Pakistani Peacekeeper Major Sania Safdar Wins UN Gender Award
New Age Islam News Bureau
22 Aug 2024
·
Pakistani Peacekeeper Major Sania Safdar Wins
UN Gender Award
·
Three Quarters Of Muslim Women In UK Fear For
Safety After Riots
·
'Muslim Women For Harris' Disbands, Says It Can
No Longer Support Her
·
Afghan Women To Finish Medical Studies In
Scotland
·
Queen Launches Royal Floria Putrajaya 2024
·
What Kamala Harris Could Do for Afghan Women
Compiled by
New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
Pakistani
Peacekeeper Major Sania Safdar Wins UN Gender Award
August
22, 2024
UNITED
NATIONS: Pakistan Army’s Major Sania Safdar, who is serving with the United
Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), became its first peacekeeper to receive the
2023 ‘Certificate of Recognition’ for advocating gender equality.
The
award, issued by the New York-based UN Department for Peace Operations, was
presented to her by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in
Cyprus, Colin Stewart, according to the mission’s statement on Wednesday.
“Receiving
this certificate as the first peacekeeper from UNFICYP is deeply meaningful to
me and significant for our mission in Cyprus,” Maj Safdar said. “It serves as a
testament to our commitment to gender equality.”
Created
in 2016, the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award recognises the
dedication and efforts of an individual military peacekeeper in promoting the
principles of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
Maj
Safdar’s primary tasks involve overseeing communication systems and promoting
gender equality within military component. Since her deployment last year, she
proactively took charge of several initiatives to contribute to achieve this
recognition by focusing on integrating women into the mission’s work.
Source:
dawn.com
https://www.dawn.com/news/1853873/pakistani-peacekeeper-major-sania-safdar-wins-un-gender-award
-------
Three
quarters of Muslim women in UK fear for safety after riots
By Daily
Excelsior -August 20, 2024
LONDON,
Aug 19: As many as 75% of Muslim women in the United Kingdom fear for their
safety after riots erupted in the country over an attack on children in the
city of Southport, Sky News reported on Sunday, citing a survey by the Muslim
Women’s Network UK charity.
Before
the riots only 16% of those surveyed feared for their lives, the report read.
About one-fifth of respondents said they had experienced hostile attitudes
after the attack, the report added.
In late
July, mass protests broke out in many cities in the UK after a 17-year-old
teenager attacked children with a knife at a dance studio in Southport. Three
children were killed, several more children and two adults were taken to
hospital in critical condition.
The
protests escalated into clashes with police and riots after rumors that the
attacker was a refugee. It later became known that the attacker was born in the
UK to migrants from Rwanda. Hundreds of people were detained, dozens of police
officers were injured during the riots organized by supporters of far-right
groups.
(UNI)
Source:
dailyexcelsior.com
https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/three-quarters-of-muslim-women-in-uk-fear-for-safety-after-riots/
-----
'Muslim
Women for Harris' Disbands, Says It Can No Longer Support Her
Aug 22,
2024
Agroup
called "Muslim Women for Harris-Walz" is disbanding after the
Uncommitted National Movement said it was told a Palestinian American speaker
couldn't address the Democratic National Convention.
Uncommitted
delegates began a sit-in outside the United Center in Chicago on Wednesday
night after being informed that their request for a speaking slot had been
denied. Abbas Alawieh, a delegate from Michigan and co-founder of the
Uncommitted National Movement, told reporters that he received a call from a
convention official on Wednesday, who said: "Abbas, the answer is
no."
The
movement emerged during Democratic primary contests when those angry over the
Biden administration's backing of Israel's war in Gaza were encouraged to deny
the president their support by voting "uncommitted." They are calling
for Vice President Kamala Harris, who is leading the Democratic ticket after
Biden dropped his re-election bid, to endorse an arms embargo to Israel and
back a permanent ceasefire.
Muslim
Women for Harris-Walz said on social media that it could not continue its
efforts to elect Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, after
the decision to deny a Palestinian American speaker time on the convention's
main stage.
"We
cannot in good conscience, continue Muslim Women for Harris-Walz, in light of
this new information from the Uncommitted movement, that VP Harris' team
declined their request to have a Palestinian American speaker take the stage at
the DNC," the group said in a statement posted on Instagram.
