'I May As Well Be Dead': Afghan Women Outraged By New Taliban Restrictions On Work
New
Age Islam News Bureau
20
September 2021
• “Being a Muslim…,” Bollywood Actress Urfi Javed Blames Her Religion For Getting Trolled Over Outfits
•
Women protest in Kabul against Taliban’s policies for them
•
Fear of Beauty Parlours Spreads in Afghanistan as Taliban Crackdown on Women’s
Freedom
•
Turkey’s first lady to roll out new book on visits to Africa
•
After Kabul Mayor Asks Women to ‘Stay At Home’, Javed Akhtar’s Appeal
•
AIMPLB’s Sajjad Nomani Alleges Reverse ‘Love Jihad’ Days after Supporting
Taliban, Claims Over 5000 Muslim Girls Converted To Hinduism
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/taliban-restriction-women-afghanistan/d/125400
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'I May As Well Be Dead': Afghan Women Outraged By New Taliban Restrictions On Work
September
20, 2021
The Afghan Taliban's effective ban on women
working sank in on Monday, sparking rage over the dramatic loss of rights after
millions of female teachers and girls were barred from secondary school
education.
-----
The
Afghan Taliban's effective ban on women working sank in on Monday, sparking
rage over the dramatic loss of rights after millions of female teachers and
girls were barred from secondary school education.
After
pledging a softer version of their brutal and repressive regime of the 1990s,
the group is tightening its control of women's freedoms one month after seizing
power.
“I
may as well be dead,” said one woman, who was sacked from her senior role at
the ministry of foreign affairs.
“I
was in charge of a whole department and there were many women working with me
... now we have all lost our jobs,” she told AFP, insisting that she not be
identified for fear of reprisals.
The
acting mayor of the capital, Kabul, has said any municipal jobs currently held
by women would be filled by men.
That
came after the education ministry ordered male teachers and students back to
secondary school during the weekend, but made no mention of the country's
millions of women educators and girl pupils.
The
Taliban on Friday also appeared to shut down the former government's ministry
of women's affairs and replaced it with one that earned notoriety during their
first stint in power for enforcing religious doctrine.
While
the country's new rulers have not issued a formal policy outright banning women
from working, directives by individual officials have amounted to their
exclusion from the workplace.
Many
Afghan women fear they will never find meaningful employment.
'When
will that be?'
A
new Taliban government announced two weeks ago had no women members.
Although
still marginalised, Afghan women have fought for and gained basic rights in the
past 20 years, becoming lawmakers, judges, pilots and police officers, though
mostly limited to large cities.
Hundreds
of thousands have entered the workforce — a necessity in some cases as many
women were widowed or now support invalid husbands as a result of two decades
of conflict.
But
since returning to power on August 15, the Taliban have shown no inclination to
honour those rights.
When
pressed, Taliban officials say women have been told to stay at home for their
own security but will be allowed to work once proper segregation can be
implemented.
“When
will that be?” a woman teacher said on Monday. “This happened last time. They
kept saying they would allow us to return to work, but it never happened.”
During
the Taliban's first rule from 1996 to 2001, women were largely excluded from
public life including being banned from leaving their homes unless accompanied
by a male relative.
In
Kabul on Friday, a sign for the ministry for the promotion of virtue and
prevention of vice was erected at the building housing the old government's
ministry for women's affairs building in the capital.
Vice
ministry enforcers were notorious for punishing anyone deemed not to be
following the Taliban's strict interpretation of Islam.
On
Sunday, around a dozen women protested briefly outside the building, but
dispersed when approached by Taliban officials.
No
official from the new regime responded on Monday to requests for comment.
In
Herat, an education official insisted the issue of girls and women teachers
returning to school was a question of time, not policy.
“It
is not exactly clear when that will happen: tomorrow, next week, next month, we
don't know,” Shahabudin Saqib told AFP. “It's not my decision because we have
had a big revolution in Afghanistan.”
The
UN said it was “deeply worried” for the future of girls' schooling in
Afghanistan.
“It
is critical that all girls, including older girls, are able to resume their
education without any further delays,” the UN's children's agency, Unicef, said.
Source:
Dawn
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“Being
a Muslim…,” Bollywood Actress Urfi Javed Blames Her Religion For Getting
Trolled Over Outfits
By
Rasti Amena
19th
September 2021
Mumbai:
Bigg Boss OTT fame and actress Urfi Javed has been making headlines for all the
ever since she stepped out of the show’s house. From donning controversial or
unconventional outfits to being linked to Javed Akhtar, she has often found
herself in the hot soup. Trolls have a field day whenever she steps out in
unusual clothes.
