Pakistani Actress, Zara Albalushi, Granted Permanent Residency in Saudi Arabia
New
Age Islam News Bureau
09
January 2021
•
First Saudi Female Skating Team Aiming For International Glory
•
US Religious Watchdog Appeals Pakistan to Set Free Ramazan Bibi Jailed On
Blasphemy Charges
•
Twitter Urged to Act on China’s ‘Violent Propaganda’ About Uyghur Muslim Women
•
HC Issues Notice to Punjab In Triple Talaq Case
•
A Lebanese Non-profit Strives To Give Women A Stronger Voice
•
Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open: Ons Jabeur Reaches out to Help Arab Women’s
Tennis
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Pakistani
Actress, Zara Albalushi, Granted Permanent Residency In Saudi Arabia
January
01, 2021
Pakistani actress Zara Albalushi,
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RAWALPINDI,
Pakistan: Pakistani actress Zara Albalushi, who was born and raised in Saudi
Arabia and recently obtained permanent residency, has said she can now finally
call the Kingdom “forever home.”
Riyadh-born
Albalushi, 39, who attended Saudi schools and speaks fluent Arabic, posted a
photo of her Premium Residency Card (PRC) on her social media accounts on Dec.
14.
The
actress received the residency permit through a program launched by the Kingdom
in 2019 under which eligible expats can now apply for residency without being
sponsored by a Saudi national, as was the previous rule.
In
a tweet, Albalushi, who has been acting in Saudi Arabia since 2010, said:
“Thanks for the trust and for granting me a distinguished residence. My
happiness is beyond description. Living and investment in Saudi Arabia; I want
to live and die in it.”
On
Wednesday, she told Arab News of her gratitude toward the Kingdom and said she
hoped to be a “worthy addition” to the Saudi arts and cinema scene.
Albalushi,
who has starred in a number of Saudi and Gulf network television dramas since
2019 including “Al-Mirath” and “Hello, Hi,” added that she was overjoyed at now
being able to travel in and out of Saudi Arabia without restriction or the need
for a visa.
“I
have derived all my talent from the country and now today, and with the
continuous developments in Saudi Arabia ... under the leadership of the young
prince, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — may God protect
him — I can say it is my home forever,” she said.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1785611/saudi-arabia
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First
Saudi Female Skating Team Aiming For International Glory
January
08, 2021
The Saudi
Skating League had organized more than 60 local female tournaments. The players
are aged between 13 and 35. The national team has 32 members. (Supplied)
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MAKKAH:
The first Saudi female rollerblading team is preparing for its debut
international tournaments.
Hajar
Mohammed, 13, said skating is “one of the most beautiful and pleasurable sports
for girls. It is full of fun, challenge, and competition, and it boosts
fitness.”
Hajar,
who has been practicing for four years, said that her family’s support was her
primary motive. “This sport highly depends on concentration, which requires a
clear mind as we need synchronization of both nerves and muscles,” she said.
She
added that the support of the Saudi Skating League was the turning point for
her. “These elites worked with efficiency and dedication to establish a strong
Saudi team with a good reputation at the regional level, to prepare it to reach
international levels.”
She
hopes that there will be a special location for skating that could host all big
competitions, especially as it is an entertainment sport, which boasts a huge
number of fans worldwide.
“I
hope that this sport spreads throughout the Kingdom, for it is worth being
practiced, has big benefits on the fitness, skills, and psychological levels,
and is considered as an aerobic sport,” she added.
She
said that skating could be practiced in parks away from streets or cars like in
Western countries, adding: “We are on our way to reach a secure competitive
environment, where everyone can practice this sport with passion and
assurance.”
Aljawhara
Minwer, the team’s media and public relations officer, said that the female
skating team was the first to be founded by the end of 2018 by the Saudi
Skating League under the management of Zaher Al-Asiri, Raeah Al-Attas, and
coach Abdul Aziz Al-Qahtani.
“After
launching the first female team, the league formed the first female skating
national team,” she said. “The team is preparing to represent the Kingdom in
international competitions.”
Minwer
said the Saudi Skating League had organized more than 60 local female
tournaments, adding that the players are aged between 13 and 35. The national
team has 32 members.
“A
special academy was founded to teach women this sport. Competitions are divided
into various categories like speed skating, marathons, and more. There are also
individual challenges,” she added.
Zaher
Al-Asiri, president of the Saudi Skating League, said the league will develop
skating talents, and establish a national team capable of competing in
international tournaments and “organize educational seminars and workshops, and
local competitions for all age groups to increase the number of those who
practice this sport.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1789481/saudi-arabia
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US
Religious Watchdog Appeals Pakistan to Set Free Ramazan Bibi Jailed On
Blasphemy Charges
08
January 2021
The
US religious watchdog appealed Friday for the rights of a Pakistani woman from
the country’s minority Ahmadis who has been jailed on blasphemy charges, declaring
her a prisoner of conscience and urging Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government
to immediately set her free.
