Women Take Part in Saudi National Day Military Parade For First Time
New
Age Islam News Bureau
24
September 2021
• Hindu, Muslim Women Donate Kidneys to Save Life of Each Other's Spouse
•
Camera Maker Canon Reveals 30% Saudi Women Employees Target By 2023
•
Indian Women Journalists' Group Raises Rs 37 Lakh for Afghan Counterparts
•
After Nur Sajat’s Case, 25 Civil Society Organisations Warn Of Growing
Religious Restrictions In Malaysia
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/saudi-national-military-women/d/125429
--------
Women take part in Saudi National Day military parade for first time
24
September 2021
Members of a female military unit participate in a celebratory march past during the Saudi National Day celebrations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 23, 2021. (Reuters)
------
Women
took part in the annual Saudi National Day military parade for the first time
in the Kingdom’s history on Thursday.
Female
soldiers of different ranks marched in the hour-long parade in commemoration of
Saudi Arabia’s 91st National Day.
The
Ministry of Interior, in collaboration with the General Entertainment Authority
(GEA), had organized the event in the capital Riyadh. A similar parade was also
held in the city of Jeddah.
Hundreds
of Saudi nationals and residents attended the event, and waved the Saudi flag
and cheered as the soldiers marched on.
Saudi
National Day is celebrated annually on September 23 to mark the renaming of the
Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 following a
royal decree from King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud.
The
GEA organized dozens of activities and events that will take place to mark the
occasion, starting from September 23 to 25. The Ministry of Health urged all
citizens and residents to adhere to precautionary measures throughout the
celebrations to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Vision
2030 and Saudi women
In
February, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense announced that women could now
apply for positions in the military through their unified admission portal.
The
move comes under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 initiative,
introducing reforms that advance Saudi Arabian women in various fields.
Women
were allowed to join the Saudi Arabian Army, Royal Saudi Air Defense, Royal
Saudi Navy, Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force, and Armed Forces Medical
Services.
Saudi
Arabian women have also been recruited as soldiers, lance corporals, corporals,
sergeants, and staff sergeants, according to the ministry.
To
join the armed forces, a woman must be between the age of 21 and 40 years old,
be 155 centimeters tall or above, and cannot be a government employee.
She
must also pass admission procedures, have a clean criminal record, and be
medically fit for service.
Sarah Attar of Saudi Arabia competes in the women's 800-meter Round 1
heats on Day 12 of the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 8, 2012, in London,
England. (Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)
-----
A
Saudi Arabian woman must also hold an independent national identity card, have
at least a high school education, and cannot be married to a non-Saudi Arabian
citizen.
Source:
Al Arabiya
--------
Hindu,
Muslim women donate kidneys to save life of each other's spouse
23rd
September 2021
DEHRADUN:
At a time of widening gulf between faiths, Sushma Uniyal (48) and Sultana
Khatoon (46) came together to save each other's husband's life.
Setting
an example both agreed to donate their kidneys for each other's spouse. The
transplant has been successful last week and the receivers -- Ashraf Ali (51)
and Vikas Uniyal (50) are doing fine.
The
husbands of both women were on dialysis and required kidney donation. After
much inquiry and search donors were found.
Sushma
Uniyal, the wife of Vikas Uniyal, said, "I can't express my gratitude in
words. I am thankful beyond anything to Sultana Khatoon and her family. We
decided to help each other and here we are, two happy families."
Sultana
Khatoon, whose husband received a kidney from Sushma Uniyal said, "Sushma
ji has become my soul sister. The bond of humanity is stronger than any
relation in this world. I thank Sushma ji and her family for saving the life of
my husband."
Uniyal
further said her husband's kidneys were adversely affected to the extent that
he was on hemodialysis for more than two years now.
"Doctors
recommended kidney transplant but we were not able to find a match among family
members and relatives including me. Then doctors from the Himalayan hospital
told us about Ashraf Ali who also needed a transplant. We went through the
paperwork and decided to help each other," says Uniyal.
A
team of doctors has been monitoring both men who are now stable and doing fine
in a hospital in Rishikesh.
Senior
urologist Dr Kim J Momin, whose team performed the transplant, said: "Both
the transplants have been successful and the teams are monitoring their
health."
Members
of the civil society appraised the gesture of both the families.