Recently
spotted at the Mumbai airport, Urfi Javed was seen making a style statement in
a rather unusual attire that attracted a lot of trolling and negative comments
on social media. “Kuch toh sharam karo,” wrote an Instagram user. “Seriously….?
Is it a fashion? asked a user. “R I P Indian culture, traditions ,young
generation,” commented yet another user. “This is disgusting!” wrote another
social media user.
In
a recent interview with News 18, Urfi reacted to all such the hate messages and
said that the reason why she gets judged based on her looks is because she is a
Muslim.
She
revealed how she comes from a rather conservative Muslim family where she
wasn’t even allowed to wear jeans. “I have realised that no matter what I do,
people will say things. I belong to a conservative Muslim family and for the
longest time, I was told what I have to wear. I wasn’t allowed to wear jeans.
My chest would always have to be covered with a duppata. This made me a rebel
and today I will wear whatever I want to”, Urfi Javed stated.
Calling
her religion as ‘deterrent’, Urfi said, “I am a Muslim girl so when I do
something or wear certain kinds of clothes, it really doesn’t go down well with
a lot of people. My religion has been a deterrent.”
In
terms of work, Urfi Javed made her debut with 2016 TV show ‘Bade Bhaiyya Ki
Dulhania’. She later went on to feature in many serials like ‘Meri Durga’,
‘Bepannaah’, ‘Puncch Beat Season 2’, ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ and ‘Kasautii
Zindagii Kay’. She was last seen playing the role of Payal Sharma in ‘Aye Mere
Humsafar’.
Source:
Siasat Daily
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Women
protest in Kabul against Taliban’s policies for them
19
Sep 2021
A
number of women gathered at the gate of the ministry of women affairs-now
replaced- and protested against the policies of the Taliban vis-à-vis them
asked for the rights of education and work on Sunday, September 19.
The
protestors said that freedom and equity are their rights and they have to be
provided with.
The
all-women in the Afghan capital was arranged in reaction to the closure of the
ministry of women affairs from the Taliban’s cabinet and the closure of the
ministry on Friday, September 17.
“Exclusion
of women in exclusion of humans”, “our freedom of speech is the conclusion of
our potency” “education, work, and freedom are ways towards development” were the
slogans chanted by the women.
Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan shut the ministry of women and replaced it with the
ministry of guidance and promotion of virtue and prevention of vice.
Deputy
Minister of the ministry of information and culture and the spokesperson of the
Taliban Zabiullah Mujahid on Sunday, September 19 said that the women ministry
was a shadow and so-called ministry and added that they will establish a potent
and effective administration for women.
Source:
Khaama Press
https://www.khaama.com/women-protest-in-kabul-against-talibans-policies-for-them-34634643/
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Fear
of Beauty Parlours Spreads in Afghanistan as Taliban Crackdown on Women’s
Freedom
20
September ,2021
Afghan
makeup artist Fatema Aaraa said on Saturday that women clients no longer come
to her beauty salon because they fear the Taliban.
“Until
two months ago, many brides used to sit at this table [for makeup] and it was
very crowded here, but as you can see, now no one (women) leaves their house
out of fear, and they are not willing to go to beauty salon,” Aaraa told
Reuters.
When
the Taliban was in power two decades ago, women had to cover their faces and
those who broke the rules sometimes suffered humiliation and public beatings by
religious police.
While
the new Taliban regime has promised to allow women more freedoms, there have
been reports of women being barred from going to work, and some being beaten in
recent weeks for protesting Taliban rule.
“Women
tremble and are afraid that the Taliban will enter the beauty salon and say why
are you in this shape? Why are you doing make-up? Or, this is a non-Islamic
place. In general, people are afraid,” said Aaraa.
In
recent weeks, a number of beauty salons’ signs in Kabul, which usually show
women and brides with make-up, have been sprayed with white and black colored
sprays to hide the faces.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Turkey’s
first lady to roll out new book on visits to Africa
Yildiz
Nevin Gundogmus
19.09.2021
Turkey’s
first lady this Monday will introduce her book on her travels in Africa for the
first time at the Turkish House in New York.
Emine
Erdogan, who wrote about her impressions and memories of her travels to Africa,
is flying with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to New York on Sunday to attend
the UN General Assembly.
She
will introduce her book “My Travels to Africa” for the first time to spouses of
country leaders, the UN, and other international representatives, as well as
representatives of NGOs and foreign mission chiefs.
The
book, which is dedicated to Emine Erdogan’s mother, covers the first lady’s
visits from 2014 to 2020 to 23 countries, including Algeria, Ethiopia, Somalia,
Tanzania, Mozambique, and Senegal.
The
book will go on sale in Turkey at the beginning of October, and will also be
published in English, French, Arabic, and Swahili by international publishers.
Before
the "African Initiative" led by Turkey in 2005, she said Africa was a
distant continent for many in Turkey. When Africa is mentioned,
"colonialism, poverty, and hungry, thirsty children" came to mind,
she said.
Africa
also meant a photo album in which the shame of humanity “brought rewards to its
owner. This situation changed forever with my first trip to Africa,” she said,
adding that she accompanies her husband on foreign visits as much as possible.
“I
pay particular attention to the problems of African women and children, and I
want to be a bit of a balm for their open wounds. This desire of mine is a gift
from my nation, in which I was born and grew up, who raised me, shaped me, and
embroidered this culture in my bones,” she added.
She
expressed hope that this book will lead to goodness, cooperation, and better
cross-cultural understanding, and strengthen the bridges of friendship between
Turkey and Africa.
She
also underlined that before each visit, she studies the human, cultural, and
social characteristics of the countries they are due to see.
The
first lady often visits orphanages during her travels and said she was deeply
affected by her 2015 visit to the Daryel Orphanage in the Horn of Africa nation
of Djibouti.
“It
is our duty to lessen the load of this heavy burden placed on those tiny shoulders
and embrace them,” she said.
"To
understand the state of humanity, one needs to witness it. For me, traveling
abroad means witnessing such experiences and remembering one's
responsibilities," she writes in the book.
Fair
market for women entrepreneurs
During
her 2015 visit to Ethiopia, she saw that the handiworks of local women were
bought for $1 and then sold for much higher prices in the expensive boutiques
of Western capitals.
“Those
desperate women were left with a great despair,” she added.
"As
a human, a woman, a wife, a mother, a child, a Muslim, and a Turk, I wanted to
break the chain of this exploitation. So I immediately took action to establish
a fair market for these working women in Turkey,” she said.
Three
years ago they established the African Handicrafts Market and Culture House in
Ankara's historic Hamamonu district to sell handicrafts by African women, and
it serves as the voice of Africa in Turkey, she said.
She
went on to say that African people welcome Turks like they were their own family.
“We
have felt this everywhere we have gone. Because they know how Turkey's approach
is different from colonialism. So the friendship between us grows deeper each
day,” she added.
Book
to raise money for African women, children
Emphasizing
that her first visit to Somalia in 2011 was unforgettable, she said there was
no need for a translator to feel the pain of mothers who lost their babies due
to hunger.
Telling
how she was awarded the International Women's Empowerment Champion Award at a
ceremony held at Uganda Islamic University in 2016, she also said in her book
that this is a new source of pride in Turkey's history of diplomatic goodwill.
"My
visits to Africa could be considered a notebook in which new lines shall be
added throughout my life, a book whose cover will never be closed,” she
explained.
“I
sincerely wish that peaceful and prosperous lines are written on the fresh
pages of this notebook. I hope that what our country has achieved in Africa so
far will be a way for the continent to reach the prosperity it deserves. I hope
African children's faces will always smile.”
Royalties
from the book will be used for development, education, and health and cultural
support to African women and children through the African Handicrafts Market
and Culture House. It will be a symbol of friendship and solidarity between
Turkey and Africa, she added.
Every
year, Erdogan participates in various international events for the development
of disadvantaged groups living in Africa within the scope of the UN and meets
with African first ladies and representatives of NGOs.
In
recent years, Erdogan has continued to support intercultural interaction by
patronizing African cookbooks and African proverbs.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/turkey-s-first-lady-to-roll-out-new-book-on-visits-to-africa/2368752
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After
Kabul mayor asks women to ‘stay at home’, Javed Akhtar’s appeal
SEP
20, 2021
Lyricists
Javed Akhtar on Monday appealed to all Muslim bodies in the country to
collectively condemn the order by the mayor of Kabul telling women to stay at
home. “Aljazeera has reported that the mayor of Kabul has ordered all working
women should stay at home I expect all important Muslim bodies to condemn it
because it is being done in the name of their religion Where are all those who
were till yesterday shouting in defence of 3 talaq" Akhtar posted on
Twitter.
Aljazeera
has reported that the mayor of Kabul has ordered all working women should stay
at home I expect all important Muslim bodies to condemn it because it is being
done in the name of their religion Where are all those who were till yesterday
shouting in defence of 3 talaq
—
Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) September 20, 2021
In
his first news conference since being appointed by the Taliban, Kabul mayor
said on Sunday that women employees have been ordered to stay home, pending a
further decision. “There are some areas that men can’t do it, we have to ask
our female staff to fulfill their duties, there is no alternative for it,”
Hamdullah Namony said, without specifying how many women employees were forced
to stay home.
