Shabnam Shabbir Shaikh Is India's First Doctorate In Wrestling Studies
New
Age Islam News Bureau
29 February 2024
·
Shabnam Shabbir Shaikh Is India's First Doctorate In
Wrestling Studies
·
Women’s Media Work May Be Banned If Faces Are Not
Covered: Afghanistan Journalists Centre
·
‘Can’t Protect Such Relationship’: Allahabad HC
Rejects Plea of Married Muslim Woman & Hindu Live-In Partner
·
An Iranian Woman And Her Daughter Flee Abuse In
Moving Indie Noora Niasari’s ‘Shayda’
·
Nation Has Rejected ‘May 9 Narrative’, Says PTI’s Dr
Yasmin Rashid
·
Malay Apex Court Dismisses BN Candidate’s Appeal,
Mas Ermieyati Remains As Masjid Tanah MP
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/shabnam-shaikh-wrestling/d/131820
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Shabnam
Shabbir Shaikh Is India's First Doctorate In Wrestling Studies
Dr.
Shabnam Shabbir Sheikh
-----
Aasha
Khosa
February
29, 2024
Shabnam
Shabbir Shaikh of Aambijalgaon, Maharashtra, trashes stereotypes of Indian
women. Having picked wrestling as her field, this 28-year-old woman has broken
all the shackles that a girl child faces while growing up in a small village.
Hailing
from the village Aambijalgaon, Karjat, of the district Ahmednagar Shabnam was
born in Jammu where her father Shabbir Sarabhai Shaikh was posted in the Indian
Army. She is the third child of her parents and she grew up seeing her mother
Rizwana Begum looking after the house and the family. However, Shabnam's father
always wanted his daughter to be brave, self-reliant, and break social
stereotypes.
A
great votary of women’s education Shabbir Shaikh encouraged his wife Rizwana
Begum to complete her MSc degree after their marriage.
Due
to her father's frequent postings across the country, Shabnam did her schooling
mostly at the Army schools in Ambala, Udhampur, Srinagar, and Ahmedabad. After
her father's retirement, the family settled in their native village and Shabnam
joined the local school.
She
joined the 11th class in the Dada Patil College, Karjat, in the science stream.
despite an irregular and sluggish bus service to Karjat, she somehow managed to
study and also attend coaching for wrestling.
Shabnam
completed her Bachelor of Physical Education (BPE) from Aurangabad
(Sambhajinagar). She also got a diploma certificate in Coaching from the
National Institute of Patiala, Punjab, and later did her Master’s from Babasaheb
Ambedkar Marathwada University and then registered for her PhD studies.
Shabnam’s
wrestling career began at the age of seven with her father as her coach.
Shabnam says, “'My father is my first guru.”
Shabnam
came from a family of wrestlers: her grandfather Sadarbhai Shaikh and
great-grandfather were well-known wrestlers in the area. Their ancestral house
has a wrestling arena where she watched male members of her family and
neighbours practice wrestling.
Shabnam
had to face the scorn and disapproval of her extended family and relatives when
she started practicing wrestling. People even asked her family why she was
allowed to wear shorts.
Shabnam
started with Kabaddi, a game that requires a lot of alacrity and stamina.
Initially,
she did not get to enter the arena where her brothers wrestled, so she took to
Kabbadi. “I used to think that if I wrestle and win that will be my victory.
Even if I lose, it will also be my failure. Will happen... I expressed my
desire to wrestle to my father. He responded positively.”
Shabnam's
father had a precondition for training her. He wanted her to concentrate on
training and practice for the first two years. She started receiving training
from her father and two elder brothers.
Every
morning at 4 o'clock she was sent to pick lemons from their farm located about
10 km away. She learned the nuances of wrestling and participated in her first
competition in Ludhiana (Punjab). She bagged a silver medal and there started
her winning streak.
Shabnam
says, “Once in my village, my father came to know about a competition in Delhi.
I was just 10 years old at that time. He gave me a paper with the address
written on it and a train ticket and wished me good luck for the journey.”
At
that time she wondered why she was going alone, 'Why don't my parents come with
me? But my father always used to tell me that some battles in life have to be
fought alone,” she says going down memory lane.
Shabnam
won the title of 'Women Maharashtra Kesari' in 2010. She has won the gold medal
in 'Shirdi Kesari' for three consecutive years since 2009, the gold medal in
'Latur' in 2011, gold medal in the 'Maharashtra State Kustigir Parishad'
competition for six consecutive years.
She
has also participated in four inter-university competitions, 10 national
competitions, and more than 15 state-level competitions. In the national level
'Great Bharatkumari Wrestling Competition', Shabnam is the first winner not
only from the Muslim community but also from Maharashtra.
Shabnam
says her father taught her that one doesn’t need an outer veil. “Always keep
the veil that differentiates between good and bad people in front of your
eyes!" he told her.
Shabnam
says, "People used to question my parents’ ways. A girl should not play
sports like wrestling. Teach her to fast (during Ramazan) and pray. Don't you
want only boys to play wrestling? Hundreds of questions were asked but my
parents did not let the pressure of society affect me.
“My
father never changed his opinion under the pressure of society. He never let
these things affect my game. I always got the support of my parents and my
elder brothers.”
Shabnam's
mother Rizwana Begum says, "I have not two, but three 'sons'! My brothers
did not give me a share of our parents' property. But, I will not let this
injustice happen to my daughter. I will give her everything she deserves.
Shabnam has brought glory to us. As a mother, I will always be proud of
her."
Shabnam’s
thesis for her Ph.D. degree is 'Comparative study of emotional maturity of
rural and urban women wrestlers in Maharashtra'. She toured the entire state
for research.
Shabnam
is the first woman in India to do a doctorate in sports studies. While doing
her Ph.D. in Wrestling, there were often deliberate attempts to embarrass and
thwart her effort to earn a doctorate.
In the
year 2017, Shabnam was selected as the junior coach of the Wrestling Women's
Association of India; she imparted wrestling training to Anushka Sharma and
Salman Khan for the film 'Sultan'. Shabnam has represented India in Kazakhstan,
and Uzbekistan.
She
currently works as a 'Senior Trainer' in the 'Wrestling Women's Association' of
India. India has never had success in the 'World Women's Wrestling
Championship' till now. However, in the 'Under-20 World Championship' of 2023
India won seven medals in 'Women's Wrestling'. Out of these, three are gold
medals.
Dr.
Shabnam Shaikh is today known as the 'International Wrestling Coach.
Shabnam
says, "I was selected as the coach of 'Maharashtra Team' for the national
tournament held in Gujarat last year. Twenty-four hours ago, my name was
canceled! I was not given any idea about this."
"Many
times, despite having the right credentials and qualifications, I am not given
a chance. Probably, because I live with self-respect! I always think that when
someone asks me, “How did you get all this?' I should proudly tell him, 'I have
earned it through my hard work.'
Shabnam
says, "Wrestling gave me identity. Sometimes I wonder, 'Is wrestling a
curse or a blessing for me?' Initially, relatives and other people of the
society hated seeing me wrestle.
“Later,
when I started winning competitions, people would post the news of my success
on their 'status' on various social media platforms and write the caption,
'Congratulations and best wishes to our sister or relative.'
After
reading the news of my winning, I became everyone's relative at that time! But,
they speak against me on behind my back! However, now they hesitate to speak
against me openly!”
Shabnam
says, "Most of the time I am rejected for marriage. I play wrestling. The
suitors who come to see as a potential candidate for marriage, see my trophies
and see 'Doctor' written next to my name. When they go home their answer is,
'We don't want such an educated girl.'"
Shabnam
continues to work hard to ensure that other girls do not face what she has. Her
advice to the youth: “No matter what happens, do not get tired. Do not give up
the fight.” Her dream is to build a wrestling center for girls.
Source:
awazthevoice.in
https://www.awazthevoice.in/women-news/shabnam-shaikh-is-india-s-first-doctorate-in-wrestling-studies-27414.html
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Women’s
Media Work May Be Banned If Faces Are Not Covered: Afghanistan Journalists
Centre
A
female presenter for TOLO news covers her face during a live broadcast at Tolo
TV station in Kabul (AFP via Getty Images)
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Fidel
Rahmati
February
29, 2024
The
Afghanistan Journalists Centre reports that the Minister of Virtue and Vice for
the Taliban has issued a warning that if female reporters do not cover their
faces on television, women’s work in the media may be prohibited.
Expressing
concern, the centre has called for the cancellation of this Taliban decree.
The
Afghanistan Journalists Centre stated on Wednesday that Mohammad Khalid Hanafi,
the Taliban’s Minister of Virtue and Vice, raised this issue in a meeting with
media representatives in Kabul.
Hanafi
warned that if women do not cover their faces when appearing on television or
in visual interviews, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban supreme leader
may completely ban women’s activities in the media.
The
Journalists Centre said that this meeting took place on Tuesday with the
presence of officials and media representatives at a hotel in Kabul.
The
Afghanistan Journalists Centre, while warning of the possibility of issuing a
directive banning women’s work in the media, urged the Taliban to cancel its
new media guidelines and allow journalists and media outlets to continue their
activities by public media laws.
This
comes that some media representatives informed this centre that Abdul Ghafoor
Farooq, the spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Virtue and vice,
recommended to media representatives to observe employees, especially women,
wearing a “black covering with only their eyes visible.”
He
also urged media officials to refrain from interviewing women whose faces are
visible or who are not wearing masks.
Source:
khaama.com
https://www.khaama.com/womens-media-work-may-be-banned-if-faces-are-not-covered-afjc/
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‘Can’t
Protect Such Relationship’: Allahabad HC Rejects Plea of Married Muslim Woman
& Hindu Live-In Partner
FEBRUARY
28, 2024
The
Allahabad High Court recently refused to allow a protection plea filed by a
Muslim married woman, who had left her husband’s house voluntarily, and her
Hindu live-in partner.
A
bench of Justice Renu Agarwal noted that the 26-year-old woman along with her
five-year-old girl child had left the house of her husband without any
reasonable cause and there was no document on record to show that she had
obtained any decree of divorce from the court of competent jurisdiction.
“Hence
she is still the legally wedded wife of respondent no.5 (woman’s husband) and
she is living in adultery with petitioner no.2 (her live-in partner),” the
court held.
Therefore,
the court refused to give any direction to protect the relationship of the
woman with her 25-year-old live-in partner.
“The
court could not protect such type of relationship which is not supported by
law. If the court indulges in such type of cases and grants protection to
illegal relationships, then it will create chaos in the society,” it said.
The
woman and her partner moved the high court by filing a writ petition under
Article 226 of the Constitution with prayer for issuing writ, order or
direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondents (the State
authorities and private parties including the woman’s husband) to not disturb
the married life of the petitioners.
The
counsel for the petitioners submitted that the woman, who was a Muslim by
birth, had been earlier married to a Muslim man. He alleged that the woman’s
earlier husband was a habitual drinker and he regularly used to assault her. He
claimed that when the woman informed her parents about it, they did not take
any action and therefore, she left the house of her husband and started to live
with her present partner.
The
woman’s counsel alleged that her earlier husband was threatening her and her
present partner. He further apprised the court that the woman had moved an
application before the Superintendent of Police for providing protection to
their matrimonial life, but no protection was provided to them, hence they
moved the present petition before the high court.
On
the other hand, the standing counsel for the State submitted that the woman’s
current relationship with her live-in partner was adulterous and also being a
Muslim-Hindu couple, they had not complied with the provisions of sections 8
and 9 of Conversion Act before entering into a relationship, therefore, their
relationship could not be protected by law.
The
Court agreed with the submission and opined that “such type of illegal
relationship need not be protected by court” and the petitioners were not
entitled to get any type of protection from the high court.
The
court, therefore, held that petition had no force and was liable to be
dismissed with cost. Accordingly, court dismissed the plea with cost of Rs.
2,000 and directed the petitioners to deposit the costs before the mediation
centre of this Court within 15 days from the date of the order.
Source:
news18.com
https://www.news18.com/india/cant-protect-such-relationship-allahabad-hc-rejects-plea-of-married-muslim-woman-hindu-live-in-partner-8796279.html
---
An
Iranian Woman And Her Daughter Flee Abuse In Moving Indie
NooraNiasari’s‘Shayda’
Feb
29, 2024
An
Iranian woman and her daughter flee abuse in moving indie ‘Shayda’
NooraNiasari’s
delicately moving “ Shayda ” puts the viewer in the shoes of an Iranian woman
in Australia living in a women’s shelter with her 6-year-old daughter.
The
violence happens before we enter the story, and yet actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi’s
face and body tells us everything we need to know. Whatever bruises might have
been there are gone, but the pain and trauma is palpable. We understand
immediately that she is terrified of her husband, of what he’s done and of what
he might do, especially as she begins a process that would have been
unthinkable in Iran: divorce.
We’re
introduced to Shayda (Ebrahimi) and Mona (a heartbreaking film debut for young
actor Selina Zahednia) as they attempt to act out what the child should do if
her father tries to flee the country with her. It is tense and overwhelming, a
delicate dance of conveying danger and urgency without explicitly saying so.
“Shayda”
is the directorial debut of Niasari, who based it on her own experiences. She
was the young child in the shelter with her mother 30-some years ago. In a
director’s statement she said it was her first experience of freedom. Even
without knowing this, it’s evident that this is a gaze that isn’t just
empathetic. Niasari isn’t just interested in showing Shayda’s fear. There is a
considerable amount of the film in which we get to just watch Shayda and Mona
being together, playing, dancing, debating haircuts and enjoying one another’s
company. It's a love letter to a mother who was able to preserve some of the
magic of childhood during an incredibly difficult time.
With
a different storyteller, “Shayda” could have easily been exploitative or
manipulative, but Niasari and her actors make it feel like real life. There are
no grand monologues overexplaining everything or gratuitous flashbacks of the
abuse — they’re not needed, and its more powerful and compelling because of the
absence.
As
they carefully make their case for custody, Mona’s father Hossein (Osamah Sami)
is granted unsupervised time with her. Niasari similarly makes a carefully
considered case in depicting him. When we meet him, he is gentle and
deferential, but the cracks of jealously and possessiveness and ingrained
cultural expectations begin to show in subsequent encounters. Shayda can barely
look at him. Meanwhile he’s proposing they go back to Iran immediately.
“Shayda”
excels in illuminating the isolation of an abusive relationship, even once
there’s been physical separation. Her friends don’t even know where she and
Mona have been living. Her mother, on the phone, wonders what she must have
done as word of the rift has reached Iran. And yet, even with the pressures,
she starts to carve out her own existence away from the suffocating constraints
of her home country. She cuts her hair, she goes out dancing, in a briefly
joyous sequence, and she even allows herself to flirt with a man. There is a
distinct and moving growth arc as she evolves from the wounded bird in hiding
who we meet at the beginning.
There
is a bit of a movie contrivance (that may still be rooted in reality), in that
we’re watching all of this play out during Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in
which Shayda and Mona are often in public with people who know both them and
Hossein. This, of course, means that he will show up at some point and cause a
scene.
His
character, however, leaves something to be desired. You understand enough,
though, and ultimately this film isn’t about him. During a climactic moment in
which he does indeed cause quite a scene, you can hear another man off camera
say that he has a right to see his wife (yes, even in this rageful state). It’s
kind of a throwaway line but it also says everything about the uphill battle
that she faces just trying to separate from him. In a different scene, Hossein
reminds her in no uncertain terms that she’d be killed in Iran for her actions.
“Shayda”
is set in 1995 and yet still feels quite relevant, and not just for Iranian
women. In Niasari, we have a brave and distinctive new filmmaking voice and I
can’t wait to see what she does next.
“Shayda,”
a Sony Pictures Classics release in theaters Friday, is rated PG-13 by the
Motion Picture Association for “thematic material, domestic abuse, some
violence, language.” Running time: 118 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Source:
hindustantimes.com
https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/hollywood/movie-review-an-iranian-woman-and-her-daughter-flee-abuse-in-moving-indie-shayda-101709155256627.html
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Nation
Has Rejected ‘May 9 Narrative’, Says PTI’s Dr Yasmin Rashid
February
29, 2024
Wajih
Ahmad Sheikh
LAHORE:
PTI’s Punjab president Dr Yasmin Rashid on Wednesday said the nation had
rejected the “May 9 narrative” by voting the party-backed candidates in the Feb
8 general election.
The
mandate of people was stolen on Feb 9, the next day of elections, Ms Rashid
said while talking to reporters in an antiterrorism court, where she and other
PTI leaders were taken from jail for the hearing of May 9 violence cases
against them.
Criticising
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the PTI leader said the Ramazan package
announced by the former was not enough for poor people of the province.
She
said Ms Nawaz had discussed the health card scheme at length in her maiden
speech on the floor of the assembly, but ignored the poverty of citizens who
were unable to feed their children.
“The
princess has no knowledge of people’s miseries,” she taunted Ms Nawaz. “I know
what poverty is as I have served in a government hospital for 35 years.”
