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Taliban brings alleged prostitutes to "justice"
As the two women hunkered down in the dark, enveloped in blue burqas, they thought the gun-toting Taliban might free them despite accusations they ran a prostitution ring for a U.S. base.
"I hope they release us tonight," one said. "There must be some reason why they have brought us here," the other said.
Soon after, the militants shot them dead.
The recent execution of the women, witnessed in Ghazni province by an Afghan journalist who contributes to The Associated Press, reflects the Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan and their growing ability to dispense extreme Islamic justice.
The Taliban are still not as powerful as when they ruled Afghanistan before the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. But as the insurgency turns more violent, the Taliban have gained control of parts of the country where the weak U.S.-backed central government has little authority.
One sign of this comeback is the spread of a shadow justice system, with reports of the militants' setting up "courts" and meting out harsh punishments.
In Ghazni province the Taliban set up a pair of courts, according to Mohebullah Khan, a local farmer. Each court has two judges and people go to them knowing the cases will be resolved in days and that they won't have to pay bribes, Khan said. He added that fear of the Taliban has stemmed crime.
"There have been no choppings of hands because there are no thieves," he said.
Before the executions, two callers contacted AP contributor Rahmatullah Naikzad to say the Taliban were inviting him to see them dispense Shariah law. They refused to elaborate.
When he got the invitation, Naikzad thought the Taliban were going to punish some men they had accused of burglary. He said he was worried for his own safety, but felt the need to document how the Taliban were dispensing Islamic justice.
"I'm a journalist, and this is a new thing that is happening in Ghazni," he said. Naikzad was assured of his safety, so he traveled to the outskirts of Ghazni city and met with masked Taliban, who took him to a walled compound with fruit trees.
The Taliban took the women by car to a village about 30 minutes away, stopping near a graveyard. Naikzad traveled along on his motorbike.
When they got there, Naikzad asked one of the militants, "What if you just let these women go?" The militant replied, "Now is not the time for this kind of talk. It's over now." As the women realized what was about to happen, they started begging for their lives. Then at least eight shots rang out. As the two women hunkered down in the dark, enveloped in blue burqas, they thought the gun-toting Taliban might free them despite accu... more -
Muslim sportswomen gain standing in Beijing
Even before the Beijing Summer Olympics begin on Friday, Habiba Hinai is tasting victory. For the first time her country is sending a female Olympian to the games. Buthaina Yaqoubi, 16, will compete in the 100-meter dash and either the long jump or the triple jump.
Hinai, one of three women to represent Oman by bearing the Olympic torch during the relay earlier this year, is vice-chair of Oman's Volleyball Association, the highest position for any woman in the country's sports scene.
For 18 years she has advocated for the advancement of women's athletics in her country, seeing it expand from an activity only available in schools in 1993 to the formation of national women's volleyball, tennis and table tennis teams in 2004.
Now that her country is sending female competitors to the games, Hinai says she can start looking forward to the day when more Muslim women join the International Olympic Committee and Olympic Asian Committee. "That's the only way to develop sports in the Muslim world."
The 135-member International Olympic Committee, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, has 15 female members. Two are former Olympians from Arab Muslim countries: Morocco's 1984 track-and-field 400-meter star Nawal El Moutawakel, the first Arab woman to earn a gold medal, and Egyptian swimmer Rania Elwani, who competed from 1992 through 2000.
Nine men from Arab and Muslim countries also serve on the committee, which organizes the games and represents its 205 national members.
Muslim countries are warming up to women's Olympics by varying degrees. North African nations dominate in Muslim women's representation. Among them, Tunisia is a particular standout, with women competing in track and field, canoeing, fencing, judo, table tennis, tennis, tae kwon do and wrestling.
The 11 women in Morocco's 38-member delegation include 30-year-old Olympic 800-meter track champion Hasna Ben Hassi. The country's many promising young competitors include 24-year-old Meriem Alaoui Selsouli, a potential gold medalist in the women's 5,000-meter event, who faces fierce Ethiopian competition. The country is also sending Khadija Abbouda, the Olympics' first Moroccan female archer.
Algeria's female volleyball players, All Africa Games champions, will compete in that sport for the first time. "It's extraordinary. We can meet the world's best teams. And we're setting an example for women's sport in Algeria," said team captain Marimal Madani. Algerian women will also compete in judo and athletics, where Nahida Touhami will compete in the 1500-meter event.
Jordan's seven-member delegation includes four women. Among them Nadine Dawani, a tae kwon do competitor, and Zeina Sha'ban, a table tennis champion, have the honor of carrying their nation's flag in the Aug. 8 opening ceremony. Even before the Beijing Summer Olympics begin on Friday, Habiba Hinai is tasting victory. For the first time her country is sending a ... more -
Iran: Rising number of foreigners in religious schools in Qom
Twenty thousand foreign students have graduated from the theological schools in the holy Iranian city of Qom, which is considered the cradle of Shia Islam.
Mahommad Kabiri, a representative at the Mostafa al Alamieh University in Qom released the data on Friday and said that the foreign students represented 104 different ethnicities.
"Currently, we host 10,000 students who are not Iranian nationals, including 2,000 women, who are studying theology in the city of Qom," said Kabiri.
The Mostafa al-Alamieh University manages 13 theological schools for young foreigners. One of these schools, known as Bent al Hoda, accepts only female foreign students. Twenty thousand foreign students have graduated from the theological schools in the holy Iranian city of Qom, which is considered the ... more -
Malaysian city bans lipstick, high-heeled shoes for Muslim women
(CNN) — Authorities in a northern Malaysian city have forbidden Muslim women from wearing bright lipstick and noisy high-heeled shoes, saying the directive is intended to prevent sexual assaults and “illicit sex.”
The national news agency, Bernama, said the directive was issued by the municipal council of Kota Baru and is aimed toward Muslim women working in restaurants and other businesses in the city. It said the ban will safeguard the morals and dignity of the women as well as thwart rape.
“It states that Muslim women are forbidden to wear thick make-up, like bright colored lipstick and high-heeled shoes that gave a tapping sound,” the news agency said. (CNN) — Authorities in a northern Malaysian city have forbidden Muslim women from wearing bright lipstick and noisy high-heeled shoes,... more -
Sikhs in France to open school to combat turban ban
Gurdial Singh (a Sikh) is to open a school in France for espc. Sikhs & people of all faiths to practise their faiths openly & visibly in a response to banning of religious symbols in schools etc in 2004.
The ban affected mainly Sikhs (because the turban is part of the 5 k's which Sikhs wear) and Muslim women who wear headscarves (one kid even shaved her hair to show her devotion to her faith) which many believe is mandotory to their faiths. It also affected people wearing crucifixes & Jewish scullcaps.
The girl who shaved her hair said: "I will respect both French law and Muslim law by taking off what I have on my head and not showing my hair."
There are about a few thousand French Sikhs and about 5 million French Muslims. Gurdial Singh (a Sikh) is to open a school in France for espc. Sikhs & people of all faiths to practise their faiths openly & ... more -
In Europe, debate over Islam and virginity
PARIS — The operation in the private clinic off the Champs-Élysées involved one semicircular cut, 10 dissolving stitches and a discounted fee of $2,900.
But for the patient, a 23-year-old French student of Moroccan descent from Montpellier, the 30-minute procedure represented the key to a new life: the illusion of virginity.
Those who perform the procedure say they are empowering patients by giving them a viable future and preventing them from being abused — or even killed — by their fathers or brothers. PARIS — The operation in the private clinic off the Champs-Élysées involved one semicircular cut, 10 dissolving stitches and a discoun... more -
Online matchmaking has many Muslim women elbowing traditional courtship
Yasmin El Jamal, a 20-year-old New Yorker, knows her friend Haneen Ahmad from Washington state through Facebook, the social networking site.
Although they talk on the phone, the two have never met. What brought them together was a Facebook group for people interested in the kuffiya, a traditional Palestinian scarf.
Although she and her parents think it's fine to meet a friend this way, neither El Jamal nor her parents think the Internet is the place for a Muslim woman to meet a suitor.
"I don't think talking to a person online and looking at random people's pictures is the right way to find a husband or a wife," says El Jamal. "A lot of people are doing it behind their parents' backs and getting in a lot of trouble. I know a lot of girls who ended up having premarital sex."
Even though El Jamal lives in the United States, she expects her route to marriage will follow the customs of her Palestinian family and many traditional Muslims: Young people meet at college or weddings and if attraction kicks in, an eligible suitor goes to the woman's home to meet her and the family in a supervised setting. Yasmin El Jamal, a 20-year-old New Yorker, knows her friend Haneen Ahmad from Washington state through Facebook, the social networking... more -
Pakistan's Parliament has more women (as a %) than the UK & US Parliament...
Often Muslim countries are seen in the West as having negative attitudes towards women and women being oppressed yet the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has more women in its parliament than the US and UK parliaments.
Pakistan has 22% women in its parliament compared to only 16.8% in the US and 19.5% in the UK parliament!
Even in Kyrgyzstan a mainly Muslim nation (with 75% being Muslim) have more women in parliament (25%) beating Pakistan, US, and the UK!
Women in Islam have simular rights to men even though unfortunatly not all people act on Islamic teachings. Often Muslim countries are seen in the West as having negative attitudes towards women and women being oppressed yet the Islamic Repub... more -
Woman in Qatar creates 'Islamic game'
A Qatari woman has invented a board game invented to increase children's knowledge of Islam which is named Ka'abati (My Makkah) and is in Arabic and costs QR300 and is looking for help to bring it out in other languages.
She said one of the reasons why she created it was after her neice was asking her information about Islam.
The game has two kinds of cards with questions and answers related to Islam and can be played by two players, she said. Nora added that her sources of information were Islamic encyclopaedias, the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and Qatar's Ministry of Education's books.
Those who want to buy the game can call 5771144 or send a fax to 4667788. A Qatari woman has invented a board game invented to increase children's knowledge of Islam which is named Ka'abati (My Makk... more -
Cruising for chicks, Saudi Arabian style
Katherine Zoepf of the NY Times goes out driving one evening with group of teenage boys in Saudi Arabia hoping to get phone numbers of girls in cars.