Namony
said that just under one-third of close to 3,000 city employees were women and
that they worked in all departments before the Taliban took over Afghanistan on
August 15. He said exceptions were made for women who could not be replaced by
men—in the design and engineering departments and the attendants of public toilets
for women.
Not
just in Kabul, women across Afghanistan have been told to stay home but the
Taliban have not yet announced a uniform policy. The Taliban government has
issued several diktats rolling back the rights of girls and women. Girls in
middle and high school have not been asked to return to school for the time
being but boys in those classes resumed studies over the weekend. Women
university students have been told they can attend classes but they will be
gender-segregated and that they must follow a strict Islamic dress code.
Last
Friday, the Taliban shut down the women's affairs ministry and replaced it with
a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice”, which
has been tasked with enforcing Sharia. More than a dozen women staged a protest
outside the ministry on Sunday, holding up signs calling for the participation
of women in public life. “A society in which women are not active is (sic) dead
society," read one of the signs.
A
number of women in Afghanistan have been protesting against the Taliban,
demanding equal rights in all spheres of life.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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AIMPLB’s
Sajjad Nomani alleges reverse ‘Love Jihad’ days after supporting Taliban,
claims over 5000 Muslim girls converted to Hinduism
13
September, 2021
A
video of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member Sajjad Nomani has
come to light in which he alleged that Hindu boys are indulging in ‘Love
Jihad’. The video was uploaded on September 9. Nomani claimed that over 5,000
Muslim girls have run away with Hindu boys, got married to them and converted
to Hinduism. He further said the majority of these girls belong to high-profile
families.
Sajjad
Nomani blamed mobile phones and education
He
blamed access to school and college education along with mobile phones. He said
Muslim girls are using the freedom to make friends in the other community, and
their parents are unaware of what they are doing. He further added that the
parents are not teaching their girls about Islam or telling about what is
happening around them.
Sajjad
Nomani claimed well-planned conspiracy
He
said it is being done under a well-planned conspiracy to lure Muslim women
towards Hinduism. He said, “From the other side, there is a conspiracy to lure
as many Muslim women as possible, ruin their religion and throw them as used
lemon peel. This is being done with proper planning. They find contact numbers
of these girls to lure them into friendship.”
“I
came to know from my source that there is a group that gives training to the
boys to learn how Muslims talk to each other. They tell them to greet with
“Salaam Walekum” and ask “kaise mizaz hain”. They are also trained to use
“Khairiyat hai”, “Inshaallah”, “Mashallah”, “Rehmudillah”, “Subhanallah” and
other words. They speak softly to our daughters to lure them, and we are doing
nothing about it,” he added.
He
further alleged that Muslims in the past were aware of their surroundings, but
nowadays, no one cares about other Muslims. He said, “They used to be aware of their
surroundings, and they were worried about Islam. When Khilafat ended in Turkey,
Tehreek-e-Khilafat flourished in our country. Do you know what is happening
around you? Only doing Namaaz is not enough.”
Allegations
of reverse ‘love-jihad’
Interestingly,
while Nomani alleged Hindu men are luring Muslim girls, there are next-to-none
such cases that have come to light. The majority of the cases of Love Jihad
that have come to light in recent years involved a Muslim man and a Hindu
woman. Notably, Love Jihad has also spread rapidly among Christian women, and
Christian leaders have raised the concern multiple times in Kerala.
The
planned conspiracy that Nomani claimed against Muslims is, in reality, done by
Muslim leaders against Hindus. Last year, a racket was busted in Kanpur, Uttar
Pradesh, where several Hindu girls were allegedly lured into an affair by
Muslim men. All of them had hidden their identity and projected themselves as
Hindu men to lure the women. Reports suggest that there are groups that allegedly
pay Muslim men to marry as many as Hindu women and convert them to Islam.
Sajjad
Nomani had supported Taliban
In
August, reports came out that Nomani had openly praised the Taliban’s take over
in Afghanistan. He allegedly had said, “this Hindi Muslim salutes you”. After
the backlash, AIMPLB issued a statement saying the board did not praise the
Taliban and a member’s statement was wrongly portrayed as viewpoint of the
board.
It
said, “All India Muslim Personal Law Board has neither expressed any view nor
given any statement on Taliban and recent political situation of Afghanistan.
Opinion of some Board members has been portrayed as board’s stand by few media
channels and wrong thing is being attributed to the board. These practices are
against the spirit of journalism.”
Source:
Opindia
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/taliban-restriction-women-afghanistan/d/125400