‘Unfathomable Restrictions’ On Women’s Rights Risk Destabilizing Afghanistan
New
Age Islam News Bureau
29
December 2022
•
Pakistan Women To Play In Four-Nation Football Cup For Women In Saudi Arabia
•
FutureLearn of UK Offers Free Courses For Afghan Women After Taliban University
Ban
•
Workshop Explores Arab Women’s Writing from a Wider Scope
•
35 Afghan Universities Could Collapse After Ban On Women Education: Report
•
Turkish Leaders Woo Women Voters As Election Year Closes In
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/rights-risk-destabilizing-afghanistan/d/128746
--------
‘Unfathomable
Restrictions’ On Women’s Rights Risk Destabilizing Afghanistan
UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya Women’s rights advocates engage
in awareness-raising activities in Herat, Afghanistan. (file)
-----
December
28, 2022
GENEVA
— The UN rights chief Volker Türk called on the Taliban de facto authorities to
revoke immediately a raft of policies that target the rights of women and girls
in Afghanistan, saying that they cause “terrible, cascading effects” on their
lives and risk destabilizing the nation.
“No
country can develop — indeed survive — socially and economically with half its
population excluded,” said the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“These
unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the
suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan’s
borders.”
He
urged the de facto authorities to “respect and protect” the rights of all women
and girls — to be seen, heard, and involved in all aspects of Afghanistan’s
“social, political and economic life” in line with its international
obligations.
On
Dec. 24, the de facto authorities issued a decree banning women from working in
non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
This
latest decree followed the suspension of university education for women and
secondary schooling for girls until what they termed further notice.
“Banning
women from working in NGOS will deprive them and their families of their
incomes, and of their right to contribute positively to the development of
their country and to the well-being of their fellow citizens,” warned the High
Commissioner.
NGOs
and humanitarian organizations provide critical life-saving services for many
people in Afghanistan, including food, water, shelter and healthcare, as well
as critical programs, such as pre- and post-natal and infant care, which are
only provided by women.
Many
NGOs — often staffed with women, including in leadership roles — are essential
partners for the UN and other agencies in administering humanitarian and
development programs throughout the country.
“The
ban will significantly impair, if not destroy, the capacity of these NGOs to
deliver the essential services on which so many vulnerable Afghans depend,”
lamented Türk.
“It
is all the more distressing with Afghanistan in the grip of winter, when we
know humanitarian needs are at their greatest and the work these NGOs do is all
the more critical”.
The
High Commissioner also voiced deep concern that increased hardship in Afghan
society is likely to increase the vulnerability of women and girls to sexual
and gender-based violence and domestic violence.
“Women
and girls cannot be denied their inherent rights,” he underscored.
“Attempts
by the de facto authorities to relegate them to silence and invisibility will
not succeed — it will merely harm all Afghans, compound their suffering, and
impede the country’s development. Such policies cannot be justified in any
way.”
The
Security Council also issued a statement expressing its profound concern that
female employees of NGOs and international organizations are being banned from
their work.
The
Council stressed that the move would have “a significant and immediate impact
for humanitarian operations in country, including those of the UN, and the
delivery of aid and health work”, and that the restrictions “contradict the
commitments made by the Taliban to the Afghan people as well as the
expectations of the international community”.
The
Security Council reiterated its full support to the UN Assistance Mission in
the country, UNAMA, and Special Representative Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva,
underscoring the importance that she carries out her mandate, including through
monitoring and reporting on the situation, and continuing to engage with all
relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders. — UN News
Source:
Saudi Gazette
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/628424
--------
Pakistan
Women To Play In Four-Nation Football Cup For Women In Saudi Arabia
Pakistan women's football team which will
participate in the Four-Nation Cup in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. — Twitter/@TheRealPFF
----
December
29, 2022
LAHORE:
The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has revealed the schedule for the
four-nation cup for women in Saudi Arabia next month.
The
Pakistan women’s team will begin their campaign against Comoros on January 11.
Their second match is against Mauritius on January 15, and third against Saudi
Arabia on 19.
