Su’ad Sami: First Female Mukhtar (Chieftain) In Baghdad
New Age Islam News Bureau
26 February 2022
• Saudi-Based Blogger, Tamara Al-Gabbani Celebrates
Saudi Fashion And Founding Day
• Muslim Women Who Don’t Wear Hijab Will Face Allah’s
Wrath On Judgement Day, Lawyer Tells Karnataka High Court
• Karnataka Hijab Row: Child Rights Panel Says Darul
Uloom Told Muslim Women To Not Wear Uniform
• Tunisia Withdraws ‘Death On The Nile’ Over Israeli
Actress Gal Gadot
• INJAZ Qatar, Microsoft Launch ‘Women Technopreneurs’
Project
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/suad-sami-female-mukhtar-baghdad/d/126462
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Su’ad Sami: First Female Mukhtar (Chieftain) In Baghdad
“I love this job".
Su’ad Sami told Rudaw
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February 26 2022
BAGHDAD, Iraq - In an unprecedented move in the Iraqi
capital city of Baghdad, a woman has been appointed as a Mukhtar (chieftain) of
a neighbourhood. Her love for the work has drawn the attention of many.
“I love this job. Those people who are under my responsibility
are very good people and they support me. It has not been and will be an issue
not if a woman goes out and does field work. This is also a good opportunity
for women to further be in contact with society,” Su’ad Sami told Rudaw on
Thursday.
Sami has been doing this work for seven years
voluntarily. She is responsible for the affairs for 53 families of her
neighbourhood in Baghdad.
She has also been taking care of her family since her
husband passed away.
“Her love for her neighbourhood inspired her to do
this work. After her success, the governor of Baghdad issued a decree [to
officially employ her]. She was on probation period for three months. We
support her and she does her work as a mukhtar along with men,” Mustafa Fakiki,
Mayor of Karkh district, where she lives, said.
The news of her becoming officially a mukhtar made
many happy in Baghdad, especially women rights groups.
“Women have a very strong role in the organisation of
the affairs of the society, in addition to their social work when supporting
men and motherhood. Therefore, I believe that women will be successful in any
work given to them. We expect more success from this lady and expect her to
become a role model and do her work as a mukhtar well,”
Hana Adour, head of Iraqi Amal Association, told
Rudaw.
Source: Rudaw
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/250220223
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Saudi-Based Blogger, Tamara Al-Gabbani Celebrates
Saudi Fashion And Founding Day
Saudi social media star
Tamara Al-Gabbani has more than 170,000 followers on Instagram (Source:
tamaraalgabbani - Instagram)
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Hussam Al-Mayman
February 25, 2022
RIYADH: Saudi-based blogger, influencer, and fashion
designer Tamara Al-Gabbani said it was an exciting experience to celebrate the
Kingdom’s first Founding Day.
“We get to celebrate this for the first time ever in a
country that I love so much,” she told “The Mayman Show.”
Al-Gabbani worked with her stylist Wafa Nassir, and
they thought about how they could create or do something that would be true to
the country. Her two themes were heritage and history.
“Also (to) be really creative at the same time, we
decided to do two looks. I think there’s like nine posts I did in one day, and
it included a reel video with lots of pictures. So the first look was a janoub
(southern) theme that we went for.
“We even included a very authentic burqa from that
area and then we also, I don’t know if you know this, but they wear a yellow
scarf. The yellow scarves are for women that are single or unmarried.”
She said that she had learned a lot of interesting
information about Saudi culture through her research.
“I think what’s so amazing about it is that we really
are now exposed to all the different types of traditional outfits that were
worn across the different regions and the stories behind them because now we’re
exposed to that.”
The details about wearing a yellow scarf would not
have been possible to know without celebrating Founding Day, she said.
Al-Gabbani said there was a lot of “incredible” talent
in Saudi Arabia and that, under the Fashion Commission and the Ministry of
Culture, great things could happen for the country’s fashion industry.
