A Newlywed Palestinian Woman, Sakeik, Shackled By ICE After Her US Honeymoon: ‘Moved Like Cattle, No Food Or Water’
New Age Islam News Bureau
06 July 2025
• A Newlywed Palestinian Woman, Sakeik, Shackled By ICE After Her US Honeymoon: ‘Moved Like Cattle, No Food Or Water’
• Afghan Women Activists: Russia’s Recognition Of Taliban Legitimizes Oppression Of Women
• 'Hand In Hand': UAE Announces Theme For Emirati Women's Day
• I Was Sexually Assaulted By A Celebrity After Starring In A Cult Film At 19: Jenny Evans
• EU Congratulates Bangladesh Women's Football Team For Asian Cup Qualification
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/palestinian-woman-sakeik-honeymoon-food-water/d/136097
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A Newlywed Palestinian Woman, Sakeik, Shackled By ICE After Her US Honeymoon: ‘Moved Like Cattle, No Food Or Water’
By: Express Web Desk
July 5, 2025
Sakeik, 22, was detained in February on her way home from her honeymoon in the US Virgin Islands. (Instagram/@justiceforwardsakeik and Change.org)
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A newlywed Palestinian woman from Texas says she was shackled, denied food and water, and “moved around like cattle” during nearly five months in US immigration custody, all for being stateless.
Ward Sakeik, 22, who has lived in the United States since she was eight years old, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in February while returning from her honeymoon in the US Virgin Islands. Despite a court order barring her deportation, she remained in detention for 140 days until her release earlier this week.
“I did lose five months of my life because I was criminalised for being stateless, something that I absolutely have no control over,” Sakeik said during a press conference in Texas on Thursday, according to an ABC News report. “Humanity was stripped away from me.”
After her detention, the US government attempted to deport her twice. During the first attempt, she was told she would be taken to the Israeli border, at the very moment Israel was launching airstrikes on Iran. The second time, authorities again moved to deport her, despite a judge’s order explicitly prohibiting her removal from Texas.
“I was moved around like cattle and the US government attempted to dump me in part of the world where I don’t know where I’m going and what I’m doing or anything,” Sakeik said.
As per a report in The Guardian, Sakeik was born in Saudi Arabia to a family originally from Gaza, but because the kingdom does not grant citizenship to children of foreign nationals, she entered the US with her family in 2011 on a tourist visa. The family later applied for asylum. Though she was issued a deportation order as a child, she was allowed to remain in the country under an “order of supervision,” a designation that allowed her to work and regularly check in with immigration authorities.
Over the years, Sakeik graduated from high school, earned a degree from the University of Texas at Arlington, and built, what she called “a successful wedding photography business”. Earlier this year, she married 28-year-old Taahir Shaikh, a US citizen, and filed for a green card. The initial phase of her application was approved while she remained in detention.
ICE tried to deport her again, in violation of the court order and existing protections under the Biden administration’s Deferred and Forced Departure (DED) policy for Palestinians, according to her attorneys.
“She had the right to travel to a US territory, which is what she did,” said attorney Maria Kari. “This young couple researched their options, they went to the US Virgin Islands, a domestic flight, yet here we are with Ward having spent nearly five months in detention as a result.”
The Department of Homeland Security was quote in The Guardian as claiming that Sakeik was flagged because she “chose to fly over international waters and outside the US customs zone” and was stopped by Customs and Border Protection while attempting to re-enter the continental US.
“The facts are: she is in our country illegally. She overstayed her visa and has had a final order by an immigration judge for over a decade,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
Sakeik described the conditions at the Prairieland Detention Center in Texas, from where she was released on Tuesday, as “inhumane,” citing dirty bathrooms, rusted beds, and insect infestations. “The restrooms are also very, very, very much unhygienic. The beds have rust everywhere, are not properly maintained — ants, cockroaches, grasshoppers, spiders all over the facility. Girls will get bit. Girls will wake up with giant bruises,” she said.
A DHS official told ABC News that Sakeik was released after she filed the proper applications to adjust her status based on her marriage. Her attorneys rejected that explanation, saying ICE continued to pursue her deportation even after learning her green card petition had been approved.
“We thought the US government didn’t recognise Palestine as a country,” said attorney Eric Lee. “Apparently, that wasn’t a problem when they tried to deport her there…to a place that’s experiencing a genocide.”
Sakeik’s family remains stateless, and she is still navigating the legal process to gain permanent residency. In the meantime, she says she plans to advocate for others in ICE custody.
“Women come here seeking a better life, but they’re criminalised for that. They are dehumanised, and they’re stripped away from their rights. We have been treated as a ‘less-than’ just simply for wanting a better life,” she said. “I want to speak up for those who are still inside.”
Source: Indianexpress.Com
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Afghan Women Activists: Russia’s Recognition Of Taliban Legitimizes Oppression Of Women
5 July, 2025
The Afghan Women’s Political Participation Network issued a statement describing Russia’s recognition of the Taliban government as "legitimizing a misogynistic authoritarian regime." They stated that the decision amounts to explicit support for a system built on oppression, discrimination, and systematic exclusion of women, according to NUJINHA Women’s News Agency.
The statement also referenced the legacy of the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan, describing Russia's current stance as "a continuation of destructive policies," but now through diplomatic means. The group warned of negative consequences for the state of women’s rights and human rights in general in Afghanistan.
The network is made up of activists and women’s rights defenders who formed this civil coalition after the Taliban's return to power in 2021. They work to amplify the voices of Afghan women on the international stage through media campaigns, protests, and official statements.
In contrast, China welcomed Moscow’s move, describing it as a step toward "broader regional engagement," following the announcement by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday, July 3, that it had accepted the credentials of the Taliban’s ambassador in Moscow. The move marks the first official recognition of the Taliban by a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
The Taliban continues to face widespread international criticism for its harsh restrictions on women, including bans on education, limits on freedom of movement, and the suppression of women’s participation in society and politics amid no signs of reversing these policies.
Source: Hawarnews.Com
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'Hand in Hand': UAE announces theme for Emirati Women's Day
The National
July 05, 2025
The official theme of Emirati Women's Day 2025 has been unveiled as “Hand in Hand, We Celebrate 50 Years”, under the directives of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Mother of the Nation.
The theme honours five decades of Emirati women's achievements and underscores the importance of community partnership in shaping the country's progress.
The announcement aligns with President Sheikh Mohamed's proclamation of 2025 as the Year of Community under the theme “Hand in Hand”.
The shared slogan highlights a unified national vision to strengthen social cohesion and reaffirm the vital role of women as equal partners in building the future.
Carrying "profound national and social meaning", this year's Emirati Women's Day theme reflects the UAE's approach to empowerment - one that encourages collaboration across all sectors of society, state news agency Wam reported.
Since its establishment in 1975, the General Women's Union has served as a key national institution championing women's rights and development.
Source: Www.Thenationalnews.Com
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I Was Sexually Assaulted By A Celebrity After Starring In A Cult Film At 19: Jenny Evans
Simon Hattenstone
5 Jul 2025
Jenny Evans had just starred in her first film when everything came crashing down. Twin Town was a riot of drugs, fast cars and bad behaviour labelled the “Welsh Trainspotting”. She had a wonderful time making the movie, which was released in 1997. There was a feel-good atmosphere on set, and she got on brilliantly with her fellow actors (Twin Town launched the careers of Rhys Ifans and Dougray Scott). “Friends of the cast and crew were coming down from London to Swansea because the vibe was so good,” she says. “It was a great group of people doing something fun. It was a blast.” Twin Town became a cult success, and the 19-year-old from Abergavenny found herself hanging out with celebrities and looking forward to a career in the movies. Then she was sexually assaulted by a high-profile figure and his friend.
Almost 30 years on, she has written a powerful memoir. The assault is just the starting point. Don’t Let It Break You, Honey is the astonishing story of her fight for justice and how it led to a career in journalism, exposed corruption in the British press and the Metropolitan police, and played a role in the phone-hacking scandal that resulted in the closure of the News of the World.
We’re sitting outside a London bar and she is nursing a Diet Coke. Evans is a girlish 47, the Welsh accent has long gone, and she’s casually dressed in jeans and a sleeveless T-shirt. Her gold name necklace glints in the sun, and I’m squinting to read it. Surprisingly, it begins with an F rather than a J. I look more closely. “Fuck it,” it says. She grins – a lovely, toothy grin. “It’s just to remind me that things matter less when you give a bit of time and space to them, and to not get so caught up in the moment.”
Despite the reminder, it’s obvious that things matter hugely to her. It’s what’s driven her on when she has seemed beaten. And, despite the many times she has been terrified, she has tackled those fears head on.
Evans, who now lives in Bristol, grew up in a family she adored. Her mother, a therapist, was active in the women’s movement and a regular at Greenham Common; her father, an English teacher and Labour councillor, took her and her older brother Will on long walks, spotting kingfishers, skimming stones and reciting poetry. Life was idyllic. Then, when she was 13, her father died after an operation went wrong.
Evans was devastated and disrupted by his death. She started to struggle at school and dropped out of A-levels twice. But she pulled herself together, found her tribe in youth theatre and was cast in Twin Town. Soon after the film came out, she met up with the team in London for a reunion. At the end of the evening, she tagged along with another woman to the house of a well-known man, unconnected to the film. When the woman left suddenly, she found herself alone with him and his friend, referred to in the book as The Famous Man and The Wolf. She asked them to call her a taxi, and that’s when they assaulted her.
After the men got bored with her, they let her leave. The Wolf eventually did call a cab for her. The driver, a caring man called Ken, said he thought she had been raped and asked if he could take her to a police station. Evans told him she needed to sleep. She was unsure exactly what had happened, but she knows it was a brutal sexual assault. “Assault by penetration is what it was. The truth is, I don’t know what the penetrating thing was.” Evans says she thought The Famous Man might kill her accidentally because of the pressure he applied to her throat. “It was so violent. I couldn’t breathe.”