Source: The News Pakistan
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1024861-pakistan-women-to-play-comoros-on-jan-11
--------
FutureLearn of UK Offers Free Courses For Afghan Women After Taliban University
Ban
Afghan students queue at one of Kabul University's
gates in Kabul, Afghanistan. AP
------
December
29, 2022
Kabul:
Women in Afghanistan have been deprived of university education after the
Taliban imposed a ban last week in a bid to limit their presence in public
spaces. However, FutureLearn, a British higher education platform, has come to
the rescue of Afghan women.
FutureLearn
has announced free access to its digital learning platform for the duration of
the Taliban ban on university education.
A
statement released by the platform read, “Girls and women with internet access
will be able to study short courses and expert tracks from the best of British
higher education at no cost to themselves.”
The
chairman of FutureLearn said, “For girls and women who can access the internet
and afford the time, this could be a lifeline.”
He,
however, acknowledged that poor connectivity, poverty and language constraints
may act like barriers but the offer can “nonetheless play a valuable part in
enabling women in Afghanistan to assert their inalienable human right to
education.”
FutureLearn
was set up by the Open University in 2012 and this year it came under the
leadership of the Global University Systems. The platform offers courses on
behalf of around 200 universities from across the world.
Under
the Afghan women program, students will be able to access over 1,200 courses on
the FutureLearn platform via a free subscription.
President
of the Open Society Foundation Lord Mark Malloch-Brown said, “The Taliban think
the world has forgotten them; we mustn’t. This commendable move by FutureLearn
to open up its platform to women denied their rights under this regime will
play a useful part in keeping education within reach of those with an internet
connection. It is a welcome sign that our commitment to fighting for human
rights for all Afghans remains strong.”
World
condemns ban
Taliban’s
most recent ban has invited a string of condemnation from countries all across
the world.
According
to US State Department, a joint statement issued by Australia, Canada, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, the
United Kingdom, and the United States said, “We strongly condemn the Taliban’s
recent decisions to ban women from universities, to continue to bar girls from
secondary schools, and to impose other harsh restrictions on the ability of
women and girls in Afghanistan to exercise their human rights and fundamental
freedoms.”
Source:
Firstpost
--------
Workshop
Explores Arab Women’s Writing from a Wider Scope
Rana
Elbowety
In
academic studies, Arab women’s writing is often framed as connected to their
“selves”, with the authors perceived as being driven by the need to disentangle
the intricate web of threads forming the self, in order to express their inner
worlds.
However,
the same could be said of men’s writings. Why is it then that women’s writings
are more prone to being read as expressions of the self, rather than as
narratives of a wider scope?
Dispelling
the misconception that women write solely about their subjectivities, the
private, and the domestic was the focus of an international bilingual workshop
held recently at the British University in Egypt.
The
four-day workshop, titled “Diverse Pedagogy and Reception: (Re)forming
Subjectivities in Arab Women’s Writing”, was presented as part of a larger
partnership between the British University in Egypt, the University of Bamberg,
in Germany, and Cairo University. The partnership aims to present a series of
workshops, seminars and conferences that bring together young M.A. and Ph.D.
scholars of Arab women’s writing.
The
workshop was held December 5 through 8 at BUE under the auspices of Shadia
Fahim, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
Participants
included scholars from the University of Bayreuth, the American University of
Beirut, and the American University in Cairo, as well as the three sponsoring
institutions. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) funded the cost of
scholars coming to Egypt to participate.
The
Personal and the Political
Key
issues raised during the workshop included questions about voice, agency,
genre, positionality, gender performativity, subjectivity formation, and the
politics of teaching and translating Arab women’s writings.
Participants
offered readings and analyses of texts, television series, and caricatures that
showcase various Arab women writers and artists. Their presentations explored
the private and the public, as well as the personal and the political, reviving
a rallying cry of feminism in the 1960s and ’70s, “the personal is political”.
Source:
Al Fanarmedia
https://al-fanarmedia.org/2022/12/workshop-explores-arab-womens-writing-from-a-wider-scope/
--------
35
Afghan Universities Could Collapse After Ban On Women Education: Report
December
28, 2022
Kabul:
A domino effect due to the Taliban banning higher education for women in
Afghanistan is being felt by the country's private universities, which
according to an estimate are staring at imminent closure, Tolo News reported.
"The
economic challenges have surged widely 30 to 35 universities are facing major
economic problems," said Mohammad Karim Nasiri, media officer at the union
of private universities. Tolo News further reported that some university owners
have warned that many educational institutions would shut down if female
students are not allowed to attend university education.