Anno
Nautiyal, a Dehradun-based activist and think tank, said, "This is an
incredible example of our culture, values and the code we have lived by since
times immemorial. Helping each other in a time of need, saving a life of a
fellow citizen is the supreme contribution one can make. We all should take a
cue from both these great women."
Source:
New Indian Express
--------
Camera
maker Canon reveals 30% Saudi women employees target by 2023
September
23, 2021
DUBAI:
The Saudi Arabia unit of global camera maker Canon wants 30 percent of its
employees to be Saudi women by the end of 2023.
The
move is in line with national efforts to integrate more women into the
Kingdom’s workforce.
Canon
said it has been working towards this target since 2018, when it first opened
offices in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al-Khobar, but has now made the goal public.
It
has previously teamed up with King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah to develop
technology-enabled training, which the camera maker said was proof of its
“commitment to support young talent” in the Kingdom.
The
company partnered with Mohammed Al-Mana College for Medical Sciences to fund
one female student’s school expenses, including tuition and housing.
It
has also launched a “Women in Sales” internship program to further support the
2023 target.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1934321/business-economy
--------
Indian
Women Journalists' Group Raises Rs 37 Lakh for Afghan Counterparts
Ismat
Ara
New
Delhi: Amid fear and instances of rampant human rights violations since the
Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, a major worry has been the death knell to free
media.
The
Network of Women in Media, India, in solidarity with the “journalists and all
other beleaguered civilians in Afghanistan, especially women” had started a
fundraiser for Afghan women journalists on September 9.
Within
two weeks, the group has raised US $ 50,000, roughly about Rs 37 lakh.
‘Drop
in the ocean
With
only one week left for the fundraiser to end, the group hopes to raise more
money as financial support is one of the main requirements of women journalists
in Afghanistan.
The
money raised will be used to cover the costs of the fundraiser and the
remaining bulk will be donated directly to the cause.
“It
is a tiny drop in an ocean of need. Funds are required for flight tickets,
visas, and even for daily subsistence and milk for children. So we hope to
raise much more,” Laxmi Murthy, a journalist based in Bengaluru and member of
the Network of Women in Media, India, said.
Started
in partnership with the Media Safety and Solidarity Fund, the NWMI has
organised a print sale of photographs by the Associated Press.
Unable
to work, move, forced to flee
Murthy,
who has been leading this initiative said the swift takeover of Afghanistan by
the Taliban in early August left her and other members of the NWMI horrified.
The
women journalists in Afghanistan that Murthy and NWMI were in touch with, she
says, described their situation as dangerous. “They were unable to work, unable
to even move around and forced to flee the provinces and go into hiding as they
were being targeted,” she told The Wire.
The
NWMI statement reads, “Women journalists [in Afghanistan] that the NWMI has
been in contact with are bearing witness to the utter chaos, terror and
uncertainty as the nightmare of a brutal Taliban reign becomes a reality,
pushing back decades of hard-won progress for women and girls, upon whom the
Taliban has meted out particularly horrific treatment merely on account of
their gender.”
In
2015, the NWMI had reached out to journalists at Radio Roshani, the all-women
radio station in Kunduz that had been destroyed by the Taliban, putting out a
statement in their support.
“This
time too, we reached out as an act of professional solidarity with women
journalists who tell stories of their people, exposing ground realities at
great risk to themselves,” Murthy said.
Murthy
on behalf of the NWMI said that it is the duty of Indian media persons to reach
across borders to our colleagues in distress, to show solidarity and let them
know they have not been “abandoned by the world”.
However,
from raising money to finally ensuring that it reaches the right place, this
initiative is full of challenges.
One
of the main challenges that the group is facing with Afghanistan’s banking
system having become “practically dysfunctional now,” Murthy says, is to ensure
that the funds reach the right people. But a system is in place to work this
out, she says.
Afghan
Journalists and danger
The
IFJ South Asia Press Freedom Report, titled ‘Insecurity and Uncertainty: The
Struggle to Survive’ says that eight journalists (four of them women) were
killed in Afghanistan between May 2020 and April 2021. It also says that close
to 20 journalists were wounded, at least 100 resigned and 50 forced to flee the
country.
The
report notes, “Such violence and a declining security situation represent a
serious counter threat to the achievements of the last two decades in the field
of freedom of expression and a free press in Afghanistan.”
Indian
photojournalist Danish Siddiqui had died in firing while embedded with Afghan
forces before the Taliban had completely taken over.
According
to The New York Times, more than a hundred local media companies including
radio stations have stopped operating since the Taliban took over. While some
were closed down, others were forced out of business by the Taliban.
Qari
Muhammad Yousuf Ahmadi is a Taliban spokesperson and interim director of the
Government Media and Information Center. His “11 rules for journalists” in
Afghanistan released this week included not publishing content that is either
in conflict with Islam or derogatory to national personalities.
He
has also instructed journalists to produce news reports in coordination with
the Taliban government.
The
women’s media network has also urged the government of India to extend all
possible support to vulnerable civilians and journalists in Afghanistan,
particularly women journalists.
Source:
The Wire
https://thewire.in/media/indian-women-journalists-group-raises-rs-37-lakh-for-afghan-counterparts
--------
After
Nur Sajat’s Case, 25 Civil Society Organisations Warn Of Growing Religious
Restrictions In Malaysia
24
Sep 2021
BY
RADZI RAZAK
KUALA
LUMPUR, Sept 24 — Twenty-five civil society organisations (CSOs) have warned of
growing restrictions on freedom of religion in Malaysia following cosmetic
entrepreneur Nur Sajat’s arrest by authorities in Thailand.
The
CSOs — which include leading rights organisations such as All Women’s Action
Society (Awam), Amnesty International Malaysia and Tenaganita — said several
state actors had responded with “alarming alacrity” since news of the arrest
was first reported by Malay daily Harian Metro on September 20.
They
cited, as among them, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director
Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan, who confirmed That the Royal Malaysia Police
(PDRM) is working with the Foreign Ministry and Attorney General’s Chambers to
extradite Nur Sajat from Thailand.
Nur
Sajat has been charged under Section 10 of the Syariah Criminal Offences
(Selangor Enactment) 1995 for allegedly insulting Islam.
“However,
PDRM reported that she is wanted for Section 9 instead of Section 10 of the
Syariah Criminal Offences (Selangor Enactment).
“The
latter two charges are allegedly related to a scuffle that took place on Jais
premises, when Jais officers proceeded to arrest her after taking her
statement. Nur Sajat reported that she was violently pinned down and
handcuffed. Nur Sajat also made a police report against the Jais officers on
January 13. However, the status of the investigation remains unknown,” said the
CSOs in a joint statement today.
In
the same statement, the CSOs also expressed concern about the threats faced by
transgenders and LGBTQ persons in Malaysia.
This,
they said, included the Perlis Fatwa Committee’s recent fatwa, titled “Hukum
Berinteraksi Dengan Mukhannath (Pondan/Mak
Nyah/Bapuk/Pengkid/Tomboi/Transgender)”, which translates to “A guide on
interacting with mukhannath (Pondan/Mak
Nyah/Bapuk/Pengkid/Tomboy/Transgender)”.
The
fatwa categorised these individuals as fasik (violators of Islamic laws) and
barred them from entering mosques and from performing the Haj and Umrah.
The
CSOs also highlighted PAS’ Bachok MP, Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, who
called for more state-sponsored rehabilitation programmes for LGBT persons in
Parliament on September 21.
“A
Suhakam study on the discrimination against transgender people based in Kuala
Lumpur and Selangor found that 72 of 100 respondents thought of migrating to
countries with better legal protection, legal gender recognition, accepting
environment, among others. Fifty-four respondents said that they don’t feel
safe living in Malaysia.
“According
to the Ministry of Home Affairs, between 2017 and 2018, over 50 per cent of
people who sought asylum in Australia were reportedly Malaysians. ‘LGBT’ and
discrimination on the grounds on ethnicity and religion are two of the four
main reasons cited by the Malaysian applicants. Other reasons include domestic
violence and family pressure,” said the CSOs.
The
CSOs then urged Malaysian authorities and the public to end all investigations
and harassment against Nur Sajat, and respect her right to seek asylum as
stated in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“We
recall that in its bid to secure a seat at the Human Rights Council, Malaysia
made several pledges during the Human Rights Council pledging session on
September 8, 2021. Malaysia reiterated its unequivocal commitment to advancing
human rights.
“In
line with this, the Malaysian government must respect the principles of
non-refoulement and Nur Sajat’s right to seek asylum,” they said.
Source:
Malay Mail
--------
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/saudi-national-military-women/d/125429