Going Sightseeing Not a Must: Taliban Ban Afghan Women from Visiting Band-e-Amir National Park
New Age
Islam News Bureau
28 Aug 2023
·
Going Sightseeing Not a Must: Taliban
Ban Afghan Women from Visiting Band-e-Amir National Park
·
France
To Ban Wearing Abaya Dress in Schools: Minister
·
Saudi Camel Festival to Host
All-Women Race
·
Sheikha Fatima launches
National Strategy for Empowerment of Emirati Women in UAE for 2023-2031
·
Iran
Initiates Legal Action Against Singer, Mehdi Yarrahi, Advocating Veil Removal
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/taliban-ban-band-amir-park/d/130547
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Going Sightseeing
Not A Must: Taliban Ban Afghan Women From Visiting Band-E-Amir National Park
Established in April 2009, Band-e-Amir is Afghanistan's first national
park
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AP
Islamabad Published 28.08.23
The
Taliban will use security forces to stop women from visiting one of
Afghanistan's most popular national parks, according to information shared by a
spokesman for the Vice and Virtue Ministry.
The
ministry alleges that women have not been observing the proper way to wear the
hijab, or Islamic headscarf, when going to Band-e-Amir in the central Bamiyan
province.
This
comes a week after the minister, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, visited the province
and told officials and religious clerics that women haven't been adhering to
the correct way of wearing the hijab, asking security personnel to stop women
from visiting the tourist hotspot.
“Going
sightseeing is not a must for women,” Hanafi said at the time.
Ministry
spokesman Molvi Mohammad Sadiq Akif shared a report of Hanafi's remarks late
Saturday night, including the use of security forces, clerics and elders to
carry out Hanafi's order.
A
recording of the minister's speech in Bamiyan, aligning with Akif's report, was
shared on social media.
Akif was
not immediately available for comment on Sunday.
“Not
content with depriving girls and women of education, employment, and free
movement, the Taliban also want to take from them parks and sport and now even
nature, as we see from this latest ban on women visiting Band-e-Amir,” said
Heather Barr, the associate women's rights director at Human Rights Watch in an
emailed statement.
“Step by
step the walls are closing in on women as every home becomes a prison.”
Last,
November, the Taliban-led government barred women from using public spaces,
including parks, saying that they were not wearing the hijab correctly or
following gender segregation rules.
Since
taking over the country on August 15, 2021 after the withdrawal of US and NATO
forces, they have imposed several restrictions targeting Afghan girls and women,
including stopping girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade, and
prohibiting Afghan women from jobs at local and non-governmental organisations
while cracking down on media.
These
harsh measures triggered a fierce international outrage, including from
Muslim-majority countries.
Band-e-Amir
is a major tourist attraction in Bamiyan. It became the country's first
national park in 2009 and pulls in thousands of visitors every year.
It is a
major source of income for locals and their sightseeing, restaurant, hotel and
handicraft businesses.
Source:
telegraphindia.com
https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/going-sightseeing-not-a-must-for-women-taliban-ban-afghan-women-from-visiting-national-park/cid/1962070
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France
To Ban Wearing Abaya Dress in Schools: Minister
France banned headscarves in schools in 2004 and full face veils in
public in 2010, angering many of its five million-strong Muslim community
[File: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]
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Aug 28,
2023
"It
will no longer be possible to wear an abaya at school," Gabriel Attal told
France's TF1 television on Sunday.
Attal
said he would give "clear rules at the national level" to school
heads ahead of the return to classes nationwide from September 4.
"Secularism
means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school," the minister
said, describing the abaya as "a religious gesture, aimed at testing the
resistance of the republic toward the secular sanctuary that school must constitute."
"You
enter a classroom, you must not be able to identify the religion of the
students by looking at them," he said.
The ban
had been spearheaded by the right and far-right political elite, despite an
argument by the left asserting that it would encroach on individuals' religious
freedoms and civil liberties.
Clementine
Autain of the left-wing opposition France Unbowed party denounced what she
described as the "policing of clothing."
Attal's
announcement was "unconstitutional" and against the founding
principles of France's secular values, and a sign of the government's
"obsessive rejection of Muslims," she argued.
The
French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM), a national body encompassing many Muslim
associations, has also said items of clothing alone were not "a religious
sign."
Under
France’s laws on laïcité (secularism), it is already forbidden to wear the
Islamic headscarf in government buildings, including schools.
Source:
mehrnews.com
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/205250/France-to-ban-wearing-abaya-dress-in-schools-Minister
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Saudi
camel festival to host all-women race
Aug 27,
2023
Saudi
Arabia is staging its first all-women camel race on Monday.
As part
of the Crown Prince Camel Festival, a 38-day event celebrating camel racing
culture and Arab heritage, the kingdom will hold its first race with an
entirely female cast of riders.
The race
will take place at the Taif Camel Field. Situated in the Makkah Province in
south-west Saudi Arabia, the Taif region is also famous for its roses, with
more than 550 million harvested every year.
Camel
racing is an ancient sport across the Arab Peninsula with races of the native
dromedary camel traced as far back as the 7th century CE. Traditionally an
all-male sport, now things are changing rapidly.
A first
step towards including women in the sport came last year when female jockeys
were invited to join the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival. Now, the festival has
gone one step further and is holding its first all-female race, with a prize
pot of 150,000 Saudi Arabia riyal (Dh146,900).
One team
involved is from the Arabian Desert Camel Riding Centre in Dubai, who will
compete in the inaugural 2km race. Speaking ahead of the event, team leader
Linda Krockenberger explained why the event is groundbreaking.
“It is
an honour to finally see a category for women [to be] part of one of the
biggest festival schedules. As a team we hope to inspire other women to follow
their passion and get involved,” she said.
She also
expressed gratitude to the race organisers for staging “the first, but
hopefully not the last” all-woman event.
Taking
place on Emirati Women’s Day, the new race is something of a historic milestone
and a major step forward for sports.
“It is
an opportunity to showcase skills, but also leave our mark and set an example
for other women to join this sport and demonstrate values with camel welfare at
their core,” said Coralie Virauloud, a member of the Dubai team. “The team and
I have trained all year round for the last two years, and it makes me extremely
proud that the efforts are met with an invitation to the first all-female race
in Saudi Arabia.”
The
Crown Prince Camel Festival is an annual celebration of Bedouin culture in
Saudi Arabia and the long heritage of camel racing. The first official race
took part in 1964 as part of the Heritage Festival, and today it is regarded as
the biggest camel event in the world, where more 10,000 animals take part
across 589 races, for a total prize pool of $15 million (Dh55,087,500).
Source:
thenationalnews.com
https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/things-to-do/2023/08/27/saudi-arabia-crown-prince-camel-festival/
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Sheikha
Fatima launches National Strategy for Empowerment of Emirati Women in UAE for
2023-2031
28 Aug
2023
Her
Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak (The Mother of the Nation), Chairwoman of
the General Women's Union (GWU), President of the Supreme Council for
Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development
Foundation (FDF), launched the National Strategy for Empowerment of Emirati
Women in the UAE for the years 2023-2031, on the occasion of the Emirati
Women’s Day 2023, under the theme of "We Collaborate for Tomorrow”.
This
strategy comes in line with Sheikha Fatima's vision to achieve fair and
comprehensive women's participation in all fields, enhance the quality of life
in society, provide a general framework, reference and guidance for decision
makers in federal and local government institutions, as well as the private
sector and civil society, to promote the efforts of women's empowerment and
leadership in the UAE.
On the
occasion, Sheikha Fatima said, "The UAE has witnessed, since its
foundation by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, major transformation
across various economic, social and political domains, especially in women’s
affairs and her social participation. Women empowerment also witnessed
exceptional attention by the late Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed, as well as
President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan; His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE
and Ruler of Dubai; and His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice
President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, and
Their Highnesses the Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates.
"Emirati
women have assumed a unique and prestigious position in all sectors of society,
and the UAE has become a role model in the field of human development and
indicators of global competitiveness, especially indicators of bridging the
gender gap, which enabled the UAE, thanks to women empowerment policies, to
rank first among Arab countries and 68th globally in global competitiveness
indicators in 2022."
