Outrage In Saudi Arabia Over Women Dancers' Revealing Attire In Jazan Winter Festival
New Age Islam News Bureau
12 January 2022
• Kabul Women Shift Protest Mode, Write Demands On City Walls At Night
• Syrian Women And Girls In Aleppo Find New Outlet In
Sports
• The Forgotten Legacy Of Fatima Sheikh, India’s First
Muslim Teacher
• Women’s Team Enforces Corona Rules In Kuwait
• Harassment Of Muslim Women In India Through Social
Media Apps Must Be Condemned, Prosecuted As Soon As They Occur: UN
• Sudanese Women Stage Rally To Protest Killings
• Nusrath, A Pharmacist, Won ¼ Kg Of Gold As Part Of A
Dubai Shopping Festival Raffle
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
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Outrage In Saudi Arabia Over Women Dancers' Revealing
Attire In Jazan Winter Festival
Reaction to the
entertainment was polarised [Getty]
----
08 January, 2022
Images and videos that circulated on social media
showing a winter festival in the port Saudi city of Jazan came under attack
this week over the presence of dancers who appeared in revealing clothing.
Twitter users from the southern Saudi city took to
their phones on January 7, publishing video clips of dancers dressed in
carnival attire as they paraded through the centre of Jazan in front of crowds
of residents from the city.
Reaction to the entertainment was polarised, with some
bystanders booing the dancers. Jazan, well known in Saudi Arabia for its
conservatism, has not witnessed such performances in recent memory.
Videos on social media showed dancers and
percussionists parading to drum ensembles and shaking feathered costumes, with
comments wondering "Is this the culture of our region? Are these our
customs and traditions?"
هذا هي فعالية #شتاء_جازان ؟؟
الأمور هذي بعيدة كل البعد عن حضارتنا و
تاريخنا و مجتمعنا ..
اتمنى أن يكون هناك حساب للمسؤول عن
هذه المهزلة .. @Jazanfestivals
pic.twitter.com/66qdSn3EKo — محمد (@hem_077) January 6, 2022
Other videos showed young Saudi men performing Dabke,
traditional Middle Eastern dance, and children giving the dancers high as they
passed through the streets.
The festival itself, 'Jazan Winter 22', was sponsored
by regional governor Mohammed bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, in cooperation with a
number of Saudi officials.
"The festival represents a story of joy for the
region… that meets the needs and aspirations of all segments of society",
the opening statement for the festival read, according to Sawah Press.
The Jazan festival is among a host of cultural and
entertainment events taking place throughout Saudi Arabia to attract thousands
of local and foreign tourists.
Source: The New Arab
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/outrage-over-women-dancers-attire-saudi-winter-festival
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Kabul Women Shift Protest Mode, Write Demands On City
Walls At Night
Representative image
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January 11, 2022
Afghan women and activists, who have been protesting
after Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, have shifted their protest mode
by writing their demands on walls at night to avoid violence by the Islamic
Emirate forces.
The women protesters said they switched to writing on
walls to avoid violence from daytime protests in the streets and write slogans
calling for girls' right to education, women's right to work, women's choice of
clothes and the inclusion of women in social and political life, reported Tolo
News.
According to them, they want to continue demanding for
their rights by writing on walls, which also enables them to avoid facing any
violence, reported Tolo News.
"Our protests were met with threats and violence,
so we switched to murals to achieve our fundamental rights and will continue
these protests," Tamana Rezaie, a protester said.
"Murals are our new method of protesting for
calling for our rights. Because our protests were often met by violence from
the Taliban," said Leda, another protester.
"Women's rights in choosing their clothing style,
work, and education are restricted. We will not stay silent and will raise our
voice," said Aziz Gul, a protester.
Meanwhile, women protesters and activists called on
the Islamic Emirate to grant women their rights and warned they will expand
their protests in the provinces if their demands are not met, reported Tolo
News.
"Today's women are not the women of 20 years ago.
Our new protest methods will expand in all the provinces, and we will use any
possible means to raise our voice," said Navida Khurasani, a women's
rights activist.
