Sharbat Gula, the Afghan ‘Green-Eyed’ Girl Given Asylum by Italy
New Age Islam News Bureau
26
November 2021
Sabah
Shorbaji, a 39-Year-Old Palestinian Mother Recalls Emotional Abuse in Israeli
Jail
Afghan
Women Speak Up Against New Taliban Media Guidelines
Conference
Yields 11 Recommendations to Support and Empower Saudi Women
Strengthen
Cooperation to Protect Women, OIC Appeals to Member States
Violence
against Women Increases Due To COVID-19: UN Women Report
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/sharbat-gula-afghan-asylum-italy/d/125843
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Sharbat
Gula, the Afghan ‘Green-Eyed’ Girl Given Asylum by Italy
Sharbat
Gul, the Blue-eyed Afghan Girl
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25
Nov 2021
Sharbat
Gula, the Afghan ‘green-eyed’ girl whose photo went viral after being printed
on the cover of the National Geographic magazine in 1984, has now been given
asylum by Italy, the Italian government announced on Thursday.
The
office of Premier Mario Draghi said Italy organized the evacuation of Sharbat
Gula after she asked to be helped to leave the country. The Italian government
will now help to get her integrated into life in Italy, the statement said.
Sharbat
Gula and her family members have been taken to Italy as part of Afghanistan’s
emergency humanitarian program by the western countries.
She
got international fame after her photo taken by Steve McCurry was published on
the cover page of a National Geographic magazine in 1984. The photographer
found her again in 2002.
Sharbat
Gula used to live in a refugee camp in Pakistan for years and was forcefully
deported to Kabul in 2017 after she was accused of holding a fake Pakistani
identity card. The Afghan government welcomed her warm providing her with a
free government apartment.
Thousands
of notable Afghan women, officials, journalists, and rights activists have been
evacuated to Europe, England, Canada, and the United States following the fall
of Kabul in the hands of the Taliban on August 15, 2021.
Source: Khaama.com
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Sabah
Shorbaji, A 39-Year-Old Palestinian Mother Recalls Emotional Abuse In Israeli Jail
Salam
Abu Sharar
25.11.2021
JERUSALEM
Sabah
Shorbaji, a 39-year-old Palestinian mother, is trying to make up to her
children for the time she lost when she was in an Israeli prison.
At
the crack of dawn on June 16, 2016, tens of Israeli soldiers stormed her house
in the town of Ezaria, East Jerusalem and arrested her arbitrarily.
"They
separated me from my children aggressively. This was the first time I had left
them," she told Anadolu Agency.
A
few hours later, she found herself in the Ofer Prison in the West Bank where
she was exposed to several hours of interrogation. By sunset, she was
transferred to the Hasharon Prison, another detention facility.
Shorbaji
is among dozens of women who are rounded up by Israeli forces every year over
trumped up charges.
According
to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, there are 37 women in Israeli jails;
eight of them are mothers.
She
recalls that other inmates invited her to join the iftar (fast breaking) meal
as it was the Muslim month of Ramadan.
"I
cried the whole time thinking about my children, if they had had their food,"
she said.
For
more than four months, she was neither allowed to call her children, nor accept
any visits.
This
was a clear violation of rules.
According
to the International Committee of the Red Cross, visit permits for the inmate’s
families should be issued at least three months after the date of detention.
After
three months, she received a photo of her children as the prison service allows
five photos every two months.
"I
looked at their photos for hours, trying to read their eyes, hoping to hug them
one day," the mother of four said.
In
early October of that year, her children were allowed a visit.
She
spent four months in prison on administrative detention.
At
the end of this period, her children waited for her at a checkpoint, north of
the West Bank, but in vain. She was not released.
Israeli
authorities extended her detention for another four months.
"It
was a shock for us, I was counting days to my freedom," she said.
He
detention was extended four more times.
Her
children were allowed two monthly visits where they met with a glass panel
separating them.
According
to the rules of the Israeli Prison Service, children under the age of 6 have
the right to an open visit with their detained parents for 10 minutes every
month.
It
was particularly difficult for her when her children saw her in leg cuffs.
