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Ha Ana Za! looks at the survival and growth of Islamic feminism.
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South Africa’s The Times speaks with Fatima Hassam, who is fighting for inheritance rights for multiple wives.
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The U.S.’s Condoleezza Rice initiates the “One Woman Initiative,” which is a fund that aims to empower Muslim women around the world through funding education and business developments.
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The Independent’s Deborah Orr talks about life for women in Kabul, Afghanistan.
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None of the 27 women who ran in the Kuwaiti parliamentary elections were voted in.
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Ziya Meral for the Turkish Daily News observes how men call the shots when it comes to women’s clothing in both Iran and Turkey.
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H&M plans to open a women-only departments store in Saudi Arabia, which aims to bring more Saudi women into the workforce (and, uh, make a lot of money).
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The UN Population Fund says that Yemen needs thousands more midwives in order for Yemeni women to attain universal access to skilled care at birth.
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Al Arabiya focuses on Afghan women who turn to prostitution to feed themselves.
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A maid whose sponsors abused her and amputated her fingers and toes receives paltry compensation in court. May Allah grant her justice.
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The family of a rape survivor will not take her back due to social stigma surrounding rape. May Allah protect her.
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Ireland’s school districts examine the inclusion of a headscarf in school dress code.
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A local Saudi Arabian NGO announces a new program to aid women in finding employment, which a special emphasis on divorcees and widows.
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The Columbia Spectator profiles graduate Khadijah Abdul-Nabi.
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AKI uses a Saudi-style niqab to illustrate a story about Amnesty International urging Iran to overturn convictions of women’s rights activists. Idiots!
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Saudi mothers push to get more parents to read to their children.
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Arab News’ Abeer Mishkas tells Saudi women that they can learn from Kuwaiti elections.
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The BBC examines the proposed ban on judges wearing religious symbols (including headscarves) in Denmark.
- A woman’s jealous cousin stabs her to death on her wedding day. May Allah grant her peace and justice.
- This is so fucked up.
- Asian News looks at Sisterhood, the collaborative mix tape presented by Muslim women. We gave our two cents on it last week.
- A school in Brussels, Belgium, will ban the headscarf for its students starting next year. Via Islamophobia Watch.
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In reference to the article about husbands locking up their wives and children…and I know for a fact that housemaids get locked up all the time here in the gulf…Im rather confused as to what exactly constitutes a crime in the middle east. You can kill your wife, sister, daughter or the girl who refuses your advances and barely get a slap on the wrist…you can lock up family members leaving them without a means of escape in the event of a fire…and you can routinely deny women, children, non muslims and foreigners their basic human rights and nothing is done to you. So what exactly is a crime in the middle east….ah yes…desecrating the Quran….defaming the prophet…proclaiming apostacy…and on occasion…and in the case of females…having any hint of sexual misconduct surrounding you…or removing your headscarf(or just letting some hair or skin show). Your right…this is soooo fucked up.
Definitely fucked up.And why, when tagging this story, would a headline writer feel an obligation to be cutesy? “Keyed Up Women”?
Good reads Sisters. I find this article about women in Morocco on AKI to be rather distrubing–http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Business/?id=1.0.2121521223Morocco: FOCUS – French company sets a new standard Let’s see–a French company has opened a factory in Morocco that prefers female employs over males. Are we supposed to applaud this move? There are two things about this that are really bothersome.1) They pay the women about a 10th of the minimum wage (non-standardized I think) in France. Exploitation much? “’The infrastructure here is as good as in France,’ he underlined.”–just not the pay, of course.2) I can’t think of a way to articulate this that won’t be attacked by some–but–this reverse discrimination is especially detrimental as a tool to further the breakdown of the role of mothers in Muslim societies. No doubt jobs are needed in Morocco, but imagine if this will be the standard practice. What does this mean to families? More angry men sipping coffee in the cafes while the kids are running the streets and the women work two jobs—the factory and at home.Love and Peace,~Brooke
Brooke, thanks for the news tip!I have a question: why can’t men watch the children? Men aren’t biologically incapable of using a stove or supervising a child. They are not genetically programmed to sit in a coffee shop all day; they are SOCIALLY programmed to do this. What is best for the children is a parent (regardless of sex) who is bringing money for food and healthcare. The child also needs love, support, and a structured environment–a parent of either sex is capable of this. And it’s the responsibility of either parent do provide whatever is in his/her power. If a woman can find work and her husband can’t, then what is the problem for the man to watch the kids? If a man can find work and his wife can’t, then the roles reverse.Also, we need more context: what is the standard wage for living in Morocco? If Labinal is meeting or exceeding the wage that Moroccans needs to live, then it doesn’t really matter if their wages compare to France’s. Also, the fact that they have health insurance that meets 80% of their medical costs SOUNDS good, but we need to know more: does it cover their whole families? Does it cover important female-related issues like breast cancer, etc.?I don’t believe in the idea of “reverse discrimination.” If you’re not allowed to do something because of your skin color, age, or gender, it’s just plain discrimination, period.That being said, the fact that they want women who have Bachelor’s degrees to do mostly manual assembly is stupid and wasteful of these women’s education.