A phone number written out on a piece of cardboard is “the classic approach,” Fahad said, but most of the time he and his friends use Bluetooth to try to send their phone numbers directly to the cell phones of girls in the vicinity. Usually this means chasing cars containing women, but sometimes Fahad and his friends drive past the entrances of shopping malls where women wait for their drivers. It’s not easy to tell which of the black-shrouded shapes might be young women, Fahad admitted, but there are a few tricks.
“You look at the style of the abaya, the way she holds her bag,” Fahad explained. “See that one there, how thin she is, and how carefully she’s covered up her face?”
He pointed out a slight figure with a pastel handbag. Sure enough, a pair of girlish-looking sneakers were just visible beneath the hem of her abaya.
“I’d say that maybe 3 out of 10 nights of numbering,we have some success,” Fahad explained.
“You mean that 3 out of 10 nights you get a girl to talk to you?” I asked.
“No, no,” Fahad laughed. “Maybe 3 out of 10 nights we get one phone number. Getting a girl to actually talk to you on the phone is much rarer. But it happens, so we’re always hoping.” Katherine Zoepf of the NY Times goes out driving one evening with group of teenage boys in Saudi Arabia hoping to get phone numbers of... more -
Pak-American women honoured with ‘Woman of the Year Award’
On May 11: California Congresswoman Grace Napolitano on Saturday honoured Zubeida Khan, a Pakistani-American community activist, with the ‘Woman of the Year Award’ for the 38th Congressional District for her contributions as a board member of the Beverly Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees.
Ms Khan is also chairwoman of a leading American Muslim civil rights group, the Muslim Public Affairs Council Foundation.
“Volunteerism allows us to make the world a little better than we found it,” Ms Khan said as she accepted the award.
“It allows me to practise a central pillar of my faith as a Muslim and set a positive example for my children.”
Ms Khan also serves on the board of the Islamic Studies Council at the Claremont Graduate University School of Religion.
The council embarked upon the ambitious project of instituting the first Masters programme in Islamic Studies in the US, which came to fruition in 2005.
She served as the treasurer of the Pakistan Arts Council of the Pacific Asia Museum for over six years.
Taken from dawn.com On May 11: California Congresswoman Grace Napolitano on Saturday honoured Zubeida Khan, a Pakistani-American community activist, with ... more -
Iranian Envoy Calls for Enhanced Role of Muslim Women
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's cultural centre in Tanzania called for promotion of Muslim women's role in educational, social and cultural issues
Speaking in an interview in Dar es Salaam yesterday, deputy Cultural Attaché of the Iranian Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Saeed Omidi, said it was high time Muslim women were given due recognition in all affairs of running their governments.
He recalled on the resolutions adopted during the recent summits of the Organization of Islamic Conference, in particular the OIC's 10th Ordinary and 3rd Extraordinary Sessions in Istanbul, Turkey, and said, "That took note of the fact that women and children were most vulnerable members of the society during conflicts, and that they deserved due recognition." TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's cultural centre in Tanzania called for promotion of Muslim women's role in educational, social and cult... more -
BBC launches series on Muslim women in veils
"Women in black" explores life for Muslim women behind those veils etc.
The first episode Amani Zain travels from London to Yemen to see life behind the veil inside the Muslim women's quarters of her family home. On her way she performs a Muslim makeover on the plane, replacing her jeans with her traditional Yemeni abaya. Amani gets herself smoked in frankincense, gives us an abaya style guide, and lets us in on the secrets of all over body hair removal. Forget the Hollywood wax, Muslim women have been at it for centuries.
The second episode airs Thurday 7:30pm on BB2. "Women in black" explores life for Muslim women behind those veils etc. ... more -
Afghan girl sets sights on Olympics
Defying tradition, an Afghan girl trains for the Beijing Olympics.
Afghan athletes are training hard despite a lack of sports facilities in the country and proper coaches in preparation for the Olympics in Beijing. In country where women are still rare in athletic events, one teenager, is defying social norms to represent her country in the 2008 Games.
Masako Iijima reports. Defying tradition, an Afghan girl trains for the Beijing Olympics. ... more -
Saudi rape victim gets 200 lashes and jail time...
"A court in the ultra-conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia is punishing a female victim of gang rape with 200 lashes and six months in jail, a newspaper reported on Thursday."
The sentence was originally 90 lashes but she was retried and it got more than doubled.
Our allies. Furthers our own hypocrisy. Who needs a wmd when you have systemic governmentally enforced persecution?
Does anyone ask the President about stuff like this? If so can you link a clip? "A court in the ultra-conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia is punishing a female victim of gang rape with 200 lashes and six mont... more -
Virginity repair operations are a growing trend among Muslim women
Saving oneself until marriage is highly emphasized in Muslim societies, and women are going to great lengths to ensure their purity. Some request hymen reconstruction after an episode of sexual abuse or rape, but many others want it purely for cultural or cosmetic reasons. Saving oneself until marriage is highly emphasized in Muslim societies, and women are going to great lengths to ensure their purity. ... more
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Muslim Women
