In A First, All-Women India, Bangladesh Border Troops Exchange I-Day Greetings
New
Age Islam News Bureau
15
August 2024
•
In A First, All-Women India, Bangladesh Border Troops Exchange I-Day Greetings
•
Julie Sweeney, Jailed Over ‘Blow The Mosque UpWith The Adults In It’ Facebook
Post After Southport Riots
•
Who Is Qamar Mohsin Sheikh, The Pakistani Woman Who Ties Rakhi To PM Modi Every
Year
•
Who Is NasrinaBargzie, Kamala Harris’ Liaison To Arab And Muslim Voters?
•
The Plight of Women Three Years after Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
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In
a first, all-women India, Bangladesh border troops exchange I-Day greetings
Aug
15, 2024
In
a first, all-women India, Bangladesh border troops exchange I-Day greetings
------------
Nadia
, An all-women unit of the Border Security Force made a maiden gesture and
handed over sweets and exchanged greetings with lady BGB personnel of
Bangladesh at the front in West Bengal as part of the traditional Independence
Day celebrations held along the international border.
The
first-ever women border guards exchange took place near the Gede border post of
the BSF in the said district even as a "high alert" continues all
along this over 4,000 km front following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina
government less than a week back.
The
six-member BSF team, dressed in ceremonial regalia, belonged to the 32nd
battalion of the force deployed in the area to guard the international boundary
in Nadia district. The personnel are of the constable rank, officials told PTI.
The
Border Guard Bangladesh women team that participated in the traditional
ceremonial event held in the morning is affiliated to the 6th battalion of the
Bangladeshi force deployed under the Darshana border post of the neighbouring
country.
"The
exchange of greetings and sharing of sweets symbolises mutual respect and
camaraderie between the two border forces. It is a tradition which the women
personnel have performed for the first time," 32nd battalion BSF
Commandant Sujeet Kumar said.
He
said the two sides shook hands and wished for continued prosperity of their
respective countries with a commitment for having strong bilateral ties between
them.
A
senior officer said the exchange of sweets and pleasantries between the the two
forces traditionally takes place during the national festivals of the two
countries like Independence Day and Republic Day apart from big festivals like
Deepawali and Eid.
This
is, however, the first time an all-women team performed the gesture anywhere
along this 4,096 km-long international boundary that runs across five states on
India's eastern flank including over 2,200 km in West Bengal.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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Julie
Sweeney, Jailed Over ‘Blow The Mosque UpWith The Adults In It’ Facebook Post
After Southport Riots
Aug
15 2024
Julie
Sweeney admitted sending a threatening Facebook message on August 3rd.
Photograph: Cheshire Constabulary/PA Wire
-------------
A
53-year-old woman who lived a “quiet, sheltered” life has been jailed for 15
months for posting a comment on Facebook that said: “Blow the mosque up with
the adults in it.”
Julie
Sweeney, of Church Lawton, Cheshire, pleaded guilty at Chester crown court to
sending a communication to convey a threat of death or serious harm.
She
was part of a Facebook community group of 5,100 members. Responding to a
photograph that showed a number of white and Asian people involved in the
clean-up after disorder in Southport, she posted: “It’s absolutely ridiculous.
Don’t protect the mosques. Blow the mosque up with the adults in it.”
Sentencing,
Judge Steven Everett, the honorary recorder of Chester, said in circumstances
such as these “even people like you need to go to prison”.
He
jailed her for 15 months, telling her: “You should have been looking at the
news and media with horror like every right-minded person. Instead, you chose
to take part in stirring up hatred.
The
judge said “so-called keyboard warriors” like Sweeney “have to learn to take
responsibility for their language – particularly in the context of the disorder
that was going on around the country”.
“This
was a single comment on a single day,” he said. “She lives a quiet, sheltered
life in Cheshire and has not troubled the courts in her long life. Her
character references show she lives a kind and compassionate lifestyle.”
At
Hull crown court a judge said prosecutors should consider charging offenders
who played a central role in the rioting with an offence that carries a longer
jail term.
Judge
John Thackray KC, the recorder of Hull, said the charge of rioting, with a
maximum jail term of 10 years, should sometimes be used as an alternative to a
charge of violent disorder, with a maximum term of five years.
Connor
Whiteley (26) was said to have played a “prominent role” in the “racist,
hate-fuelled mob violence” that unfolded in the city on August 3rd.
Hull
crown court heard he was at the front of a group confronting police who were
trying to protect a hotel known to house asylum seekers, and was seen charging
at officers.
He
was also part of a group that targeted a garage, setting cars alight and
threatening staff, who were forced to lock themselves inside. He pleaded guilty
to violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker.
At
Sheffield crown court a 49-year-old father of three, Trevor Lloyd, was jailed
for three years for his part in the mob storming of a Holiday Inn Express in
Rotherham, which housed asylum seekers.
The
court was shown TikTok footage of the crowd breaking in to the hotel, bringing
items including furniture and fire extinguishers outside and then throwing them
at a line of police officers holding riot shields who were forced to retreat.
