Islam,
Women and Feminism
27 May 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com
27 May 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com
Satan Is Real:
'Sex and the City 2' - A Review
Muslim women must
wear veil to work: Cleric
Muslim women must
wear veil to work: Cleric
Women’s participation must for genuine democracy:
Zardari
Women MPs pledge zero tolerance against
violence
Women’s role vital for world peace, says
Naek
Saudi woman awarded CPA license
DNA test confirms abandoned baby’s father
Pressure for female circumcision lingers in the
U.S.
Is Miss USA a Muslim trailblazer?
Niqab for Muslim women banned in Canadian
province
Search for water leads to baby’s death
54 girls’ schools closed in Nara since long
Skirts galore in Indonesia's Aceh for modesty's
sake
Dutch Muslim women are really Dutch
A Muslim Century: Myth Or Reality?
“Muslim women are partners in development
process”
--------
Satan Is Real: 'Sex and the City 2' - A
Review
By John Beifuss on
May 27, 2010
To the list of insults, real and imaginary, committed by the Great
Satan against the Arab world, add "Sex and the City 2," in which Carrie Bradshaw
and her friends bring their name-brand materialism, exhibitionist licentiousness
and Western silliness to Abu Dhabi, where they manage to offend not only their
hosts but also sensitive viewers of all persuasions.
If U.S. intelligence agencies track an uptick in jihadist recruitment
in the coming weeks, they'll probably blame some cleric, but I'd point the
finger at Kim Cattrall as the frightening Samantha Jones, the clumsiest
ambassador of American interests since Blackwater Security. When this
too-much-woman in too-little-clothing is arrested by United Arab Emirates
authorities for lewd public behavior involving a hookah, one may not agree with
the law, but one can sympathize with the impulse.
With its camel trek in the desert and its epic length, "Sex and the
City 2" seems to go on as long as
"Lawrence of Arabia" (or "Lawrence of My Labia," to quote a signature Samantha
witticism). Its 146 minutes (!) are enough for a cavalcade of cringe-inducing
comedic episodes of theoretical inspiration and "empowerment," from frozen-faced
Liza Minnelli's performance at an over-the-top gay wedding of "Single Ladies
(Put a Ring on It)" -- hey, the Chipettes owned that song in the recent Alvin
"squeakquel" -- to a karaoke version of
"I Am Woman" at an Abu Dhabi nightclub to the revelation that defiant Arab women
wear Louis Vuitton and other designer names under their burqas, like some sort
of Islamic Ed Woods.
In fact, the burqas are about the only fashions here that aren't
hideous, which is odd, because isn't fashion a key reason for this enterprise?
(And yes, this assessment comes from a guy wearing clothes he probably bought
when "Sex and the City" was still on HBO.) In one scene, Samantha wears spiked
shoulder pads, as if she were preparing to grapple with Master Blaster in
Thunderdome. And would a woman of Carrie's age and status (her new marriage
memoir, "I Do, Do I?," earns a lead review in the New Yorker) really go out in
public in a T-shirt emblazoned with the
words "J'Adore Dior"?
A phenomenon in its heyday,
the "Sex and the City" TV series -- inspired by the newspaper columns of Candace
Bushnell -- aired from 1998 to 2004 on HBO. Four years later, the "Sex and the
City" theatrical feature surprised some skeptics by earning $415 million at the
worldwide box office. Hence, this followup, which finds the four well-to-do
women -- now past or pushing 50 -- coping with their divergent life choices as
"mature" residents of Manhattan.
Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), the narrator and lead clothes horse,
is a successful writer wondering how to bring the "sparkle" back to her marriage
to "Big" (Chris Noth), whose favorite bedroom activity has become watching
television.
Charlotte (Kristin Davis), the most conservative member of the group,
feels swamped by the challenges of motherhood and threatened by the
attractiveness of her "Erin Go Braless" Irish nanny, played by Alice Eve (whose
slow-motion jogs may prove a highlight to any reluctant husbands or boyfriends
dragged to the film).
Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), a lawyer, is frustrated by her job, but has
little of consequence to do in the film. However, her tête à tête with Charlotte
in a hotel suite bar is probably the movie's most human
moment.
Meanwhile, the unregenerate Samantha is gulping hormone pills and slathering herself with melatonin creams
to stave off the effects of menopause. Her boldness attracts an Arab
businessman, and the girls are invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to Abu
Dhabi, the excess capital of the world, where the tacky opulence is to die for
but the female-stifling Muslim sensibility proves
deadening.
This religious conservatism is presented as an extreme version of the
sexism that seeks to marginalize women's voices even in America, where Miranda's
boss holds up his hand whenever she tries to speak, and where a magazine
caricature depicts Carrie with her mouth taped shut. In this context, Samantha
is presented as a sort of sexual freedom fighter.
In a way, "Sex and the City 2" is heir to a million past movies and
TV episodes, in which such liberating forces of vulgarity and fun as the Marx
Brothers, Chubby Checker and Stifler butted heads against an uptight, judgmental
establishment. A truly crass "Harold and Kumar"-type sex comedy set in the Arab
world might have been refreshing, but under returning writer-director-producer
Michael Patrick King (longtime executive producer of the series), "Sex and the
City 2" comes off as presumptuous and hypocritical.
Carrie & Co. may fight for the right to wear short skirts, but
they're walking environmental disasters whose conspicuous consumption enables
the very oil-based culture that oppresses their Arab sisters. (In Abu Dhabi,
they're happy to ride to mutual destinations in separate luxury cars, just for
the glamor of it.) More than two hours in their self-centered company might be
enough to cause anyone to abandon the so-called American Dream and flee toward
the Taliban.
Rated R for sexual content and profanity, 'Sex and the City 2' opens
today (May 27) in the Memphis area at the Ridgeway Four, Forest Hill 8, Stage
Cinema, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Studio on the Square,
Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20
Cinema, CinePlanet 16 and Summer Quartet Drive-In.
http://blogs.commercialappeal.com/the_bloodshot_eye/2010/05/sex-and-the-city-2---a-review.html
--------
Muslim women must wear veil to work: Cleric
May 27, 2010
MUZAFFARNAGAR: Days after a leading Islamic seminary held as
un-Islamic women working in offices in proximity with men, another seminary has
issued a fatwa that Muslim women can work in offices but with a veil.
Mufti of Darul Iftah of Bareilvi Sharif Mohd Ayyub Alem Rizvi has
issued the fatwa that Muslim women can work in institutions after wearing the
veil but with some conditions.
However, the conditions were not known. He also said in the fatwa
that Muslims can work in banks under the Islamic law because the interest earned
by banks is profit.
The fatwa was issued at Bareily in Uttar Pradesh to a query posed
before the Iftah by the activist of Raza Muslim Mission Syed Safe Ali.
Earlier, Darul Uloom Deoband has held as un-Islamic women working in
offices in proximity with men and decreed that acceptance of her earnings by a
family was against the Sharia.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Muslim-women-must-wear-veil-to-work-Cleric/articleshow/5978977.cms
--------
Women’s participation must for genuine democracy:
Zardari
27 May, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Real democratic process cannot take root without active
participation of women especially in a country like Pakistan where women
constitute 50 percent of the total population, President Asif Ali Zardari said
on Wednesday.
He said this while addressing a meeting of women parliamentarians
from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
during the third and last day of the national convention on ‘Role of Women
Parliamentarians in Peace, Security and Reconciliation’ organised by the Women’
Parliamentary Caucus (WPC).
Female members of the National Assembly, the Senate, Punjab, Sindh,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Balitstan
Assemblies were also present.
“In 1995 during the government of Benazir Bhutto Pakistan signed the
landmark Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),”
the president said, urging the WPC to give a thought and devise a mechanism to
implement the pledges made in the document on CEDAW for the uplift of women and
to end all forms of discrimination against them.
