There’s something missing from this picture.
Source: Donald Trump Signs Anti-Abortion Executive Order, Surrounded By Men | The Huffington Post
Tag: Women
The 30-year-old mother of two is hardly unique in struggling to obtain a divorce in a country where men must grant permission for their wives to leave.But her ca
Source: Israel’s “chained women” fight for right to divorce – Your Middle East
This is a genuine crisis – Donald Trump’s manhood is under withering challenge on two counts.
Source: Donald Trump’s women problem is coming home to roost
With One Nation making its return on a platform of “no sharia law”, Asiya Rodrigo thinks it’s time Australians found out what Shari’ah is really about for everyday Muslims like her.
Source: I follow Shari’ah. This is what it really means to me
In war-torn Afghanistan it is not the Taliban that poses the greatest threat to women – it is their own families.
Source: Afghanistan: No Country for Women – Al Jazeera English
An education resource that teaches girls and boys that sexual intimacy should be pleasurable shouldn’t be revolutionary in 2016 – but it is
A monster lives among the Arabs. Its sole purpose is to terrify people from love and sex. No one has seen it, but we’ve all heard it. The monster whispers at t
Source: Love, sex and the burden of shame on the Arab woman: changing the narrative – Your Middle East
Women living under Islamic State’s control in Iraq and Syria are facing increasingly harsh restrictions on movement and dress, which are rigorously enforced by religious police and are leading to resentment and despair among moderate Muslims.
Residents of Mosul, Raqqa and Deir el-Zour have told the Guardian in interviews conducted by phone and Skype that women are forced to be accompanied by a male guardian, known as a mahram, at all times, and are compelled to wear double-layered veils, loose abayas and gloves.
Their testimonies follow the publication this month of an Isis “manifesto” to clarify the “realities of life and the hallowed existence of women in the Islamic State”. It said that girls could be married from the age of nine, and that women should only leave the house in exceptional circumstances and should remain “hidden and veiled”.
Sama Maher, 20, a resident of Raqqa who has been detained several times by Isis religious police, known as Hisbah, for violating Isis rules, said: “It is prohibited for a woman in Raqqa or Deir el-Zour to move anywhere outside without a mahram, a male guardian. It is a big problem as I do not have any, we are only five sisters.”
An Islamic State fighter waves a flag in Raqqa.
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An Islamic State fighter waves a flag in Raqqa. The group published a “manifesto” within weeks of taking control of the city. Photograph: Reuters
Isis has closed universities in areas under its control, she added. “I had to quit my university studies in Aleppo because I’m not allowed to cross the checkpoints without a mahram and leave the city by myself like before.”
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Male guardians are subject to punishment if women are not complying with the prescribed dress code. In Mosul, Isis published a charter within weeks of taking taking control of the city, restricting women’s movements and imposing dress requirements. Women were instructed to wear a Saudi-style black veil of two layers to conceal their eyes and a loose robe designed by Isis after it said some abayas revealed body outlines.
Many women initially objected to the Isis order but complied when they realised they could be beaten, humiliated and fined, and their husbands might be punished. Men are now forcing their wives and daughters to stay at home to avoid confrontations with Hisbah, which issues orders via the internet or by posting written statements at shops warning against violations of Islamic rules in the city.
“They forced women of all ages to wear a veil, even though the majority of the women in Mosul wear a hijab,” paediatrician Maha Saleh, 36, said. “The Hisbah would hit a woman on her head with a stick if she was not wearing a veil.
“At the beginning, some female doctors refused to wear veils and went on a strike by staying at home. Hisbah took ambulances and went to their houses and brought them by force to the hospital. One of my colleagues was alone in her clinic in the hospital and thought it was all right to strip off her veil. All of a sudden, two Hisbah broke in her room and reproached her for not wearing the veil and warned her not to do that again.”
In Raqqa, the Isis “capital” in Syria, women were initially ordered to wear a black abaya covering the entire body. Soon after, a command to wear a veil was issued, then a third ordered a shield on top of the abaya. Women are also instructed to wear only black, including gloves and shoes. Isis subsequently ordered women to hide their eyes, requiring a a double-layered veil.
I was shocked to see that women in labour were denied access to the hospital unless they put veils on
Mosul resident Sabah Nadiem said: “I went once with my wife to one of the old souqs to do some shopping, and after a short while I lost her among the crowd. The problem was that all the women were wearing veils and it was hard to know who was my wife. I was utterly scared to make a mistake and go for the wrong woman. It would be a disaster to fall into Hisbah hands. I could not even use my mobile as the network was down.” Nadiem said he called out his wife’s name loudly in the souq until she heard him and they were reunited.