"We
pray that the DNC and VP Harris' team makes the right decision before the
convention is over. For the sake of each of us."
Source:
newsweek.com
https://www.newsweek.com/muslim-women-kamala-harris-tim-walz-dnc-israel-gaza-palestinians-1942811
-----
Afghan
women to finish medical studies in Scotland
21
August 2024
Nineteen
female medical students banned from attending university in Afghanistan are to
complete their studies in Scotland.
They
were forced to give up medicine after the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan
three years ago and clamped down on women’s rights.
Lewis-based
charity the Linda Norgrove Foundation worked with UK and Scottish governments
to arrange visas and places at medical schools.
One of
the students, Omulbanin Sultani, said: "We endured one thousand days of
suffering to reach this point. One thousand days of being confined to our
homes, of having our voices silenced with nothing but tears and sorrow, our
lives wasting away."
Linda
Norgrove Foundation Students with politicians and members of the Linda Norgrove
FoundationLinda Norgrove Foundation
The
students arrived in Edinburgh earlier this week
The
Linda Norgrove Foundation highlighted the student's plight last year.
But it
said efforts to bring the women to the UK were delayed by bureaucracy and
regulations.
Conflicts
in Ukraine and the Middle East complicated matters further due to the pressures
they placed on government, the charity added.
It has
thanked the Scottish government and UK government's Scotland Office for finding
ways to overcome some of the major challenges involved.
The
foundation was set up in memory of aid worker Linda Norgrove, from Uig in Lewis,
who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.
It has
raised £60,000 so far to cover the cost of getting the 19 women to the UK and
accommodating them in Scotland.
Ms
Sultani said: "But throughout these harsh and unbearable days, the only
motivation of light in our dark world was the presence of the Linda Norgrove
Foundation, who stood beside us and never let us feel alone."
Student
visas were used as an alternative to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme to
get the women to the UK.
The
Scottish government amended student funding regulations which allowed the women
to be treated as home students.
The
foundation's John Norgrove said: "We’re all delighted to have finally
succeeded after so much frustration.
"Finally
these 19 incredibly talented young women get their future back with the
opportunity of a tremendous education and a career.
"The
alternative for them in Afghanistan wasn’t good."
Kirsty
McNeill, Under Secretary of State in the Scotland Office, praised the charity's
determination.
She
added: "I'm very pleased that, by working together, we have been able to
bring them to Scotland."
Scottish
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: "These inspiring women will now be
treated as home students, meaning they will benefit from free tuition and
living costs support here in Scotland."
The Big
House Multibank, Amazon UK and Cargilfield School in Edinburgh have been among
organisations supporting the effort.
Over the
last 14 years, the foundation has raised more than £3m to fund projects for
women and girls in Afghanistan.
It has
also supported refugees to resettle in Scotland, including in the Western
Isles.
Linda
Norgrove was kidnapped by the Taliban in 2010 and died during an attempt by the
US military to rescue her.
Source:
bbc.com
Her
parents John and Lorna set up the charity later that same year.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20lrzpxklro
-----
Queen
launches Royal Floria Putrajaya 2024
BERNAMA
22-08-
2024
PUTRAJAYA:
Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia today launched the Royal
Floria Putrajaya 2024 at Lakeside, Precinct 2, here which showcases various
species and cultivars of flowers and ornamental plants.
Her
Majesty was welcomed upon arrival by Prime Minister’s wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan
Azizah Wan Ismail, and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal
Territories), Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
Raja
Zarith Sofiah was also presented with a new orchid hybrid of the Vanda species,
named ‘Vandachostylis Queen Zarith Sofiah’.
The 13th
edition of Royal Floria Putrajaya, organised by the Putrajaya Corporation (PPj)
with the support of the Federal Territories Department, is opened to visitors
from today until Sept 1, from 9 am to 10 pm from Monday to Thursday and from 9
am to midnight from Friday to Sunday.
Since
its inception in 2007, the flower and garden festival has become an
internationally recognised tourism product of PPj, attracting thousands of
tourists and visitors from both inside and outside the country to Putrajaya.
Petunia
is chosen as the theme flower due to its unique growth structure and the beauty
of its cascading, colourful petals, which add aesthetic elements that brighten
and cheer up visitors.
Source:
thesun.my
https://thesun.my/local-news/queen-launches-royal-floria-putrajaya-2024-HC12894344#google_vignette
-------
What
Kamala Harris Could Do for Afghan Women
ZARLASHT
HALAIMZAI
AUGUST
21, 2024
hree
years ago, Afghan women lost most of their civil rights overnight, when the
Taliban marched into Kabul and quickly seized the country against little
resistance. As Vice President Kamala Harris accepts the presidential nomination
this week at the Democratic National Convention, the Taliban’s wholesale
disregard for women’s rights is a stark contrast to the possibility of the
first woman President in American history. But Harris, who has taken a strong
stance on women’s rights, could break with previous U.S. policy failures and
reset the U.S.-Afghan relationship in a way that genuinely prioritizes Afghan
women.
Today,
Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are prohibited from
going to school. Women and girls are banned from many public spaces, are
required to cover their faces in public, and are restricted from employment.
These increasingly prohibitive fatwas—legal rulings under the Taliban’s
perverse interpretation of Sharia law—severely restrict women’s movement and
participation in society in what many are calling “gender apartheid.”
The
horrific impact of gender apartheid in Afghanistan is unsurprising. Afghans are
poorer, jobs have been decimated, civil society and media have collapsed, and
the country now has one of the lowest Human Development Index rankings. The
social, cultural, and political gains that were made for women during the U.S.
war in Afghanistan have all but disappeared. The country remains the unhappiest
in the world.
Yet
Afghan women continue to resist. Despite serious risks to their safety, women
are protesting in the streets under the slogan “Bread, Work, Freedom,”
organizing underground schools just as they did in the 1990s, and allying with
women’s rights champions like Malala Yousafzai and Angelina Jolie to raise
global awareness.
With the
prospect of a President Harris, Afghan women are wondering: can they expect an
ally in the White House?
President
Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan was catastrophic for Afghan
families now painfully separated and, especially, for the women now repressed
under Taliban rule. What’s more, a push to normalize U.S.-Taliban diplomatic
relations is gaining momentum. The Taliban is now the U.S.’ primary
counterterrorism partner in Afghanistan. Even U.N. Secretary-General António
Guterres met with Taliban leaders in Doha in June, granting them more
legitimacy and undermining women’s rights advocates who were excluded entirely
from the gathering.
Instead,
a President Harris could globalize her outspoken support for women’s rights to
include Afghan women. She could embrace the effort to codify gender apartheid
in the U.N.’s Crime Against Humanity treaty, allying herself with women in
places like Afghanistan and Iran to elevate their cause while building trust
with the U.S. government and an international system that has disregarded their
issues.
The U.S.
has already disbursed around $3 billion to Afghanistan since the Taliban
takeover. But Harris could step up that humanitarian funding, particularly to
aid locally-led organizations working in Afghanistan to support
women—recognizing that living under a gender apartheid system presents unique
challenges. And she could recommit to offering asylum to Afghan women
endangered by the Taliban. There are about 70,000 Afghan evacuees in the U.S
and their future is still uncertain. A President Harris could secure their
future by ensuring that the Afghan Adjustment Act passes through Congress.
More
fundamentally, Harris could be the first President since Jimmy Carter who
chooses to not view Afghanistan solely through a geopolitical lens—whether anti-Communism
during the Soviet invasion or counterterrorism following 9/11. She could
renegotiate the diplomatic relationship with the Taliban, making it conditional
upon respect for women’s rights, including a guarantee of access to healthcare
and education.
Some may
argue that women’s rights are secondary to the need for partnership with the
Taliban to counter the threat of a rising Islamic State-Khorasan in Afghanistan
and neighboring Pakistan. Indeed, Trump’s record suggests that a transactional
approach would guide his Afghanistan policy. But 40 years of failed U.S.
policies in Afghanistan are the result of this faulty thinking.
Ultimately,
Afghanistan is more stable and its people more successful when women are not
repressed—when they can be educated and work.
Source:
time.com
https://time.com/7013395/kamala-harris-afghanistan-women/
--------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/pakistani-major-sania-safdar-award/d/133009