He also urged women parliamentarians to use this convention to forge
stronger links not only amongst themselves but also with all those struggling
for gender equality and emancipation of women.
Support: The president assured complete support of the PPP and the
government to women parliamentarians in their struggle for the emancipation of
women as well as for peace, security and reconciliation. The president said the
women of Pakistan have rendered great sacrifices for socio-political and
economic emancipation and empowerment in Pakistan.
“The journey on the road of emancipation has not been an easy one for
the women in Pakistan. They have been the victims of male prejudice for a long
time. The fight against male prejudice has not been an easy one. The women in
Pakistan have faced great obstacles in their fight for their rights. Their story
has been a story of hurdles and successes”, the president said.
He urged women to stand shoulder to shoulder with men in the
endeavours for a tolerant, peaceful and secure Pakistan, APP
reported.
President Zardari said the world could become a more peaceful place
with greater participation of women in decision-making.
President Zardari said democracy was the only system that could help
create conditions in which women were empowered and emancipated. The president
said women of the region needed democracy for their development and
emancipation.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\05\27\story_27-5-2010_pg7_9
--------
Women MPs pledge zero tolerance against violence
27 May, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Women parliamentarians participating in the ‘National
Convention on the Role of Women Parliamentarians in Peace, Security and
Reconciliation’ on Wednesday concluded with the pledge to manifest zero
tolerance against any form of violence against women.
In a declaration adopted at the end of convention, they also
reiterated to promote the spirit of reconciliation and dialogue at different
forums by using it as a tool for peace and security to bridge the gap between
conflicting ideologies and political philosophies.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\05\27\story_27-5-2010_pg7_30
--------
Women’s role vital for world peace, says Naek
By Vidya Rana
27 May, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Without an effective role and competitive efforts of women
the world will not be considered a place for peaceful living, said Senate
Chairman Farooq H Naek said on Wednesday. He said this while chairing a session
on the 3rd and last day of the National Convention on “Role of Women
Parliamentarians in Peace, Security and Reconciliation” organised by the Women
Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) with support from USAID, UNIFEM and UNDP. Terrorism:
Referring to armed conflicts, militancy and terrorism, Naek said Pakistani women
were the worst sufferers of terrorism. “Women are also equal victim of terrorist
activities. We all should work together without any gender discrimination
because there is no gender of terrorism, militancy and
sabotage.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\05\27\story_27-5-2010_pg11_7
--------
Saudi woman awarded CPA license
May 27, 2010
JEDDAH: Kholoud Adnan Mousa, a Deloitte auditor based in Jeddah,
became the first Saudi woman to be awarded a Certified Public Accountant license
in the Kingdom.
Her license was issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on
April 20. Mousa was also the first Saudi woman to achieve fellowship in the
Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants.
"This is not only a great personal achievement for Kholoud and for
her family but also for women in Saudi Arabia. We believe this milestone will
serve to inspire other women not only in the Kingdom but also across the GCC, as
well as women colleagues in Deloitte," said Bakr Abulkhair, chairman and chief
executive of Deloitte & Touche Bakr Abulkhair &
Co.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article58031.ece
--------
DNA test confirms abandoned baby’s father Afkar
Abdullah
27 May 2010
AJMAN — Ajman Police said on
Wednesday that a DNA test conducted on the abandoned infant girl found at Ajman
Corniche a few months ago proved that her father was a Pakistani national, A.N,
with whom her Filipina mother had an affair.
Colonel Shaikh Sultan bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Deputy Director of
Ajman Police, said the man had initially denied his
fatherhood.
The girl is now at Khalifa Hospital in Ajman and is visited by her
imprisoned mother thrice a week.