Ms
Rashid alleged that the daughter of a three-time prime minister was elected to
the assembly by rigging the election, claiming those who lost in Form 45, won
in Form 47.
Earlier,
the court adjourned the hearing of three cases against the PTI leaders and
activists till March 7.
Imprisoned
Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, former governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema and former
provincial minister Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed were also produced before the court.
Source:
dawn.com
https://www.dawn.com/news/1817906/nation-has-rejected-may-9-narrative-says-yasmin
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Malay
Apex Court Dismisses BN Candidate’s Appeal, Mas ErmieyatiRemains As Masjid
Tanah MP
28-02-
2024
PUTRAJAYA:
Datuk Mas ErmieyatiSamsudin remains as Masjid Tanah Member of Parliament (MP)
after the Federal Court here today dismissed BarisanNasional (BN) candidate
Abdul Hakim Abdul Wahid’s appeal to nullify her victory in the 15th General
Election (GE15).
A
three-member bench comprising Justices Tan Sri NalliniPathmanathan, Datuk Mary
Lim ThiamSuan and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais held that the Election Court judge was
not wrong in his finding when dismissing Abdul Hakim’s election petition.
Reading
out the decision, Justice Nallini said the appellant’s counsel submitted that
the Election Court judge had fallen into error in failing to infer from the
available evidence that an offence of bribery under Section 10(a) of the
Election Offences Act 1954.
“However,
the counsel for the respondent (Mas Ermieyati) contends otherwise. The pivotal
point turns on the term ‘induce any elector or voter to vote or refrain from voting’.
“We
were urged to infer that inducement within the meaning of Section 10(a) can be
deduced from the mere act of money being given to a voter post-voting, without
more. We make it clear that we find any act of monies being handed out for
votes or the like, as being abhorrent and something no court would condone in
any event,” she said.
Justice
Nallini further said Section 10 (a) expressly requires evidence of inducement
means that the voter has to be persuaded or led to vote or not vote by some act
or promise of money or other consideration.
“In
this appeal, there is no evidence of the voters being persuaded or influenced
or induced to vote or not to vote or to vote in any particular manner. There is
no extrinsic evidence from which such inducement can be inferred,” she said.
Justice
Nallini also questioned whether the act of paying money to voters had any
influence on their decision to vote, given that the voters had already voted
and were not promised payment or aware of any money being distributed behind
the restaurant.
“Put
another way, in the absence of any evidence of a promise of money or other
consideration at any time, present or future, preceding the act of voting, can
it be said that the voter was induced to vote by the respondent or its agent?
“We
do not think so. This is because the Act itself requires the element of
inducement to be made out. There can be no bribery under Section 10(a) without
the element of inducement being established,” she added.
On
Jan 3, last year Abdul Hakim filed the election petition alleging bribery in
the form of cash and feasts to secure votes during GE15.
In
GE15, Mas Ermieyati won with 25,604 votes, defeating Abdul Hakim (21,193
votes), Mutalib Uthman (7,445 votes) and Handrawirawan Abu Bakar (507 votes).
Earlier,
lawyer Datuk MohdHafarizam Harun, representing Abdul Hakim, argued that the
Election Court judge had erred when he ruled that the appellant had failed to
prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
He
said the judge failed to consider the testimony of three witnesses who received
money from two agents of the respondents (Akmal and Noorashimah) in the
compound of a house in Masjid Tanah on the polling day on Nov 19, 2022, and the
feast held on Dec 3, 2022.
“There
were acts of bribery and graft under Section 32(c) and Section 10 of the
Election Offenses Act, as well as bribery in the form of feasting under Section
8 of the same Act,” said the lawyer.
Lawyer
YusfarizalYusoff, representing Mas Ermieyati, argued that the Election judge
made the correct decision based on facts and the law in dismissing the
appellant’s petition.
“The
Election Court judge ruled that the two individuals alleged to have committed
bribery were not agents of the respondents, and the appellant failed to prove
that bribery money was given to three appellant witnesses, who are registered
voters in the area (Masjid Tanah),” he said, adding that the judge also ruled
that the feast held by the respondent after the GE15 was not intended to gain
votes. –Bernama
Source:
thesun.my
https://thesun.my/local_news/apex-court-dismisses-bn-candidate-s-appeal-mas-ermieyati-remains-as-masjid-tanah-mp-NH12151963
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/shabnam-shaikh-wrestling/d/131820