New
Age Islam News Bureau
27 December 2020
• United Kingdom’s Ikram Abdi Omar, The Hijabi Model:
Hijab Represents Beauty
• The Women 'Fighting For Freedom' In Belarus
• Indian Women Achieve Many Firsts In Higher Education
• Nigerian Women Told To Be Homemakers, Not Breakers
• Danish Trine Tveen Nielsen received Malaysian Women
Leaders Award 2020
• Egypt U-20 Women’s Team Fall To Defeat Against Lebanon
In Second Friendly
• 6 Times That 2020 Showed Us Women From Antiquity
Were Totally Badass
Compiled By New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/united-kingdoms-ikram-abdi-omar/d/123892
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United Kingdom’s Ikram Abdi Omar, The Hijabi Model:
Hijab Represents Beauty
By Osob Elm
Ikram wearing the Somaliland flag to celebrate
Independence Day
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"It's all about modesty for me. As a Muslim,
being modest is a major thing and I just wanted to showcase to everyone that
you can be modest and be into fashion because the hijab itself - apart from
representing Islam - represents beauty."
Ikram Abdi Omar was the UK's first hijab-wearing model
to feature on the cover of Vogue at the age of 21 and became the face of
Burberry in 2019.
The Swedish-born Somali model, now 23 and living in
Bristol, said her heritage and religious beliefs have greatly influenced her
modelling career.
"I believe my role in this industry embodies
women's empowerment itself, because it shows that women have the choice to
dress however they like, whether that includes showing skin or not, and still
feel brilliant."
"In a more spiritual sense, I feel closer to God
and more connected to Islam when I wear the hijab and that in fact has
intensified over the years."
Breaking the news to her relatives in 2018 that she
would be quitting her biomedical science degree to pursue a modelling career
prompted mixed reactions.
She said: "I feel like when grandparents hear the
word modelling, they start to think of modelling that isn't modest and it
worries them.
While her father, Abdi Omar, wanted her to finish the
course at the University of the West of England (UWE), he has been supportive
of her choice.
"When we go back to our traditional roots, the
older generation do not approve of anything to do with modelling or involving
women being at the forefront in the public eye, but it's important to educate
them and highlight that if you have morals and values, the western society
respects you."
Being one of the first ever hijab-wearing models,
Ikram has paved the way for women from the Muslim community to enter the
modelling industry.
She said: "It's exciting to see a new wave of
young Somali models because I feel like I have more sisters that I can connect
and share experiences with.
"We can all help support, learn and lean on each
other because it can be very intense and draining with a schedule in this
industry. We can get advice on how each of us copes with everything.
Ikram has walked for the likes of Roland Mouret, Tommy
Hilfiger, Molly Goddard, Iceberg, British fashion designer Richard Quinn, Juicy
Couture and more.
In November 2019 she was featured in the Burberry
festive campaign depicting motherhood.
"When we were in Sweden and she was in nursery
school, her teachers asked me if she could star in a film and I didn't allow
her because I didn't want her to mix in the film industry and drift away from
her culture and religion."
"I felt like I was representing a bigger role
than just myself, but a community that has dreams and aspirations of reaching
places in different industries, regardless of how they look," she added.
Her modelling career began in the summer of 2018 when
a casting director from Premier Models spotted her in Bristol's Cabot Circus
shopping centre.
"Our culture has such beautiful, colourful and
detailed clothing which definitely has had a massive influence on my clothing
style today and my interest in fashion as a whole.
"For instance, our traditional clothing called
the Dirac - which is one of my personal favourites - and the baati that we wear
at home which also has such fantastic patterns and colours."
"Being a part of something so revolutionary
relating to the history of a company like Nike was right up my alley, full
modest wear aimed at Muslim females, as opposed to blending my modest wear in
with a brand."
"Carrying the name of Islam holds a very deep
meaning and although modelling is not culturally accepted in our culture, as
her father I had no doubt in her, there is a fine line that cannot be crossed.
"I taught her to love herself because to love
yourself means you preserve, protect and respect yourself before anyone else
and this is a foundation we built from her childhood.
"You can share your lived experience and try to
make your child understand the consequences and reasoning behind why you don't
approve of something they may want.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-53096029
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The Women 'Fighting For Freedom' In Belarus
MICHELE KELEMEN
December 26, 2020
Yelena Leuchanka was lying on a cold, hard bed in a
detention center in Minsk in late September when she heard other detainees
singing.
"I just laid there because I was still in
shock," she recalled. "And the next thing I hear are women singing
Kupalinka. It's a Belarus song that women, when they go on their marches, they
sing this song."
Leuchanka, a former WNBA basketball center from
Belarus who played on her country's Olympics team, spoke about the 15 harrowing
days she spent in a flea-ridden cell during an event held online earlier this
month, hosted by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security.
Women have been at the forefront of protests against
the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko, whose claim of victory in an
August election is widely disputed. Holding flowers and flags, they gather
weekly, risking arrest, harassment and beating by security forces.
"The face of what is happening in Belarus is
largely the face of women," says Melanne Verveer, the Georgetown
institute's executive director and a former U.S. ambassador at large for
women's issues. This, she says, is something "unexpected in a region
largely male-dominated, certainly in politics."
The protests began after Belarus' disputed Aug. 9
reelection. Lukhashenko, who has been in power since 1994, claimed victory over
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the wife of a jailed opposition figure. Since then,
Lukashenko has led a brutal crackdown, jailing key opposition leaders or
forcing them into exile. Tikhanovskaya fled to Lithuania.
After her release, Leuchanka managed to leave Belarus
for Greece — but one of her cellmates was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison
for trying to tear off a policeman's balaklava at a protest.
"It's like at that time you realize that you are
there not because you did something, not because you committed a crime. You are
there because you are fighting for freedom. And the spirit of people, I mean, I
was so amazed," Leuchanka said.
None of the Belarusian officers accused of torturing
and raping women in prison have been held to account, she said. But, she said,
"Not one woman that I have been in a cell with said, 'I am regretting that
I did this, I regret that I'm here.' We will continue to fight and speak and
raise our voices... Do you understand the strength I am talking about?"
Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun met with
Tikhonovskaya in August, and Congress recently weighed in with legislation to
support the protesters. But President Trump has been silent about Belarus.
Verveer says Trump's effort to overturn his own election loss has tarnished
America's image abroad.
"I think it does not just undermine our
credibility, but our ability to promote democratic values, to promote
democracy, to be what we have always claimed to be and more often than not
acted on," she tells NPR.
Still, the women of Belarus are looking to the U.S.
for support and have high hopes for President-elect Joe Biden.
"We definitely do think that Biden administration
will be absolutely different from the Trump administration," Natalia Kaliada
said at the Georgetown event. Kaliada cofounded the Belarus Free Theatre, a
group that has performed in secret for more than a decade. Kaliada now lives in
exile in the U.K.
Kaliada said Biden will have an early chance to offer
his support: Tikhanovskaya is planning a trip to Washington, D.C., in January,
around the time of Biden's inauguration.
"We can't waste time anymore," said Kaliada.
She said the people of Belarus are ready to sacrifice
and are sending "a May Day message to the world now."
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/26/949977023/the-women-fighting-for-freedom-in-belarus
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Indian Women Achieve Many Firsts In Higher Education
byTV Mohandas Pai
Dec 27, 2020
India's focussed efforts to include women in
mainstream higher education has gained significant momentum over the last
decade and achieved a notable milestone last year — in 2018-19, gender parity
in the overall Indian higher education system reached 1.0 for the first time.
The gross enrolment ratio of women at 26.4 exceeded
that of men at 26.3. Over the last eight years since MHRD (now Ministry of
Education) has been tracking annual higher education (HE) indicators in detail
via the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), India has witnessed a
steady increase in the number of women enrolling and graduating.
https://swarajyamag.com/ideas/indian-women-achieve-many-firsts-in-higher-education
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Nigerian women told to be homemakers, not breakers
DECEMBER 26, 2020
By Arogbonlo Israel
Nigerians, especially women, have been charged to wake
up to their responsibility of being homemakers, in order to have a better
Nigeria.
Dr. Oluwafemi Aladenusi from Federal College of
Education, Technical, Akoka, Lagos, gave the charge at 2020 Women Conference
organised by the New Seraph on “The Women of Valour” at the church premises in
Sattelite town.
In a message at the occasion, Aladenusi, who was guest
speaker, said the reason for the programme was to see women performing their
responsibilities effectively in their family and in the community.
She made known the capacity of a family woman in the
sense that “When you educate a woman, you educate the whole world, which is as
a result of the great power God has given unto them.”
Also in her message, she said a virtuous woman is one
with great ideology, courageous, full of strength, and wisdom personified.
According to her, the major reason things go wrong in
the family is because women fail to perform their activities well, most
especially when they disrespect their husband.
She, however, enjoined women to be respectful, be
homemakers and not home breakers, ensure things are done orderly, be
trustworthy and helpmate to their husband, adding that the government should
empower the women so that they will not be a liability to their husband.
In her remark, prophetess Aroja Funmilayo Awolabi said
it is high time the women began to see themselves as nation builders, game
changers and responsible human beings.
Awolabi made it known that women are helpmate to the
men and to pray by reminding God His words concerning the immorality in the
country.
The doctor said in the family, women should not be in
competition with their husband, but rather submit to their husband in order to
build a better nation.
She noted that women are the brain box of the men,
urging the government to show concern to the plight of the womenfolk.
In related news, Superintendent Mother Oluwatoyin
Okoo, while revealing the Founder of the programme as Dr Yomi Shokoya, said:
“The annual programme was set aside to ensure that we have women of good
character and value, women that can manage the affairs of their family
effectively in our community.”
In conclusion, they advised all family women to be
helping hands to their husband, respecting their husband, and that their
character should be Christ-like in nature.
They also enjoined the government to show concern to
things that pertain to women in the community, and in turn, there would be
women who are nation builders and home builders in the country at large.
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/12/nigerian-women-told-to-be-homemakers-not-breakers/
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Danish Trine Tveen Nielsen received Malaysian Women
Leaders Award 2020
by Zazithorn Ruengchinda
December 27, 2020
Danish Trine Sofie Tveen Nielsen, Executive Director
of Malaysian Danish Business Council released recently a thank you note for
having received the Malaysia Women’s Leader Award 2020.
Trine Sofie Tveen Nielsen was given the award based on
her contribution in building a sustainable leadership pipeline, for support and
encouragement to gender, diversity and inclusion at work and promoting of
empowerment and social change and for her ability to influence policy and
strategy and optimal utilization of opportunities and recourses.
“I honestly am not sure what makes me most proud. To
be awarded and recognized as a woman leader in Malaysia, or being privileged
having a job that gives me enough room to unfold my talents (and to make the
mistakes I learn so much from).
Whether it is one or the other, I think in the end it
is two sides of the same coin. Working in the right position and with the right
people as well as working with what you are passionate about, then the
framework is well set for recognition.
Therefore, I give much of the credit for this award to
my employer and my team, who have made it all possible. Thank you Malaysian
Danish Business Council, thank you to the board and all members of our
Malaysian Danish Business Community! thankyou for your support.”
https://scandasia.com/malaysian-danish-business-councils-executive-director-recieved-malaysian-women-leaders-award-2020/
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Egypt U-20 women’s team fall to defeat against Lebanon
in second friendly
by Ahmed El Ramady
December 27, 2020
Egypt are hosting Lebanon in two friendly encounters
this winter in preparation for the AFCON and World Cup qualifiers.
The Pharaohs came out victorious 3-1 in the first game
last Wednesday, thanks to a hat-trick from Nadia Ramadan.
However, Lebanon managed to narrowly edge Egypt in
their second friendly at the Petrosport stadium on Saturday.
Despite their defeat, Nada El-Gharib and Laila Sherif
scored for Egypt while last week’s hat-trick hero Nadia Ramadan couldn’t get on
the scoresheet.
https://www.kingfut.com/2020/12/27/egypt-u-20-women-defeat-lebanon/
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6 times that 2020 showed us women from antiquity were
totally badass
By Mindy Weisberger
Throughout history, women have been fighters,
strategists and charismatic leaders, performing feats of strength, cunning and
bravery. And in 2020, archaeologists uncovered intriguing evidence from the
past showing that women didn't hesitate to kick butt and take names. From
hoisting a spear to hurling a vengeful spell, here are six times that women
from antiquity showed us that they were not to be trifled with.
Using lidar (light detection and ranging), a
remote-sensing method using laser pulses to measure distances, the researchers
analyzed the ancient "white road." Earlier surveys declared that the
road ran in a straight line between Cobá and Yaxuná. But the new analysis
revealed unexpected twists and turns in the so-called white road that likely
encompassed small settlements, which the queen's forces would also have
conquered on her path to victory.
Archaeologists discovered Cui Shi's tomb in 2012, and
recent analysis of the donkeys' leg bones confirmed that they had a different
gait than pack animals did, hinting that they were bred for quick maneuvering
during high-speed polo games. Records from this period during the Tang Dynasty
(A.D. 618 to 907) show that polo was popular among imperial China's upper
classes, despite the game's dangers; one historic account notes that Cui Shi's
husband lost an eye during a polo match.
A closeup of the papyrus showing the Egyptian
jackal-headed god Anubis shooting Kephalas with an arrow. Kephalas is depicted
nude with an enlarged penis and scrotum. The arrow Anubis shoots is supposed to
make Kephalas lustful for a woman named Taromeway.
A closeup of the papyrus showing the Egyptian
jackal-headed god Anubis shooting Kephalas with an arrow. Kephalas is depicted
nude with an enlarged penis and scrotum. The arrow Anubis shoots is supposed to
make Kephalas lustful for a woman named Taromeway. (Image credit: Photo
courtesy University of Michigan)
About 1,800 years ago in ancient Egypt, a lovestruck
woman named Taromeway commissioned an "erotic binding spell" to drive
a man named Kephalas mad with lust — the spell was documented in a papyrus
scroll, which researchers recently translated. It called upon a ghost to hound
Kephalas until he gave in to Taromeway, with "his male organs pursuing her
female organs," according to the spell. The scroll also contained a
drawing of Kephalas in the nude, with the Egyptian jackal-headed god Anubis
firing an arrow at the naked man (presumably to inflame Kephalas' desire for
Taromeway). Scholars have translated binding spells like this one before, but
such spells are typically used by men to attract women, the scientists
reported.
A 2,500-year-old burial in Siberia holds a woman
warrior and her weapons stash, including an axe, knives and bronze daggers.
There are four bodies in total in the grave — the woman, a man, an older woman
and an infant — and they belonged to the ancient Tagar culture, a subset of
southern Siberia's nomadic Scythian civilization. The woman was likely in her
30s or 40s when she died, and she was arranged on her back with her set of
weapons positioned close by. Tagarian women were often buried with long-range
weapons, so the presence of a melee-style long-handled battle axe is very
unusual, one of the archaeologists said.
https://www.livescience.com/women-antiquity-badass-2020.html
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/united-kingdoms-ikram-abdi-omar/d/123892
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