Pre-Friday (aka Thursday) Links | February 23, 2012

Editor’s Note: It’s been a hectic week for nearly everyone at MMW, so we apologise for not having a real post today.  Thankfully, Anneke is on the ball, so we’ll be splitting her great list of links into two posts this week.  We’ll be back to normal next week, insha’Allah.

A proposed reform of the National Women’s Council by the ruling military council in Egypt is facing resistance from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party.

Mrs. Mariyatha from Kerala, India is an inspirational community leader in the fight against polio.

In Abu Dhabi, women lament the loss of a women’s-only beach; having to share the beach now with male guests takes away a lot of the freedom many women felt at a female only beach area.

For Persian new year, Iranian officials introduce a new uniform for female civil servants in fashionable colors, dark grey and navy blue. This bright attire is voluntary, an official has been quoted saying, and there’s talk of a uniform for university students. Can’t wait!

Tens of thousands of women in the Southern Pakistani city of Karachi took to the streets to rally for improved women’s rights and more gender equality.

Thousands of refugees from the volatile region of northern Mali, mainly women and children, are fleeing into neighbouring Niger, but the situation in Niger does not bring much relief.

The tradition of “baad,” where a girl is used to “pay” for a shameful crime committed by her family members, is illegal in Afghanistan (and in Islam as well), but nevertheless “baad” is flourishing in Afghanistan’s rural areas, according to a UN report in 2010.

Human Rights Watch calls on the International Olympic Committee to ban Saudi Arabia from participating at the 2012 London Games, as it is still discriminating against women in sports. Saudi Arabia lacks a government sports infrastructure for women, and there is no physical education for girls in school.

A seminar in Hyderabad, India, addressed the problem of the immense popularity of black magic practitioners, which many Muslim women turn to in times of need, taking up precious time and money, without much result, obviously.

Ramallah, Occupied Palestine-based Nisaa FM is the only radio station in the Middle East devoted solely to women’s issues.

A French (non Muslim) mother has received custody of 11-year old daughter in Pakistani court, even though the girl claims she wants to remain with her (Muslim) father.