"We want our rights. We will not let them be
rolled back and will continue our protests until we are given our rights,"
Darya Neshat, a women rights activist said.
In addition to writing on walls, protests in homes and
wearing men's clothing are other new methods being used by Afghan women,
reported Tolo News.
Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan is a
nightmare for Afghan women. They have imposed many repressive rules on women
including banning education, work, and long travel.
After Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, the incidents
of threatening women are becoming a 'new normal'.
The Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and
Prevention of Vice earlier issued posters around the capital Kabul ordering
Afghan women to cover up.
In a video posted by Euronews, the poster shows an
image of the face-covering burqa that was placed on cafes and shops this week
by the Ministry of Virtue and Vice.
"According to Sharia law, Muslim women must wear
the hijab," the poster reads, referring to the practice of covering up.
In recent days, the Islamic Emirate Ministry of Virtue
and Vice issued a new directive on women's travel, saying the women who are
travelling long distances by road should be accompanied by a male relative, and
they should wear a hijab, to cover their head and face. The directive also
banned playing music in the vehicles, reported Tolo News.
Source: Business Standard
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Syrian women and girls in Aleppo find new outlet in
sports
Khaled al-Khateb
December 25, 2021
ALEPPO, Syria —
Girls and women in the city of Afrin, which is controlled by the Turkish-backed
Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions in northern Aleppo, are showing great interest
in sports, such as basketball, badminton, taekwondo, and football.
The Afrin local council, whose sports office is
promoting sports for men and women alike, offers five basketball teams for
girls under 18, and the teams train in the gymnasium of the local council’s
sports office. A basketball tournament for girls was previously held in
February, and another is scheduled for the beginning of 2022.
Mazen Mahrous, the coach of Al-Sham Basketball Club
for women, who resides in Afrin, told Al-Monitor, “The team is made up of 20
female basketball players, and we plan on expanding in the future.”
He added, “Many young women are interested in playing
basketball, especially girls between the ages of 14 and 18," although they
cannot accept all applicants.
Mahrous noted, “Female sports such as taekwondo,
karate, football, and badminton, have become very popular in Afrin, but
basketball is the most popular.” But he added, “Women's sports activities in
Afrin need more support, such as hiring highly experienced and qualified
trainers, and creating more sports facilities.”
One drawback, Mahrous said, is the conservative
Islamic countryside, "women's sports need time to be more accepted by
society.” But, he noted, “The Turkish coordinator in the Afrin area, Mohammed
Arshik, is making great efforts to develop sports in the area in general, and
there are several teams that have traveled and played in Turkey. I think that
women’s basketball is a top priority for Arshik and it is expected to receive
great attention in 2022.”
The sports situation in Afrin is on the right track,
Mahmous said, but "sports in general in northern Syria lack coordination
in terms of player transfers and such. This is due to the lack of specialized
federations to coordinate between all sports clubs.”
Evin Sheikho, 17, a player in the Falcons basketball
club in Afrin, told Al-Monitor, “We train two days a week, and our training
includes fitness exercises as well. I have been a basketball fan since I was
young, and I aspire to be a professional player in the future, but for now, I
am happy that I have the opportunity to enjoy myself and stay fit.”
Many girls and women in Afrin encourage sports in
general, and basketball teams in particular. “Women's sports, in general, are
subject to criticism given the society we live in and the customs that prohibit
women from engaging in many activities," Abeer al-Halabi, a schoolteacher
in Afrin, told Al-Monitor. "I believe such restrictions have begun to fade
away in opposition areas, with the support of local institutions, such as the
local council in Afrin.”
Halabi pointed out, “Women in the northern and eastern
countryside of Aleppo were able to overcome society’s inherited customs and
traditions, and they began to participate with men in all aspects of life, not
just in sports.”
Nawras Dibeen, an official in the sports office at
Afrin’s local council, told Al-Monitor that the office gives great importance
to female athletes of all ages, noting that they participate in different
tournaments, under the supervision of coaches and specialists.
Women's sports, and basketball, in particular, need to
hold tournaments to strengthen the teams, he said, especially since teams are
in dire need of friendly matches to improve their skills.
Women's basketball teams receive no financial support.
