Women status in Islam - Pakistan Observer

 
Before the advent of Islam, women were treated in such a evil way. They had no rights to live. They were treated worse as compare to animals. Young girls were buried alive. Women were treated like cattle, devoid of humanity. In those days of darkness and evil society, the people had not any sense about women as they are also creation of Allah. The advent of Islam gave bright light to everyone. Islam gave equal rights to both male and female. Islam recognises the position of women to be the same as that of men. Islam also recognises that women are not one of the lower specie. Islam has given women rights and privileges which she has never enjoy under other religion. GHULAM TAHIR
Resident Editor

Sexual thoughts : Islamic cleric asks women not to touch bananas,cucumbers - TruthDive

An Islamic cleric residing in Europe said that women should not be close to bananas or cucumbers, as they have sexual resemblance and may invoke “sexual thoughts.”

The unnamed sheikh who was featured in an article on el-Sawsana news, was quoted saying that if women wish to eat these food items, a third-party, preferably a male related to them such as their a father or husband, should cut the items into small pieces and serve.

He said that these fruits and vegetables “resemble the male penis” and hence could arouse women or “make them think of sex.” He also added carrots and zucchini to the list of forbidden foods for women.

The sheikh was asked how to “control” women when they are out shopping for groceries and if holding these items at the market would be bad for them. The cleric answered saying this matter is between them and God.

Answering another question about what to do if women in the family like these foods, the sheikh advised the interviewer to take the food and cut it for them in a hidden place so they cannot see it.

The opinion has stirred a storm of irony and denouncement among Muslims online, with hundreds of comments mocking the cleric.

One reader said that these religious “leaders” give Islam “a bad name” and another commented said that he is a “retarded” person and he must quite his post immediately.

But the cleric seems to have some merit in his statement scientifically.

Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D, Founder and CEO, The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in his website has said “All cultures have foods that are considered aphrodisiac. For example, saffron in Spain, bird’s nest soup in China, camel’s hump among the Arabs, cocoa for the Aztecs. It was said, for example, that Montezuma had 600 concubines, and to satisfy them he drank 50 cups of cocoa per day from a golden goblet. Over time, almost every interesting or exotic foodstuff, particularly if reminiscent of the male or female sex organs, has been used to inspire desire and stimulate performance: bananas, peaches, berries, figs, dates, asparagus, nuts, seeds, stuffed dates, sea urchins, to name a few”.

“Food can be sexually enticing or suggestive because of its texture (soft, slithery, slurpy, such as oysters), shape or appearance (think bananas, asparagus, cucumbers, pomegranates), and even the attitude with which it’s eaten (if slowly, sensually, with eye contact)”, he added.

The Role of Women in Arab Post- Revolutionary Regimes - Al-Arabiya

The subjection of Arab women will be inevitable if Islamist political parties seize power in the countries of change, where coups or uprisings took place this year. The condition of women in Iran in the wake of Khomeini’s revolution in 1979 bears living testimony to the fate of Arab women, if they make similar mistakes and fail to rebel early on and in a comprehensive fashion. For one thing, Arab women today would represent an extraordinary instrument of change, if they were to organize themselves with the aim of causing political, economic and social change, so as to form a clear response to the attempts of Islamists to hijack the idea of the secular state. Resisting subjection may force women to resort to violence, and this would require courage, boldness and initiative.

Yet civil disobedience would also require these qualities. And so would “thinking outside the box”, through new means and approaches, some of which entailing confrontation, while others requiring an innovative and creative strategy. While traditional women’s associations have played and continue to play a necessary role, most of them have dissociated themselves from politics, considering the latter to be “men’s work”.

Women have played significant roles within political organizations, liberationist or Islamist, yet they have most of the time been excluded as soon as the revolutionaries or the Islamists came to power.

The condition of women in countries that claim to be enlightened, such as Lebanon, is also shameful given the absence of women from political decision-making institutions, as the men of power had not “found” any women qualified enough to fill even a single ministerial position under the current Prime Minister, while there were only two female ministers under the previous one. In fact, the country of freedom and democracy, as it boasts, has failed to adopt a decision to outlaw violence against women in compliance with the desires of religious institutions. The women of Egypt, or most of them, are digging their own graves as long as their burkas are blinding them to the fate of their fundamental rights – women’s rights from the perspective of human rights at the very least.

Here, the women of Lebanon, a country not reached by the Arab Spring - which has become an autumn and a possible prelude to a winter storm-, have one thing in common with the women of Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, where the fast train of change has arrived, as well as with the women of the Syrian opposition, who have played striking political roles and whose fate remains unknown under the alternative forces that would come to power. What they have in common is the necessity for them all to form feminist political parties – political parties, not unions or associations. They are in need of political parties with clear programs and goals, and a clear focus on the roles played by women in decision-making. They need parties that are bold and courageous in calling themselves feminist, then run in elections and demand a 30 percent quota of posts for women, as adopted by the United Nations 35 years ago. These parties would organize protests, demonstrations and local and international workshops to benefit from the experiences of women around the world. In fact, the first of such workshops should be held in collaboration with the women of Iran.

And more still, such workshops should examine ways to make use of the Arab women’s money and their abilities (independently as holders of capital), yet within a strategy of influence capable of transforming the standards of an investment in which women would be pioneers and decision-makers, and which would have a massive impact on the country’s economy. This way it will be possible to redefine the role of women in the Arab region and also to reshape their relations with the new generation of both young men and women. And if the young generation, which took part in the revolutions of change and in the overthrow of the regimes, has truly reached political maturity, it should take the initiative now – before the Islamists finish hijacking their revolution – to raise Arab women as a slogan, an instrument and a feature for the democratic road to reform and freedom.

It may be said that a crisis and a confrontation could arise between the women of modernity and the women of tradition – especially religious tradition – in view of their different aspirations. Well then, so be it. Just as there is acceptance of the struggle between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists for power, or between Leftists and Islamists, let the difference between the women of modernity and the women of tradition be accepted and be democratic.

The Libyan women activists are characterized by a great deal of courage, as they enter into a fateful battle against the Islamist revolutionaries, and even against the leaders in power who have rushed to degrade Libyan women by reinstating Libyan men’s “right” to marry four women. Libya’s women may well fall victim to the alliance between the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) and the revolutionaries to overthrow the regime, if the sponsors of this alliance do not go ahead and exercise their influence – which they do when they want to – instead of merely speaking empty words about women’s rights. Libyan women have taken part in getting rid of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime – and some of them have been active for 40 years – but they are now alone in a fateful battle against the men of the revolution, who are determined to monopolize power, exclude women and impose their own narrow-minded version of Sharia rule.

The United Nations has a role it must now boldly play through its Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who spoke boldly against Gaddafi, and must now speak with the same boldness for the rights of Libyan women, from the perspective of human rights as well as that of political participation. In Afghanistan for example, where the United Nations played a role in shaping the new political regime after the fall of the Taliban, then-UN Envoy Ambassador Al-Akhdar Al-Ibrahimi made sure to include the participation of women in decision-making and a clear quota for them according to the constitution, giving women 25 percent of seats in parliament. The United Nations failed to do the same in Iraq – although it would have been able to if it had tried. Before it today is the opportunity of a Security Council term for the Secretariat, as well as that of the presence of an entire UN entity dedicated to women, called UN Women and headed by the former President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet. This entity must prove itself courageous and bold by supporting and providing all assistance to Arab women. This is a fateful phase for them, and that is the mission of the new entity.

A workshop for Arab women must adopt a new political discourse, based on women leading, not following, or demanding to be granted a right here or to have a restriction removed there. The women of Iran have hesitated, they have been patient, they have waited and they have dreamed. And when they awoke to their bitter reality, it was too late. Even the execution of some of them went by without any international notice. Their situation today is tragic, and they are warning Arab women, as if to say: beware of committing the same mistakes. If you do not rise up now, it will be too late.

The Arab youths, who are waging the battle for change in their respective countries, have not yet risen to recognizing the right of young women to freedom, liberalism and the right to express themselves. Most of them fell between chivalry and tradition, as they watched the Islamists in Tahrir Square in Egypt expelling young women by “pushing” them and pulling their hair, to punish them for violating tradition. Some of them have overlooked harassment, and even rape. As long as they keep this mentality, they will not rise to the level of being able to cause the required radical change in Arab societies, not just because this is a fundamental part of freedom and liberalism, but also because it will not be possible to develop Arab societies without women.

If young Arabs stay in the Tahrir-style Squares of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco and Syria in such a state of want, their battle for power against the Islamists will be a losing one. They will surely fail without the participation of young Arab women, who have truly begun work that is organized, bold and qualitatively new. They are active in Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Libya and Egypt as well.