“The DNA test was conducted at the Dubai Forensic Laboratory and a
detailed reported was handed to us and to the Public Prosecution. The law
clearly stated imprisonment and deportation for any person who gets rid of his
or her children. We have received a lot of calls from well-wishers who wanted to
adopt the infant but all requests were rejected as the DNA test has proved?her
biological father and mother,”?Nuaimi said.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/May/theuae_May795.xml§ion=theuae&col=
--------
Pressure for female genital cutting lingers in the
U.S.
By Stephanie Chen
27 May 2010
(CNN) -- Fatima Mohamed, a 45-year-old Somali immigrant living in
America, was faced with a question most parents will never worry about: Should
my daughter be circumcised?
The United States has outlawed female genital cutting, but cultural
and religious pressures to circumcise girls linger among some African and Muslim
immigrant families. Mohamed says the decision was an easy one for her to make
after going through the painful experience herself in Africa as a child. She
strongly opposes the idea of cutting her 11-year-old daughter, an American-born
Somali with long curly hair, who plays soccer and likes watching "American
Idol."
Full report at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/21/america.female.genital.cutting/index.html?iref=allsearch
--------
Is Miss USA a Muslim trailblazer?
Mar 27, 2010
She's always wanted to be a beauty queen and her dream came true with
one of the biggest titles - Miss USA 2010 - Rima Fakih.
As soon as the announcement was made, the labels appeared. She was
described as Arab-American, Lebanese-American, Muslim-American. She became the
center of controversy overnight after pole dancing photos surfaced and spread
across the globe just as fast as an outlandish rumor started by a U.S.
neo-conservative blog that she's a spy for the Shiite Lebanese group Hezbollah,
designated by the U.S. and E.U. countries as a terrorist
group.
It's hard to gauge which claim could possibly hurt the new Miss USA
more: the racy pictures or the unfounded rumors alleging she is affiliated with
Hezbollah. One thing is certain, the Internet feasted on the story and different
groups with different agendas jumped on the opportunity this story afforded
them.
Full report at:
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/20/is-miss-usa-a-muslim-trailblazer/?iref=allsearch
--------
Niqab for Muslim women banned in Canadian province
Mar 27, 2010
TORONTO: After France, Muslim women have been banned from wearing
niqab in Canada's French-speaking Quebec province.
A bill tabled Wednesday will not allow government services to women
wearing the niqab.
The bill comes after protests triggered by an Egyptian immigrant's
refusal to remove her niqab in her French languages classes in Montreal, forcing
the school and the provincial government to throw her out.
The college says the Muslim woman was given the front seat in the
class so that all male students sat behind her. She was even allowed to make
presentations from the rear of the classroom with her back to the class which
had three male and 17 female students.
However, students and the college authorities were shocked when one
day the woman asked male students to move away from her and refused to sit with
them around a U-table to converse and learn French pronunciation.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Niqab-for-Muslim-women-banned-in-Canadian-province/articleshow/5721316.cms
--------
Search for water leads to baby’s death
By A.B. Arisar
27 May, 2010
UMERKOT: A woman who left house in search of water lost her baby to
the Thar desert.
Gulab Bheel, a resident of Kaplore village, told Dawn that his
three-year-old daughter Kamli followed her mother who had gone to fetch water
from a well some three kilometres away from their house. Kamli did not find her
mother but death.
Mercury in Tharparkar has been hovering around 48 degrees Celsius for
the past few days.
The water level in wells has fallen as low as 200-250 feet. Ponds for
harvesting rain water are recharged through seepage, but they dry up after two
to three months.
Ali Akbar Rahimoo, a social activist working on water supply in Thar,
said the scarcity of water had assumed alarming proportions because of below
average rainfall. He called upon the government to treat the problem like a
calamity because consumption of contaminated water was causing
diseases.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/19-search-for-water-leads-to-babys-death-650-hh-09
--------
54 girls’ schools closed in Nara since long
By Mansoor Mirani
27 May, 2010
KHAIRPUR, May 26: The closure of 54 schools since last few years has
halted the education process of girls in Nara taluka.
Some 53 primary and one middle school, all located in the desert
area, are closed since some time.