"Support is limited to securing the appropriate court to play all the
games," Dibeen said, "and so far no team has gone to Turkey to attend
training camps there."
Source: Al Monitor
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/12/syrian-women-and-girls-aleppo-find-new-outlet-sports
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The forgotten legacy of Fatima Sheikh, India’s first
Muslim teacher
SAAD HASAN
Regarded as one of the earliest social reformers, very
little is known about the woman who challenged patriarchy and conservative
norms.
On January 9, Google honoured Fatima Sheikh, a
reformer and educationist, with a doodle on its homepage on her 191st birth
anniversary.
Sheikh is widely regarded as India’s first Muslim
woman teacher. She taught at an all-girls school in the 1840s, despite severe
opposition from feudals and conservatives who followed a rigid caste
system.
That was a time when only privileged men had access to
schools.
But her work has largely been forgotten - she’s
relegated to a few tweets and articles. There’s even debate around her exact
date of birth.
People have taken a renewed interest in her story amid
concerns that the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
is systematically undermining minorities, especially Muslims.
“We don’t look at partition or events leading up to it
with any degree of neutrality. I think there is desire to demonise (Muhammad
Ali) Jinnah and what happened in the 25
years before 1947,” Aakar Patel, head of Amnesty International India, tells TRT
World.
“Because of that, there is a reluctance to try and
understand what Muslim life was before parition.”
India and Pakistan declared independence from British
rule in August, 1947. Jinnah envisaged Pakistan as a country mostly for
Muslims.
While millions of Muslims migrated to Pakistan, many
stayed back in hopes of making a future in secular India. Today, more than 14
percent of India’s 1.2 billion population is Muslim.
Experts say Hindu nationalist leaders are trying to
erase the contribution of minorities, especially Muslims like Fatima Sheikh,
from India’s history.
“Muslims have been marginalised in ways which only
partly include wiping them out of history books. If you look at the political
representation of Muslims in India, it is at its lowest point,” says Patel.
None of India’s 28 states is governed by a Muslim
chief minister. There’s not a single Muslim minister in 15 states. And there’s
no Muslim among the 303 MPs of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the
lower house known as Lok Sabha.
When like-minded people join hands
Fatima Sheikh’s legacy is closely intertwined with
that of Savitribai and Jotirao Phule, a wife-husband duo, who started India’s
first school for girls in 1848 in the second most populous state of
Maharashtra.
The Phules were Shudras, a lower scheduled caste, and
faced severe resistance for their work, which included advocacy for female
education and challenging the hold of the upper caste Brahmin Hindus.
In the mid-19th century and even until much later it
was common for Brahmins to bar people from other communities to gain an
education. Society was rigidly divided along the lines of caste, communities
and gender.
Even Jotirao Phule’s own family turned against him
when he insisted that his wife, Savitribai, learn to read and write.
When the Phules were forced out of their home, it was
Fatima and her brother, Usman Sheikh, who gave them refuge in their home in the
city of Pune.
It was in the Sheikh’s home that the first all-girls
school, Indigenous Library, was opened.
“Here, Savitribai Phule and Fatima Sheikh taught
communities of marginalized Dalit and Muslim women and children who were denied
education based on class, religion, or gender,” Google said.
For Fatima Sheikh and Savitribai, who had attended a
missionary school to become trained teachers, it wasn’t easy to convince
parents to enroll their daughters.
Sheikh spent hours going door to door to convince her
neighbours. Those must have been trying times.
“Even though upper-caste men and women threw mud and
cow-dung at her and passed all sorts of abuse as she walked on the streets,
Fatima Sheikh pursued her cause,” writes Ankita Apurva in Live Wire.
Islam encourages educating both men and women but some
Muslim families forbid girls from going to school. A class divide meant that
people like Sheikh who belonged to a farming family, faced hurdles of their
own.
Among the many admirers of Sheikh is Dr Mahino Fatima,
an Indian neurobiologist.
Mahino says she belongs to a cloth weaving family,
which was historically denied access to education.
“How can I become a scientist if I have not attended a
primary school? She brought up the idea that we can also study the curriculum
which men read. The idea that girls and boys can have similar education was a
huge step forward,” she tells TRT World.
Sheikh taught at various schools that the Phules ran
over the years.
Eventually her efforts paid off and girls from
different castes and backgrounds who wouldn’t otherwise socialise, sat under
one roof to take their lessons.
The Indigenous Library was also different in the sense
that it didn’t focus on religious texts that most schools taught in those days.
Phules and Sheikhs stressed on girls getting an education
in mathematics, science and social studies.
Within four years after Savitribai started the school,
the girls enrollment was ten times higher than the number of boys studying at
any government school in the area.
The impact of Fatima’s collaboration with the Phules
went beyond education. It was one of the earsliest examples of when a Muslim
joined hands with someone from a lower Hindu caste for a common cause.
Her achievements were partly recognised a few years
back when the Maharashtra State Bureau included
her brief bio in Urdu textbooks.
But unfortunately, many aspects of her life remain
shrouded in mystery. For instance, no one knows for sure what happened to
Sheikh after 1956.
As journalist Dilip Mandal wrote: “Fatima Sheikh
continues to fight for her rightful place in history.”
Source: Trt World
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Women’s Team Enforces Corona Rules In Kuwait
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 8, (Agencies): The Kuwaiti Public
Authority for Manpower (PAM) announced on Thursday that a field team of women
will follow up the implementation of the Cabinet’s decision to temporarily stop
holding all kinds of social events in closed places in light of the
precautionary measures to confront the spread of the new corona virus
infection. In a statement issued by PAM on the sidelines of its meeting with
the Kuwait Hotels Association, the commissioned director general of the
authority, Eman Al- Ansari, stated that the field team was assigned to follow
up on hotels and relevant authorities to ensure that health requirements
related to the fight against COVID-19 are implemented.
The supervisory team in Hawalli Governorate conducted
field tours to ascertain shops and commercial complexes adhere to health SOPs
Al-Ansari indicated that the team will conduct
permanent inspection tours of event halls and closed places, and hold violators
accountable in the event of non-compliance with the application of health
requirements and take the necessary measures. It is noteworthy that the Council
of Ministers decided on the third of January to temporarily stop holding all
kinds of social events that are held in closed places from January 9 until
February 28, provided that the decision is reviewed in light of the
epidemiological situation at the time.
The Council of Ministers also decided to obligate all
those coming to the country to conduct a PCR examination 72 hours before
arrival stating that they are free of infection with the corona virus. While
the Council of Ministers postponed taking a decision regarding the
recommendations of the Corona Emergency Committee, a number of private schools
informed parents that they will conduct online classes for one week after the
New Year holiday, starting Sunday, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources from
the educational sector.
According to sources, the schools that will adopt the
distance education system have obtained approval from the Ministry of
Education, especially since some expatriate teachers in these schools who
travelled during the holiday must abide by the prescribed home quarantine
period of at least 72 hours upon their return to the country. Meanwhile, Head
of the Paediatric Emergency Unit at Adan Hospital Dr Marzouq Al-Azmi has
stressed the need for schools to remain open and continuous class attendance
for students; asserting the necessary precautionary measures have been taken
such as limiting the number of students in each class, online education should
no longer be implemented, reports Al-Anba daily.
Source: Arab Times Online
https://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/womens-team-enforces-rules-hotels-halls-targeted/
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Harassment Of Muslim Women In India Through Social
Media Apps Must Be Condemned, Prosecuted As Soon As They Occur: UN
12th January 2022
United Nations: Harassment of Muslim women in India
through social media apps such as “Sulli Deals” must be condemned and
prosecuted as soon as they occur, a UN Special Rapporteur has said.
UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Dr Fernand de
Varennes took to Twitter to raise concern on the issue of minorities in India,
saying Muslim women in India are harassed and sold in social media apps .
“#Minority Muslim women in #India are harassed &
‘sold’ in #socialmedia apps, #SulliDeals, a form of #HateSpeech, must be
condemned and prosecuted as soon as they occur. All #HumanRights of minorities
need to be fully & equally protected, Varennes said in a tweet on Tuesday.