The burden of the fate of Yemeni women, meanwhile, falls on the shoulders of Tawakel Karman, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, amid the West’s zeal to accept the Muslim Brotherhood, to which Tawakel is affiliated – considering them to represent moderate Islam, as per their own definition. It is not clear whether Tawakel Karman intends to make use of the standing given to her by such a prize in defending the rights and the role of Arab women in a secular state that separates religion and state. Tawakel Karman has the right to take on the role of an activist for the overthrow of Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime, but she does not have the right to take on that of a supporter of Arab women, as long as she does not clarify her position within the context of the Muslim Brotherhood being in power.

It is time to clarify one’s identity, particularly by the women of the Muslim Brotherhood. We know that Salafist women have neither a say nor a role, but only exclusion and submission, as admitted and clearly declared by the Salafists themselves. We know that the worst thing that could happen to Arab women would be for the Salafists to come to power. They have made this unequivocally clear. What is unclear is the women’s program within Muslim Brotherhood organizations, which pay lip service to modernity as a tactic, so as to reach power then monopolize it.

Turkey, perhaps in partnership with Qatar, has promoted so-called moderate Islam to circumvent extremism. Yet it is today required to take clear stances towards the roles and rights of Arab women. We know that the wives of all high-ranking officials in Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, including the President and the Foreign Minister, wear the hijab as a political statement, and not just as a religious choice. Turkey has the ability to stop the descent, because secularism in it is strong, and because its geography prevents it from such a descent. Things are not so in the Arab region. Turkey is required to speak publicly of the situation of Arab women, especially as it is a partner in the drive to bring the Islamists to power.

Most importantly, Arab women must begin to work for local change while coordinating or at least communicating with the feminist work being done in other Arab countries. The challenges are many, benefiting from the lessons of others is necessary, and adopting a new methodology based on political discourse and on establishing political parties has become urgent. The time for serious work is now, because the Arab Awakening will end in the Slumber of the Dark Ages if Arab women fail to take the initiative and to lead the way forward.

(The writer is a columnist at Dar Al Hayat, where this article was first published on Dec 9, 2011.)

Canada bans women from wearing Muslim veils during citizenship oath - Daily Caller

America’s northern neighbor has banned women from wearing the burka and niqab while taking their oath of citizenship.

Canada, known for its welcoming immigration policies, is now prohibiting any face coverings during citizenship ceremonies in order to ensure that those taking the citizenship oath are actually reciting it.

In the announcement, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney explained that the decision came as a result of complaints from lawmakers, judges and citizens who said they could not tell whether those with covered faces were saying the oath.

“All we ask of people is to fulfill the requirements of citizenship and to swear an oath before one’s fellow citizens that one will be loyal to our traditions that go back centuries. This common pledge is the bedrock on which Canadian society rests,” he said Monday. “That is why starting today, my department will require that all those taking the oath do so openly. From today, all persons will be required to show their face when swearing the oath.”

Kenney added that the act of taking the citizenship oath “is a quintessentially public act” to show that one is joining the “Canadian family.”

“To segregate one group of Canadians or allow them to hide their faces, to hide their identity from us precisely when they are joining our community is contrary to Canada’s proud commitment to openness and to social cohesion,” Kenney said. “It’s important to note that this is an expectation. If Canada is to be true to our history and to our highest ideals, we cannot tolerate two classes of citizens. We cannot have two classes of citizenship ceremonies.”

The question of Muslim veils has plagued many Western democracies that walk a fine line between the practical need for identification and allowing for religious expression. In April, France became the first European country to ban the burka in pubic places.

Canada’s decision, which took effect immediately, has been met with mixed emotions.

Abdullah Khan, a member of the North Shore Islamic Information Centre, told Canada’s The Province that a majority of Muslims would not push back against it.

“Islam is also flexible to accommodate these needs,” he said.

The acting executive director of The Canadian Council of American-Islamic Relations, Ihsaan Gardee, however, took issue with the decision, saying that it called into question the good faith of Muslims taking the oath. Further, it would force Muslim women to chose between their religion and their desire to become a citizen, Gardee said.

“If implemented, this decision will have a damaging effect on our democracy because it forces those who wear the niqab to choose between their religious convictions and adopting Canadian citizenship,” Gardee said.

The B.C. Muslim Association expects Muslim women will follow the new regulation, but takes issue with how the government characterized the ban.

“We feel that the government should have consulted experts on Islamic law before enforcing the regulation in order to understand the correct position of niqab in Islam. The minister’s remarks about niqab being a completely cultural practice are inaccurate and Islamic legal texts can be referred to in this matter,” said BCMA president Musa Ismail and BCMA religious affairs spokesman Mufti Aasim Rashid in a statement.

“Likewise the presentation of the regulations as a ‘ban’ or ‘imposition’ and the minister’s public comments about Muslim women’s previous practice as being ‘ridiculous’ or ‘frankly bizarre’ do not exude finesse and inclusiveness,” said the BCMA leaders.

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Afghan women have room Dungeon-sweet success for the Care2.com (blog)

This post is Karen day, journalist and founder of the Afghan women's justice project, written by.

This helped to change the main Afghan history almost 93000 people in the world. Petition signatures The Afghan women's justice project , and c a r e 2 by proffered, you came along and Afghan President Hamid Karzai Gulnaz sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for women, she refused to marry the rapist of a pardon for. However, women's rights, and this win is tainted by two facts: more than 600 women and their children are similar to the "moral crime" remains behind bars in Afghanistan and decided to marry her rapist Gulnaz.

In Afghanistan this year, my sixth trip and imprisoned with in Gulnaz women and children, hundreds of met. Most people never see as humanitarian journalists prefer to spend my life — in place, the refugee camps and warzones. third world disaster areas The bad news is that in the world after years of reporting in a worse place, it immediately won the female prisoners in Afghanistan of the planet's most anywhere on the sad honor of disenfranchised women.

United States Army and aid the Afghan women, which has brought progress on investment guarantee, full of cell phones and hotel in the city of Kabul, especially — but still all the way to flow burkas. Only in the 15th century, you need to travel outside the city, 5 kilometers to go back to one. Korean society of Islam and Sharia law is built on centuries-old belief — the ancient chiefs Hall of the cultural code that instructs the women less than men, the status and the legal value of the holding. "due process" for women is non-existent. It is simply accusing the woman of the crime and the two men she accused automatically guilty. In addition to the common moral crimes (or heights) to the prison every day, like having shot women and children continue to send abusive husband and murder-by-proxy, where a male family member accused of killing someone, run away from the woman.

Basic education, health and safety without the Afghan women face unimaginable daily hardships. They also have the world's highest maternal mortality: childbirth-related causes in the six women die from one. By comparison, the basic meals and isolated from the men, women and children, in these terrible Afghan prison almost met us and Afghanistan can be considered lucky — many are still in prison consultant deduce "honor-killing" since the Taliban Kandahar and Helmand in the same area of less than 25 women in governance.

Gulnaz toddles around the prison yard, who is facing a young woman with her daughter 20 rounds. She is a cousin of her husband she was raped, her conception by refusing to marry the rapist, sentenced to jail for the 18. Clementine Malpas, English film producer, the story of Gulaz "-define" produced by the European Union in the six months to document in the film called. The story also two other women prisoners, "received moral crimes."Regarding the fate of the film was complete, the release of the EU, decided to block would endanger their lives, these victims of exposure.

Defining the legal and human rights, which the filmmakers Joey Leffler about the rule of the European Union attach received e-mail description. It is mentioned that the European Union was determined to "women in film when was ' give their full consent, '" subjects of the documentary "EU and rehabilitate can threaten the life of a responsible for the event would not be willing to take."

Clementine was not, however. We hope the recognition earlier this year when her film would increase the gain entry to the jail and these disadvantaged women and helped improve the lives of children she met in Kabul. As the founder of the Afghan women's justice project literacy education in prison and as a benefit to raise funds for preschool to Sun Valley, Idaho "ban" movie premiere at the situation and may, in writing. For me, the European Union seemed to double by the film censor injustice. Www.awjp.orgkeep In-justice Trailer posted.

Afghan women face today two attractive reality movie releases, including whether or not the argument. Earlier this year, the Government has Afghan Taliban conservative time magazine by punishment was cut off her nose, woman's shelter after one child bride show almost shut down. They have been made to promote women's rights failed to show the progress. They talk to the media on the safe houses in Afghanistan these women so that they can be damaging to honor.

Who am I to talk anonymously and shot the woman puts it more concisely. Women and children in prison to provide literacy training to Afghan women's Education Center, her identity to the public could endanger herself and her family by her. "Articles or the Afghan women's plight in the film, I can tell you the truth, but they also could aggravate the situation more difficult — and my work."

It means you will never change — so what is the situation not yet exposed to, and the answer to the puzzle for Christmas?

Clem, you must believe that the truth be told. She continued to lobby for the release of the film, and grassroots organizing efforts and petition Gulnaz free. Kimberly Motley, petition, signed by a pro bono basis, media attention and thousands of young prisoners, with the help of a lawyer who defended the United States and we finally pardoned President Hamid Karzai of Gulnaz and has taken historic steps forward. It's all of us married her rapist Gulnaz is going to be released until it seemed a clear victory.

Again, the cultural norms continue to Trump. Clemente told her, "said Gulnaz deems my rapist has destroyed my future. No one has done what he married the day after. So I married my rapist for my children should be. "

Several organizations still behind thousands of Afghan women and children as a gift and she will make a different choice remains unclear whether Gulnaz alternative "moral crime."To provide for the bar

What difference www.awjp.org can be made, for more information, go to the friends Care2 petition on our forwards!

—

The Mission of the women and children requiring Tan AWJP gender-based inequalities and injustice for the imprisonment for human therapy and provides legal defense. They are defense lawyers, literacy teachers and imprisoned women and children in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan for medical services by the funds to do so.

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Inside a Syrian Quran School for Women: The Spiritual Roots of a Revolution - Huffington Post

Women have been the heart and backbone of Islam from its beginnings. From the courage of Khadija, Prophet Muhammad's first wife and first convert, to the scholarship and fiery independence of his later wife Aisha; from the political genius of Muslim queens such as Egypt's Shajarat al-Dur and India's Nur Jahan to the spiritual wisdom of female saints such as Rabia of Basra, Islam has been shaped and guided by the feminine hand since its earliest days. And today, as the Arab world goes through a long-overdue confrontation between dictatorship and democracy, women have been at its forefront.

Many Muslim women who are serving as political leaders at this pivotal time are receiving a great deal of attention in the news. Tunisian blogger Lina Ben Mhenni first brought worldwide attention to the injustices in her country leading to a popular uprising that soon spread throughout the Arab world. In Egypt, 26-year-old Asmaa Mahfouz is credited with using Facebook to inspire her fellow citizens to rise up against the regime of Hosni Mubarak. And among the winners of the 2011 Nobel Prize was Tawakel Karman, a Yemeni journalist whose arrest by the government sparked a wave of protest that finally led to the resignation of Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

These young women, and many others whose names are perhaps known only to their families and loved ones, have been catalysts for change in their countries. But the question arises as to why now? Part of it is demographics, with 60 percent of the population of the Arab world under age 30, and more than half being female. Part of it is growing access to information and social media. These factors have been discussed heavily in the press.

But what has received less attention is the role that spiritual awakening is playing in Muslim women standing tall against oppression. Back in June, I wrote about how Muslim women are taking a lead role in Islamic scholarship to empower themselves and strip their faith of misogynist accretions promoted by men over the centuries. That rediscovery of the feminist elements of Islam has been pivotal in helping Muslim women worldwide reclaim their innate dignity and power, and has helped them to fight back against the staid and outdated traditions that have held back many Muslim countries in the past century.

I recently came across a remarkable documentary that focuses on exactly how that is happening, how Muslim women are taking charge of their religious upbringing, even in the face of oppression. The independent feature documentary, "The Light In Her Eyes," had its world premiere Nov. 19 at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam. A world rarely seen by outsiders, it is the first feature film to be made inside the women's side of a mosque in Syria. The film reveals why modern women are choosing to practice Islam in a rapidly changing society.

Directed and produced by Julia Meltzer and Laura Nix, "The Light In Her Eyes" is a story about Muslim leader Houda al-Habash, and one summer at her Quran school for girls in Damascus. Al-Habash and her students are bravely challenging cultural traditions, while staying true to their dedication to Islam. In a surprising shift for many viewers, Al-Habash teaches them that pursuing their ambition is a way of worshipping God. "The Light In Her Eyes" provides an inside look into the Islamic revival from the women's perspective, shedding light on the impact it could have on Syria if the current regime is displaced.

The undercurrents of the contemporary Syrian uprising can be seen in the women's insistence to be educated and to think for themselves. The filmmakers were granted unprecedented access to the world of conservative Muslim women in Syria, shooting over three and a half years as the political climate grew more repressive. They completed principal photography in November 2010, four months before the beginning of the Syrian uprising. Audiences are able to pierce the veil of Muslim women's inner lives and spiritual longings, and see the role that faith plays in their sense of identity and their hopes for the future.

The idea of a Quran school run by women, for women, might seem surprising to many. But Houda al-Habash is simply following in the tradition of Muslim women who have served as religious scholars and teachers back to the days of Prophet Muhammad himself. In my novel, "Mother of the Believers," I discuss how the Prophet's wife Aisha was a scholar who was fluent in the Quran, as well as a jurist, who served as one of the principle sources of Islamic law and teachings. As the woman who was closest to Prophet Muhammad (he died in her arms), Aisha was in a unique position to relate intimate conversations she had with her husband, from marital sexual practices to how to cleanse oneself properly for ritual ablutions. She recounted more than 10,000 hadith, or oral traditions, relating to every aspect of her life with the Prophet, and Aisha's accounts serve as a bedrock for Islamic jurisprudence even today. And she was no wilting wallflower. Aisha was a confident, strong-willed woman who openly challenged men, even arguing spiritual matters with the Prophet himself without trepidation. And she became a political leader after his death, playing a critical role in the disputes over the Caliphate, and eventually taking arms to fight for her beliefs when she led an army in Iraq during the first Islamic civil war. I have no doubt that Aisha would look at Houda al-Habash and her Quran school with esteem, a continuation of her own legacy as a feminist leader of Islam.

The phrase "feminist leader of Islam" may strike some as an oxymoron. And this wonderful documentary will be surprising for many who assume that as freedom comes to the Middle East, Muslim women will seek to model their lives according the secular feminism of the West. As the Muslim women and girls interviewed in the documentary reveal, feminist empowerment will likely be presented in Islamic terms, and a knee-jerk hostility toward the religious aspects of the Arab Spring will only create a new divide of understanding between East and West. The only way such misunderstandings can be prevented is if we learn to see the world through the eyes of others. Despite the rage of anti-Muslim bigots, Islam is not going to go away, and the changes in the Middle East will only bring it even further onto the world stage. The question will be what kind of Islam takes the spotlight when the dust settles on revolution and transformation. Will it be an Islam that pushes its people backward or forward?

Watching this documentary, it is clear that this question will in large part be answered by Muslim women themselves. As the Muslim women featured in "The Light In Her Eyes" say: "A woman is a school. You teach her, you teach a generation."

Kamran Pasha is a Hollywood filmmaker and the author of Shadow of the Swords, a novel on Crusades (Simon & Schuster; June 2010). For more information please visit: http://www.kamranpasha.com. To contact the filmmakers of "The Light In Her Eyes," please email pr@rajae.net.

 

Violence and abuse of Afghan women under the victims of Taliban-like AsiaNews.it

Violence and abuse of Afghan women as victims under the Taliban
In Kunduz, local leaders the father married his daughter refused to provide it because the family is a member of the acolytes to throw in the mountains. Speaking on local sources of the country's lack of Asianews, civil law and Islamic culture continue poised to human rights abuses. Afghan women in jail on charges of adultery, there are more than 50%.

Kabul (AsiaNews) – women's rights are concerned, as long as Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is better than under the Taliban was dominated by when, stoning, abuse and women arrested for adultery, as shown by the many cases.

Last Wednesday, Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, the press, his three daughters for marriage, the father of one of the gang refused to burn with indignation at the roots, we send a person to the hospital, a family of 5 mountains. Father and eldest daughter to the State.

Afghan police began an investigation, even though they are the perpetrators are afraid to move about, and likely no arrest local sources said. They arise in the case in northern Afghanistan from the Taliban to fight the attacker sets the witness of the gang known as the head of the local militias belonging to the Arbakis said. For these reasons, police and residents, as seen above summary executions, rape, violence, the law and of its members, despite the plethora of accusations.

The evidence is clear. Ten years after the Taliban's radical Islamic and tribal traditions remain in the grip of the country, sources said AsiaNews. Most of the Afghan land only to view the Sharia law. And women who pay the price because they are denied the right to continue school, go get a job or select their husband. They are, they can also be excluded by their family and lose their property.

Womankind worldwide is accused of adultery in recent reports that the United Kingdom Association Tan rather than 50% of women with jade. Incited by the local priest on 10 November Ghazni (138km South-West, Kabul) a group of men in the two women, mother and daughter to death, the alleged adultery charges stone. The attack occurred in some 300 meters from the local police station.

"Sadly, rooted in the inferior status of women, the family tradition," a source said. "Men are considered to be above all things and they are women, who are considered to be a simple reproductive tool does not allow the State's evolution."

The status of women in Afghanistan, Afghanistan is linked to the wrong religion. The Qur'an does not prohibit women's education. "My school is where most of the teachers are women," the source explained. "Many girls go to high school and elementary school. in order to improve attendance level we studied women came to them with their families driving bursaries."

Women's cultural evolution in the city, the city different. Wearing the veil of color uniforms in Kabul, many women can be seen in the school. In just a few kilometers from the capital town, however, the situation is different.

Female education is a strong opponent of Mullahs ". Ten years after the Taliban that they continue to give to the woman, "a little freedom to reject the source explained.

"To change the country in terms of human dignity, we need just a political change during the cultural revolution," the source said. "Many Westerners think like a woman is the Governor's promise good progress. It is not the case. It shows the Government's good intentions – just dressing. "

What's more, "you cannot just stop Western countries to remove the Taliban from power. If you want to change Afghanistan to invest in education as well as security, must be convinced they are the rulers. Only in this way, human dignity and human rights protection society can be promoted. Otherwise, it will remain in the country, behind the United States occupation and the war on terror creating useless for 10 years. "(South Carolina)

Saudi women ' sexy eyes ' public-Digitaljournal.com will cover them in the

 "Sexy eyes" Saudi women soon will cover them in a public place. Saudi Arabia, the Government is engaging in a public place without the woman's "temptation eyes" in Saudi Arabia that men would do well. Riyadh-Saudi Arabia's "Orwellian" Committee of promotion of virtue and Vice, this "preventive Sheikh Motlab Al Nabet and sexy eyes" in a public place with the women's law, so that you can offer them cover must be announced to be considered for. The daily beast

report of the Commission, which said: "men to Nabet in their eyes, especially the enticing people ... Would interfere with the force women to cover, then [We].

"The right to do already, in Saudi Arabia women are required to by law." "" long black abaya robes called "feet to the head of the women wear Abaya, almost all parts of the body of the covers. A little slit-like space, she is in the public eye-to-left so that you can see the woman. "Abaya" will appear in public without penalties and public whipping punishment for women dare Saudi. But now, even this small Kingdom of godly men required allowance vision of Saudi Arabia seems to attack. The daily mailaccording to the women have to cover their eyes came after he offered too in a public place is pure promotion of virtue and prevention of Vice President, walked the streets for the Council's "sexy eyes" and women members of the pious, the tricks of the decline. According to men's eyes the fascinating story of the eye to the corruption in the direction of women when husbands were attacked. With an eye to fight after straying hands was stabbed twice. The promotion of virtue and prevention of Vice, founded in 1940 for the Saudi Arabia Council of Saudi society morals watchdog. It's in accordance with the law society, the morality of the nose is to keep a strict rule. BollywoodIslamic morality, according to the Commission's zeal for it because the month of Ramadan in the fire at the school allowed the evacuation of the women refused. The Holy months in the sight of women dressed "immodestly" men and women to expose the body can cause your sins eying lustfully. It is the women's Committee on their evacuation from building killing 15 seduce men without them the best way to go, while considered a fire claimed after the delay. Bollywood in accordance with the Committee, also said a ban on women driving is responsible for. A woman in Saudi Arabia travel without the approval of the husband or male guardian is not allowed. Girl girl in September, driving bans for violations was sentenced to 10 lashes, but was spared when Abdullah would be willing to intervene. The daily beastin accordance with the Committee on the promotion of virtue and Vice, "sexy eyes" prevention law did not provide a definition of the Saudi Arabia

guess try to be brave journalist: "caught without makeup makeup look good or beautiful eyes., if women's issues.

But will be "legal" definition of sexy eyes "after taking the issue to provide journalists

Saudi Arabia: come to the conclusion that" it is so stupid ...I'm not sure what to say. They were to stop this. Many people will oppose this in the country.

They are not silent. "Stupid? Apparently the Saudi State, don't think so. The promotion of virtue and the daily beastevils prevention, the Commission, depending on the country's full support. Recently, Prince Naif Saudi throne Council by virtue of

and State support promise: "Council extolled ... Is supported by all sides, so the pillars in Islam must be supported. If

you're Muslim, you need to support the Committee. "King Abdullah, the Commission, gave an extra 200 million Rial is satisfied with work recently ($ 53 million) to promote better allow it to avoid the obligations of virtue and Vice. How much it will take a thousand years ... The direction of the Saudi authorities of the other strange human evolution and execution of them? Oh good Lord, now there is ' sexy ' police? How the heck does one get from ' considered ' sexy-eyed women? We the scarlet letter, or at least did not progress in Saudi Arabia, it seems! ? ?...This gives you an idiot. The following is an invisible chastity? This talent. Believe me this is going to be completely public in Saudi Arabia as the Taliban prohibited women from appearing in the when to when they will govern Afghanistan for 90. Solution: uni-brow serious answer to growth: the United States for Iraq's sexist and a great deal to say anything about this.

Political parties and women 's-Islamic Republic of Pakistan observer

The teachings of Islam, the prestigious social status on women, but her life is so miserable that can t be beared made dirty indigenous customs. Also, illiteracy and poverty, the society feudal in the installation also play women from every walk of life is getting its share due to the blockade on the central role in the current Government is discouraging this situation the Central Legislative Assembly passed Bill Anti-Women practices to positive initiatives. I think, the Government inherited properties are excluded from the transfer rates to be sent to the women would need to move forward step by announcing. All of our political party's manifesto for women in many of the ameliorative scheme but practically do nothing.

The Legislative Assembly for the province and the only political parties and women's 1/3 (1/3) party ticket reservation, you must play their role. The entire society is responsible for controlling the ailing condition of women and the full cooperation of society, but you can change the situation.

?Lahore

Islamic Republic of Pakistan observer 1998-2011
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Anti-the role of women under Sharia-The Tennessean speakers.

Anti-Sharia Law Conference Wafa Sultan, Syria-born psychiatrist and the author of A God who hate broke for lunch after the speech.

The Sultan from the Muslims talking about the role of women. She is Sharia law as second class citizens is said to deal with women.

She was on a trip to the United Kingdom children's picture by pointing to a mosque public school. The children were brainwashed into being, she said with respect to Islam.

Photos of smiling children but harmless, the Sultan said had infiltrated Muslim West. In the figure, the women, many of them converted to Islam, they lost the rights of d. All the kids when it comes to religion, or dhimmis was seen as second-class citizens.

From the child's point of view, muslim Islam Mohamed s who, she said Butterfly dhimmis.

9/11, 10 years, few Americans want to know a lot about Islam. And that's the problem, the Sultan believes.

When people lie to their Muslim Islamist event where it will have to learn about the s.

Leaves Mostly all cast in light event feel about Islam as a dark, instead of more, she said.

Western countries, Muslim Sharia law do not allow any religious accommodation.

All We who try to abuse our system, she said that you need to create a buffer for Islam. We must stand firm and say shariah.

Earlier today, reporting

Nashville Temple organization front for the Muslim Brotherhood, and have no right to exist, to be held in the Church cornerstone speaker Madison anti-Sharia said at the Conference this morning.

They can't do anything right on the first amendment, John Guandolo, a former FBI agent and said the first conference speaker s. They exist in the law.

The main floor in The Constitution or Sharia Guandolo and approximately 500 people crowd a story?: keep retention-8: 00 pm free Conference speakers.

Rousing rendition of the morning session and then stars and stripes banner of the speaker began with a flurry.

In the United States as their main theme is one of the temple was recruit people to fight the General. Guandolo battle be fought at the local level, said.

We win or lose this war based on what you'll do, he told attendees. ?... The enemy is right here in your neighborhood. "

He says the Federal Government has been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood activists.

When national security is at the end of the loop, he damaged Muslim brothers are controlled by said.

Local Islamic Sharia law, ethics, war, often in a court fight David Yerushamli, legal counsel of the Center for security policy.

He called on the Muslim Brotherhood and of lawfare, sued the group, he said, including.

He was criticized for the actions of people they are willing to do it.

Can we wage against the Sharia The lawfare, hard-nose that you want to, he said.

The goal is that you can t win when the Court is to get the evidence in the Yerushalmi said.

Speaker David French, the focus of the United States Center for law and justice is a kind of rubber terrorists. Sharia law debate

In French he s Tennessee court imposed any major manner and not worry about Sharia said.

I can t see that happening any time soon, he said.

But the French will not see the impact of dangerous forms of Sharia being arrested men of planning acts of terrorism and the United States and family members they think women where killing some Muslims families have dishonored and honor killings.

We our enemies, he said, Sharia around us lived out remains to be seen.

The greatest threat to women? WND.com-Islamic law

We have a good, old-fashioned "feeding frenzy," the Herman Cain--maybe, since Dan Quayle's ages. Where the media is someone for everyone 1, and wilding piranhas swim in and talk to all kinds of body gnawed remains. It's especially when the victim is hard to look at yourself in the foot, and joined the shooting but that's another story.

I am more interested in whether or not we finally realized the power or society can draw on "women," sex if Kane, exclusively defined as a group exhibition new conclusion. Attention is being dealt with harassment, judging by the gravity and to the President of the newly popular figure the prices of these pose the risk of running a political right, judging by the women in the role and social status of Mars is the best you can forgive for the conclusion.

But Mars is wrong. Kane-set aside his own political advantage for his team's offbeat and unsatisfactory response-preventing sexual harassment, or manners and customs of the entrenchment validation or has nothing to do with female predators. On the contrary, they beat off a power struggle as usual, conservative leverage available also makes harassment seize that woman left, including. Their hypocrisy in fact Cain himself can't meet or deflect the prices and has been shown, in fact, they may be vulnerable to is compensated for.

As a matter of fact, not the security of women in society, the imperiled men made crude oil proposal or odd, unreconstructed Executive passes. Women's security questions or even alluded to it without accepting that the hate of the aggressive spread of Islam in Western society, is imperiled by.

This is what a rare story or the occasional video online to prove that a massive assault on a girl and a rapidly growing Muslim community, mainly in Europe directly caused — just pay attention to all the mainstream outlets, Herman Cain, calling the alleged comments and gropings many huge things from recent headlines to try to sort through a flurry of strikeouts.

The real question is, does not go away because of the silence. Earlier this year, NRK, Norwegian State television, to identify the perpetrators of rape from Oslo in 2010, 100% non-Western background "male"-were perpetrated by Muslim men from Norway reported a euphemism for the stock. Police this year, additional reporting in 2005 and 2010 NRK can identify the perpetrators of rape in Oslo in Oslo between 86 issued by the research was "male in the drawing, 83." non-Western facade, on the other hand, the victims, mostly young white women-"ethnic Norwegian."Amazingly, this scandal, the native women's asylum and immigration policy terrorize question Government called the store a few headlines.

(Column continues below)

The gang also silent until recently quite a bit of a hangover "– mainly Muslims, mainly of the" United Kingdom trimmed Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the practice of "shine" from the very young, usually used for private and native women as sexual props for 10 years-prostitutional old phenomenon. Now the crisis has reached pandemic proportions in the. As many as 10,000 mostly underage girl child victims according to the Office of the Commissioner.

Now what? Telegraph, "according to one academic study found that after much more the need to protect children from sexual exploitation", contact the United Kingdom Government has decided to launch "2." too many chivalric code,.

Where, by the British women tourists of the five men, brutal gang rape and then towns and an example of a recently released protest 6000, Serbian town, according to the better. They held the building Centre in Austria times report, 120 of the 2,500 illegal aliens, until the Government clears school to withdraw their children from.

Welcome to the world, not the post-9/11, but post Theo van Gogh. Van Gogh's ritual murder seven years ago in the heart of Europe will take place this month. It's revenge, said of his assassin, Van Gogh's film "submission," according to Islamic law describing the plight of women. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a screenwriter, has been living under threat since the Islamic death. She was recently "too risky."As the sequel to the concept of giving

The WISE Women of Islam: What a Conference in Istanbul Can Tell Us About the ... - Huffington Post (blog)

The "fearful fatalistic apathy", which a young Winston Churchill once noted amongst the "curses [of] Mohammedanism", (Churchill, River Wars, 1899) has found frequent repetition over the years as one base assumption behind explanations as to precisely why a political revolution, like the Arab Spring, could never come to pass in the Muslim Middle East. A similar logic has often been applied to the concept that women in Islamic societies might strive to become anything other than the "absolute property of some man" (another Churchillian gem). Such apathy was, however, on poor display October 14 as some 170 Muslim women leaders gathered at the Marriott Hotel in Istanbul to attend a four-day conference organized by the Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE) -- an offshoot of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA) dedicated to promoting women's rights in the Muslim world. Here, the word apathy does not spring easily to mind. As women from every far-flung province of Islam's reach stream into the empty conference hall, the air hums with voices raised in vigorous conversation. Flowery greetings and small talk segue swiftly into meatier discussion. Stories are told, tactics exchanged, politics debated, and by the end of each speaking event lines for questioning stretch towards the door. It quickly becomes clear that four days will not be nearly enough to contain the vitality of this group. African, Asian or European, bareheaded or modestly garbed in flowered hijab (traditional head scarf), these women brim not with resigned fatalism but with energy, conviction and, incredibly, an overriding sense of optimism.

There seems little evidence to support such confidence. Muslim women, especially those hailing from the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, remain notoriously underprivileged and underrepresented. A recent report released by Freedom House on women's rights in those nations did find marginal gains -- specifically in the fields of education, employment, and political participation. However, it remains the region where "the gap between the rights of men and those of women has been the most visible and severe." This is hardly news for the women of WISE, nor is such iniquity exclusive to Islam's heartland. Standing to speak before the conference, Sophia Abdi Noor -- a member of Kenya's 10th parliament- rattles off a list of offences. "I have been a victim myself," she admits, "who has gone through female genital mutilation at a very tender age, who has lost her two friends in the operation... who was forced to marriage." Later, when she ran for parliament, conservative Islamic leaders within the community convinced the president to disqualify Ms. Noor's bid, despite her victory at the polls. "But", she states to laughter from the crowd, "I did not stop at that!" She smiles triumphantly, "Now I am a member of parliament... and I am proud to tell you that I am one of the framers of the new constitution of Kenya!" This tone of dogged defiance in the face of adversity is one struck often and well here. From Suraya Pakzad, a fearless campaigner for women's rights in Afghanistan, to Santanina Rasul, who remains the only Muslim woman to win a senate seat in the Philippines, each participant pairs tales of hardship and bias with the casual assumption that no obstacle is insurmountable.

That mentality is one which seems to define this gathering but what is, perhaps, most striking about WISE is the religious framework within which it operates. This is a Muslim women's conference above all else and, in large part, it is this Islamic identity, which the organization seeks to empower. "Women are the glue that holds society together", states Daisy Khan -- WISE founder and executive director of ASMA -- their status in the Muslim world must change but, Daisy notes, "Islam can effect that change." That statement might seem antithetical to some, considering the frequency with which theological arguments are used to rationalize rights abuses in the Muslim world. However the women here maintain that, for the most part, these arguments represent only the manifestation of cultural and tribal mores in the guise of Islamic law. They argue that, contrary to popular perception, the six basic objectives which guide Sharia law -- the protection and promotion of religion (al-din), life (al-nafs), mind (al-aql), family (al-nasl), wealth (al-mal), and dignity (al-'ird) -- provide the same fundamental rights to both men and women.

The promotion of Sharia interpretations refocused upon these universal values is one of WISE's main objectives and the organization sponsors several programs aimed at balancing the narrative on woman's place within Islam. One such program, the NOOR Educational Center run by Jamila Afghani, has experienced marked success in educating Afghani Imams on the religious illegality of common cultural practices such as early and forced marriage. While the Shura Council, WISE's flagship project, brings together influential female leaders and scholars specializing in Islamic law to produce detailed and thoroughly sourced theological position statements on certain controversial elements of Sharia.

As Islamist parties stand poised to win a large share in government at upcoming elections in post-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia, the promotion of an inclusive, non-restrictive approach to Sharia is particularly important. Efforts such as these, if spread successfully, have the potential to blunt the power of those who would use Islam as a weapon of repression, and inform those who would assert their intrinsic rights within the religion. However the tendency for Muslim women, bound by cultural and traditional norms, to censure themselves and prolong their own discrimination remains a major obstacle in efforts toward equality. Judge Kholoud al-Faqih -- Palestine's first Sharia court judge -- underlined this dilemma during a panel on spiritual leadership, recalling her disappointment at the reaction of many women who, upon seeing a female judge, clicked their tongues in admonishment and sought out male judges to try their case. "It is very sad to see this" she says with a shrug, "because this is cultural baggage and doesn't have anything to do with Islam." So, perhaps, Churchill's "fearful apathy" retains some of its power to convince the disenfranchised to stay that way. As long as it does, progress remains a distant prospect. Still, the events of the Arab spring should provide a lesson in the folly of underestimating the spark of individualism in the Islamic world. If the ladies of WISE 2011 are anything to go by, Muslim women may celebrate their own spring sooner than we think.

 

Women urged to put their stamp on Arab Spring - Reuters

 

 Women should voice demands about their rights during the popular uprisings sweeping the Arab world to avoid being short-changed by post-revolutionary governments, Iranian Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi said.

Ebadi, a practicing Muslim, also expressed hope that Arab men and women would learn from Iran's 1979 revolution, when the overthrow of the shah led to the establishment of an Islamic republic which imposed sharia-inspired laws many women regard as restrictive of their rights.

"I think it is too early to talk of an Arab Spring, which should be used when democracy has been established and people can determine their own destiny and are equal and free. And we cannot forget half of society -- the women," Ebadi, a human and women's rights activist, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"If women cannot gain equality and the right to set their own destiny then that is not a real revolution and won't lead to democracy.

"Our experience in Iran's 1979 revolution proves this. We saw that people got rid of a dictator but instead of democracy he was replaced by religious despotism and many of the laws on polygamy, men's power of divorce ... and stoning were passed."

Since long-time leaders were toppled in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, many -- not least in the West -- have fretted that their departure will leave the door open for Islamist groups to take power.

In Tunisia, some women have expressed concern over the victory of the Islamist party Ennahda in elections last month, though its leaders have said they will not alter laws that guarantee women equal rights to men in divorce, marriage and inheritance.

"DO YOU SUPPORT EQUAL INHERITANCE?"

Unless Arab women speak up soon, they risk being sidelined by the region's new governments, Ebadi said.

"Women should raise their egalitarian demands and the people should put forth their civic demands early on and oblige groups that are seeking power to answer," said Ebadi, a defense lawyer for Iranian dissidents who has lived outside Iran since 2009.

"These issues should be raised early, otherwise after a party reaches power it may be too late."

Egyptian feminist Nawal al-Saadawi has called for women to move fast to secure their rights as the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood targets large support in a parliamentary election later this month, following Hosni Mubarak's ouster.

"In Iran, the error committed by feminists and political groups was to put off the egalitarian demands of women until after the overthrow of the shah... But the women's problems were not resolved and things even got worse after the regime changed," Ebadi said.

"Pushing for transparency is the best way for this. Feminist groups should directly ask parties 'Do you support polygamy, yes or no?' ... Or ask "Do you support equal inheritance for men and women?' So that people would know a party's stand on rights issues before they take power," Ebadi said.

The leader of Libya's National Transitional Council Mustafa Abdel Jalil caused consternation last month when he took to the podium at a celebration of the country's "liberation" and said polygamy would no longer be outlawed.

Ebadi rejected charges by some Islamists that demanding women's rights and more modern laws was part of a Western-inspired attack on Islam. Equally she said Islam was compatible with women's rights.

"I believe that if Islam is interpreted and applied correctly we can have totally egalitarian laws for women and strike punishments such as stoning and cutting hands from out of

law books," she said.

Ebadi was Iran's first woman judge but lost that job following the Islamic revolution because the country's new leaders said women were too emotional to be judges.

She became a human rights lawyer but, after suffering harassment, she left the country in 2009.

"It's no good if a dictator goes and he is replaced by another. I hope Arabs who have risen up in revolutions learn from Iran's experience."

(Reporting by Isabel Coles; Editing by Robert Woodward)

Bareheaded women in ads targeted in Muslim Chechnya - Reuters

Several businesses in Russia's Chechnya region were ordered this week to cover up the bare heads of women in their advertisements, in what a local government source said was the latest assertion of Muslim customs by the authorities.

A decade after Moscow drove separatists out of power in the second of two wars since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin relies heavily on Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to keep insurgents in check and maintain a shaky peace.

But analysts and rights groups say that in return, the devout Sufi Muslim is allowed to enforce his vision of Islam, at times curbing women's rights and other civil freedoms guaranteed by Russia's constitution.

A band of men whom hairdressers described as being dressed in the uniform of local security forces stormed the "Edem" salon in the center of the regional capital Grozny, demanding they cover up the hair of two women in their advertisement.

"Authorities walked around the area, ripping off ads with women pictured in them. They told us that ads displaying women without headscarves are banned," said a 28-year-old hairdresser, who declined to give her name.

"We got scared so we covered them up," she said pointing to a large crimson ad outside where the black and blonde locks of two women in photographs had been plastered over with red tape.

The orders come on top of a spate of paintball attacks last year on women for not wearing headscarves on city streets in Chechnya, igniting ire from women who said being forced to dress a certain way violated their rights.

Kadyrov later said he was grateful to the attackers.

Four years ago he issued an edict that said women must don headscarves to enter state buildings. Rights groups say it is a violation of Russian law, but the edict is strictly followed.

Rights workers and some locals fear that Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency will strengthen Kadyrov's grip over Chechnya.

"There had never been this sort of treatment toward women on the government level before. This all started when Kadyrov came to power (in 2007)," said Raisa Borshchigova, 31, who was compelled to become an independent rights activist after she was shot at with paintball pellets.

A source in the regional government, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the attacks on advertisements had been ordered by local authorities.

But a spokesman denied Kadyrov had issued such an order.

"All advertisements in Grozny are in place. We didn't take a single one down, or order anyone to do so. Cowards are spreading lies about us," said the spokesman.

The state-funded Islamic Cultural Center, which is linked to Kadyrov and has openly spoken of its contempt for bareheaded women, denied involvement.

"It was terrible. About seven of them came in and said we needed to change our ad or we couldn't operate anymore," said Italian clothing store owner Mariana, adding she had also taped over the womens' hair.

But not everyone received warnings.

When a dentist at a central clinic returned one afternoon this week, he saw that his poster advertising a tooth whitening service had been destroyed, leaving a ring of blonde hair encircling a gaping hole that had once been a woman's face.

(Writing by Amie Ferris-Rotman in Moscow)

Women Could Promote Rights Through Islam - U.S. News & World Report

Despite the perception that strict Islamic law and feminism are incompatible, women's rights advocates argued Wednesday that Muslim values could actually help women of the Arab Spring promote greater equality.

The U.S. ambassador for global women's issues Melanne Verveer testified on Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women's Issues that women in predominantly Muslim countries have shown in the past that critical reforms are indeed possible within the context of their religious values. She argued that although the political future of countries like Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya are uncertain, it's possible that the rights of women there will be protected, even if Islamist parties take control. [See a photo gallery of the unrest in Libya.]

"Sharia is thrown around a lot," she said, speaking of the brand of Islam most associated with radical movements. "[But] so much has to do with whose interpretation."

Verveer acknowledged that leaders with stricter interpretations of Islam could significantly push back the civil rights gains already made by women involved in the so-called Arab Spring movement. But, examples like Morocco—where women now enjoy improved political and personal status—could give women in other Muslim-dominated nations hope.

In Morocco, Verveer noted that women went through a difficult process that lasted "many, many years," during which many activists were jailed. However, as "good Muslims," she said, these women realized that their desire for civil rights didn't clash with their religious faith.

"They were not about to sacrifice their values to the voices of those who said, 'You are being anti-Islamic because you are supporting personal status law reforms,'" she said. "They steeped their reform effort in the very values of their religion."

Indeed, according to Verveer, Moroccan women made a legitimate case to their country's leaders by putting their arguments for equality in Koranic verse.

"The values that the religion represents, and that so many women are a part of in a very significant way, infuses the kind of reforms they want to see for themselves," she said.

Recent revolutions in northern Africa have prompted the U.S. State Department to commit resources to training women on how to better communicate their ideas and become more politically engaged. This includes helping them form cross-border coalitions so they can learn the strategies that other women in the region, like those in Morocco, used to promote their interests successfully in the past.

"They are all from predominantly Muslim societies. They are all reform-minded. They all want to see a better life," Verveer said. "To learn what those lessons and best practices are, and the support mechanism that they represent for each other, the mentoring that they represent for each other, I think is a very lost-cost, significant investment that we need to keep making." [Read: U.S. Role Continues After Qadhafi in Libya.]

Mahnaz Afkhami, president of the Women's Learning Partnership, an international non-profit advocacy group, cautioned that while some Islamic countries have provided a more positive outlook, other examples, like Iran, give women reasons to worry.

"A lot of the organizations who self-identify as Islamists are the ones whose goals and aspirations don't necessarily match those of the progressives and the rest of the democratic world," she said. "The definition of moderate should be looked at very carefully when we look at these countries."

Afkhami said Iranian leaders originally stated the same goals as today's self-proclaimed moderate Islamist political parties in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya which promise democracy and equality. However, as Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini remains in power three decades later, women in Iran are among the world's most oppressed, she explained.

Egypt women fear rise of conservative Islam - Bikya Masr

Be modest. Those are the words of potential Egyptian presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail to his supporters, and especially to the country’s female population. His firebrand rhetoric, which endorses “Islamic dress” has begun to spark fears among Egyptian women that he wants a Saudi Arabian styled future for Egypt, where women are forced to cover and are barred from beaches.

At least two-piece swimsuits, Abu Ismail said at a recent interview on a TV program called “90 minutes.” He also said that if elected, he would bar alcohol from public places, even for tourists, would end the peace treaty with Israel, and more frightening to the over 40 million women living in the country, he would “embark on a conservative dress campaign,” which would “force the Islamic dress on all women.”

He added that if women were seen wearing two-piece bikinis on the beach or in public, “they would be arrested.”

For many in the country, it is a scary proposition that would see many of the real, and perceived, freedoms that have come slowly as a result of the January uprising that ousted the former government here, dissipate in favor of conservatism.

Nawal el-Saadawi, the foremost Arab feminist, told Bikyamasr.com in a recent interview that the revolution was largely “because women took to the streets. But we cannot have a better Egypt without women, they are the foundation of any society.”

With the rise of the conservative Salafists in late July – they held a million man march on Cairo’s Tahrir Square – and their increasing popularity, women are now being pushed aside, says Nadia Fahmy, an Egyptian-American researcher based in Cairo and works in rural villages, attempting to gather an understanding of rural culture in the country.

“Look around and all the positives and optimism that were part of the post-revolution Egypt are all but gone,” she begins. “We have returned to how things were before Mubarak, but now it is the Salafists who are gaining the peoples’ strength, especially in rural areas where religion is so important.”

Around 12 percent of Egypt’s population are Coptic Christian and do not veil. A small percentage of Muslim women in the country also do not adorn the veil, and Abu Ismail’s comments have left many frustrated over the rising power of the Islamists in the country.

“I talk to my friends, who are not veiled and drink and go to the beach, and these kind of statements really worry us, partly because we know that people like Abu Ismail are popular among the lower classes,” added Fahmy.

Abu Ismail, who started his public life as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, split from the group in order to run in the presidential election, vaguely set for by the ruling military council for some time in 2013.

Ismail is one of the stronger and popular potential candidates, although he will be running against a former MB member, Abdel Moneim Aboul Foutoh, who also had to quit the group to be able to run.

The crux of the matter seems to be the growing divide between the secularists, who for the most part have left women’s issues on the side, arguing they are divisive and “not part of the overall social justice demands” of the revolution. This has angered many women’s activists in the country, including Saadawi.

“This is ridiculous,” she began, “because you can’t have anything without women, so the women are very important.”

While the Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday came out and called on the Salafists, including Abu Ismail, to “tone down” their language, the reality on the ground is that women’s issues are falling away as quickly as the conservatives and the military increase their grip on power and public opinion.

“We have to be weary of the future of this country right now, because there are elections soon and if these people are gaining popularity, it could mean a lot of downsides for women and freedom,” added Fahmy.

For now, with presidential elections two years off, activists are beginning to entrench themselves for a long battle for social justice and freedom. Saadawi and Fahmy hope that candidates such as Abu Ismail will begin to lose popular support in favor of freedom and justice.

Women in S Arabia's Shura Council - Frontier Post

The recent decision by Saudi King Abdullah to allow women to run and vote in municipal elections and become members of the Shura Council, a parliament that acts as an advisory council to the King but has no legislative powers, has huge implications for the status of women in Saudi Arabia and has provided them with hope for what they may accomplish with their new roles. In his 26th September inaugural speech at the Shura Council, King Abdullah rejected the marginalisation of women in all sectors and encouraged their participation in political life. Citing examples of prominent women throughout Islamic history, his speech showed great determination to empower Saudi women and end attempts to undermine their role in the name of Islam. The King stressed the need to modernise society and attacked those who opposed the inclusion of women in decision-making processes. King Abdullah’s decision has followed several statements in which he publicly supported the integration of women into the workforce and welcomed the contributions of women to the economic prosperity of the country.Legalised discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia has continued over several decades due to the influence of religious hardliners who misinterpret Islamic concepts. Some decision makers have used distorted Islamic rulings to support their conservative ideas, for example that women should not participate in nation-building, should remain inside their homes and should not have any role in the country’s future. But the participation of women in the Shura and municipal councils will finally provide women with the opportunity to end the discrimination against them in the public and private sectors. They will be able to exert pressure on the government through their lobbying within the Shura, and provide official recommendations addressing the challenges that have hindered their progress, such as the ban on women driving, the reluctance of the public to support women in leadership positions, the strict culture of segregation within society, the niqab (a face veil worn in addition to the headscarf) which can compromise the level of efficiency and professionalism of women’s careers, and discriminatory policies at some workplaces. Women in the Shura can also serve the interests of women currently in the workforce by pushing for adequate maternity leave, reasonable working hours, onsite nurseries and equal pay. Women council members could also promote the advancement of women’s status in society by the very fact that they will demonstrate that women can participate in and shape public life. Their newly recognised positions could promote a greater respect for women as they face the challenges of modern life. Many Saudi women hope that women in the Shura will be able to challenge extreme religious rulings that are incompatible with Muslim women’s realities in today’s world. Among the issues that they could raise would be the need for a codified system to ensure a uniform application of Islamic laws. This would allow women to become familiar with their legal rights in Islam and not be at the mercy of the whims of family court judges, some of whom sanction domestic abuse or deliberately rule in favour of an abusive male guardian simply because he is a man. As a first step, the women in the Shura will be expected to call for the elimination of laws governing legal guardianship, which give men rights over their wives, daughters, etc., and to address the injustices toward women in cases of unjust or disproportionate jail sentences, floggings, child marriages, domestic abuse, child custody or divorce. The women in the Shura could also have a significant impact by advocating women’s participation in governmental and managerial positions. Together with other parts of civil society, such as the chamber of commerce or human rights organisations, the female council members could also inform male politicians and managers about the realities of women who suffer from discrimination and encourage them to work for change. The challenges facing women are still overwhelming. And it may take another generation – or even two – to achieve the shift in the role of women in Saudi society that many of us have long desired. However, the inclusion of women in the Shura Council is a significant first step towards a society where women can assume leadership positions in public life and achieve proper justice.

Tunisian Women Fighting Emancipation's Peril on Eve of Election - BusinessWeek

Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Maya Jribi, the only woman in a leadership job at one of Tunisia’s main political parties, says it’s been an uphill battle to persuade other women to run as candidates in the Oct. 23 elections.

“I recruited some excellent lawyers but they all had reasons not to run,” said Jribi, deputy head of the Democratic Progressive Party, or PDP, in an interview in the capital, Tunis. “They didn’t have enough experience, they didn’t like speaking in public.” Jribi’s party has put women at the top of its candidate lists in only three of the 33 constituencies, and she’s “not happy about it.”

Tunisian women played a major role in the protests that ended the rule of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and triggered revolts across the Middle East. Their priority now, in the Arab Spring’s first free election, is to preserve parts of Tunisia’s old regime, which gave women more rights than other Arab countries, while ending its corruption and repression.

“We shouldn’t throw out the baby with the bath water,” said Ahmed Brahim, who runs the PDM or Modernist Democratic Pole, the only party where women head half the lists. Women’s rights in Tunisia “are fragile because they are associated with an authoritarian state.”

Brahim and Jribi say a victory by the Islamic Ennahdha party, which is leading in the polls, may imperil those rights.

Like the other leading parties, Ennahdha says it will preserve the family code, a cornerstone of the state created by Tunisia’s founder Habib Bourguiba and continued by Ben Ali, who is now living in exile in Saudi Arabia. The code, dating from the 1950s, put women on equal footing with men in divorce, work and education.

Abortion, Contraception

Tunisian women also won the right to abortion and contraception before their French counterparts. The country scored highest in all five categories in a 2009 survey of women’s rights in the Middle East and North Africa by Freedom House, a Washington-based non-government organization.

This year’s uprisings have brought some gains for Arab women. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah last month promised that women will be allowed to vote in the next municipal elections in four years’ time. In Egypt and Libya, women were prominent in the street protests that forced Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Qaddafi from power, though women’s groups have subsequently complained about being marginalized by new rulers.

Ennahdha rejects the charge that it would roll back freedoms for women.

“Why would I limit the rights of my wife and daughter?” Ali Laarayedh, the head of the party’s constitutional committee, said in an interview.

‘Secular Country’

For now, the party and its leader, Rashid Ghannouchi, deserve the benefit of the doubt, said Geoff Porter, founder of Connecticut-based North Africa Risk Consulting.

“Whenever moderate Islamist parties do well, their secular opponents warn that they are being moderate now but will show their true face once elected,” he said. “I think we should take Ennahdha at their word. Ghannouchi recognizes that over the past 50 years Tunisia has become a secular country. He would have his work cut out for him if he tried to roll back the changes that have taken place.”

The struggle that all parties are having to find women to head their candidate lists underscores the handicaps faced by women even in more progressive states such as Tunisia.

Parties are required to put up equal numbers of male and female candidates in the election for a 217-member assembly that will run Tunisia for a year while it writes a new constitution. Only the candidates at the top of each party’s lists stand a good chance of winning seats, and only about 5 percent of lists are headed by women.

‘Second-Class Citizens’

“It wasn’t easy to find women willing to lead and it wasn’t easy to find men willing to step aside,” said Brahim. “We still have a ways to go as a society.”

Laarayedh said an Ennahdha government would expand women’s rights by ending discrimination over dress.

Under Bourguiba and Ben Ali, women in headscarves as well as men with beards were prevented from attending university or working in the public administration and many companies. Full facial veils are almost non-existent among Tunisian women, though a recent influx of Libyan refugees has brought some to the streets of the capital, Tunis.

“For 50 years, pious Tunisians in beards or headscarves were kept out of many jobs,” Laarayedh said. “They were turned into second-class citizens who could only work in textile factories.”

‘Personal Matter’

Jribi of the PDP says Ennahdha engages in double-talk, presenting a moderate image in cities and pushing a more hard- line Islam in rural areas, an allegation Laarayedh denies. The rival candidates agree on one thing, though: that no more than 10 percent of the assembly’s seats are likely to go to women.

Of Ennahdha’s 33 lists, two are headed by women, including a Tunis lawyer who doesn’t wear a headscarf. There are two women in the group’s 17-member political bureau and 20 in its 100- member party assembly.

At a Sept. 16 election meeting in Tunis, hosted by the Ministry for Women’s Affairs, many women berated an Ennahdha candidate for the increasing number of girls wearing headscarves at schools, something that wasn’t tolerated under Ben Ali.

“Wearing a scarf is a personal matter,” said Khira Sghairi, a 56-year-old retired teacher who is no. 2 on Ennahdha’s list in the central town of Kasserine. “I have two daughters who don’t wear it and I’ve never insisted.”

‘More Useful’

Zina Slitti, a 33-year old nanny who was shopping in the Tunis medina, said the focus on headscarves is misplaced. “We are talking about scarves when there are far more critical things to talk about, like jobs and security and corruption,” said Slitti, who wears her hair uncovered.

Economic growth may grind to a halt this year after the uprising scared off tourists and investors, the government and International Monetary Fund estimate. Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia in January, and several associates have been put on trial, while the new government must decide how to dispose of assets seized after his ouster, ranging from yachts to stakes in mobile-phone companies.

Faten Khamassi, a 40-year old economics professor, might have been one of the assembly members making that decision. She declined an offer to head a candidate list for the Doustourna, or Our Constitution party. Now, she’s number four on the list for a district of Tunis.

“I thought I’d be more useful supporting a list than heading it,” she said.

--Editors: Ben Holland, Heather Langan.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Viscusi in Paris at gviscusi@bloomberg.net; Jihen Laghmari at jlaghmari@bloomberg.net; Camille Le Tallec through the Cairo newsroom at To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net.

Women and Islam: No smooth path - Hindu Business Line

If it is naïve and stereotyped to label a Muslim woman ‘liberal Islamist' just because she switches from ‘full facial veil' to covering her head, it is as dangerous to expect that ‘Islamic movements' will play a positive role in liberating Arab women.

October 10, 2011:  When Ms Tawakkol Karman of Yemen was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week, along with two Liberian women — Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and peace activist Leymah Gbowee — it was hailed as the western world's recognition of the Arab Spring, which had toppled oppressive regimes in the Islamic world. Incidentally, these are the first women to get a Nobel Peace since 2004, and the citation did great service to women's empowerment and the greater role they will have to play in the future when it said unequivocally: “We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.”

Among the three awardees, Mr Karman's choice was a little surprising, because she was less well known than the frontline leaders of Egypt, or even Tunisia. A prominent member of Yemen's Islamist party Islah, she's taken on Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh for long years, first as a journalist, and then an activist/politician. She has braved several death threats for her role in the Yemenis' violent struggle for deliverance from the repressive Saleh regime, and has been camping for the last several months in a huge camp in Sana, far away from her home and three children.

no cakewalkSo far so good. Even when the western media, after the Nobel announcement, made her the “standard-bearer for the Arab Spring and for the role of women across the Middle East”, it was a fair assessment of her activism. Make no mistakes about it; taking to the streets with banners and slogans is no cakewalk for women from any Islamic country.

In the more liberal Muslim families, women do get equal opportunities when it comes to higher education and economic emancipation. But the lingo changes when women take on adversarial or activist roles in political or social struggles. In most Muslim communities the demarcations are well spelt out on what women can and cannot do.

But when an article in The New York Times says of Ms Karman that “as a liberal Islamist who stopped wearing the full facial veil three years ago, she appears to represent something else, too: the hope in the West that Islamic movements might some day play a positive role in rebuilding Arab societies,” you have to ask: “Huh? Come again?”

I am no admirer of the veil, full or partial; but I respect any Muslim woman's right to wear or reject it, provided she does so by choice.

the veil and liberalismSo to label a Muslim woman “liberal Islamist” just because she switches from “full facial veil” to just covering her head, is to get trapped into stereotypes.

There is already widespread criticism that the Western world judges Muslims by the veils/clothes they wear or the long beards they sport. And not without valid reason; in security checks these worthies are invariably singled out for special treatment.

Even more dangerous than the comment linking liberalism to the veil, or absence of it, is the one pertaining to “Islamic movements” playing a positive role in rebuilding Arab societies. In both Egypt and Tunisia, where the existing regimes were overthrown by the protestors, there is ample evidence that the Islamists have moved in to occupy some, if not most, of the political space vacated by dictators.

The jury is still out on whether the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, if elected to power in the November polls, will provide Egyptians with a better life and lifestyle. Under their thumb, you can be sure, for Egyptian women a “liberal life” will be a far cry, and Shariah laws will dominate.

Misplaced “re-evaluation”The same NYT article quoted Ms Nadia Mostafa, a professor of international relations at Cairo University, saying: “Giving it to a woman and an Islamist? That means a sort of re-evaluation. It means Islam is not against peace, it's not against women, and Islamists can be women activists, and they can fight for human rights, freedom and democracy.”

Isn't this a most sweeping and dangerous statement? The problem comes in equating Islam with Islamists. How will Islamists, who themselves have such rigid and dogmatic views such as ‘our religion is the best, our scriptures rule supreme, only Muslims will go to heaven and others will rot in hell,' fight for democracy and all the values that come with it?

And just because one Ms Karman makes it to an important position in an Islamist party, where, incidentally, her father and brother occupy important positions too, to expect that the lot of women in the Islamic world will certainly improve, is wishful thinking. Islamist or religious parties taking over the reins of administration, I fear, is bad news for women, who will, once again, be pushed into subservient roles.

Already, in countries such as Egypt and Libya, where the “liberation” struggles were fought as zealously by women as by men — remember the women at Cairo's Tahrir Square smuggling in food, medical supplies, digging up the pavements to collect small rocks and facing a lot of violence — women are being sidelined.

At a recent conference, Ms Hoda Badran, chairperson of the Alliance for Arab Women, was quoted by the BBC as saying that Egyptian women had planned and participated in the revolution, “they cleaned the (Tahrir) square, they nursed the wounded, they also were killed when people in the square were shot. But after the revolution we notice that decisions are being taken to exclude women. We expected this revolution will include women as much as it includes men, in terms of liberty, equality, and social justice. Apparently it is not.”

Ah, if only it was so easy to get equality, and that too in the Islamic world!

Expat women struggle for rights granted by religion - Arab News

JEDDAH: Many expatriate women in the Kingdom suffer in their quest to deal with Khula (the Islamic right of a woman to divorce or separate from her husband under certain circumstances), child custody and other marital affairs.

Indian, Pakistani and Filipino women are afraid to speak about their suffering marriages in public due to the social stigma related to divorce. They feel they lack credibility in comparison to men.

Mahira Tahir, a 38-year-old Indian living in Jeddah, told Arab News, “My first fear is that I will not be believed. Our culture and society rooted have a way of disregarding women suffering, and most men get away with all their wrongdoing.”

According to her, most women who have problems at home and apply for Khula do not get their rights. “Men usually do not allow a separation, and there is no consequence for them. If I were Saudi, I feel I could have obtained my rights more easily, and honestly, I do not want to go to the embassy to defame my family. Why isn't there an easier way for expat women to escape this turmoil?”

Sultan Hisham, a 39-year-old Saudi married to an expat says he feels pity for men who do not give women their right to divorce.

“Women might be known to be hasty, but so are men,” says Iman Khalid, an Indian executive living in Jeddah. “Yes, I believe we should be given a period to reconcile, but what after that? What if I can't stand the man at all? Islam has given me the right to move out.”

Iman thinks that no man should interfere with God's law.

In the Holy Qur'an, Allah says, “So when they have reached their prescribed time retain them with kindness or separate them with kindness, and call to witness two just ones from among you.” (65:2)

Iman thinks that society should look at the injunction the way it is. “Allah uses the word ‘kindness,’ but in our culture, divorce is looked upon with respite, as if it were evil and unforgivable.”

The Indian expatriate wonders, “If it is OK in the eyes of the Almighty, then who are we to judge?”

Hamdan Khalid, a 33-year-old Saudi engineer, believes no woman should be kept within the confines of a house when the couple are not compatible. Instead, he thinks women should contact their embassies and get an official decision endorsed. “If at all it is not possible, it is allowed in Islam and you should keep trying in courts. Even though it might take a lot more time, do not give up on your struggle to what is your fundamental religious right.”

Islam preaches peace and supports women through laws prescribed to them in the Qur’an and Sunnah. “My religion gives women their rights, but the system and people work against it, abusing the meaning of the holy text,” says Shaista Iqbal, a 49-year-old Pakistani doctor in Jeddah. She feels men in power and those preaching have to hold the noblest character. “But in India and Pakistan, women have lost trust in masked preachers who issue fatwas (religious laws or decrees) for their own convenience.”

According to the Qur’an, there is no supremacy for men or women in the spiritual sense. “Contrary to popular belief, women are liberated in Islam. It is just that women should learn more about their rights and fight for them,” says Lubna Fahim, a 46-year-old Indian woman who married a Saudi living in Jeddah. She thinks women should not be dictated rules that may not be true, but believe in what Allah says, for it is the only truthful way.