Why does the article on prostitution in Afghanistan note the physical attractiveness and clothing of the women interviewed??
Zeynab-Of course men can and should watch, nurture and educate children—though not as the regular, primary care giver. We see statistics in the “west” all the time that point out that women that work outside the home do the majority of the care providing and chores at home too. There are multitudes of reasons why this happens across cultures. Fundamentally, I believe (and few, especially religious, mommies would argue) that women are the much better primary care providers. In dire circumstances it comes down to regardless of sex, but creating environments of exclusion like this factory furthers and exploits situations of dire circumstance. My coffee shop reference is because this is what you see in Morocco and it is played up as a stereotype, but there really are droves of unemployed men that linger on the same cup of coffee (or tea) for hours. I’m throwing in “angry” because I know of plenty of brothers here in the US that are angry about the discrimination they receive when seeking employment—so I would imagine some Moroccan men would be quite angry to receive sexist discrimination in their own backyard. This discrimination and exploitation wouldn’t fly amongst white Europeans and it pisses me off that they perpetrate it else where.Context: When I lived in Morocco a few years ago, much of the cost of living was very slightly less than the cost of living in Portland, Oregon. A friend of mine who is living in Casablanca right now pays $700 monthly for an apartment. Ironically, medical expenses are way, way cheaper than the US. I had an ultra sound for less than a hundred dollars—no insurance.The Baccalaurate is not a BA—it’s the French term for high school diploma. There are plenty of well educated Moroccan women with BAs and higher that can not find work in Maroc. Of course there is probably a bigger pool of high school grads under 25 to hire and fire at will. URRR!!! They also only hire women under the age of 25!!! So wrong.Melinda-Because they are hot (sarcasm). I was also irrtated by the heading “easy access.” Love and Peace,~Brooke
Brooke, thanks for the clarifications. I agree that it’s exploitative to only hire younger female workers with high-school diplomas to do unskilled manual labor, especially when anyone, regardless of age or sex, with a high school (or even less?) education could do this job. I have to disagree with you on one point: other than birthing and breast-feeding, I don’t believe that there’s anything a mother can do for her child that a father can’t. Most cultures tell men that they can’t or don’t have the capability or a large share of responsibility to raise a healthy (in every sense) child. Your assertion that more religious parents would agree that more “traditional” parenting roles are what’s best for the child is unfair. Religious does not equal traditional, nor vice versa. I agree that the “double-shift” of working at home and at a career is a present reality for some women (Muslim ones included) in the west, and a shitty one. But the solution to it isn’t to have women stay at home, it’s for men to take on more responsibility, do some dishes, pick the kids up from school, make some lunches. Instead of looking at household roles practically, we look at them through the lens of, “This is what a man should do,” and “This is what a woman should do,” as if they’re mutually exclusive. If a mother wants to stay home and take on the role of primary caregiver for her child, power to her. But if she doesn’t want to, or is financially unable to, then she shouldn’t be penalized by her husband or extended family members.And where does this idea leave single women who are supporting themselves and their children? How can a woman be a primary caregiver if she has to work to support her family?
Ive always felt it was a slap in the face to mothers when they “ask” fathers to watch the kids while they go out and do whatever. As if they need to make special arrangements with their husbands before leaving the kids. Does the father ask his wife to watch the kids while he goes off to work or whatever? Also, later when they are having some sort of disagreement about child care….9 times out of 10 he will remind her that he “babysat” the kids that time she went out. A mother cares for her children but a father babysits them…what the hell is that crap?We claim that mothers are the primary caregivers and condemn them point blank if they fail in that regard in anyway…and yet fathers routinely shirk father duties…and we hardly bat an eye. Which raises children to believe that fathers are not expected to be caring loving or involved in their lives as much as mothers…so if fathers fit that pattern they are just doing what fathers do…but mothers that are anything but caring loving or involved wholeheartedly in their childrens lives are deemed failures as mothers. Nice way to separate the sexes once again.
