All-Women Ranger Team Leads Saudi Royal Reserve’s 5,000th Patrol
New Age Islam News Bureau
05 Oct 2024
· All-Women Ranger Team Leads Saudi Royal Reserve’s 5,000th Patrol
· 'No Restrictions Against Sharia Imposed on Women' As Long As They Observe The Islamic Dress Code: Deputy Vice and Virtue Minister
· Gender, Nationality ‘Sufficient’ To Grant Afghan Women Asylum: Top EU Court
· Four Countries At U.N. Intend To Bring Taliban To I.C.J. For Women’s Rights Violations
· Al-Nassr Retain Women’s Volleyball Title At Saudi Games
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ranger-saudi-royal-reserve-patrol/d/133367
--------
All-Women Ranger Team Leads Saudi Royal Reserve’s 5,000th Patrol
Female leadership is behind the success of this work, from senior management to a specialized unit in social and economic development, reported by the CEO of the royal reserve. (SPA)
------
Haifa Alshammari
October 04, 2024
RIYADH: An all-women team of Saudi environmental rangers has led the 5,000th patrol of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve in the Kingdom’s northwest.
Andrew Zaloumis, the reserve authority’s CEO, said that women are “breaking new ground” at the 24,500 sq. km site “one patrol at a time.”
Ranger teams play a significant role in protecting the environment, but are also involved in women’s empowerment efforts that are a focus of the reserve, Zaloumis said in a statement.
“Globally, women rangers are recognized as vital for conservation success, but gender inequalities and challenges persist,” he added.
“At Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve, women make up 30 percent of our 183-strong Saudi ranger team — well above the global average of less than 11 percent.”
Women’s leadership is behind the success of empowerment efforts, he said, citing women in senior management positions and a specialized unit in social and economic development that allows local women to become environmental conservation leaders.
“We are building the next generation of conservationists, equipped with the specialist skill set necessary to conserve Saudi Arabia’s endangered wildlife and wild landscapes,” Zaloumis said.
The all-women ranger team, which was appointed two years ago, is paving the way for new career positions for women in the Kingdom.
Ghaida Al-Balawi, one of the rangers, told Arab News about some of the team’s achievements.
“The most significant achievement since joining the team has been successfully raising the level of environmental awareness among local and international visitors, as well as protecting certain endangered species such as the Arabian partridge and the hawksbill turtle. This was accomplished through our effective environmental protection patrols,” she said.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve contains 15 distinct ecosystems across its mountain ridges, life-giving wadis and Red Sea coral reefs.
The reserve launched a development plan two months ago, publishing a road map covering environmental, economic, social, cultural and tourism targets.
Source: arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2573907/saudi-arabia
-----------
'No Restrictions Against Sharia Imposed on Women' As Long As They Observe The Islamic Dress Code: Deputy Vice and Virtue Minister
Ministry of Vice and Virtue has not imposed any restrictions on women that go against Sharia law
-----
October 4, 2024
Mohammad Faqir Mohammadi, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, said that female employees in the media can continue working as long as they observe the Islamic dress code.
In an interview with the BBC, Mohammadi added that the Ministry of Vice and Virtue has not imposed any restrictions on women that go against Sharia law.
The Deputy Minister stated, “Female journalists can read the news, but they must be in hijab. You see them, and if they read the news while wearing hijab and Islamic dress, there is no problem, God willing.”
Mohammad Faqir Mohammadi also emphasized that taking photographs without necessity is not permissible in Sharia and should be avoided unless essential.
According to this official from the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, the voice of a woman is considered impermissible only in mixed gatherings.
He said, “The Islamic Emirate has not imposed any restrictions on women that contradict Sharia or go against the customs and traditions of Afghanistan. These are not restrictions, and the Islamic Emirate seeks to grant women the rights that are in accordance with Sharia and have already been given to them.”
This official also said that in the enforcement of Islamic laws, no one’s orders or desires will be accepted.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that no inspector (Muhtasib) has the right to misuse their position, and if they punish violators without the approval of the Supreme Court, they will be dismissed from their position.
Source: tolonews.com
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-191029
----------
Gender, nationality ‘sufficient’ to grant Afghan women asylum: Top EU court
4 Oct 2024
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that gender and nationality alone are “sufficient” for a country to grant asylum to Afghan women.
The ECJ ruled on Friday that discriminatory measures adopted by the Taliban towards women “constitute acts of persecution” justifying the recognition of refugee status.
“The competent authorities of the member states are entitled to consider that it is unnecessary to establish that there is a risk that the applicant will actually and specifically be subject to acts of persecution if she returns to her country of origin,” the ECJ ruled.
So far, Sweden, Finland and Denmark have already granted refugee status to all Afghan women seeking asylum.
The ruling comes after Austria refused to recognise the refugee status of two Afghan women after they applied for asylum in 2015 and 2020.
The two women challenged the refusal before the Austrian Supreme Administrative Court, which then asked for a ruling by the ECJ.
According to a court document, one of the women, identified as AH, first fled Afghanistan with her mother to Iran at the age of 13 or 14 after her drug-addicted father tried to sell her to fund his addiction.
The other woman, referred to as FN and born in 2007, has never lived in Afghanistan because her family had been living in Iran without residency permits, so her family had no right to work, and she could not receive an education.
The ECJ case document said FN told the court that if she is deported to Afghanistan, as a woman, “she would be at risk of abduction, would be unable to attend school and might be unable to support herself”.
Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, it has rolled back women’s rights, including limiting schooling, work and general independence.
In August, the Taliban set a long list of rules governing morality, which includes mandatory dress codes, the requirement for women to have a male guardian, and the segregation of men and women in public places.