Hisbah patrols tour Isis-controlled cities to ensure that women and men are behaving in accordance with Islamic rules. If they spot a woman in the street not wearing a shield or gloves, sometimes they offer her “Islamic dress” with a pair of gloves and advise her not to go out again without them, or they take her to Hisbah headquarters and keep her there until her mahram arrives. The mahram may be fined or could be subjected to lashes.
Children are not exempt from strict dress codes. When schools opened in Mosul last October, Samar Hadi, a mother of five, sent her two daughters – Hala, six, and Tiba, seven, – to school without a hijab, as she had the year before.
“After two days, the headmistress told them that they all have to wear the hijab when they come to school. So I made them wear the hijab. Then an Isis order came to stipulate that only girls in 4th, 5th and 6th class in primary school have to wear hijab, not 1st and 2nd classes.”
A veiled woman walks past a billboard urging women to wear a hijab
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A veiled woman walks past a billboard urging women to wear a hijab. Photograph: Reuters
In Deir el-Zour in Syria, the rules for female pupils and students appear to be stricter. “Little girls in primary schools have to wear an abaya until the 4th class, when they have to wear a veil too,” said Sali Issam, 15, a secondary school student. “Though all the teachers in girls’ schools are female, neither students nor teachers are allowed to lift the veil of their faces inside the classroom.”
Many families stopped sending their children to school after recent air strikes by the Syrian regime army, she added. “Families are scared of Hisbah and Assad’s warplanes.”
Women in labour in maternity hospitals in Mosul are forced to comply with dress codes. “When I was in labour, I went to the hospital wearing a veil though it was too hot. Isis Hisbah were at the front door of the hospital. I saw some women in labour who seemed to be in a panic and did not have time to wear a veil. I was shocked to see that they were denied access to the hospital unless they put veils on their faces,” said Salah.
Women over the age of 45 are exempted from the order to wear the veil, but often find themselves in difficulty. On a routine trip to Mosul University where she teaches, Saleh shared a taxi with an older woman who was not wearing a veil. “The taxi driver turned to the woman and said: ‘Why are not you wearing a veil?’ She told him that Isis said the veil was imposed on women who are less than 45. The driver answered: ‘I’m afraid if I have you in my car, Isis Hisbah will stop me at a checkpoint and fine me.’”
Buses are also stopped for passengers to be checked. If a woman is found without required dress or mahram, all passengers are forced to disembark and the bus is refused permission to proceed. “If Hisbah spot a woman without a mahram in a bus, the whole bus is evacuated and sent back because the driver accepted her,” said Maher.
In Mosul, single women are not allowed to be the last passenger on a bus, alone with the driver. Women are forced to get off buses before their destination if there are no other passengers present. Bassma Adel, 35, who works in a bank, had to get off a bus to avoid being alone with the driver even though she was not near her home.
I was fined $1,500 and got 10 lashes on the bottom of my feet
“I had to walk to my house though the distance was long in inclement weather. One of my male colleagues passed by his car and offered to give me a lift. We drove for a short distance before we were spotted by Hisbah. They asked us for a document that proves my colleague was a mahram to me. When we failed to do that, they reproached us for being together in the car and humiliated us and ordered me to step down.”
Hospitals in Raqqa are almost empty of female doctors, according to residents. The few female nurses are forbidden from lifting their veils or wearing anything but Islamic dress. All woman visiting doctors must be accompanied by a mahram, who has to wait outside the clinic. If Hisbah discovers a man inside a clinic, he will be arrested. A woman is permitted to be checked by a male doctor but is not allowed to lift her veil during examination.
Recently Isis ordered all female hairdressers to be shut down in Mosul. Samah Nasir, 43, had her own hairdressing shop for more than nine years – the only source of income for her three children as her husband is ill and unable to work. “I decided to reopen my shop despite the Isis embargo because I had nothing to feed my children and pay for my husband’s medications.”
Shortly after, Hisbah broke in her house and took her and her husband to a sharia court. “The judge ruled that I should pay $1,500 [£977] as a fine and get 10 lashes on the bottom of my feet in one of the rooms in the sharia court. I have not been in such a situation all my life.” Now Nasir rarely leaves her house.
50 word blurb: UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and Academy Award-winner Nicole Kidman raises awareness to end violence against women. She urges all members of society to play their part in halting this pandemic that affects one in three women and girls globally.
100 word blurb: UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and Academy Award-winner Nicole Kidman raises awareness to end violence against women. With UN Women, she has travelled to countries, highlighting the challenges and solutions on the ground to end violence against women. She has worked to amplify the voices of women survivors, advocating not only for a stop to the pandemic of violence against women, but also for support services for survivors. Here, she urges members of society to play their part in ending this scourge that affects one in three women and girls globally.
At least one in three women and girls will be subjected to violence and abuse in their lifetimes- that’s more than one billion lives destroyed by trauma and injury.