Zeynab,”I have to disagree with you on one point: other than birthing and breast-feeding, I don’t believe that there’s anything a mother can do for her child that a father can’t.”We aren’t disagreeing on that point sis. I’m saying that the mother does it better and a survey amongst your friends and family will support me. Though the actuality of Muslim women receiving their rights is extremely varied, no one denies the immense position of respect placed on the Muslim mother, the mother, the mother—know that hadith?See I’m not talking about “tradition.” I’m talking about religion. I assert that there are various reasons Muslim mothers are increasingly joining the workforce—poverty, greed, unsupportive husbands, vanity–but I would also say that the majority would prefer to make their children their priority and be home for them. That is a generalization, but amongst the sisters I role with—that’s what they are saying.“I agree that the “double-shift” of working at home and at a career is a present reality for some women…the solution to it isn’t to have women stay at home, it’s for men to take on more responsibility…”SAHMs and WAHMs ARE a viable solution to working the double shift—though many of us see it as one never ending shift
And when the men come home, there is plenty for them to do too. Remember, the Muslim woman can refuse to work–though many do not refuse and are exploited by their own husbands–nother story, but related–how many men LOVE a well-paid woman for all the wrong reasons?”And where does this idea leave single women who are supporting themselves and their children?”Well, according to your understanding of parenting roles, she could leave the kids with their father. And why doesn’t that happen more?I didn’t think it would be easy to assert this here, but I remain steadfast to these two major problems with Labinal’s tax free trade habits in Maroc:1.It is exploitative and discriminatory.2.This exploitation and discrimination is directly threatening to Muslim families. It will be interesting to see if Moroccan women feel the same way. Allahualim, for some they may prefer these discriminatory practices of Labinal over the practices of their compatriots. Though traditionally, free trade zones have never been lovingly embraced by the locals for very long.Love and Peace,~Brooke
The story in Arab News on the rape survivor whose family will not take her back is horrifying on a number of levels. From the story, it seems that Maryam is mentally challenged to begin with; she was accused of having some sort of relationship with a body, so her family threw her out. She became homeless, was raped, is now traumatized, and the police won’t investigate because neither she nor her family has filed a complaint.Oh. my. god.And all this happened in Mecca, no less–that holy city which is supposed to be a refuge and place of safety according to the Quran.This all says so much not only about the treatment of rape survivors, but about attitudes to handicapped people, the belief that women are the family’s property, the view that crimes against women are fundamentally property violations against men… and concepts of sanctity and security which do not really include women.I resolved a while back not to ever go for Hajj as long as the Saudis control Mecca, and this just confirms my decision.
Brooke, I don’t wholeheartedly disagree with either of your two major points. My point is that Labinal’s existence and hiring practices aren’t necessarily a direct threat to families; it’s the cultural view of what a woman is supposed to do that’s the problem. By supposedly taking women away from their household “duties”, Labinal upsets the idea of what many people envision women’s roles to be. This isn’t threatening to families; families’ inability to envision and support new roles for their daughters, wives, and mothers is. So I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree.
***Of course men can and should watch, nurture and educate children—though not as the regular, primary care giver.***I disagree. I only wish that after my mother was done breast-feeding me, she could have gone back to work full-time. I would have loved to have my dad provide primary care. He was always the more kid-oriented one. My mom was unhappy being a primary care giver. Because she was a woman, she assumed that she *had* to do it. She also had wage discrimination working against her – she wouldn’t have earned as much as my dad. But she deserved that right. Just as my father deserved the right to paternity leave.This is a very basic analogy, but imagine a square peg trying to fit into a round hole all of its life, just because society *tells* the peg that this is where it should go.One of my old teachers recently quit working to be a stay-at-home dad. From what I understand, his wife was simply exhausted by the time she stopped breast-feeding. Not to mention the fact that her job would make her more money anyway. It didn’t make fiscal sense, and it didn’t make sense in terms of their combined mental health. I think if more people did the things they are actually capable of, as opposed to the things everyone assumes they ought to be capable of, both kids and parents would be better off.