Instead of reporting the attack, she withdrew into a web of self-loathing. Evans had always regarded herself as strong and independent, but not any more. “The assault revealed to me that I was not the adult I thought I was. I didn’t know when I was safe. I couldn’t read rooms. I couldn’t trust my instincts. I was totally out of my depth and I retreated entirely.” She left her mother’s house in Wales for London, but it was more of an escape than a move forward. She faxed her agent and told her she didn’t want to be in films any more. “Within a year I’d completely changed. I put a lot of weight on and I’d changed temperamentally. I was depressed. I felt my body had worked against me, so I wanted to change it. I began to dress drably. It was subconscious, but I felt I needed to be different because something about me made me unsafe.”
She worked in a bar for a few years. A year after the assault, she was raped by a manager when she was sleeping on a sofa following a night shift. He stopped when she woke up and pushed him off, and this time there were no injuries. But it confirmed to her that there was something weak about her; abusers could sense she was prey. Again, she didn’t go to the police because her self-worth was so low and she wanted to keep her job.
Shortly before graduating, she came across an article in the Evening Standard saying that The Famous Man had been accused of rape. In her naivety, she had assumed the attack on her was an opportunistic one-off. For the first time, it struck her that he could be a serial offender and “other women might have been hurt while I was hiding”. She decided it was her duty to go to the police. They listened carefully and sympathetically. Although she found it stressful, she felt believed.
Four days later, her story appeared in the Sun. She wasn’t named (victims of a sexual crime are granted the right to lifelong anonymity in the UK), but The Famous Man was. The painfully personal details she had told the police in confidence were there for everyone to read. Evans became paranoid. She started to distrust those around her. Could her closest friends have betrayed her to the press? Had her house been bugged? Could her boyfriend, Neil, be responsible? But even he didn’t know some of the details that appeared in the paper. “I hadn’t told him there was more than one person involved, for instance. You downplay these things for people you love. I felt frightened, embarrassed, humiliated, violated. I felt shame.”
It was the early 2000s, a time when women who alleged sexual assault were often said to have been asking for it or simply making it up. The Famous Man’s PR team set to work. Interviews appeared in which he was portrayed sympathetically and he suggested that the allegations were false and had only been made because he was well known. Evans knew she faced an uphill battle. It was hard enough to get a sexual assault conviction when the media weren’t spinning for the defendant.
After a second interview, the police told Evans that the Crown Prosecution Service had ruled that her evidence was strong enough for The Famous Man to be charged. She asked about the other women who had also come forward, and was told that, although they were credible, their evidence hadn’t met the charging threshold. Evans was alone. She subsequently discovered that more than 40 women had made allegations against him.
One day, her friend Rachel discovered a letter Evans had sent her years before in which she wrote about the assault, named The Famous Man and talked about other occasions when she had been sexually assaulted. Evans was delighted, believing it was vital evidence, and proof that she wasn’t jumping on a celebrity bandwagon.
She handed it to the lead detective expecting his face to light up. But it didn’t. The letter was problematic, and would have to be disclosed to the defence. “The letter discredited me,” she writes in the book. “One assault is bad luck, two is careless – no matter the context – three, or more, you are now an undefendable, fantasist, lunatic slut.”
That Sunday, the News of the World devoted a double-page spread to her story. Again, she wasn’t named, but the details from her meeting with the police about the letter were all there. The article said she had kept secrets from the police, which was untrue, and implied that she had accused The Famous Man of assault simply because he was famous. The same questions kept circling in her head. How did the News of the World get this information? Did they pay for it? Was it legal to do so? And were the police involved?
Despite writing the book, she still finds it hard to tell her story. Her knees are tucked up to her tummy and her arms are wrapped around them. “My body language! It’s very guarded,” she says, laughing. “I just wanted to know what the fuck happened. This ball of fear in my gut turned into anger. I just went, this is not OK. I’m done. This is not OK.”
Source: Www.Theguardian.Com
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EU congratulates Bangladesh Women's Football Team for Asian Cup qualification
6 July, 2025
The European Union has extended its heartfelt congratulations to the Bangladesh Women’s Football Team following their remarkable achievement of securing a spot in the final round of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 with three consecutive victories.Bangladeshi cuisine recipes
“What a hat-trick! Huge congratulations from the EU Delegation to the Bangladesh Women’s Football Team for 3 consecutive victories and securing a spot in the Asian Cup finals,” the EU Embassy in Dhaka said in a statement on Saturday night.
“Each goal you score kicks down barriers and inspires girls across Bangladesh — and beyond — to dream big and play bold,” the message added. “From all of us at the EU Delegation to Bangladesh — keep shining, keep scoring, and keep breaking limits.”
The Bangladesh team confirmed their place in the 12-team final round of the continental tournament in emphatic style, defeating Turkmenistan 7-0 in their last group match at Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon on Saturday evening.
All seven goals came in the first half, as the Bangladeshi side dominated a lacklustre Turkmenistan team across all departments in what turned out to be a completely one-sided affair.
The victory caps a flawless campaign for the high-flying Bangladesh team, raising hopes for further success on the Asian stage.
Source: Www.Observerbd.Com
https://www.observerbd.com/news/532978
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/palestinian-woman-sakeik-honeymoon-food-water/d/136097