024
When you think of modern, oil-rich Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), you may picture a life of luxury. But beneath the shots of towering skyscrapers and splendid grand malls, there is a concerning reality: women are frequently missing from the economic picture.
Even though birthrates seem normal, with about 96 baby girls born for every 100 baby boys, a dramatic shift occurs in adulthood. For every 100 men in the Gulf, there are only 58 women. Qatar presents the most extreme case, with just 38 women per every 100 men.
This imbalance is caused primarily by an influx of workers from abroad. In certain Gulf states, foreign workers make up as much as 95% of the workforce, and most of these are men.
Nobel laureate and economist Amartya Sen developed the term “missing women” in 1990 to describe populations where women are demographically underrepresented. Our calculations, which use data from the World Bank on the global average gender ratio, suggest that approximately 13 million women are “missing” in total from the Gulf states.
The roots of this gender imbalance are deeply entangled in the region’s cultural traditions. Despite recent reforms, many Gulf countries still maintain guardianship laws that require women to obtain male permission for basic rights like getting married, launching certain types of business, or catching a flight.
On top of that, cultural norms often confine women to household duties, which severely limits their opportunities to get a job.
This is not to say no women manage to secure employment – 40% of working-age women in the Gulf currently have a job. However, those that are in employment often receive smaller salaries than their male colleagues, partly because they are not expected to be breadwinners.
Research has also found that in-work training remains largely inaccessible to women. Many employers in the region are reluctant to invest in women’s professional growth, fearing they may leave work for family reasons.
Holding their economies back
The economic cost of keeping millions of women out of the workplace is huge. One study from 2013 found that removing barriers to women’s employment could boost growth significantly in southern Mediterranean countries.
A higher number of people in the workforce can make wages more competitive, which helps businesses sell their products abroad more easily. And having more people in work means more spending and greater business investment too.
Indeed, a report from 2015 by American consulting firm McKinsey & Company found that improving women’s equality could add an estimated US$600 billion to annual GDP in the Middle East and North Africa region by 2025, compared with a business-as-usual scenario.
By sidelining educated women, Gulf economies are also depriving themselves of fresh insights crucial for diversifying beyond oil. Recent research on the Gulf region suggests that having more gender diversity in the workplace leads to better financial decisions.
And restricting female employment exacerbates the Gulf’s heavy reliance on foreign workers. Migrants send much of what they earn back home, representing a substantial drain on Gulf economies. According to the World Bank, remittances from Gulf states amounted to $669 billion in 2023.
Despite the deep-rooted obstacles that woman face, change is on the horizon. The UAE, for example, has achieved gender equality at the parliamentary level. And Saudi Arabia lifted its longstanding driving ban on women in 2019, which should increase their mobility and potentially their job prospects too.
Several Gulf countries are appointing women to senior government positions, offering visible examples of female success. For instance, ShihanaAlazzaz was appointed deputy secretary-general of the council of ministers in Saudi Arabia in 2022, becoming the first woman to hold the position.
And women in the Gulf are building a strong talent pipeline, as they currently make up the majority of university students in the region.
The judicial system is also evolving, with Bahrain and Qatar both allowing women to work as judges. And the private sector is introducing initiatives to empower women, as well as offering more flexible working options.
Economic necessity will arguably speed up the pace of change, as Gulf countries wrestle with the need to diversify their economies beyond oil. However, the entrenched cultural norms and lingering legal hurdles that continue to hinder women’s full economic engagement still render these advancements incomplete.
Bringing the missing women into the workforce requires a committed and comprehensive strategy. Legal reforms must dismantle the remaining guardianship laws and cement workplace safeguards. And education and training programmes need to align women’s skills with market demands, as well as providing targeted development opportunities.
A broader cultural shift is also essential, challenging traditional gender roles through the media, education and public dialogue. And workplace policies need upgrading, in order to incorporate family-friendly practices and transparent career advancement paths for women.
Economic incentives such as government grants or tax reliefs for firms achieving gender diversity targets could accelerate this shift.
The towering skylines of Gulf cities are a testament to rapid progress. Yet genuine advancement should not be measured in concrete and steel, but in the opportunities available to all citizens. The challenge now is to build economies that harness the talent of both sexes when driving innovation, growth and societal development.
Amr SaberAlgarhi is senior lecturer in economics, Sheffield Hallam University and Konstantinos Lagos is senior Lecturer in business and economics, Sheffield Hallam University
Source: asiatimes.com
https://asiatimes.com/2024/09/13-million-missing-women-sinking-gulf-economies/
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