The
statement by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said
55-year-old Ramazan Bibi was jailed last April under Pakistan’s draconian
blasphemy law that carries the death penalty.
Under
the law, anyone accused of insulting Islam can be sentenced to death if found
guilty. While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy,
just the accusation of blasphemy can incite mobs in Pakistan.
“The
Pakistani government must immediately release Ramzan Bibi, and all others
detained for blasphemy,” said commission head James W. Carr.
Domestic
and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been
used to intimidate religious minorities in Pakistan and to settle personal
scores.
“Authorities
allowing these laws to be used for personal gain or vendetta are only enabling
systematic discrimination based on religious belief,” Carr added.
The
Ahmadi faith was established on the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century by
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, whose followers believe he was the messiah that was
promised by the Prophet Muhammad. Pakistan’s parliament declared Ahmadis
non-Muslims in 1974. Since then, they have repeatedly been targeted by
extremists in the Muslim-majority nation.
Bibi
was jailed after a dispute over a donation she tried to make to a non-Ahmadi
mosque in her village in Punjab province. The donation was rejected and when
she sought an explanation from her non-Ahmadi relatives, a quarrel erupted
followed by an assault on Bibi, according to members of her community.
Mainstream
Muslim clerics later alleged she was blasphemous and brought out an alleged
witness to corroborate their allegations.
“She
is facing imprisonment simply because of her Ahmadi faith,” said the US
commission.
The
Pakistani prime minister’s special adviser on religious affairs and religious
harmony, Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, said he was not aware of the case but would
investigate and promised “justice” for the woman.
“No
Muslims will be allowed to hurt the sentiments of people belonging to other
religions and no non-Muslim should insult Islam,” said Ashrafi.
Blasphemy
has been a contentious issue in Pakistan. A Punjab governor was killed by his
own guard in 2011 after he defended a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who was
accused of blasphemy. She was acquitted after spending eight years on death row
and later left Pakistan for Canada to join her family after receiving threats.
In
just the last year, more than 24 Ahmadis, including their senior leadership
have been charged with blasphemy and for referring to themselves as Muslims.
Scores of Ahmadis are in jail simply for reciting Islamic prayers or greeting
others with a traditional Muslim greeting.
Last
year, five Ahmadis were killed in targeted killings in Pakistan, according to
an Ahmadi official who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his life.
According
to a report last month by the US Commission for International Religious Freedoms,
Pakistan recorded the most cases of blasphemy in the world, even though 84
countries have criminal blasphemy laws.
On
Friday, an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad sentenced three people — two Sunni
Muslims and an Ahmadi — to death in connection with charges that they shared
blasphemous content on social media in 2017. A fourth man, a Shiite Muslim
college professor, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for insulting God during
a college lecture.
The
US commission described the conditions for religious freedoms in Pakistan as
continuing to “trend negatively” and urged the government to repeal the
blasphemy law.
Pakistan
has rejected the commission’s assessment.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2021/01/08/US-group-appeals-for-Pakistani-woman-jailed-on-blasphemy
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Twitter
Urged to Act on China’s ‘Violent Propaganda’ About Uyghur Muslim Women
January
8, 2021
Community
leaders and leading MPs have urged Twitter to take action against Chinese
government accounts, spreading “violent propaganda” about the sterilisation of
Uyghur Muslim women.
Its
Embassy to the United States shared an article from China Daily, state-run
media, claiming the “eradication of extremism” in Xinjiang, an area of China
with a large Uyghur population, has given women “more autonomy”.
It
said: “Study shows that in the process of eradicating extremism, the minds of
Uyghur women in Xinjiang were emancipated and gender equality and reproductive
health were promoted, making them no longer baby-making machines. They are more
confident and independent.”
This
comes after Jewish News led a campaign to highlight to MPs the similarities
between the Jewish experience of persecution and China’s repression of its
Uyghur minority – including sterilisation of the community’s women.
This
included images of shaved heads, crammed cells and names replaced by numbers in
vast ‘re-education’ camps, which have been met by communal outcry. Up to one
million Uyghur Muslims thought to be detained, with concern raised last year
after hair, forcibly removed Uyghur Muslim women, was found in the United
Sates.
Conservative
MP Nus Ghani responded to the article, calling on Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey to
take action. She said the article is “blatant fake news & violent
propaganda against millions of Uyghur women & children. Block this site –
just as you banned Trump. Block it-stop the abuse.”
Last
year, she hand-delivered a letter to Downing Street, organised with Jewish
News, urging the UK to put pressure on China to end persecution.
MP
Tom Tugendhat agreed with Ghani, saying: “Claiming that ethnic cleansing is a
form of gender equality is horrific.”
Joining
the chorus of condemnation was Board of Deputies Vice President Edwin Shuker,
who said: “The attempt by the Chinese Embassy in the US to present an alleged
programme of forced sterilisation of Uyghur women as a humanitarian measure is
both outrageous and disgusting The persecution of the Uyghurs for their faith
must stop immediately and the International community must be given access to
verify “
Mia
Hasenson-Gross Executive Director of Jewish human rights groups Rene Cassin
said: “The forced steralisaltion, forced coupling and physical and sexual abuse
that Uyghur women are experiencing is very real and goes against any value of
humanity and dignity, as well as international human rights law.
“The
genocidal acts committed against the Uyghur people are real and must end now!
The Jewish community has been at the forefront on speaking out against what is
happening to the Uyghurs and should continue to do so in any instance.
The
Chinese government strongly denies claims about persecution, insisting it is a
‘re-education’ programme against extremist views.
https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/twitter-urged-to-act-on-chinas-violent-propaganda-about-uyghur-muslim-women/
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HC
Issues Notice to Punjab In Triple Talaq Case
Jan
07, 2021
Saurabh
Malik
In,
perhaps, the first case here after the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on
Marriage) Act, criminalising triple talaq came into force, a Muslim woman has
moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging non-registration of an FIR
against her husband for the offence.
Taking
up the petition through videoconferencing, the High Court today put the State
of Punjab and other respondents on notice after taking note of the allegations
that the husband gave ‘triple talaq’ on WhatsApp, which was illegal and an
offence under Act. Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi also fixed the case for further
hearing on March 5.
Her
counsel Ferry Sofat submitted that the husband on June 20, last year, sent
three messages of “talaq, talaq, talaq” to the petitioner and also forwarded
photographs with his new wife, along with the marriage certificate.
Subsequently,
the petitioner’s father forwarded a complaint regarding the offence under the
Act to the Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police. Her daughter too filed a
representation before the Director-General of Police. But action was not taken.
Sofat added the husband was “very influential” having good links with the
police authorities, anti-social elements and politicians.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/hc-issues-notice-to-punjab-in-triple-talaq-case-195113
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A
Lebanese Non-profit Strives To Give Women A Stronger Voice
January
08, 2021
BEIRUT:
Lebanese women have long fought against gender discrimination in the system.
While activists have made great strides this year in terms of political and
social awareness, national legal protections from domestic violence and sexual
assault remain inadequate. The country also has a weak framework for basic
women’s rights, especially in matters such as divorce, property rights and
responsibility for children after divorce.
Rawan
Yaghi, a former teacher based in Lebanon’s northeastern region of Baalbek, set
up social enterprise USPEaK in 2009 with the aim of giving the country’s
citizens a voice, particularly its women. The organization’s main objective is
to create a democratic community that engages citizens through education.
“In
my earlier career as a teacher, I was very active in social activism,” said
Yaghi. “I was invited to International Women’s Day in Washington. I saw women
being celebrated and honored for the enterprises they had started and thought,
‘oh, I can do that.’”
Yaghi
registered USPEaK as an NGO in 2015. Since then, 2,600 women have been taught
English and 1,200 have been taught about entrepreneurship. She has also
overseen the education of about 10,000 Lebanese 7th and 8th grade students, who
are taught a set curriculum based on themes such as citizenship and democracy.
One
of the main areas that USPEaK focuses on is teaching English. Yaghi believes
the English language is one of the most important tools Lebanese women can have
when seeking employment.
“It’s
like a passport. When they learn English, they’re able to access information
that they are not usually exposed to,” she said. “They can know more about the
media and the social work of others and they can get inspired by different
ideas.”
Yaghi
used her savings and a bank loan to launch USPEaK. Around a decade later, her
civil rights work is gaining recognition on a global scale, receiving funds and
grants from Germany, the UK and the US among others.
“Many
of our funds come from the US Embassy, especially for education — teaching English
and (hosting) spelling bee projects,” said Yaghi. “We have other donors through
UK Aid and ActionAid where we’re working on social cohesion.”
Besides
promoting democratic engagement, USPEaK is also focused on helping women reach
positions of power in government. The enterprise has worked with 57 potential
female candidates with the ambition that women will eventually make up a
sizable proportion of elected representatives.
“We
have supported independents in running for office,” said Yaghi. “I was training
potential women candidates in many different places in Lebanon. We support all
of our social work through low-cost English courses. We work on many different
things related to women candidates — this is where you can speak up, raise your
voice, and express yourself.”