“There are 100 brands now, so there are like 100
designers that have been selected to be supported and helped, and I have seen
the results of the first year. It’s just beautiful to see all this burgeoning
talent really blossom.”
She was also invited to Saudi Arabia’s first fashion
show and said it had exceeded her expectations.
“I mean, AlUla in general, it’s just such a beautiful
experience in itself to go there and see this. It’s a wonder, I feel like it’s
like a wonder of the world.”
Al-Gabbani is also a media personality. She is listed
as one of the top 50 influential women in Saudi Arabia and was the face of
DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana and was featured in Magrabi’s summer 2018 fashion
campaign celebrating female empowerment in the Middle East. She started her
career as a television presenter in Dubai and was the host of the Dubai
International Film Festival's TV show.
Source: Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2031931/saudi-arabia
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Muslim Women Who Don’t Wear Hijab Will Face Allah’s
Wrath On Judgement Day, Lawyer Tells Karnataka High Court
by Swati Goel Sharma
Feb 25, 2022
A lawyer told the Karnataka high court on Thursday
that Muslim women who do not wear the hijab as ordained by Quran are considered
as “sinners” in the religion and would face the wrath [of Allah] on Judgement
day.
Senior Advocate AM Dar, appearing for some Muslim girl
students from Udupi district, said, “Non-covering by a woman will mean the lady
will be sent to the place where there will be wrath on Judgement Day to give
‘hisaab’. We have to be ready to face Judgement. To cover head is essential
religious practice for us.”
The ongoing hearings in the Karnataka high court on
petitions challenging a state government order prohibiting veil inside
classrooms in state educational institutes, began on 8 February.
To explain why hijab is an essential practice in
Islam, Advocate Dar narrated a story from Islam’s founder, Mohammad’s life:
“My lordships, in 621, our prophet was taken during
the night to the Allah in the heaven. That is called Isra. He was spiritually
and physically taken by Gabriel. My Lord, there was a horse specially designed
for him by Allah. It had two wings so that...Prophet will aboard, he will ride
and the two wings, My Lord, will have the balance in the air (sic),” Dar said.
Dar continued, “During the journey – it was a
one-night journey – he stopped at one place. He [Mohammad] asked Gabriel – ‘Mr
Gabriel, tell me, which is this place? I have seen women crying. Who are these
women’?”
“Gabriel told him – and this is narrated in the Quran
and covered in the Hadith also – ‘These are women of your Ummah, who were seen
not wearing cover on their head and chest’. Prophet saw that they [women] were
crying, there were serpents around their neck, around their hair. The Prophet
said - ‘I will pray to God to forgive them’. Gabriel said - ’Unless Allah
forgives them, your prayers will not matter because they have committed a sin’
(sic).”
“So this is in our mind, My Lord, that we have to face
the day of Judgement…Your Lordships have seen women in Burqa. It is not because
of some compulsion. It’s a religious entity. It’s sacred for us…When Prophet
came back during the night, he narrated it to his colleagues. To one of his friends
who worked in the city, he said I am weeping. [Friend] Abu Bakr al-Siddiq said
- ’Why are you weeping’. He [Mohammad] said - ‘I have seen women from my Ummah.
They had not covered their private parts in the way Gabriel had narrated to me.
They [women] were really in trouble in hell’,” Advocate Dar said, before
concluding, “We believe in that. We have to face the day of the Judgement.”
You can watch a video of Dar narrating this story
here.
Dar said that hijab is mandatory in Islam and has come
from Quran. He said it is the last commandment from Allah after Shahada
(profession of faith), Salat (namaz), Zakat (alms), Sawn (fasting) and Hajj
(pilgrimage), and was revealed during fourth Hijri by the time Quran was nearly
complete.
“Whatever Prophet has said is binding. How can we
ignore? Then we are not Muslims,” Dar said.
The court then asked the lawyer to tell them which
verses of the Quran he had referred to, to which Dar said they were from Surah
Al-Ghashiyah, Surah Al-Ma'ari and Surah Al-Isra.