One in three – that is not a just a horrifying statistic. It means at every moment of every day, there is a woman who is suffering a brutal beating in her home, or a devastating sexual assault. It means that somewhere, a girl will lose her childhood when she is forced to marry before she turns eighteen. A young girl is in excruciating pain as her genitals are mutilated, right this minute, leaving her with a lifetime of physical and mental scars. It can be your friend, your neighbour next door, your co-worker. It can be your family member. Who is next?
One in three. As a mother of three daughters the thought is simply unbearable. It is chilling to realize how dangerous the most ordinary places can be for us women and girls. We could be beaten or raped, while simply taking a stroll in the park or on our way to visit a friend; harassed at school, or while browsing the internet. The threat is always there and most often, violence against women and girls occurs where we should be safest – at school, in our homes, with our partners.
One in three. It’s an outrage. I am also the mother of a son. I cannot and will not accept that he should have to live in a world with a distorted notion of masculinity. As long as our boys learn that manliness is equated with dominance and violence is acceptable, we are a long way from the foundation of mutual respect and equality that must inform any relationship between girls and boys, women and men. At the heart of this pandemic of violence against women is the deep rooted inequality between the sexes. We need to rethink and reshape what it means to be a boy or a girl, a man or a woman.
As a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women, I have met with survivors and learned a lot about what works and what’s needed. I know that the law must protect women and girls to ensure their basic human right to a life free of violence and bring abusers to justice. I have seen the urgent need for services for survivors – for safe houses, medical assistance, counselling and legal advice.
I remember vividly when the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women happened in 1995. As a young actress, even though far from the action in Beijing, I experienced it as a moment of great hope and aspiration. Countries everywhere in the world committed to gender equality and made ending violence against women a top priority. They agreed that violence is one of the main barriers to equality, because women and girls lose opportunities to learn, work and thrive, when they experience violence. They face life-altering health consequences. The shame and marginalization can shut them away from public life. No area of women and girls’ lives goes entirely untouched by violence or the potential for it.
Since Beijing, a lot has happened. We can look back and see how a powerful momentum to stop all forms of violence against women and girls has gathered. Many more women and girls today are indeed protected by laws and services. Men and boys have joined the effort to end violence and promote equality. But more needs to be done.
It all starts with us, so don’t look away. Don’t stop the conversation.
To me, there is no greater injustice than violence against women and girls. That’s why, as UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador, I have spoken most on this issue. As an actress and activist, I can raise my voice and help raise awareness. As a neighbour and friend, I can intervene when I see abuse happening. As a mother, I can teach my children to value and respect themselves and others. I can teach them not to condone or accept discrimination and violence against women and girls. To make violence against women and girls an issue of the past, we have to start with the generations of today and the future.
Starting from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, International Human Rights Day, activists around the world will be taking action, raising their voices against gender-based violence. They will use the colour orange visibly and creatively to make it impossible for anyone to ignore the issue anymore. Take part in it. Orange YOUR neighborhood to raise awareness. Reach out to your neighbours, local stores, schools, libraries and post offices.
Imagine a world free from violence against women and girls. A world where equality and respect and justice are not just ideals, or possible for only a few women and girls, but the norm for all of us. Each of us has a role to play to make this happen. Play your part.
Daesh: Khansa’a Brigade former fighter reveals what life is like inside the group
- 1 day ago October 07, 2014
A FORMER IS member has opened up on what life is really like inside the brutal Khansa’a Brigade — an all female unit that patrols the streets of Raqqa, Syria.
The 25-year-old former teacher, known only as Khadija, told CNN of her life inside the group of up to 30 women charged with ensuring people adhere to strict dress codes that demand women have their faces covered.
MORE: Woman secretly films life under IS
“At the start I was happy I was carrying a gun,” she said.
“It was something new. I had authority. I didn’t think I was frightening people. But then I started asking myself ‘where am I? Where am I going? I could feel the ties dragging me some place ugly.”
Watch the interview below:
During the interview Khadija describes how she grew up in Syria and became involved as an activist against the al-Assad regime — a time she describes as “great” before everything turned to chaos.
A man she met online lured her into joining Daesh with promises that it wasn’t a terrorist organisation and they could get married.
“He would say, ‘We are going to properly implement Islam. Right now we are in a state of war, a phase where we need to control the country, so we have to be harsh,’” CNN reports.
The group has established a stronghold in Raqqa, Syria. Pic: AP/Raqqa Media Center. Source: AP
She convinced her family to move to Raqqa where a cousin who was also married to an IS fighter introduced her to the Khansa’a Brigade. She was paid a salary and learned how to fire a gun.
Women who broke the rules in the city were lashed by Umm Hanza — a terrifying leader describes as “not a normal female”.
“She’s huge, she has an AK, a pistol, a whip, a dagger and she wears the niqab,” she said.