The Delhi Police last week arrested Aumkareshwar
Thakur, 26, who is believed to be the creator of “Sulli Deals” app from Madhya
Pradesh’s Indore, the first arrest made in the case.
Hundreds of Muslim women were listed for auction on
the mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and
doctored.
The accused, a Bachelor of Computer Application degree
holder, admitted that he was a member of a group on Twitter and the idea to
defame and troll Muslim women was shared there.
“He admitted that he had developed the code/app on
GitHub. After the uproar regarding the Sulli Deals app, he had deleted all his
social media footprints,” a senior police officer said.
In a separate “Bulli Bai” case, the Delhi Police on
January 1 registered an FIR in connection with an online complaint submitted by
a city-based woman journalist against unknown persons for allegedly uploading
her doctored picture on a portal.
The case pertains to the creation of the ‘Bulli Bai’
app, which targeted Muslim women by putting up their images online for
“auction”.
According to Delhi Police, Niraj Bishnoi, 21, who was
arrested from Assam, was the alleged mastermind and creator of the ”Bulli Bai”
application.
He had disclosed during interrogation that he was in
touch with the person behind the Twitter handle @sullideals, the alleged
creator of the ”Sulli Deals” app that was hosted on GitHub in July last year.
Source: Siasat Daily
https://www.siasat.com/harassment-of-muslim-women-in-india-must-be-condemned-un-2257071/
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Sudanese women stage rally to protest killings
Buhram Abdel-Men'em
11.01.2022
KHARTOUM, Sudan
Dozens of Sudanese women staged a rally on Tuesday to
show solidarity with families of protesters killed by security forces.
Demonstrators waved photos of slain protesters during
the rally in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, amid calls for bringing
perpetrators to justice.
There was no comment from the Sudanese authorities on
the protest.
According to local medics, at least 63 protesters have
been killed since the Oct. 25 military takeover in Sudan when the military
dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared
a state of emergency.
Prior to the military takeover, Sudan was governed by
a sovereign council of military and civilian officials tasked with overseeing
the transition period until elections in 2023.
Hamdok resigned on Jan. 2, six weeks after he returned
to his post in a deal with army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, an agreement
rejected by most political groups in Sudan.
On Saturday, the UN mission in Sudan launched a
UN-facilitated intra-Sudanese political process in an effort to salvage the
country’s transition to democracy.
Source: Anadolu Agency
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/sudanese-women-stage-rally-to-protest-killings/2471148
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Nusrath, A Pharmacist, Won ¼ Kg Of Gold As Part Of A
Dubai Shopping Festival Raffle
10 Jan 2022
A woman in Dubai struck gold as she helped her boss
buy the precious metal for a relative. Nusrath, a pharmacist, won ¼ kg of gold
as part of a Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) raffle.
"I went with my manager to purchase some gold for
her relative, and they gave us a coupon. My manager told me to fill in my baby
daughter's name, which I did, not expecting anything. Alhamdulillah, we won 250
grammes of gold," she said. "At first, I thought it was a prank! We
have started to build our new home with this."
Nusrath is among some residents who have won gold in
the raffles run by the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group.
Zenat Khadr from Italy is another resident who has won
250 grammes of gold. Calling it a "belated birthday gift", Khadr
said: "I went with my mom to the Gold Souk to get a late birthday gift and
once we finalised the payment, the cashier passed me the token to fill it up. I
agreed, however I mentioned that I'm not that lucky. I still can't believe that
I have finally won."
Muhammad from Pakistan said he won the gold after
buying a gift for his mother: "I don't know how I won, to be honest, and
was very surprised as it was the last thing I was expecting … Now I can worry
about other things in life, excluding gold, for some time."
The Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group mega raffles are on
till January 29 and offer a chance to win a total of 25kg gold. Residents and
visitors who buy jewellery at any of the 180 participating outlets across Dubai
will enter the raffle.
Gold is only a part of the raffles on offer during the
ongoing 27th edition of the DSF. The total value of prizes is Dh30 million,
including cash prizes and gold.
Source: Khaleej Times
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/dubai-woman-wins-gold-after-going-shopping-with-boss
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