The
recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC – who has already sentenced
several people in connection with the Rotherham incident – said this was the
“worst footage I have seen”.
The
National Police Chiefs’ Council said on Wednesday that 1,024 people had been
arrested and 575 charged. It expects the arrests to continue for months.
Source:
Irishtimes.Com
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Who
is Qamar Mohsin Sheikh, the Pakistani woman who ties rakhi to PM Modi every
year
August
14, 2024
With
Raksha Bandhan approaching, it is once again time for Pakistan’s Qamar Mohsin
Sheikh to visit Prime Minister Narendra to tie rakhi to him.
According
to reports, Sheikh will reportedly visit the national capital on August 19 to
celebrate the ritual that began over three decades ago. She also makes the
rakhis for the PM herself. Only during Covid-19, she was unable to visit PM
Modi. However, she sent him the rakhi by post. “I don’t buy rakhi from the
market for my brother. I make several rakhis myself before Raksha Bandhan and I
select the one I like the most to tie on his wrist,” she told ANI last year.
Born
in a Muslim family in Karachi, Sheikh married Mohsin Sheikh in 1981 and moved
to Ahmedabad. She first met the PM when he was part of the RSS. “When I first
met PM Modi, he was just a worker in the RSS,” Qamar has been quoted as saying
by ANI.
According
to India Today, Sheikh recalled meeting PM Modi at the airport for the first
time in 1990 with Dr Swaroop Singh, who was the then Governor of Gujarat.
‘Some
people unable to digest India’s progress’: PM Modi’s dig at Opposition in I-Day
speech ‘Some people unable to digest
India’s progress’: PM Modi’s dig at Opposition in I-Day speech
Modi
on Independence Day: ‘We ended ‘mai-baap’ culture, transformed governance
model’ Modi on Independence Day: ‘We
ended ‘mai-baap’ culture, transformed governance model’
PM
Narendra Modi meets Foxconn chairman Young Liu, discusses investment plans PM Narendra Modi meets Foxconn chairman Young
Liu, discusses investment plans
Sheikh
tied rakhi to the PM even during his tenure as the Gujarat Chief Minister. ''I
pray for him every day for his good health and long life. I believe that all my
wishes will come true. Earlier when I prayed for him to be the Chief Minister
of Gujarat and he became," she said.
According
to NDTV, she always wanted him to become the Prime Minister. “His response was
always affirmative, saying that all your wishes will be fulfilled by God. He is
doing commendable work for the country," she said.
Ahead
of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Sheikh had expressed her support for PM Modi.
"There is no doubt he will be the Prime Minister again. He deserves this
because he has those capabilities and I wish him to be PM of India every time,”
she told the media.
Source:
Moneycontrol
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Who
is NasrinaBargzie, Kamala Harris’ liaison to Arab and Muslim voters?
Adam
Lucente
Aug
14, 2024
US
Vice President Kamala Harris has tapped her long-term aide NasrinaBargzie to
help build support among Arab and Muslim voters, according to a Tuesday report,
as the campaign seeks to navigate the potential backlash among the community
from the Gaza war.
Who
is Bargzie? Bargzie worked as associate counsel to the vice president when
Harris took office in January 2021. Then in May 2022 she became deputy counsel
to the vice president, a position she held until her latest appointment as
liaison to the Arab and Muslim community. She was born in Kandahar,
Afghanistan, and lived in Pakistan for three years until her family was
accepted into the United States as refugees, according to NBC. She is fluent in
Pashto.
Before
joining Harris’ office, Bargzie’s experience included a clerkship at US Courts
for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, a fellowship at the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) and a senior staff attorney position with the Asian Law
Caucus civil rights organization. She has also lectured at Stanford Law School
and worked at law firms, including the New York City-based Boies Schiller
Flexner LLP, according to Business Insider.
Bargzie’s
work at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP included leading a project on civilian
casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to an archived Asian Law Caucus
web page.
Bargzie
worked on issues related to pro-Palestinian activism while with the Asian Law
Caucus. In 2013 the US Department of Education dismissed complaints against
three University of California schools that alleged protests against Israel on
campus created a hostile environment for Jewish students.
“The
organized legal bullying campaigns have failed,” said Bargzie of the
complaints, the left-wing Center for Constitutional Rights, which worked with
the caucus on the matter, reported at the time.
“Indefinite
detention without due process is illegal under our Constitution, antithetical
to the American way, and would have made our founding fathers gasp in horror,”
she wrote for the ACLU.
Why
it matters: Bargzie’s appointment comes as Harris attempts to regain lost ground
with Arab American voters who have rejected the Biden administration position
on the war and its unconditional support for Israel.
The
Associated Press reported late last month that Harris quickly pivoted toward
building support among Arab American voters in Michigan — a battleground state
that could be pivotal in the election — after Biden dropped out. Some leaders
in the community, including city of Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, are
“watching closely for signals that Harris will be more vocal in pressing for a
cease-fire.” However, the vice president “will need to walk a fine line not to
publicly break with Biden’s position on the war in Gaza,” the outlet reported.
There
has been some optimism in the Arab American community now that Harris is the
presumptive Democratic Party nominee. Activist Abbas Alawieh, who co-founded
the movement of voters who cast "uncommitted" ballots in the
Democratic presidential primaries, told reporters earlier this month that he
sees an “openness” from the Harris campaign.
“There
are early indications that there is an openness to engaging with our movement
that feels like a shift from how our requests were being treated previously of
the Harris campaign,” he said, according to National Public Radio.
As
vice president, Harris has both criticized Israel’s conduct in Gaza and
expressed support for its actions against Hamas and Hezbollah as well as
demonstrated sympathy for Palestinian civilians affected by the war.
Know
more: Harris named Ilan Goldenberg as her liaison to the Jewish American
community, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported on Monday. A campaign aide
told Jewish Insider that Goldenberg will be the “main liaison with the Jewish
community” and will advise on “the US-Israel relationship, the war in Gaza and
the broader Middle East.”
The
Israeli-born Goldenberg was a senior professional staff member for the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee from 2013 to 2015. Before that he was special
adviser on the Middle East and later Iran team chief in the Office of the
Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2009 to 2012 during the Obama
administration.
Goldenberg
outlined his views about the region in a late 2020 report he co-wrote for the
Center for a New American Security. Goldenberg and co-authors Michael Koplow
and Tamara CofmanWittes called for a new approach to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict in the report, advocating for the United States to “promote freedom,
security, and prosperity” and work toward a negotiated solution to the
conflict.
The
report lamented Israel’s “occupation and territorial expansion in the West Bank
and East Jerusalem.” It further noted that “Palestinian governing institutions
are eroding, opaque, and unaccountable” and that “the Palestinian political
leadership and people are divided between an extremist Hamas in Gaza and a
weakening Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.”
Goldenberg
has censured the Trump administration’s approach to the conflict. In a 2017
op-ed for Politico, Goldenberg criticized then President Donald Trump’s reported
plans to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, calling the disputed
city “the most sensitive of all final-status” between Israel and the
Palestinians. Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and decided to
move the embassy later that year.
Source:
Al-Monitor.Com
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The
Plight of Women Three Years after Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan
by
Alison Davidian
August
14, 2024
UNITED
NATIONS, Aug 14 (IPS) - I've just come back from the north of Afghanistan. I
asked the women I met what they want the world to know about their lives.
One
woman, Nasima told me: "I was married at 16. I couldn't finish school. My
hope was that my daughter's life would be better. Now I'm worried her life is
going to be worse. To those who are still listening to our voices, please help
us fight for our freedom."
Three
years' worth of countless decrees, directives, and statements targeting women
and girls – stripping them of their fundamental rights. Eviscerating their
autonomy.
Our
latest publication, launched today, shows trends based on rounds of
consultations we've done with thousands of Afghan women, from the provincial
capitals to the most rural areas since August 2021.
To
date, no woman in Afghanistan is in a leadership position anywhere that has
influence politically, at the national or provincial level. When Afghan women
are engaged in the Taliban's structures, their roles are largely about
monitoring compliance of other women with their discriminatory decrees.
This
political erasure is mirrored at the social level. Our data shows that when you
take away basic rights, it impacts every area of life. Of the women we
surveyed, 98 per cent felt they had limited or zero influence on
decision-making in their communities.
It
is also reflected in the home. Our data shows that the percentage of women who
feel they can influence decision-making at the household level has dropped by
nearly 60 per cent over the last year. To give some context, three years ago an
Afghan women could technically decide to run for President. Now, she may not
even be able to decide when to go and buy groceries.
Linked
to the loss of rights, our data points to an escalating mental health crisis.
Sixty-eight per cent of the women we consulted report "bad" or
"very bad" mental health. And 8 per cent indicated knowing at least
one women or girl who had attempted suicide.
Our
analysis shows that by 2026, the impact of leaving 1.1 million girls out of
school and over 100,000 women out of university is correlated with an increase
in the rate of early childbearing by 45 per cent; and an increased risk of
maternal mortality by at least 50 per cent.
We
must continue to invest in women. Nothing undermines the Taliban's vision for
society more than empowering the very part of the population they seek to
oppress.
Three
years later, while the world's attention may have turned elsewhere, the horrors
have not stopped for Afghan women and girls, nor has their conviction to stand
against the oppression.
When
it comes to the fight for women's rights, we are at an inflection point in
Afghanistan, but also globally. The world is watching what happens to women and
girls in Afghanistan. In some places, it watches to condemn; in others, it
watches to emulate the Taliban's structural oppression.
What
we do – or fail to do – for Nasima, her daughter, and all Afghan women and
girls, is the ultimate test of who we are as a global community and what we
stand for.
Source:
Www.globalissues.org
https://www.globalissues.org/news/2024/08/14/37426
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/women-india-bangladesh-border-greetings/d/132945