USPEaK
currently employs 10 full-time staff alongside four part-timers and 80
contractors. The mission is not only to increase general political awareness,
but also to shed light on more serious subjects, such as preventing violent
extremism, the role of women in raising their children to be non-violent
citizens, anti-sectarianism, and preventing child abuse.
Reshaping
the political landscape is a tall order for Yaghi and her team, but she
believes a positive mindset is crucial for any social enterprise that wishes to
achieve its goals.
“If
you feel like you are a successful person, you will be a successful person,”
she said. “If you have an inspiring idea, believe that it will be good; it will
get money and be funded.
“Get
the ideas, get the business plan, believe in yourself and go for it.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1789456/middle-east
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Abu
Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open: Ons Jabeur Reaches out to Help Arab Women’s
Tennis
January
09, 2021
Alaric
Gomes
Dubai:
Ons Jabeur feels she has an obligation and a duty at least towards tennis when
she reflects on what she’s got to do to ramp things up for the region.
The
highest-ranked player Arab ever in the history of women’s tennis, Jabeur also
became the first Arab woman to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam when
she made it to the last eight in the Australian Open.
The
26-year-old Tunisian — currently coached by UAE-based former Davis Cup player
Issam Jellali and long-time trainer Bertrand Perret — is right now peaked at
No. 31 on the WTA Tour Rankings with a win percentage of 62.3. However, despite
collecting 11 titles on the ITF Tour, the Tunisian is yet to win a single crown
on the WTA Tour.
“Yes,
I would definitely like to see many other players from the region at the top of
women’s tennis. I like to inspire others, and seeing more Arab women would give
me tremendous joy,” Jabeur told media at the Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open
following her Friday’s win in straight sets over Ukrainian qualifier, Kateryna
Bondarenko. “My one hope is that there should be another generation that will
follow players like and my example of being among the top of the game in
women’s tennis. But this new generation ought to be stronger and I would like
to help others get there. I believe that there are players in this region who
can be up there in the top-10 or top-20 or top-30, and I would do anything to
assist and help them out whenever needed.”
As
a tennis player, Jabeur started young. Born and brought up in Sousse, 140km
from the Tunisian capital, she moved to Tunis and stayed at the Lycee Sportif
El Menzah sports academy there when she was just 12.
She
then moved forward on to training stints in Belgium and France and that helped
Jabeur go on to shatter a multitude of records for Arab tennis.
As
a teenager, Jabeur won the 2011 Roland Garros junior title, becoming the
first-ever Arab female to lift a Grand Slam singles champion’s trophy and the
first Arab to do so since Egypt’s Ismail El Shafei captured the boys’ title at
Wimbledon in 1964.
By
2017, she became the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam third round — in
the ladies’ event this time — when she claimed her maiden top 10 victory in the
French Open against Dominika Cibulkova. That helped her better her compatriot
Selima Sfar — who had peaked at No. 75 in the world back in 2001 — and who had
been the sole female from the region to crack the top-100 before Jabeur came
along.
Her
transition from the juniors to the women’s circuit was not as smooth as she had
hoped. Early success in tennis always comes with its own set of complications
and she felt that she lacked the guidance she needed to develop from teen
wonder to competitive pro.
“I
am very much around and I am convinced that there is loads of talent in this
region. We are no different from the rest of the world,” Jabeur said. “We can
have young Arab players making it to the top of this sport, but there has to be
a of of hard work as well.”
At
the moment, Jabeur stands out as the only representative from Africa, and the
Arab world, among the best in tennis. And this may well improve when fresh
rankings are announced on Monday. Not only is it an astounding achievement and
a considerable responsibility, Jabeur also knows that every time she steps on
court she is representing more than just herself. “I belong to this region and
I feel I ought to do something special,” she said.
Jabeur’s
next opponent in Abu Dhabi in Sunday’s Round of 16 will be fourth-seeded Aryna
Sabalenka of Belarus. “She is a good player. It is fun to play her. Last time
we played, it was a lot of fun and it will be a really nice show and a really
great match. Both of us will be hitting winners from both ends. I like how she
reacts on court,” Jabeur said.
“I
feel really good. I don’t feel any stress. I am happy. I see the results and I
feel the results. The most important thing for me right now is to continue on
this path. I need to maintain the level, and in my mind I need to work very
hard through the season. I think I am ready for all this. The mentality for me
this season is to move forward and not look back. I am more than happy to take
this step forward and this mentality will help me be where I want to be.”
https://gulfnews.com/sport/uae-sport/abu-dhabi-wta-womens-tennis-open-ons-jabeur-reaches-out-to-help-arab-womens-tennis-1.76375517
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