- The Hijablog gives her thoughts on situation in Norway regarding the police forces’ rescinding of the allowance of headscarves on the force. More on the story at the Gulf Times, Islam in Europe, and The Norway Post.
- An Oklahoma woman who wasn’t allowed to renew her driver’s license because of her headscarf was finally allowed to do so last week. The state is considering a law prohibiting headcoverings in driver’s license photos.
- IslamOnline also profiles Love in a Headscarf.
- A fight between two women on an airplane results in a fine.
- Rahila Gupta discusses the historic role of women’s voices in the fight against extremism.
- The New Straits Times Online looks at Musawah and the fight that Muslim women wage for their rights. More from The Star. Via ifeminists.
- Nikki Keddie writes about how Iranian women’s rights have changed with regimes.
- Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce has opened up to women all jobs that are available to men, including construction, real estate, etc. More on KSA job development for women from the Arab News.
- Women’s groups at the ASEAN (Association of SouthEast Asian Nations) People’s Forum press for more rights for migrant domestic workers.
- Alia Hogben clears up some misconceptions about Shari’ah.
- Ayan Shirwa writes about the headscarf as a matter of choice for The Age.
- Muslim women in Kenya form a group to create AIDS awareness and reduce social stigma related to the disease.
- A group of Muslim entrepreneurs this week launched a glossy new journal for Muslim women in Russia called Musulmanka.
- Al-Zulfi, Saudi Arabia, held its first art exhibition by a woman. Via PM’S World.
- Finland is having its first dispute over the headscarf in the workplace.
- KABOBfest profiles singer ZeeZee Adel.
- Raquel Evita Saraswati is on a media tour in Finland.
- Yemen’s new law raising the age of marriage to 17 is threatened by parliament members who think that the law contradicts Shari’ah. They have since issued a fatwa against the law.
- News reports confirm that Aasiya Hassan had suffered a long and obvious pattern of abuse. Via ProgressiveIslam. The Daily Beast has two pieces up about Hassan’s history of abuse and why we need to move past the debate over what Aasiya’s murder is. Women’s eNews reiterates the fact that her murder isn’t an honor killing, and Muslim Advocates Against Violence speak out. Pamela K. Taylor weighs in.
- Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry looks to employ more women.
- The New York Times puts a face and a name to the danger that women in Darfur face.
- Why the Pakistani implementation of Shari’ah in the Swat valley is a setback for women. The New York Times has a documentary on what this means for girls. Via Between Hope & Fear. Global Voices Online discusses the matter.
- An Israeli study shows that female genital cutting is a disappearing practice among Bedouin tribes in the country. Islam in Europe discusses the implications of this study.
- There are worries that polygyny in Britain is increasing. More from the BBC.
- Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers plans to expand women’s employment opportunities.
- Uzbek TV airs an anti-hijab program. More from Radio Free Europe. I write about it at ReligionDispatches.
- On the progression of women’s public participation in the U.A.E.
- The Feminist School interviews Simin Behbahani.
- epiphanies writes about the Orientalism and fictional embellishment surrounding series of Swedish books about a survivor of domestic violence.
- The National discusses the idea that women should have to choose between a career and a family.
- The Yemeni Womens Union and USAID aim to offer a course educating people on the dangers of early marriage.
- Human rights groups don’t support Germany’s ban on headscarves for teachers. Via Islam in Europe. IslamOnline also writes about Germany’s headscarf ban on teachers, and Human Rights Watch say that the ban violates human rights. More from Al Arabiya.
- Morocco has pre-emptively banned the French feminist group “Ni Putes, Ni Soumises” from opening offices in the country, though they haven’t asked to do so. Except that Voice of America says that the group is opening in Morocco. O RLY?
- Iraq’s widows struggle with little aid.
- Salem Sahab writes for Arab News about the disrespectful and abusive treatment that Saudi nurses face.
- IslamOnline profiles the Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Center in Scotland.
- Sabria Jawhar also slams Sally Quinn’s stupidity on MSNBC.
- The Women’s News Network talks with Shirin Ebadi.
- World Politics Review looks at women’s rights in the Gulf.
- The bodies of two women have been found in Peshawar.
- The BBC examines the movement to get lingerie shops staffed by women in Saudi Arabia.
- A sex education book causes some waves in the U.A.E. More from The Jerusalem Post.
- Aliyeh Eghdam Doust has not been allowed visitors since her arrest.
- Qatari women in business earn awards.
- Achelois discusses polygyny and its lasting effects on the resulting children.
- An Afghan journalist describes life for Afghan women. Via Global Online Voices.
- Islam in Europe looks at Princess Hijab.
- Married couples in Palestine are spending their honeymoons in tents.
- NewsOK talks to women who wear headscarves in Oklahoma.
- On Noura Al Faiz, Saudi Arabia’s newest appointment to the ministry of girls’ education.
- A school field trip in Denmark creates controversy.
- Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood may change its stances on women and Christians.
- WLUML writes about the discrimination women still face in Bangladesh.
- Asma Gull Hasan writes about being an American Muslim post-9/11.
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Tags: Muslim women, News
The Nikki Keddie piece was interesting. I think Keddie and Ziba Mir-Hosseini are recognising the fundamentally flawed analysis of women’s status in post-revolution Iran. Women from all strata of society have legitimised themselves in politics and other areas which are usually male-dominated. The Pahlavi regime did not achieve the kind of penetration of this patriarchal discourse both at the national and religious orthodox level that we’re seeing in Iran today. It was indeed the agenda of the elite and never the everyday Iranian woman. This has all changed since the revolution with the potent reality of women’s participation in both the revolution and running the country during the Iran-Iraq war. Contrary to what Western feminists are claiming of their experiences, Iranian women are continuing on with their revolutionary activities.
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glad to hear that even more mainstream media outlets are speaking out how the murder of Aasiya Hassan wasn’t a honor killing.
Salam,
Thought you might be interested in this link:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/lipstick-revolution-irans-women-are-taking-on-the-mullahs-1632257.html
Plenty to cover, I couldn’t help but think of MMW while reading
What’s with the lipstick thing, lipstick jihad, lipstick revolution … pffff
I hadn’t read the whole thing when I left the previous comment. It does balance out a bit in the second half but still contains lots of stereotypes, misunderstandings, …
I’m actually more than a little confused about the Norway police hijab situation.
Were the included photographs in Hijablog the proposed uniform? That’s about half a yard of loose cloth draped and wrapped around the officer’s neck and shoulders. (Note– Male police uniforms sometimes include ties, but they are clip-on, breakaway types). Not only does that shout to me of “danger to the officer herself” if it should be grabbed by an assailant, but a potential impediment to her doing her job in difficult physical circumstances like fire or water rescue, active pursuit, or the like.
I can see wrapping a scarf tightly over the hair if it’s that important — though I still worry about it slipping and obscuring sight, and in any case it will muffle hearing if it covers the ears — yet, it’s not much different than a hat. The full, loose, flapping cloth, though, seems to me to be a poor idea for police uniform not because of religious discrimination, but because of the danger it presents both to the officer and the people the officer is supposed to serve and protect.
I obtained a drivers license while still wearing the hijab some years ago and never had a problem with someone asking me to take it off…where are all these stories coming from about women refusing to remove it…or being ordered to remove it? Are there different rules regarding headgear in driving photos in each state?
Hello all,
Thanks for your exceptionally unique effort. I just love everything you write girls
Anyways, just a tiny correction if you dont mind. but:
“Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood may change its stances on women and Christians.”
Has been denied today by Muslim Brotherhood. They will not change their stances on women and Christians..
I don’t understand why the girls were required to wear the scarf in the article about the field trip in Denmark. I’ve been to a few religious places where visitors were required to cover up (like an interfaith service at a Sikh temple I went to a few years ago, where women were asked to cover their heads — a bandana was fine — or some historical synagogues I’ve been to in Israel where men have to wear something on their heads and women have to have at least shoulders and knees covered, and there’s usually an elderly woman at the entrance tying shawls around women who aren’t covered enough to enter), but someone from the mosque was quoted in the article saying that they don’t have any requirement like that, so why was the school insisting on it?
Ikhwan are not really going to change their stance, particularly on Coptics.