MORE: The unlikely source of ISIS recruits
Khadija is not the first young woman to be seduced by Daesh. In November last year Scottish teenager Aqsa Mahmood disappeared and is thought to be in Syria tweeting under the name Umm Layth.
Authorities in France and the US have also stopped young women citizens at the airport en route to joining Daesh in the Middle East. Interpol is still searching for Austrian teenagers Sabina Selimovic, 15, and Samra Kesinovic, 16, who disappeared from their homes in suburban Vienna and are thought to be with Daesh in Syria.
Scottish teenager Aqsa Mahmood. Source: Supplied
Sabina Selimovic. Source: Supplied
Austrian teenager Samra Kesinovic. Source: Supplied
Pictures purporting to be the teenagers have appeared on social media. Source: Supplied
While other women continue to join the regime, extreme brutality ultimately forced Khadija to leave the group.
In recent weeks, detailed UN reporting based on eyewitness accounts from inside the region have documented a litany of atrocities committed by IS militants in Syria and Iraq, including public executions, rape, abductions and lashings.
She said a particularly violent crucifixion of a 16-year-old and news that a Saudi husband had been found of her convinced her she needed to get out.
MORE: Female UAE pilot leads air strikes against IS
“At the start, I was happy with my job. I felt that I had authority in the streets. But then I started to get scared, scared of my situation. I even started to be afraid of myself,” she said.
“I said ‘enough’ I decided no, I have to leave”.
She slipped over the border to Turkey just days before air strikes began but chose to spoke out so others can know the truth.
“I don’t want anyone else to be duped by them. Too many girls think they are the right Islam.”
Read more on this interview at CNN
This Raqqa Media Center picture, run by the Daesh, shows members of the terrorist group parading in Raqqa. Pic: AP/RMC. Source: AP
“The response I have got from that has been pretty terrifying, being linked to terrorism just because I have chosen to wear a piece of fabric on my head.”
“We’re all people, we’re all human and it doesn’t matter what we wear, what colour our skin is, what we believe in – we’re all human and we’re all equal. We should be able to live our lives with our differences.”
“I would love to see some of our politicians who perhaps are a little bit obsessed with discussing Muslim women’s dress, for them to perhaps don a hijab and get behind this campaign.”
Check out dis Anti-Rape Device. (Mahalo Cindy P.)
Rape has become endemic in South Africa, so a medical technician named Sonette Ehlers developed a product for woman to fight back. Ehlers had never forgotten a rape victim telling her forlornly, “If only I had teeth down there.”
Ehlers created a product she called Rapex. It resembles a tube, with barbs inside. The woman inserts it like a tampon and any man who tries to rape the woman impales himself on the barbs and must go to an emergency room to have the Rapex removed.
Some critics say this is a medieval punishment.
What do you think?
Tony Abbott’s silence on violence towards women is deafening
Tony Abbott, is very quiet about VicHealth’s latest report on violence to women. Should we be surprised about a man whose misogyny record went viral globally and who can’t talk to women without being creepy? Senior correspondent, Barry Everingham reports.
In Melbourne in the past few days, the Police Commissioner, Ken Lay, has been out in public getting stuck into men who are violent towards women. His message is clear to all men:
“Don’t do it”
“NO does not mean YES”!
There’s something sad and sick in a community when leaders need to be so frank about sexism, rape and misogyny. To underscore this, a nationwide VicHealth survey found a sizeable portion of those polled believed there are circumstances in which violence and rape could be excused.
Many of the statistics revealed that violence against women could be eliminated if attitudes shifted but VicHealth chief, Jerril Rechter, said:
‘On the whole we haven’t improved much since the first survey was completed (1995). But what we’re seeing is more people who now understand that violence is more than a bruised eye or broken bones.’
Rechter went on:
‘People need empathy and education to understand how difficult for a woman in a violent relationship to leave
However, more than half agreed that women often fabricated cases of domestic violence to improve their prospects in family law cases.
(image by John Graham)
In this latest survey, it is surprising that people were not asked why the country’s leadership if basically silent about this scourge.
Who will ever forget his silence when his good friend, the egregious Alan Jones, barked that Julia Gillard should be put into a chaff bag and drowned at sea?
Or his amusement at the vile sexist slogans calling Gillard ”Brown’s Bitch” and “ditch the witch”.
And even worse, he refused to comment on Jones’s statement that the then Prime Minister’s father died of shame.
Verbal violence that escaped the man who even said to Gillard that:
“if she wanted to make an honest woman of herself ….”
As Julia Gillard said at the time:
“something he would never have said to a man”.
Abbott is quick to jump to judgement on many social issues but for a man known to be short-tempered towards woman he is silent on these issues.
He really summed up his real attitude towards women with the following gem when minister for health:
“Abortion is the easy way out”.
Or this one from Gillard’s famous misogyny speech, quoting Abbott:
”Men have more power generally speaking than women, is that a bad thing?”
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