Friday Links — January 9, 2009

• Hurriyet Daily News discusses why studies on vitamin D deficiency can’t really be used to pressure women into covering or uncovering.

• The Hindu profiles Pakistani writer Uzma Aslam Khan.

• The Standard examines hejab’s modern new looks in Kenya.

• Egyptian women make a larger presence for themselves at the mosque. More from the International Herald Tribune.
  

• The director of Jeddah Health Affairs Management has denied reports that his office has closed a drug addiction treatment center for women in a local hospital. Despite the fact that many workers received pink slips.

• On French Muslims and marriage.

• A professor aims for dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian students.
  

• The Rhode Island School of Design Museum is hosting an exhibit on Islamic dress.

• An interesting film on hejab made by a group of Muslim girls in London.

• Cycads writes about anti-feminism in Malaysia.

• Saudi Jeans predicts that Saudi Arabian women will bring the country’s rights for women forward after studying abroad.

• Muslim women in Jaipur, India, earn money by making kites.

• According to The Huffington Post, the Taleban are imposing shari’a in parts of Pakistan.

• A young man suspected of participating in last week’s attack on two girls who weren’t wearing hejab is released.

• The West Bengal Women’s Commission is accused of neglecting the cause of local Muslim women.

• More than 500 people, including civil rights workers, object to the shutting down of Shirin Ebadi’s office in Tehran. Iranian officals say they will provide security for Ms. Ebadi. Via Arabisto.

• On American and Muslim women working together.

• The Christian Science Monitor profiles Egyptian activist Nora Younis.

• At the suggestion of an Iraqi women’s group, the U.S. military recently bought 50 cows for 50 Iraqi widows in an effort to provide them with economic stability and revitalize the area’s dairy industry. This comes after Iraqi women’s groups express concern that Iraqi widows are suffering from harassment and intimidation from government officials.

• 64 women have been elected to the Bangladeshi parliament. This is a record. More from Voice of Bangladeshi Bloggers.

• Taking steps to end male guardianship while traveling sparks debate in Saudi society.

• Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu has designed Turkey’s newest (and coolest) mosque.

• A male suicide bomber who was originally reported as female killed 38 people heading to the shrine in Karbala, Iraq. May Allah give the victims peace. More from Middle East Online and Al Arabiya. Organizers have now banned women from the shrine. Because a man bombed the shrine. Uh-huh. More from the LA Times.

• A healthcare exhibition for women debuts in the U.A.E. to help educate women about serious health issues.

• In Jeddah, 60 women created job opportunities for themselves at Saudi Arabia’s first women-only perfume manufacturing facility.

• The Arab Women’s Leadership Forum’s website has launched.

• A Danish study says that women from immigrant (read: largely Muslim) backgrounds express the desire to work outside the home with their husband’s consent.

• Kurdish activist Leyla Zana’s opposition is seeking an increase in her jail time.

• Women in Delhi, who often help manufacture the clothes we’re wearing, want more of their fair share of the clothing costs.

• The Times Online believes that forced marriage may become a central issue in 2009.

• On women and politics in Turkey.

• The Saudi Gazette explains “adl” and why it’s harmful and unfair to Muslim women.

• A Muslim woman is among the finalists for the British Mosaic Talent Awards.

• A widow’s difficult holiday season without her husband. May Allah give their family peace and justice.

• The Society for Caring for Saudis Abroad is in the process of completing three studies on Saudis marrying abroad.

• Rachida Dati gives birth to a baby girl and everybody wants a piece of them both. More from the Daily Mail and The Guardian.

• The Saudi government and its dispute with a specific company has effected a girl’s studies.

• The Yemen Times profiles Shada Nasser as their Person of the Year.

• Women in Pakistan suffer from a lack of education about fistula.

• Al Ahram looks at Egypt’s female role models of the past year.

• A company in Saudi Arabia announces plans for a women-only training program in Jeddah.

• Mehri Mohsefi and her husband have been in Evin prison for the last month. Her daughters, who were arrested with her, have been released. May Allah protect them.

• Muslim women and other ethnic and religious minorities are gaining ground in Danish television.

• Women in Malaysia and Indonesia suffer from a lack of choice because of Islamic interpretations.

• Despite the existence of women in high places in Pakistani politics, most Pakistani women are left out of the political process.

• I don’t mean to be snarky (oh, who are we kidding?), but this is a big DUH.

• Australia gets its first female officer in a headscarf.

• The preliminary hearing for Aqsa Parvez’ murder began this week. More from the Toronto Sun.

• Anisa Osman Mohamed is missing. May Allah protect her.

• The BBC highlights the increasing drug addiction among South Asian women in the U.K.

• Omani nurses come to Texas to observe international nursing practices. Yee haw!

• A Muslim woman sues a Belgian gym because they won’t allow her to wear a headscarf while exercising.

• Tunisia’s first female physician celebrates her 100th birthday!

• Queen Rania asks that children’s human rights be respected in the Gaza attack.

• The Yemen Times discusses Yemeni women and the birth control pill.

• Benazir Bhutto’s daughter, Bakhtawar, raps about her mother’s death. More from Al Arabiya.

• A great interview with Iranian women’s rights activist Sussan Tahmasebi.

• Jordan’s Princess Haya received threats when she announced she wanted to become a professional showjumper.

• On honor killings in Iraq.

• A woman who was threatened and sexually harassed has quit her studies under pressure from authorities at the university whose Deputy of Security harassed her.

• Sunny Hundal attempts to determine the reason that South Asian women in Britain are more likely to commit suicide.

• Gaza from the perspective of a Palestinian-American woman living there.

• According to the Aurat Foundation Resident Director, the conviction rate in violence against women in Pakistan is not more than one to two per cent.

• Are you a Saudi woman who’s sick of not being able to legally drive in her own country? Welcome to Bahrain! Via Kippreport.

• Gifted female Saudi students will demonstrate their scientific prowess and express their needs at an upcoming workshop.

• The family of a 14-year-old rape victim may be prosecuted for getting her an abortion the only way they were able. She is in critical condition. May Allah protect her. More from IRIN.

• Despite legal campaigns against acid attacks, Bangladeshi women still face danger and harm because acid is so easy to purchase.

• Kurdish women stage a demonstration against polgyny in Kurdistan.

• A woman who was forced in marriage was killed this week by the man she was forced to marry. May Allah give her peace and justice.

• Najwa Ahmad Ibrahim is the first woman to be appointed as a labor consultation with the Egyptian embassy.

• Police women in Afghanistan face social stigma.

• Sudanese women believe that things in Darfur may worsen if Sudan’s president is arrested.

• A 19-year-old woman was stabbed to death by her brother during an argument. May Allah give her peace and justice.

• The Qatari Businesswomen Forum, with the British Council, has launched a course for businesswomen to hone their skills.

• Leila Shahid speaks about the war in Gaza on French television.

• Feministe highights video of Huwaida Arraf standing against Israeli soldiers.

• On maxi dresses and Muslim fashion.

• Members of the Porompat Muslim Women Development Association participate in an ongoing hunger strike.

• How Muslim women may have indirectly saved people in the Mumbai attacks.

• Maternity wards in Gaza are turning away pregnant women because of shortages in beds and supplies.

• A U.S. youth delegation that includes several Muslim women will visit the U.A.E. next week.

• What Indonesian’s anti-pornography law has in common with Australian politicians.

• India’s Law Reform Commission suggests a ban on polygamy for all faiths and Muslim leaders get a bit testy.

• Sheikha Mozah vowed yesterday to investigate an Israeli attack on a school in Gaza.

• About 200 Indonesian women protested against Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip outside the Egyptian embassy in Jakarta.

• A Palestinian woman works to gather supplies for Gazans.

• A woman has been released from custody in Afghanistan and deported back to Egypt because she could not be identified by a girl’s mother as the girl’s kidnapper.

• The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Labor is planning a day to honor model housemaids.

And don’t forget to show us some love at the 2008 Weblog Awards! Voting ends on Tuesday, January 13.