Ex-nazim, Tajal Sharif Union Council, Sufi Qalab Ali has proposed
appointing boys with matriculation certificate as teachers in these schools
which would revive the learning culture, besides helping school-going children
into gaining at least basic education.
EDO Education, Khairpur, Amanullah Bhayo said schools faced this
situation because of the shortage of female teachers and the National Commission
for Human Development was now working towards appointing female teachers in
closed schools. He hoped the schools would be reopened soon.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/54-girls-schools-closed-in-nara-since-long-750
--------
Skirts galore in Indonesia's Aceh for modesty's
sake
By Reza Munawir
May 27, 2010
MEULABOH, Indonesia (Reuters Life!) - In a bid to implement Islamic
law to the letter, Indonesia's West Aceh district on Thursday started giving
away long, loose skirts to cover up Acehnese women caught wearing tight
jeans.
The westernmost province of Aceh on Sumatra is the sole upholder of
sharia law in the predominantly Muslim, but secular Indonesia. The previous
local parliament passed a controversial law in September allowing adulterers to
be stoned to death.
Wilayatul Hisbah, the Aceh sharia police who began this year
conducting raids on unmarried couples caught together as well as gamblers and
drinkers, on Thursday set up road blocks to search cars and buses for women
wearing tight trousers.
Full report at:
http://in.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idINIndia-48840820100527
--------
Dutch Muslim women are really Dutch
27 May 2010
The Muslim women's organisation Al Nisa (Arabic for "the women")
launch their "Really Dutch" campaign on Wednesday.
A spokeswoman says they are using humorous posters to combat
prejudices about Muslim women. And at the same time giving the social debate
about Islam a face.
One of the four posters shows a Muslim woman in a Delft Blue
headscarf about to swallow a herring. "I like them raw" it says. For those of
you in any doubt, raw herring - preferably swallowed whole - is a traditional
Dutch delicacy.
The chair of Al Nisa, Leyla Çakir, explains: "We want to make it
clear, in a humorous way, that we are Muslims but we're also Dutch. And we want
to break down the negative prejudices about Muslim women. That we are oppressed,
that we spend all our time indoors. That we have nothing to
say."
She adds: "We are Dutch as well as Muslim, so sometimes we do like
herring or liquorice or a slice of cheese."
http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/dutch-muslim-women-are-really-dutch
--------
A Muslim Century: Myth Or Reality?
By Rohana Mustaffa
27 May, 2010
PUTRAJAYA, May 27 (Bernama) -- World renowned Muslim intellectual
Prof Dr Ali Al'Amin Mazrui has several reasons the Muslim century should
commence from sometime in the 1950s until the 2050s.
The first 'raison d'etre' or basis is that over half of the Muslim
world population was under some kind of foreign rule for much of the first half
of the 20th century.
These included those parts of the Muslim world which are known today
as the four biggest concentrations of Muslims in the
world.
These four largest Muslim concentrations are Indonesia, Pakistan,
Bangladesh dan Muslims in India.
And also under the colonial or foreign rule in the first-half of the
20th century were Malaya, Burma, half of the Arab world and almost the whole of
Black Africa.
Full report at:
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsfeatures.php?id=501487
--------
“Muslim women are partners in development
process”
27 May, 2010
A cross-section of Muslim women feel trivial issues such as dress
code or earning to make a living made no impact on the march of the contemporary
and educated women, who felt no qualms in contributing to the family's income.
Since Islam does not discriminate between men and women, a woman was entitled to
contribute financially towards the household's income as her husband was the
general opinion, they say.
For, hundreds of women of the community have now become partners in
the development process.
Deoband-based Islamic seminary Darul Uloom in Saharanpur district of
Uttar Pradesh has backtracked on the controversial fatwa issued by it,
prohibiting Muslim women from mingling with men in
workplaces.
Full report at:
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/article429106.ece
9:43 PM
Sultan Shahin
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