The United Nations human rights chief has called for the Taliban to repeal the “egregious” laws, which he said were an attempt to turn women into “faceless, voiceless shadows”.
Source: aljazeera.com
Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/4/gender-nationality-sufficient-to-grant-afghan-women-asylum-top-eu-court
----------
Four Countries At U.N. Intend To Bring Taliban To I.C.J. For Women’s Rights Violations
October 5, 2024
On 25 September 2024, the foreign ministers from Germany, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands announced at the United Nations General Assembly in New York they had taken all steps necessary to file a complaint against the Taliban with the International Court of Justice. According to New York Times reporting, the four countries said the “gross and systematic human rights violations and abuses in Afghanistan, particularly the gender-based discrimination of women and girls,” violate the ‘Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women’ – an international women’s rights treaty signed and ratified by many of the world’s nations in 1979, including Afghanistan in 2003 (the United States has not done so).
Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Caspar Veldkamp posted on Platform X writing, “The situation of Afghan women and girls is heartbreaking. They are almost entirely excluded from public life. We cannot accept this.” Following suit, the German Foreign Office X account posted comments from Minister AnnalenaBaerbock: “Making use of the possibilities of the women’s rights convention will not change the situation in Afghanistan today. But it gives the women of Afghanistan hope. We see you, we hear you. We speak for you when you are silenced.”
HamdullahFitrat, a Taliban government spokesman, interviewed with Agence France-Presse to deny the claims saying, “The accusations made by some countries and parties on Afghanistan violating human rights and gender discrimination are unfounded.” Fitrat added that in Afghanistan “no one is treated with discrimination” and that the efforts from the four nations are an attempt “to spread propaganda.”
Forbes Magazine explained in their reporting that the complaint cannot be officially filed with the I.C.J. for six months, and the formal rules of the Court require a notification to the accused government of a dispute. In Article 29 of the C.E.D.A.W., the countries may try and solve the violation dispute out-of-court, but, after six months if no arbitration is successful, the Parties may refer the case to the I.C.J. Fobes wrote that if no resolution is reached, Afghanistan would be the first country seen by the I.C.J. for allegations of discrimination against women.
The announcement of preparations to file with the I.C.J. comes three years after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, and the retake of Kabul by the Taliban government, and one month after the Taliban released a 114-page document legalizing its restrictions on women’s movement including a ban on women attending secondary school and university and traveling without a male relative. The decisions made by The Hague are legally binding with no possibility of appeal, but not enforceable due to the nature of sovereign states.
“We knew what was coming as soon as the Taliban arrived,” GhizalHaress, a former official ombudsperson in Kabul before fleeing in 2021, said to the N.Y.T. “But we are now making sure that the many women are not forgotten who live under a system of violence and gender apartheid.”
Source: theowp.org
https://theowp.org/four-countries-at-u-n-intend-to-bring-taliban-to-i-c-j-for-womens-rights-violations/
-----------
Al-Nassr retain women’s volleyball title at Saudi Games
October 04, 2024
RIYADH: Al-Nassr women’s volleyball team successfully defended their Saudi Games title on Friday, beating Al-Ula in a one-way final.Ahlam Al-Omari from the board of the Saudi Volleyball Federation, presented the gold medals to the winners after their three-set (25-10, 25-17, 25-13) victory.
Samira Asghari, from the International Olympic Committee, and Hanan Al-Qahtani, from the Saudi Volleyball Federation, watched the match, which was held at the Ministry of Sports Hall at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex in Riyadh.
Al-Ula won silver, while Al-Fayhaa took bronze after defeating Al-Anqa 3-0.
In the swimming pool, Al-Qadsiah Club won gold in the men’s 4x100-meter medley relay, while Al-Hilal Club took silver and Al-Adalah Club bronze.
In the men’s 200-meter backstroke, Al-Fateh Club’s Patrick Zymek won the gold medal, ahead of Al-Qadsiah’s Ali Al-Essa and Abdulmajid Al-Marwani of Al-Khaleej.
Farouk Al-Jidaily of Al-Ahli won gold in the men’s 400-meter freestyle, while Alexander Younis of Aqua Falcon Academy took silver and Mohammed Al-Zaki of Al-Adalah bronze.
Ahmed Al-Qudmani, president of the Saudi Swimming Federation, handed out the swimming medals at an event attended by British Olympic swimming champion and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medal winner Adam Peaty.
In the badminton competition, Muqrin Al-Muqrin, president of the Saudi Badminton Federation, handed out the medals to the winners of the men’s and women’s singles events, which concluded at Boulevard 4.
Khadija Niza, of Al-Ittihad, won gold in the women’s competition, while Aerial Vinoflor of Al-Faisaly took silver and Sin Chengari of Al-Salamiya won bronze.
In the men’s event, ShamilMotamil of Al-Hilal won gold, Adnan Hassan of Al-Nassr took silver and Mahd Sheikh of Al-Riyadh won bronze.
Prince Saud bin Jalawi, governor of Jeddah, crowned the winners of the coastal rowing competition, which ran for two days at ObhurCorniche.
Rakan Ali Reda took gold in the men’s category, ahead of Turki Al-Aref and Moayad Al-Rshidi.
In the women’s event, Haya Al-Mami won gold ahead of Israa Qadri and Yusra Malaika.
The Saudi Games are being held for the third year, with 9,000 athletes representing 200 clubs competing in 52 sports. Gold medal winners also pick up a cash prize of SR1 million ($266,000), silver medal winners SR300,000 and bronze medal winners SR100,000.
Source: arabnews.com/
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2573968/sport
----------
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ranger-saudi-royal-reserve-patrol/d/133367