The
National Strategy for Empowerment of Emirati Women includes three main guides:
establishing interdependent, cohesive and supportive families to enhance the
role of women in society; Integration of women in the labour market and future
sectors; and Developing capacities and enhancing future skills of women. The
main enabling guides of the National Strategy for Empowerment of Emirati Women
include developing the legislative and regulatory environment that supports and
enables women's quality of life, and strengthening institutional work and
partnerships at the national and international levels.
The
General Women's Union, in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the
Council of Ministers, the General Secretariat of the Cabinet, and the General
Secretariat of the Executive Councils in each emirate or their representative,
are the main partners in following up the implementation of the National
Strategy for Empowerment of Emirati Women, while the supporting partners
include all ministries, federal, local and private agencies and institutions,
as well as relevant civil society organisations.
The
relevant institutions are tasked with developing operational plans every three
years and approve them as part of their strategic plans. The plans and programmes
developed are approved by the Cabinet and Executive Councils in each emirate.
The General Women's Union is to hold periodic meetings with the concerned
institutions to follow up and evaluate the progress made in implementing the
plans, and propose amendments if necessary to ensure the achievement of the
desired goals.
Source:
gulftoday.ae
https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2023/08/27/sheikha-fatima-launches-national-strategy-for-empowerment-of-emirati-women-in-uae-for-2023-2031
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Iran
Initiates Legal Action Against Singer, Mehdi Yarrahi, Advocating Veil Removal
Aug 27,
2023
In a
significant move, Iranian authorities have commenced legal proceedings against
a prominent pop singer, Mehdi Yarrahi, for his recent song encouraging women to
remove their mandatory headscarves. This development comes nearly a year after
the tragic death of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old whose arrest for
violating the strict dress code ignited widespread protests across Iran.
Legal
action against Mehdi Yarrahi
Mehdi
Yarrahi, aged 41, released a song titled "Roosarito" (meaning
"Your Headscarf" in Farsi) on Friday (August 25), expressing his
support for the protest movement that emerged in the wake of Mahsa Amini's
death. The Iranian judiciary, in a statement on its Mizan Online website,
announced that a legal case had been filed against Yarrahi for releasing an
"illegal song" that defies the moral and societal norms of Islamic
society. However, the specific charges against Yarrahi have not been disclosed,
and he is not currently in custody.
‘Woman,
life, freedom’ slogan and veil removal advocacy
Yarrahi's
three-minute music video incorporated the protest movement's slogan,
"Woman, life, freedom." In the song, he called on women to "take
off their (head)scarves," and the video featured clips of women dancing
with their hair uncovered.
The
legal measures against Yarrahi will also extend to another song he released in
October titled "Soroode Zan" or "Woman's Anthem," which
played a significant role in the protest movement, especially within
universities.
Yarrahi's
history of advocacy
Mehdi
Yarrahi, a recipient of the Best Pop Singer award at the Fajr festival in 2018,
has previously criticised authorities during his concerts, particularly
highlighting the perceived marginalisation of people in his native Khuzestan
province, which has a significant Arab minority.
Following
Mahsa Amini's death, Iran witnessed months of protests that were often labelled
as foreign-instigated "riots" by the government in Tehran. These
protests led to the arrest of thousands of Iranians and resulted in the deaths
of hundreds, including numerous security personnel.
Shift in
dress code enforcement and public reaction
The
strict dress code, particularly the requirement for women to wear headscarves,
has faced increasing resistance from Iranian women, especially since the mass
protests called for an end to compulsory headscarves. In response, Iranian
authorities have recently restarted patrols to apprehend individuals who appear
in public with their hair uncovered.
As this
legal case against Mehdi Yarrahi unfolds, it raises questions about the
intersection of art, activism, and social norms in Iran's evolving
sociopolitical landscape.
Source:
wionews.com
https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-initiates-legal-action-against-singer-advocating-veil-removal-629734
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/taliban-ban-band-amir-park/d/130547