The
Tolo News report quoted, the founder of the Moraa educational centre for females
Azizullah Amir saying "There is no man at this educational centre. If the
implementation of this order continues, we will be obliged to close the doors
of this centre".
The
deputy head of Dawat University was cited in the report as saying that although
universities are closed for women, he hopes this closure is only temporary.
Soon universities will be reopened for female students to continue their
education.
The
Taliban-appointed spokesperson for the Ministry of Higher Education, Ziaullah
Hashimi, said efforts are underway to resolve the issues in the sector.
"We are trying to ease our principles and provide services for the
universities and solve the problems that cause obstacles for
universities," Tolo News reported.
Previously,
in December this year, Taliban-appointed Acting Minister of Higher Education of
Afghanistan Nida Mohammad Nadim said there is no opposition to barring women
from university education in the country. This comes at a time when the Taliban
is attracting criticism over the matter from around the world.
However,
to express their frustration and anger on the issues of university education
for female students banned by the Taliban, many male students from private and
public universities have gone on strike chanting slogans like "education
for all or none".
Contradicting
Nadim's opinion on the education ban for female students in Afghanistan, the
Grand Imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar University, Ahmed El-Tayeb called for the
Taliban to reconsider their decision to ban Afghan women from accessing
university education, saying the decision contradicts Sharia.
The
Grand Imam said that he "deeply" regrets the decision issued by the
authorities in Afghanistan, preventing Afghan women's access to university
education.
Tayeb
said he warns "Muslims and non-Muslims against believing or accepting that
banning women's education is approved in Islam. Indeed, Islam firmly denounces
such banning since it contradicts the legal rights Islam equally guarantees for
women and men," he said.
A
lecturer from Kabul Polytechnic University who is in Turkey for his master's
degree Ihsanullah Rahmani said, "I have offered my resignation to the
Ministry of Higher Education as a protest and in support of our sisters. There
are some other lecturers who are trying to continue their process of
resignation,".
Source:
ND TV
--------
Turkish
leaders woo women voters as election year closes in
Nazlan
Ertan
December
28, 2022
Dressed
in a snappy suit in the colors of the Turkish flag, Meral Aksener, the forceful
leader of the right-wing Iyi Party, brought a stadium of women to a standing
ovation. “They’ll get used to women as political actors,” she pledged,
referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development
Party (AKP) government.
“They’ll
get used to women living and laughing freely, devoid of fear.” The all-female
audience that filled the stadium in the Turkish capital cheered as Aksener
declared that “Prime Minister Meral” was on her way. Her words allude to
Turkey’s return to a parliamentary system in which the head of the executive is
the prime minister, one of the key promises of the alliance of six opposition
parties. Aksener, who is emerging as a kingmaker in determining the
opposition’s candidate to challenge Erdogan, repeatedly says she will not be a
presidential candidate but will become prime minister once the executive
presidential system has changed.
Aksener,
whose five-year-old Iyi Party has formed a strategic alliance with the social
democratic Republican People’s Party (CHP), rarely plays the feminist card in
her political discourse. Therefore, her appearances to all-women audiences are
few and far between, mostly limited to March 8, international women’s day. But
last week, her party organized the “Great Women’s Gathering,” for which women
supporters across Turkey were taken to the capital and non-governmental
organizations advocating women’s and LGBT+ rights were invited.
Aksener
is not alone in efforts to garner female votes as Turkey approaches elections
supposed to take place between April and June 2023. Center-right DEVA, an
offshoot of the AKP, also flaunted its women’s policies this week. On the part
of the government, Derya Yanik, the family and social affairs minister bruised
by last month’s bloodcurdling child abuse case, has been going from city to
city to explain the government’s progress on the status of women and children.
Aksener
accused the government of discriminating between men and women in life and
work, limiting women to the roles of wives and mothers, allowing or even
encouraging early marriages and turning a blind eye to femicides. “We’ll write
history with women in the days to come,” she added.
Yanik,
who also held a meeting over the weekend, argued, “If there is one person in
the country who has empowered women to become major political actors, it is our
president." Speaking in a meeting in the southern city of Adana over the
weekend, she maintained that “no
one has any lesson” to teach the government regarding women’s
and children’s rights.