"There
were so many questions in their eyes. My heart burns every time I think of
this."
She
was finally released in 2017 and is now studying law at university with her
daughter.
Source: aa.com
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Afghan
Women Speak Up Against New Taliban Media Guidelines
Women journalists work in the
newsroom of the Kabul Weekly in the early 2000s [File: Ahmad Masood/Reuters]
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By
Farah Najjar
25
Nov 2021
Afghan
journalists and activists have expressed concern over a new “religious
guideline” issued by Taliban rulers, saying the move is yet another form of
control over women.
The
Taliban, which took over Afghanistan roughly 100 days ago, on Sunday urged
female journalists to follow a dress code and called on TV stations to stop
showing soap operas featuring women, sparking fears over women’s rights and
media freedom.
Akif
Muhajir, spokesman for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention
of Vice, said “these are not rules but a religious guideline”.
However,
activists fear it could be misused to harass female journalists, many of whom
have already fled the country in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover on August
15.
The
Taliban has been accused of backing down on its pledge to protect women’s
rights and media freedom. The latest move, which called on women to wear the
hijab while presenting their reports, does not specify which type of covering
to use.
Such
restrictions, as well as tightening control on news reporting, has been done to
preserve “national interest”, according to the group.
‘Muzzle
the media’
Zahra
Nabi, a broadcast journalist who co-founded a women’s television channel, said
she felt cornered when the Taliban resumed power, and chose to go off-air the
very same day.
“All
the media is under their [Taliban] control,” Nabi, who established Baano TV in
2017, told Al Jazeera.
The
network that was once run by 50 women was a symbol of how far Afghan women have
come since the Taliban’s first stint in power in the 1990s.
With
most of the network’s crew members now gone, Nabi has remained adamant about
doing her job, and like many other established journalists in Afghanistan, she
has had to work under the radar.
“We
work in a very tough environment, and are even collecting reports under the
burqa,” Nabi said, referring to an outer garment worn to cover the entire body
and face used by some Muslim women.
“It
is really hard for female journalists,” she said, citing a recent example where
she had to enter the city of Kunduz as a humanitarian worker, and not as a
journalist.
“I’m
not showing myself as a journalist. I had to arrange with local women a safe
office space to work in,” Nabi said.
Now
that Baano TV is off-air, the 34-year-old said she is trying to find other ways
to showcase her reports, perhaps through social media platforms, or via
broadcasters outside the country.
Commenting
on the move, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday that the new strict
guidelines will especially harm women.
“The
Taliban’s new media regulations and threats against journalists reflect broader
efforts to silence all criticism of Taliban rule,” said Patricia Gossman, an
associate Asia director at HRW.
“The
disappearance of any space for dissent and worsening restrictions for women in
the media and arts is devastating.”
Sonia
Ahmadyar, a journalist who lost her job in August, said the Taliban has been
moving to slowly “muzzle the media”.
Day
by day, the Taliban has been placing restrictions on women “to not let them be
active,” Ahmadyar told Al Jazeera.
Women
“really feel discouraged to appear on TV,” she said, adding that the group has
taken away their “freedom” as well as their financial autonomy.
The
35-year-old called on the Taliban to allow women journalists to resume working
“without being harassed” as soon as possible.
“It
is their most basic right, because it is essential for their livelihood, and
because their absence from the media landscape would have the effect of
silencing all Afghan women,” she said.
‘Obliged
to obey’
Previously,
the Taliban stipulated that private media would be able to operate freely as
long as they did not go against Islamic values. Within days of coming to power,
the group had said that the government will be guided by Islamic law.
But
journalists and human rights activists have criticised the guidelines as vague,
saying they are subject to interpretation.
It
remains unclear whether going on air without the hijab or airing foreign dramas
featuring women, would attract legal scrutiny.
When
asked if avoiding the guidelines would be punishable by law, Muhajir from the
Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, told Al Jazeera
citizens are “obliged to obey the guidance”, without elaborating.
According
to Heather Barr, co-director of the Women’s Rights division of HRW, the
Taliban’s directive is just the latest step by the group to “erase women from
public life”.
The
move comes after the group excluded women from senior roles in government,
abolished the women’s ministry, women’s sports, and the system set up to
respond to gender-based violence, she said.
Almost
immediately after assuming power, the Taliban also instructed high school girls
to stay home and not attend school. However, girls in parts of the country have
now been allowed to resume classes.
Even
though the vast majority of Afghan women cover their heads, some did not. But
whether they did or not – “it was important that it was their choice,” Barr
said.
Shaqaiq
Hakimi, a young Afghan activist, agreed.
“God
gave us … the right to decide. So it shouldn’t be something by force, but their
[women’s] own decision,” she told Al Jazeera.
Since
the guidelines do not specify the type of head covering women are expected to
wear, Taliban officials will feel “empowered to determine what is and isn’t
acceptable hijab,” Barr said, leaving women vulnerable to being stopped and
harassed on the streets.
The
consequences of such policing will force professional women to constantly
wonder if their hijab is up to the Taliban’s standard.
This
will have a “deeply chilling” effect on their ability to do their jobs,
according to Barr.
But
women like Nabi said the restrictions will not deter her from doing her job.
“We
are working, we will not stop, and we will continue what we are doing,” she
said. “That’s our plan.”
Hakimi
echoed Nabi’s sentiment, saying if women stop fighting for their rights, “no
one will give them to us”.
Source: Al-Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/25/afghan-women-speak-up-against-new-taliban-media-guidelines
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Conference
Yields 11 Recommendations To Support And Empower Saudi Women
November
25, 2021
RIYADH
— The Conference of Women Empowerment and Their Development Role in the Reign
of King Salman, organized by the Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University
(IMSIU) over two days, yielded 11 recommendations to support, empower and
stimulate the participation of national women forces in various current courses
of the economic development.
IMSIU
Rector Dr. Ahmad bin Salem Al-Ameri, during the closing session, noted that the
conference and participants highly appreciated the achievements realized in
women empowerment in the reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King
Salman, including developing laws and regulations that empower women, such as
judicial bylaws, regulations and circular, the labor bylaw, judicial decisions
that enhanced women rights, and the policies that enhance the women development
role.
He
referred to the increase in the percentage of employing women in various
fields, such as the diplomatic, judicial, military and energy sectors, which
played a role in realizing targets of the Saudi Vision 2030 in less than half
of the period, increasing women participation in economic development, and
increasing the percentage of women empowerment in leading posts in the public
and private sectors, which all contributed to classifying the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia as the most developed and reformed country among 190 countries in the
2020 Women, Business and the Law Report issued by the World Bank Group.
The
recommendations included modernizing the social discourse that enhances women's
status in media and cultural programs and improving the unreal stereotypical
image of the Saudi woman through calling international media institutions to
check on Saudi women empowerment indicators from credible resources.
The
recommendations also highlighted the importance of rehabilitating and investing
in the national women competencies to participate in international events in
order to change the stereotypical image of the Saudi woman, raising the media
awareness and increasing social programs that contribute to preserving
indigenous values and heritage of the Saudi women, which enhance moderation
according to the teachings of the Islamic Shariah.
They
also included establishing a media platform showcasing updated information and
statistics on the Saudi achievements in whatever is related to women and
publishing them in several languages and utilizing digital media to promote the
pivotal role of the Saudi woman in the comprehensive development process.
The
recommendations also stressed the importance of developing women's academic
leadership in a way that realizes efficiency and sustainability and launching
educational programs for Saudi women in higher education institutions to meet
the needs of the future labor market.
They
also urged media colleges and departments in Saudi universities to develop
qualitative programs to rehabilitate distinguished women competencies to
highlight the true image of the Saudi women, improve the empowering system for
women in the field of establishing small and medium enterprises and
entrepreneurial businesses, in addition to conducting more specialized research
on women empowerment and enhancing their development role. — SPA
Source: Saudi Gazetter
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/613980
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Strengthen
Cooperation to Protect Women, OIC Appeals To Member States
November
25, 2021
JEDDAH
— Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein
Ibrahim Taha has appealed to all OIC member states on the necessity of
strengthening cooperation and joint action to take necessary measures to
protect women. These should include enacting strict laws and taking necessary
security measures to guarantee the safety of women and girls, and promoting the
work of national institutions in the Muslim world active in this field.
In
a speech on the occasion of the international community's commemoration of the
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the
secretary-general stressed that this occasion carries special significance
because it provides governments, international organizations and relevant civil
society institutions the opportunity to assess progress made in the efforts to
eradicate violence against women, and outline measures necessary to move
forward in addressing this matter with greater commitment and determination.
The
occasion is also an opportunity for OIC member states to renew their
determination and cooperation to continue efforts to eliminate violence against
women, including domestic violence, which was on the rise across the world
because of the outbreak, spread and repercussions of Covid-19 pandemic early 2020.
Because
of the pandemic, countries around the world had to take stringent precautionary
measures, including lockdowns and long home quarantine periods, which
negatively affected economic situations around the world and family incomes.
This led to increased tension, psychological pressure and growing domestic
violence, to such an extent that the phenomenon has been referred to
internationally as “the hidden pandemic growing with Covid-19 pandemic.”
Taha
added that the issue of violence against women is a particular source of
concern for the OIC. This is why the Organization continues to do its utmost to
advance women and protect them from all forms of violence by coordinating with
member states, relevant OIC organs and institutions, and parties in the international
community.
In
this context, the OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW), the
Ten-Year Program of Action (POA-2025) and relevant resolutions adopted by the
summit and ministerial conferences on women provide guidelines on ways and
means of addressing these challenges facing women, including eliminating all
forms of violence against them.
The
most recent was the eighth session of the OIC ministerial conference on women,
held in Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt, from 6 to 8 July 2021 under the theme:
“Preserving the Achievement of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Light
of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond.”
The
session adopted important resolutions on women protection and empowerment,
mainstreaming gender equality in anti-covid-19 pandemic strategies and policies
and promoting economic and social empowerment for women in member states.
Furthermore,
the take-off of the OIC Women Development Organization (WDO) as a specialized
institution of the OIC will contribute effectively to studying and dealing with
the issue of violence against women and setting out ways to eliminate it in the
OIC.
On
this occasion, the secretary-general has called on OIC member states that are
yet to ratify the WDO statute to accelerate their ratification and accession
procedures, so that the Organization can play the role expected of it in
promoting and empowering women and in advancing their status in the Muslim
world. — SPA
Source: Saudi Gazetter
https://www.saudigazette.com.sa/article/613976
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Violence
Against Women Increases Due To COVID-19: UN Women Report
November
25, 2021
UNITED
NATIONS — A new report of UN Women has highlighted the impact of COVID-19 on
women's safety at home and in public spaces.
Almost
half of women reported that they or a woman they knew experienced a form of
violence since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report,
"Measuring the shadow pandemic: Violence against women during
COVID-19," which is based on survey data from 13 countries.
About
a quarter of women were feeling less safe at home while existing conflict
increased within households since the pandemic started, according to the
report, released on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of
Violence Against Women, which falls on Nov. 25.
When
women were asked why they felt unsafe at home, they cited physical abuse as one
of the reasons (21 percent). Some women specifically reported that they were
hurt by other family members (21 percent) or that other women in the household
were being hurt (19 percent).
Outside
their homes, women were also feeling more exposed to violence, with 40 percent
of respondents saying they felt less safe walking around alone at night since
the onset of COVID-19. About 3 in 5 women also thought that sexual harassment
in public spaces worsened during COVID-19.
Socio-economic
stress factors such as financial pressure, unemployment, food insecurity and
tense family relations stood out as having a significant impact not only on
experiences of safety (or violence), but also on women's well-being overall.
"Violence
against women is an existing global crisis that thrives on other crises.
Conflict, climate-related natural disasters, food insecurity and human rights
violations all contribute to women and girls living with a sense of danger,
even in their own homes, neighborhoods, or communities," said UN Women
Executive Director Sima Bahous in a press release.
"The
COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated isolation and social distancing, enabled
a second, shadow pandemic of violence against women and girls, where they often
found themselves in lockdown with their abusers. Our new data underlines the
urgency of concerted efforts to end this." – Agencies
Source: Saudi Gazette
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