Dar pleaded that the petitioners only want a headscarf
and not a full burqa.
“We are only covering the head, face and chest. These
are vulnerable parts for us so there is no attack by unrighteous people and
their eyes stay away,” Dar said.
It is pertinent to mention here that Muslims believe
that on Yawm-ad-Din (translated as the Day of Judgement when the entire world
would be destroyed as per Islamic belief), Allah will take a decision about
people’s afterlife.
All the dead bodies will rise from the graves and
gather on the plain of Arafat for the final Judgement. Those who are handed
their own ‘book of deeds’ in the right hand will go to heaven, whereas those
who are given their ‘book of deeds’ in the left hand will go to hell, to burn
in eternal fire.
Source: Swarajyamag
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Karnataka hijab row: Child rights panel says Darul
Uloom told Muslim women to not wear uniform
Amit Bhardwaj
February 9, 2022
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
(NCPCR) chief Priyank Kanoongo reacted to the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka.
He alleged that Darul Uloom, an Islamic seminary in India, was asking Muslim
women not to wear uniforms and that they were responsible for promoting this
culture.
Invoking Mahatma Gandhi in his statement, he said,
“Gandhi must be in pain seeing these visuals.” He added, “Gandhi was against
the Parda pratha. He considered the parda a hindrance to the educational
progress of Muslim women.”
“Those trying to manipulate students on this issue are
against the nation’s progress,” said the child rights panel chief. “In order to
stop incidents like these, we have issued a notice to Darul Uloom Deoband.”
Darul Uloom asked Muslim women to not wear uniforms,
to stay away from co-ed schools and from schools where male teachers are part
of the faculty, alleged the NCPCR chief.
The ongoing hijab row in Karnataka took a violent turn
on Tuesday, February 8. Stones were pelted during the protest in Karnataka's
Bagalkot district and the police responded with lathi charge.
Due to the unstable climate in the state, Karnataka CM
Bommai ordered schools and colleges to be closed for the next three days.
NCPCR'S POSITION ON HIJAB
Responding to whether the NCPCR is against hijabs in
educational institutions, he said, “uniform ends disparity. We are against
anything beyond a uniform — whether it is Hijab or saffron scarf. We can’t
promote anarchy amongst students.”
The NCPCR chief stated that the panel was keeping an
eye on the situation, and they would take all necessary steps. He stated that
there should not be any intervention from outsiders in this matter.
Source: India Today
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Tunisia withdraws ‘Death on the Nile’ over Israeli
actress Gal Gadot
February 24, 2022
TUNIS: Tunisia has withdrawn from cinemas a new Agatha
Christie adaptation starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, following protests over
“normalization” with the Jewish state, officials said Wednesday.
British director Kenneth Branagh’s “Death on the
Nile,” already banned in Kuwait and Lebanon for the same reason, will no longer
be shown in cinemas across the North African country, the ministry’s press
office said.
Movie theatres had been showing the film since Feb. 9
but, following protests, the ministry and the visual arts authority had agreed
to ban it, activists and Tunisian media said.
“The main actress in the film is Israeli, was trained
in the (Israeli) army and supports the colonization of Palestinian
territory," said Kaouther Saida Chebbi, head of an anti-Zionist woman’s
movement.
Cinemas in Tunis confirmed to AFP that they would no
longer show the film.
Gadot had in 2014 posted on Facebook in support of
Israel’s offensive against Gaza.
Tunisia, which hosted the Palestinian Liberation
Organization from 1982-1994, has a long history of backing the Palestinian
cause.
In 2017 it banned Patty Jenkins’ film “Wonder Woman,”
also starring Gadot.
Source: Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2031106/lifestyle
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INJAZ Qatar, Microsoft launch ‘Women Technopreneurs’
project
February 23 2022
INJAZ Qatar and Microsoft launched their project
‘Women Technopreneurs’ last week in an event held via the Microsoft Teams
platform. Attendees from both organisations were present along with the
participants, corporate partners, board members, and other stakeholders.