She argued that violence against women and child abuse declined last year.
Women’s
rights groups would find these claims hard to believe. Data from the
award-winning We Will Stop Femicides Platform shows that 392 women have been
killed so far this year, as opposed to Yanik’s figure of 309. As for child
abuse, last month, a young woman came forward to say that her father, the head
of a foundation affiliated with the Ismailaga sect, married her off to a
29-year-old sect member when she was 6. According to her testimony, her husband
started sexually abusing her soon after the marriage ceremony conducted by her
father, then consummated the marriage when she was 8. After more than a decade
of repeated rape and physical abuse, she filed for divorce and criminal
proceedings against her husband and parents.
The
government and its supporters in the media first dismissed the case as an
attempt to smear Turkey's religious communities. Yanik said her ministry knew
about the woman (identified only as H.K.G.) as she had been under state
protection for two years, giving rise to accusations of sweeping the case under
the rug to protect the sects.
As
women’s groups and the public raged over the fact that the case dragged on for
years without a single detainment, an Istanbul court ordered the husband's
detention and set the first trial in the case for Jan. 30. Eventually, First
Lady Emine Erdogan stepped in, tweeting that she would follow the trial
personally and depicting pedophilia as a “perversity,” the word the AKP uses
for homosexuality.
The
case, however, has put the spotlight on several issues: the abuse of women and
girls in religious sects, early marriage/child abuse and domestic violence.
Together they form a battleground not only between the government and the
opposition but among the delicate Table of Six, a platform of the opposition
parties.
Women’s
groups have been outraged that the Table of Six has not taken a clear stance on
Turkey's return to the Istanbul Convention, a pan-European accord that tasks
signatory states with addressing violence against women and girls, including
domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, femicides and forced marriage. After
Erdogan decided to take Turkey out of the convention last year, Aksener and CHP
leader Kemal Kilıcdaroglu pledged a return to the convention. However, they
failed to get the promise into the Table of Six program, an omission attributed
to resistance by the most conservative group in the pack, the Saadet Party.
When the case of the 6-year-old’s marriage hit the headlines, Saadet’s leader
Temel Karamollaoglu said that while the case was grave, it should not be
exploited to close down religious sects in Turkey.
The
testimony of H.K.G. that she
thought for years that it was normal for a 6-year-old to get married has fueled
concerns that child marriage is common among religious communities. A 2017 report by the Heinrich
Boell Foundation found that Turkey has one of the highest rates in Europe, with
one marriage out of five carried out before the bride is 18. But this figure
might be a conservative estimate as most marriages in which the bride is
underage are performed with a religious ceremony — like that of H.K.G. — and
therefore not recorded.
On
Dec. 28, DEVA, a center-right party founded by Ali Babacan once known as the
government’s economic maverick, disclosed its own women’s program, pledging a
return to the Istanbul Convention, founding a ministry responsible for women’s
rights and a firm battle against early marriage and child abuse.
Babacan,
whose DEVA is also part of the Table of Six, invited “all democratic women” to
join his party, saying, “We do not use women for a political agenda; we use our
political agenda for advancing women.”
Babacan’s
words are a veiled reference to the AKP’s proposal for a constitutional
amendment enshrining women's right to wear headscarves at work and in daily
life. A hugely divisive issue in the officially secular state, critics see it
as an attempt to manipulate women’s issues for political gains.
The
AKP has gradually lifted a post-1980 ban on headscarves at universities,
colleges and then in the civil service, parliament and the police. However, the
issue is still explosive, as seen in the Netflix series “Ethos” and more
recently, a popular sitcom called “Cranberry Sorbet,” in which a fiercely
secularist single parent and a conservative family are thrown together when
their children get married.
"Both
the secularists' ban on the headscarf and Erdogan's 'democratization package'
that lifted it were launched in the name of emancipating women," Agence
France-Presse quoted Gonul Tol, Turkey program director at the US-based Middle
East Institute, as saying in a report. "In reality, however, they both
sought to impose their own version of the ideal woman on society," she
said.
Source:
Al Monitor
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/12/turkish-leaders-woo-women-voters-election-year-closes
--------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/rights-risk-destabilizing-afghanistan/d/128746
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism