Uttarakhand Polygamy Ban Divides Some Muslim Women
New
Age Islam News Bureau
12 February 2024
·
Uttarakhand Polygamy Ban Divides Some Muslim Women
·
Girls In Afghanistan at Risk of Early Marriage: SIGAR
Report
·
Teen Age Girls Seek Jewish-Muslim Dialogue in Strained
New Jersey Suburb
·
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Thuqbah Take Archery Gold At Arab
Women’s Sports Tournament In Sharjah
·
Iran Claim 2024 CAFA Women's Futsal Championship Title
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/uttarakhand-polygamy-ban/d/131702
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Uttarakhand Polygamy Ban Divides Some Muslim Women
Members of Uttarakhand
Numainda Group protest against the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill during a
special session of Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, in Dehradun. Credit: PTI
File Photo
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Feb 12, 2024
NEW DELHI - Ms Shayara Bano heaved a sigh of relief on
Feb 7 at the enactment of a law banning polygamy in her small Indian state, the
culmination of a years-long effort including her own case before the nation’s
Supreme Court.
“I can now say that my battle against age-old Islamic
rules on marriage and divorce has been won,” said Ms Bano, a Muslim woman whose
husband chose to have two wives and divorced her by uttering “talaq” three
times.
“Islam’s allowance for men to have two or more wives
at the same time had to end.”
But Ms Sadaf Jafar did not cheer the new law, which
abolishes practices such as polygamy and instant divorce, even though she has
been waging her own court fight against her husband for marrying another woman
without her consent.
“Polygamy is permissible in Islam under strict rules
and regulations, but it is misused, said Ms Jafar, who is seeking alimony to
support their two children. She says she did not consult Islamic scholars as
she hoped Indian courts would provide justice.
The adoption of the Uniform Civil Code in the state of
Uttarakhand has opened a chasm between women in India’s largest religious
minority, even among some whose lives were turned upside down when their
husbands entered multiple marriages.
Some, like activist Bano, 49, celebrate the new
provisions as the overdue assertion of secular law over parallel syariah
rulings on marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and succession.
For others like Ms Jafar, Muslim politicians and
Islamic scholars, it is an unwelcome stunt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
Hindu nationalist party.
Adoption of the code in Uttarakhand is expected to
pave the way for other states ruled by Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
to follow suit, over angry opposition from some leaders of the 200 million
Muslims who make India the world’s third-biggest Muslim country.
Rights in multi-religious society
BJP leaders said the new code is a major reform,
rooted in India’s 1950 Constitution, that aims to modernise the country’s
Muslim personal laws and guarantee complete equality for women.
A 2013 survey found that 91.7 per cent of Muslim women
nationwide say a Muslim man should not be allowed to have another wife while
married to the first.
Still, many Muslims accuse Mr Modi’s party of pursuing
a Hindu agenda that discriminates against them and imposes laws interfering
with Islam. Syariah law permits Muslim men to have up to four wives, and it has
no stringent rules to prohibit the marriage of minors.
Ms Jafar, who has run for office with the main
opposition Congress party, calls the passage of the code a tactic of Mr Modi’s
government to showcase Islam in a bad light and divert attention from pressing
issues like improving the livelihood of Muslims.
The Supreme Court in 2017 found Islamic instant
divorce unconstitutional, but the order did not ban polygamy or other practices
that critics say violate equal rights for women.
In addition to the polygamy ban, the new code sets a
minimum marriageable age for both genders and guarantees equal shares in
ancestral property to adopted children, those born out of wedlock, and those
conceived through surrogate births.
While BJP leaders and women’s rights activists say the
code aims to end regressive practices, some Muslim politicians say it violates
the fundamental right to practise religion.
The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board called the
code impractical and a direct threat to a multi-religious Indian society.
“Banning polygamy makes little sense because data
shows very few Muslim men have more than one wife in India,” said board
official S.Q.R. Ilyas, adding that the government has no right to question
syariah law.
Ms Jafar, who lives with her two children in the
northern state of Uttar Pradesh, said: “Islam has enough provisions to provide
a life of dignity. We don’t need (the code) but what we need is swift justice
for women fighting for their dignity.” REUTERS
Source: straitstimes.com
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/indian-states-polygamy-ban-divides-some-muslim-women
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Girls In Afghanistan at Risk of Early Marriage: SIGAR
Report
Photo: Afghanistan Times
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Fidel Rahmati
February 11, 2024
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan
Reconstruction, or “SIGAR,” in its latest report cited by OCHA, the UN
humanitarian coordination office, has stated that Afghan girls and women are
exposed to early marriages, domestic violence, and sexual exploitation.
This entity added in its report on Thursday, February
8, that systematic violations of women’s rights in Afghanistan under the
re-emergence of the Taliban regime have no parallel elsewhere in the world.
SIGAR, citing the UN Women’s section, writes that
28.7% of girls are married by the age of 18 and 9% of girls are married by the
age of 15.
UN agencies in Afghanistan have also stated that with
the worsening economic situation in the country, the rate of forced and early
marriages has increased.
These organizations have warned that early marriages
are considered one of the primary threats to girls in society.
Since the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan in August
2021, about 100 decrees related to women’s lives have been issued, including
deprivation from education and work, prominent examples of its imposition.
On the other hand, UNAMA’s recent report for the year
2023 stated that there is no accountable authority for gender-based violence in
government offices.
According to the report, 80% of girls are deprived of
secondary education, and about a hundred thousand more girls have dropped out
of universities.
Considering these constraints, the recognition of
“gender apartheid” in Afghanistan has become one of the focal points of human
rights organizations globally.
Source: khaama.com
https://www.khaama.com/girls-in-afghanistan-at-risk-of-early-marriage-sigar-report/
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Teen Age GirlsSeek Jewish-Muslim Dialogue in Strained
New Jersey Suburb
February 11, 2024
TEANECK, United States: They are only teenagers, but a
pair of New Jersey high school students — one Jewish and one Muslim — are
tackling an issue much bigger than themselves, bridging divides in their suburb
shaken by the Israel-Hamas war.
The effort originated soon after the October 7 attacks
by Hamas and Israel’s invasion of Gaza, when Rawda Elbatrawish, 17, took to
Instagram to pitch an educational event.
“I was originally going to do a protest, but I decided
to do a dialogue instead,” recalled Elbatrawish, who is Muslim.
Liora Pelavin, 15, a fellow student at Teaneck High
School, and a Jew, quickly responded and helped to pull together an initial
session for the end of October.
Rawda Elbatrawish shows the original post for an open
invitation for a meeting, at the Teaneck High School in Teaneck New Jersey on
January 19, 2024. (AFP)
The unexpected success of that first meeting led to a
second, larger one, and the girls since have enjoyed support — but also faced
some derision — from their traditionally tolerant town.
Elbatrawish had expected the initial meeting would
draw perhaps 10 people, but soon realized “we were getting way more than we can
hold,” she said — about 60 in all.
Despite the strong turnout, the girls were not overly
optimistic about the outcome of the meeting.
“We had a lot of people telling us that this was not
going to do anything, and honestly we didn’t think it would either,” said
Pelavin. “We wanted to try something out.”
Located less than 10 miles (16 kilometres) from
Manhattan, about 40 percent of Teaneck’s population of around 40,000 is Jewish.
It also has a sizable Muslim community.
Mutual respect between religions has long been the
tradition in the area, said Noam Sokolow, who has run the local Noah’s Ark
delicatessen for 35 years.
In 2006, Teaneck elected an Orthodox Jew as mayor, and
four years later, voted in a Muslim.
The city is known for having racially desegregated its
schools in 1964, the first white-majority US community to do so voluntarily.
Yassine Elkaryani, a resident who moved to the United
States from Morocco, feels a sense of welcome in the city.
“I love the community,” Elkaryani said. “There is no
inherent problem between Jews and Muslims in Teaneck.”
But since Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7
and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, “the whole community has changed and
divided,” said Sokolow, who said he has endured “harassing” phone calls.
In mid-October, the Teaneck City Council approved a
resolution in support of Israel, enacting the measure as pro-Palestinian
protesters rallied outside.
And in November, classmates of Elbatrawish and Pelavin
rallied in solidarity with Gaza in a demonstration authorized by Teaneck
education officials.
Despite the divisions, the teens pressed on, enlisting
police officers and medical staff to help ensure security at their first
meeting.
“I think we approached in a pretty safe manner that
allowed everyone to feel comfortable,” recalled Elbatrawish.
Participants, all 25 and under, were required to
attest that they would not engage in personal attacks or shouting.
The two organizers split the attendees into smaller
groups to discuss several questions, such as: What is your reaction to October
7? And what do you want to understand from the others participating in this
group?
The smaller groups then reported back to the room.
“We had some people tell us that there was some stuff
that their table was saying that made them feel very uncomfortable and made
them feel that they strongly disagreed with it,” said Elbatrawish.
“And we felt that that was really good to hear because
they felt comfortable enough to bring that opinion in.”
The event went well enough that the teens decided to
keep going, opening a second session in November to adults. The girls
distributed fliers at local synagogues and mosques; more than 70 people
attended.
“I was actually really scared that day,” Elbatrawish
recalled, while adding that “it kind of went better than I expected.”
While much of the feedback has been positive, Pelavin
has gotten online blowback from some in the Jewish community, including from
people who say “she doesn’t represent us, stuff like that.”
Pelavin, who embraces her Jewish identity, has learned
to not read social media comments.
“There was a point where some of the people in the
town were not really accepting of me,” she said.
Elbatrawish, a senior who is in the midst of applying
for college, said she was a “bit scared” of taking on the Israel-Hamas
conflict, but views the initiative as “necessary.”
Other communities throughout New Jersey have since
reached out to Elbatrawish and Pelavin to ask for advice about hosting similar
meetings.
Pelavin said the next step is to recruit peers to run
the group’s social media accounts and manage other tasks to be able to
facilitate future meetings.
“We’ve been doing all the jobs,” she said, adding, “I
think we have to learn how to ask for help.”
Source: arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2458281/world
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Saudi Arabia’s Al-Thuqbah take archery gold at Arab
Women’s Sports Tournament in Sharjah
February 12, 2024
SHARJAH: Saudi club Al-Thuqbah won the archery
competition at the 2024 Arab Women’s Sports Tournament, defeating hosts Sharjah
6-0 in the final on Sunday, Arriyadiyah reported.
Al-Thuqbah’s gold medal-winning performance came from
the quartet of Sarah Saloum, Shaden Al-Marshud, Sama Kanfar and Lina
Al-Munajem.
Four Saudi clubs — Capital, Al-Ittihad, Al-Khaleej,
and Al-Thuqbah — took part in the seventh edition of the tournament, which
concludes on Monday.
The Kingdom’s contingent comprised 32 athletes, who
participated in athletics, basketball, karate and archery.
The AWST, the largest female-only sporting event in
the region, is organized by the Sharjah Women’s Sports Foundation, and this
year welcomed 560 athletes representing 63 clubs from 15 Arab countries.
Source: arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2458471/sport
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Iran Claim 2024 CAFA Women's Futsal Championship Title
Feb 11, 2024
TEHRAN, Feb. 11 (MNA) – Iran claimed the title of the
third edition of the CAFA Women's Futsal Championship on Sunday.
The national Iranian women's futsal team defeated
Tajikistan 9-0 in their last match at the Dushanbe Indoor Hall, Tehran Times
reported.
Iran had defeated Uzbekistan 5-1, Kyrgyzstan 11-0 and
Turkmenistan 9-0.
The CAFA Women's Futsal Championship is the annual
international futsal championship organized by CAFA for the women's national
futsal teams of Central Asia.
A total of 5 (out of 6) CAFA member national teams
entered the tournament. with Turkmenistan participating in the tournament for
the first time since their establishment in 2022.
Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and
Turkmenistan competed in the edition.
Iran had won 2022 and 2023 editions.
Source: mehrnews.com
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/211921/Iran-claim-2024-CAFA-Women-s-Futsal-Championship-title
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/uttarakhand-polygamy-ban/d/131702