Sheikha Hanadi bint Nasser al-Thani, chairperson of
INJAZ Qatar and INJAZ Al Arab, opened the ceremony with a speech, while Lana
Khalaf, country general manager – Microsoft, shared Microsoft’s vision and
explained the importance of the project and its impact on society.
The launch included a panel discussion titled ‘Digital
Revolution – Integrating AI in Women Entrepreneurship’. The panellists include
Latifa al-Thani, industry executive, Education Sector of Microsoft; Emad
al-Khaja, CEO of INJAZ Qatar; and Hayfa al-Abdulla, innovation director at
Qatar Science and Technology Park.
According to a report on the ‘Future of Jobs’ by the
World Economic Forum, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will bring about 58mn new
jobs in 2022 alone, which is as good a time to be inspiring, advocating,
educating, and empowering women to partake in prominent and leading roles in
this booming industry, and to be utilising their creativity, diligence, and
remarkable ambition to improve the overall tech industry.
Microsoft, a global leader in AI technology, will be
providing extensive AI knowledge and expertise to the participants in this
project. This comes in line with Microsoft’s commitment to accelerate efforts
to ensure that everyone has access to the skills and knowledge needed to thrive
in an AI-enabled world.
Khalaf said Qatar’s advanced cloud technologies like
AI are driving new economic opportunities for the people of Qatar as
organisations across all industries and sectors continue to digitally
transform.
The partnership with INJAZ Qatar to launch ‘Women
Technopreneurs’ comes in line with Microsoft’s commitment to empower young
women to innovate, lead, and succeed in an increasingly digital world.
The main focus of INJAZ Qatar and INJAZ Al Arab is to
cultivate and develop the necessary skill set for the youth to utilise in the
business and economics field and workforce.
However, this project is a new collaboration model
between INJAZ Qatar and Microsoft that essentially focuses on entrepreneurship
with a special emphasis on technology and mainly Artificial intelligence (AI),
which is a leading industry.
A notable feature of the project is that it is fully
targeted to empower women to enhance their knowledge, advance their
qualifications, and execute their capabilities and talents to benefit the
revolutionary, integrated field of technology and business.
Al-Khaja expressed his enthusiasm towards the
participants and beneficiaries of INJAZ Qatar and Microsoft’s programmes and
their unprecedented accomplishments.
He said, “We're all working towards one mission, which
is empowering our youth to own their economic success. In this collaboration
with Microsoft, our efforts are towards equipping young minds with the
skill-set needed to succeed in a global economy. Our start-ups have been
producing amazing and mind-blowing ideas, especially with regards to tech and
we aim to support them to deliver the same when it comes to AI through the
‘Women Technopreneurs’ project.”
Because of the existing strategic partnerships between
academic institutions in Qatar and INJAZ Qatar, the objective is the
recruitment of 30-40 women ranging from the ages of 18-30 interested in a
career in technology and AI from within these institutions.
The chosen participants will receive direct support,
guidance, and assistance from experts, volunteers, and members from INJAZ Qatar
and Microsoft for three months. They will be given the unique opportunity of
improving and broadening their skill set, gaining a remarkably enlightening
learning experience, and developing a strong work ethic.
The participating teams will come up with
revolutionary ideas integrating AI and will be expected to compete against each
other in front of a judging panel consisting of experts and representatives
from INJAZ Qatar, Microsoft, and QSTP.
Finally, winners will have the chance to enrol in the
accelerator programme by QSTP, offering intensive training and mentorship and
enabling promising innovators to transform tech-based ideas into commercially
viable businesses.
Source: Gulf Times
https://www.gulf-times.com/story/710477/INJAZ-Qatar-Microsoft-launch-Women-Technopreneurs-project
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/suad-sami-female-mukhtar-baghdad/d/126462