Afghan Woman Kills Self Before Taliban Could Stone Her for Leaving Home
New Age Islam News Bureau
17 October 2022
• In A First, Amal Bint Faisal from Saudi Arabia
Obtains Jockey License
• Mumbai Muslim Women Reclaim Their Right to Fitness
• Afghan Woman Awarded 2022 Aurora Prize for Awakening
Humanity
• European Court Of Justice Bans Headscarf in
Workplaces
• Iranian Sadaf Khadem Has Taken an Unorthodox Route
in the World of Sport
• UAE: Meet Emirati Female Padel Player Who Rose To
The Top In Just 2 Years
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/taliban-stone-afghan-woman/d/128200
--------
Afghan Woman Kills Self Before Taliban Could Stone Her
For Leaving Home
Woman dies by suicide in
Afghanistan / Representative Image
-----
October 17, 2022
Kabul: A woman in Afghanistan's Ghor province died by
suicide before Taliban forces could kill her for running away from home, local
media reported citing local Taliban.
According to Khaama Press, the Taliban planned to
stone the woman, who ran away from home with a married man, on Friday, but
before that, she took her life to avoid public humiliation.
The man with whom the woman ran away from home was
executed on Thursday, October 13, the officials added.
Abdul Rahman, the acting spokesperson for the
provincial police chief of the Taliban for Ghor, said that the woman was
sentenced to publicly stoning due to the lack of a women's prison, Khaama Press
reported.
According to the Taliban security official, the woman
strangled herself with a scarf, ending her life before receiving the
punishment.
The reports of women running away from home have
recently increased in different provinces of the country, while the Taliban
government has determined to stone them to death or publicly flog them.
This comes after the Taliban imposed several
restrictions on women. Starting with placing restrictions on education. The
female students above grade six were banned from going to school, according to
Khaama Press.
The Taliban regime which took over Kabul in August
last year has curtailed women's rights and freedoms, with women largely
excluded from the workforce due to the economic crisis and restrictions.
As a result, women and girls in Afghanistan are facing
a human rights crisis, deprived of the fundamental rights to
non-discrimination, education, work, public participation, and health.
Even taxi drivers and other urban transportation
services were forbidden from picking up and dropping off women without a Mahram
by the Taliban and imposed decree against the women's dress code was issued
after a month.
Around 80 per cent of women working in the media have
lost their jobs, and almost 18 million women in the country are struggling for
health, education, and social rights. Many women, particularly those who worked
in security agencies, lost their jobs after the Islamic Emirate was
re-established.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
(UNAMA) released a report in August, outlining the human rights situation in
Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover.
The reports summarized UNAMA's findings with regard to
the protection of civilians, extrajudicial killings, torture and ill-treatment,
arbitrary arrests and detentions, the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan,
fundamental freedoms, and the situation in places of detention.
Amid this, the rehiring of women officers comes as a
ray of hope for the women facing several severe challenges in the country.
Some female police forces urged the Islamic Emirate to
allow more women to work in government institutions. "We ask the Islamic
Emirate to let all the women return to their jobs," said Mashoqa, a police
officer.
Source: ND TV
--------
In A First, Amal Bint Faisal From Saudi Arabia Obtains
Jockey License
Saudi female jockey, Amal
bint Faisal (Photo: SPA)
-----
Sakina Fatima
16th October 2022
Riyadh: In another first for Saudi women, Amal bint
Faisal has become the first women to obtain a jockey license after passing the
test and standards required to gain a license to race, the Saudi Press Agency
(SPA) reported.
Amal has obtained the jockey’s license from the Jockey
Club in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after passing the test appointed by the
committee authorized to grant this license. She is now able and ready to
participate in the official races.
The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia on Saturday, October
15, 2022, took to Twitter and Congratulated Amal.
“Special congratulations to Fictional Amal Bint Faisal
On the occasion of her obtaining a horse’s license from the #Horseracing_Club,
we wish her success,” Saudi Jockey Club tweeted.
Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al-Faisal, the Chairman of
the Horse Race’s Club, took to Twitter and wrote, “After the first Saudi female
trainer, Sarah Al-Qahtani, we celebrate today again Amal Bint Faisal as the
first Saudi cavalry to obtain a horseman’s license.”
“This comes as a step to further empower women in the
equestrian field and enhance the development of the system within the framework
of the rational leadership’s efforts to achieve the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and
the participation of women in various fields,” he added.
The license is granted when participants pass the
assigned tests according to an internationally recognized mechanism, so that
the holder is as professional as possible to keep up with the racing power. It
includes several special tactics and techniques according to a set of rules and
regulations.
It is worth noting that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in
recent years has instituted reforms to enhance women’s participation in
economic development, including unifying the retirement age for both sexes, and
working on eliminating gender discrimination in terms of wages, job type,
field, and working hours.
The past few years have witnessed significant growth
in the rate of Saudi women’s participation in the labor market.
Three years ago, the participation rate of Saudi women
was 20.5 percent, then it rose rapidly to 33.6 per cent in the first quarter of
2022.
Source: Siasat Daily
https://www.siasat.com/in-a-first-woman-from-saudi-arabia-obtains-jockey-license-2435632/
--------
Mumbai Muslim Women Reclaim Their Right To Fitness
Oct 16, 2022
The crowded Zakaria Masjid Street area at Masjid
Bundar, a few minutes’ walk from Mohammed Ali Road, is an unlikely place to
boast of a women's fitness centre. Eateries and pavement food stalls sit
cheek-by-jowl at the Muslim pocket's bustling streets. Aroma from myriad
meat-based cuisines waft out, earning it the nickname 'khao gully', especially
during Ramzan.
Presence, therefore, of a 'Ladies Fitness Centre' here
signals a change in future reputation of not just the area, but also suggests a
wave of change sweeping through the community where girls are not encouraged to
choose fitness training as a career.
Nine months ago, Sheena Darvesh and Sameera Merani
founded Ladies Fitness Centre and Silent Helpers' Foundation. They say the
Centre and Foundation go together. Subsequently, four more girls joined the
group.
"Since we experienced the many benefits of
working out regularly ourselves, we decided to facilitate other girls and women
to make working out a habit," says Darvesh. She proudly declares that she
doesn't need to cite someone else's example to prove that regular workouts bring
benefits. "Before I joined a gym, I was overweight at 104 kgs. I have
reduced to 68 kgs and look better, am more confident as no one can call me moti
(fat) any longer," laughs Darvesh. "More girls in the community are
becoming fitness trainers. But this centre is not exclusively for Muslim women.
Anyone can join." The women choose it as a career because they love it.
"Those who come to us requesting to make them fitness trainers are told to
first slog at the gym to get toned, slim and flexible figure," says
Meerani.
Fauzia Shaikh joined this gym six months ago. She
reduced her weight and looked fresh so much so that she inspired many women in
her family. "I used to feel dull, tired and stressed before began
stretching and working the treadmill among other exercises. My sister-in-law
and cousins saw the change in me and decided to join a gym," says Fauzia
who plans to become a personal trainer and later open her own fitness centre.
Workouts help not just shape up but feel positive
"Many women face ailments like irregular periods, back pain and obesity.
If they workout, these conditions can be controlled," says Darvesh.
What is fuelling the desire to become fitness trainers
is the craze to look good, slim and fit among would be brides. They approach
the master trainers with a common request: "Aapa mujhe patli aur acchi
dikhne hai (sister, I want to look slim and attractive)." "Two or
three months before the marriage season begins, we see increase in
registrations. There are married women who visit us complaining about weight
gain post-pregnancy," explains Merani who has 60 students enrolled.
Seeing the spike in demand to stay fit and become
fitness trainers among women, these enterprising trainers have also started
mehndi classes, yoga, stress management and meditation classes.
Source: Times Of India
--------
Afghan Woman Awarded 2022 Aurora Prize for Awakening
Humanity
By Saqalain Eqbal
17 Oct 2022
Jamila Afghani, an educator, and human rights
advocate, who has dedicated more than 25 years of her life to ensuring Afghan
women’s access to education, received the seventh annual Aurora Prize for
Awakening Humanity.
The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, the awarding
organization, held a series of high-profile charity-focused events in Venice,
Italy, from October 14–16 to honor Jamila Afghani.
In addition to being a women and human rights
activist, Afghani is also the founder of the Noor Educational and Capacity
Development Organization, that not only provides literacy services but also
psychological support and legal aid to numerous women.
Even though she is compelled to live abroad, in exile,
Jamila continues to support others by donating cash to journalists, advocates,
and human rights defenders.
“Our mission at Aurora is to recognize, celebrate and
spread the work of humanitarians like Jamila Afghani around the world,” said
Lord Ara Darzi, the Aurora Chair Prize Selection Committee, who later referred
to Jamila as a “modern-day hero.”
The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative awards the Aurora
Prize each year as a gesture of gratitude to those who saved the Armenian
Genocide survivors.
With a $1 million grant, which will be given with the
prize, the laureate has the opportunity to support charities that aid those in
need and continue the cycle of giving.
Educator, human rights advocate, and Aurora Prize
laureate, Jamila Afghani was born in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, in
1976.
She is a role model for a strong Afghan woman whose
existence has positively impacted and changed countless lives.
Source: Khaama Press
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-woman-awarded-2022-aurora-prize-for-awakening-humanity-58342/
--------
European Court of Justice bans headscarf in workplaces
Sakina Fatima
16th October 2022
The European Court of Justice issued a ruling that
allows European companies to ban headscarves, and other religious,
philosophical or spiritual symbols in their workplaces, local media reported.
The ruling on Thuraday, asserted that “companies in
the conglomerate can ban headscarves as long as it is a general ban that does
not discriminate between employees.”
In its latest ruling on a case that continues to
divide Europe, the EU’s Supreme Court said a general ban on headscarves would
not discriminate against female workers on religious grounds, and would not
contravene EU law.
In this context, EU judges in Luxembourg issued a
preliminary ruling in a case involving a Muslim woman who was told she could
not wear a headscarf when she applied for a 6-week internship in a Belgian
company.
According to Reuters, company said that it follows a
neutral rule that does not allow the wearing of a head covering, whether a hat,
cap or scarf, at its headquarters.
The woman lodged her complaint with a Belgian court,
which in turn sought advice from the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The Luxembourg-based Supreme Court stated that there
was no direct discrimination in such a ban.
Hijab ban in Europe
In 2021, the European Court of Justice said that
European companies could ban female employees from wearing the headscarf under
certain circumstances if they needed to do so to give an impartial image to
clients.
In Germany, the ban on headscarves for women at work
has stirred controversy for years. Most of the cases concerned female teachers
who aspired to work in public schools and women trained to advance to the
judiciary.
France, which has the largest Muslim minority in
Europe, banned the headscarf in public schools in 2004.
In March 2022, France’s Supreme Court upheld a ban on
women lawyers wearing headscarves or other religious symbols, in a country that
insists on the separation of church, state and secularism.
France was the first European country to impose a ban
on full-face coverings such as the niqab and burqa in public.
Then Belgium banned the partial or total veil in
public in 2011, and Austria, Latvia, Bulgaria and Denmark banned the full-face
veil.
Likewise, in the Netherlands, the niqab and burqa are
prohibited in schools, hospitals and on public transport, but not on the
streets.
The headscarf is seen as a religious symbol and a sign
of modesty by some of the women who wear it, and the veil usually covers the
head and neck, but not the face.
Source: Siasat Daily
https://www.siasat.com/european-court-of-justice-bans-headscarf-in-workplaces-2434925/
--------
Iranian Sadaf Khadem Has Taken an Unorthodox Route in
the World of Sport
SARAH SFEIR
October 17, 2022
From basketball to boxing, and then to personal
training, Sadaf Khadem has taken an unorthodox route in the world of sport.
It is a strange journey geographically too, beginning
in the Iranian capital of Tehran and ending in the coastal village of Royan in
southern France.
As a student Khadem majored in physics and
mathematics, but decided to pursue a sporty path that resulted in her becoming
a personal trainer, traveling to Dubai at the age of 20 to obtain a coaching
certificate from the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness.
Now 27, she is now a personal trainer, studies
commerce and has recently founded her own clothing line.
But it has not been an easy journey for Khadem, who
faced many obstacles while concentrating on sport.
The first was finding a boxing instructor and a
location to train. A three-hour round trip sorted that one out.
Then there was the issue of no boxing federation for
women existing in Iran to regulate the sport.
She said: “A lot of men train with women without any
regulations set by any organization, and there is a lot of violence. In France
or other countries, there is a federation that regulates things so it is more
difficult to commit violent acts, but that’s not the case in Iran.”
Khadem told Arab News that after a bad experience with
her first boxing coach in Iran, she stopped the sport for a year. She then
resumed with the coach of the Iranian national team.
In 2019 she became the first female boxer from Iran to
fight in France.
She added: “After training with the Iranian national
team coach, I searched everywhere in order to participate in a boxing match. I
tried Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and, in the end, I sent a message on
Instagram to coach Mahyar Monshipour and asked him if he could organize an
official match and he agreed.
“I knew that it would be important because I was the
first female boxer who wanted to participate in an official amateur boxing
match. I knew that a lot of media outlets would want to cover the event, but I
did not imagine it would be that big.”
Eventually Khadem moved to France with the help of
Monshiphour, a French-Iranian former World Boxing Association champion.
She succeeded in taking part in her first official
bout abroad, but ever since has had difficulties returning to Iran.
French laws meant she had to remove her hijab during
fights, which led to her receiving threats from the Iranian regime, hastening
her decision to live in forced exile in France. She has since decided to stay
in the country voluntarily.
She said: “The first year was very difficult. I did
not speak French, it was like coming from a different planet.
“I did not know the rules nor the culture here.
Everything was different. On top of that I was on my own, without my family and
without any money.
“The forced exile was only for a year and, after that,
it was I who chose to stay in France. Journalists always say that I am a
refugee, but I am not. I live here now willingly. I have my residency and my
Iranian passport.”
Khadem was afforded freedom and protection in France.
She added: “I am not saying that it is paradise and that there are no issues
here, but compared to a country like Iran, I am freer.
“I lived in Iran so I know what it is like to be a
woman living there. I remember when I was 16 years old and I wanted to train
with men because I hated being a woman in Iran.”
Reporters in France used to ask her to comment on the
political situation in her homeland but she always refused.
She said: “I never answered their questions because I
would be putting my family in danger as they still live in Iran.
“Iran is not like France; we are not free to express
our political opinion. I refused to give any interview until what happened a
few weeks back with Mahsa Amini.
“I don’t reject the fact that I am Iranian, I am proud
to be Iranian, but with all the kindness and freedom that I have experienced
here in France, I would only go to visit today to see my family and friends. I
cannot live there.”
Khadem sold one of her apartments in Iran and invested
the money in her own clothing line. She hopes her example can empower women in
her home country.
She added: “I am not a hardcore feminist who is
against men, but human rights are important to me.
“The life of women there is different from other
countries. I want to motivate women. I have spent a lot of money on my company
and I haven’t made any profit, but I am proud.”
Khadem had not wanted to get involved in politics but
was compelled to do so following the death of Amini, who was killed by the
Iranian morality police after taking off her hijab.
She said: “I started posting about it on my Instagram
account, not out of compassion because I am Iranian but because logically it is
not OK to kill people in 2022, whether men or women, for a piece of cloth. I
don’t accept this and I fight for human rights.
“Following the death of Mahsa Amini, there were over
100 others killed. The Iranian government has brought in its proxies living in
other countries to kill its people.
“It pains me that people are protesting and the price
that they are paying is their lives.
“People are protesting for democracy, to have a
country where they can live more freely.”
She added: “We are only making noise and we cannot
accompany the people in Iran. The price that we are paying here in France is a
bit of tiredness. After that we go back home peacefully.
“The price that people are paying in Iran is their
lives and I am not OK with that. That is why I suggested that the best solution
would be an online protest and launching cyberattacks because everything is
shared on social media these days.”
Khadem believes that strategy is very important at
this stage, and says that most Iranians living in France do not realise what
the regime is capable of.
She said: “You can protest but you must have a
strategy and a path for everything you want in life. To run a country or make
changes in a country is a big deal.
“If I don’t speak up today I will regret it tomorrow.
I stand by the Iranian people until the day Iran becomes free. I am their
soldier, I am a champion in the eyes of the Iranian people. I stand by them
until the end for freedom and for human rights.”
Source: Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2182426/sport
--------
UAE: Meet Emirati female padel player who rose to the
top in just 2 years
by Ismail Sebugwaawo
16 Oct 2022
Ulfah Al Kaabi is one of the top Emirati female padel
players in the country, despite joining the sport just two years ago.
A business administration and marketing graduate from
the United States, the Emirati has been into sports since childhood. She has
played soccer, basketball, karate and others but padel wasn’t her thing until
recently.
Currently ranked 13 amongst female players in the UAE,
the Emirati told Khaleej Times that she was introduced to the sport by a
friend.
“Padel became popular in the UAE two years ago and
that is when I joined the sport. I was invited to the game by a friend and
played with people who had played for a couple of years,” said Al Kaabi.
As soon as I got on the court, had the racket and
started playing, I fell in love with sport. I knew this is something that I
wanted to pursue and get better at.”
She says padel is an interesting game as you have to
combine physical with mental. “It is a mentally strong game - similar to
tennis. You have to be very strategic with every ball, you have to be confident
and you have to conquer your opponents both physically and mentally. And to
maintain that, it’s really very important for the perfection of the game,”
explains the Emirati.
Al Kaabi has won several tournaments and achieved 11
medals just in the last year, including WPA Women's Tournament in April 2021,
Match Spot Solo Tournament October 2021, Match Spot Duo Tournament November
2021 1st Place, ADCC x Padel Point Inter-Club Tournament | June 2021. She
emerged first in all these competitions.
Citing some of the challenges she has faced, the
Emirati says there were just a few courts for playing padel in the UAE when she
joined the sport.
“I wanted to start training and most of the courts in
Abu Dhabi where I was living were fully booked in advance for a month. The only
time I was able to find a training slot was at 7am in Dubai,” said Al Kaabi.
“I used to wake up at 5am, drive to Dubai, train for
an hour and return to Abu Dhabi. Many people found it crazy how I could drive
to Dubai to train for just an hour. But I didn’t stop because I was so in love
with the game.”
Al Kaabi says since summer 2022, the Mubadala
Excellence Program has started sponsoring her.
“When you are an athlete, you have the same sort of
mentality, which is do it competitively, outgoing and goal oriented. It’s
really good to have a network of people with the same mindset like you and
support you as you go,” she said.
Al Kaabi says she is training hard to ensure that she
participates in more international competitions to represent her country.
Source: Khaleej Times
--------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/taliban-stone-afghan-woman/d/128200
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism