Friday Links — April 30, 2010

• Belgian politicians have voted overwhelmingly to ban the wearing of full face veils in public.

• Several Afghan schoolgirls have been poisoned. May Allah keep them and give them justice. More here and here and here.

• A Saudi woman who was granted a scholarship to study abroad has lost custody of her son because of it.

• A woman has been fined for driving while wearing a niqab in the first case of its kind in France. More from NPR.

• Emine Erdogan will travel to Belgium this week.

• A mother confesses to murdering her two-month-old infant. May Allah give the child peace and justice. More here.

• Women in Lebanon speak out against sexual harassment.

• Menassat discusses the difficulties female journalists in Saudi Arabia face.

• The BBC looks at the “virginity industry.”

• Human rights activists say that many women in Uzbekistan are being sterilized without their consent.

• AltMuslimah examines the unfair marriage laws for Saudi women who want to marry non-Saudis.

• The Guardian profiles Nawal El Saadawi.

• Turkey’s only women’s film event, the Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival, will be held between May 6 and 13 in Ankara.

• The Media Line profiles Egyptian women’s struggle for rights.

• A Pakistani playwright notes that female authors popularized Urdu.

• Aygül Özkan, the first female Turkish-German Muslim state minister, has received death threats from right-wing German parties. Most likely because she has called for crucifixes to be banned from German classrooms (just like headscarves).

• CNN profiles Mujaddidun and Ethar El-Katatney!

• A 19-year-old Saudi student wants to be the first female Minister of Culture and Information.

• A 16-year-old high school student in Spain is expelled for class for wearing a headscarf.

• elan profiles G. Willow Wilson.

• arabianbusiness.com speaks with Wedad Lootah on sexuality in the Emirates.

• What is Iran cracking down on now? Suntans!

• Headscarves are not allowed in Kosovo schools.

• The Globe and Mail reports that France will extend its future niqab ban to tourists. Meanwhile, French Muslim communities are torn about the proposed ban, which will most likely debut soon. The Washington Post reports that most French Muslims are against an outright ban.

• CNN covers Islamic swimsuit fashion shows in Turkey. The Christian Science Monitor also covers Turkish fashions shows.

• An Egyptian scholar says that gender mixing is permissible. Also: DUH. More here.

• Respect Party candidate Salma Yaqoob spearheads quiet revolution to get Muslim women involved in politics.

• Sabria Jawhar says Saudi women don’t need to be saved.

• Bangladesh is sending an all-female police force to protect Haitian women and children.

• Reforms undertaken by governments in the Middle East to protect domestic workers from abuse are insufficient to shield women working as house maids from abuse and violence.

• Arab News highlights Nazia Quazi’s case.

• The Economist discusses women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.

• A conference in Tunisia pushes for Arab women’s rights.

If we’ve missed any news about Muslim women this week, feel free to post links in the comments!