Posts

Nobel prizes awarded to fighters for sexual violence and human rights

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SHAFAQNA- Denis Mukwege , the "man who mends women", and Nadia Murad, a 25-year-old Yazidi activist, are the winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end the scourge of sexual violence against women. Mukwege, a gynecologist…

An Egyptian woman activist jailed for speaking out on sexual harassment

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SHAFAQNA- An Egyptian woman human rights defender, Amal Fathy, who has already spent 141 days in prison, has been convicted for posting a Facebook video decrying sexual harassment and criticizing the Egyptian to two-year jail sentence. Amal…

Al-Azhar: harassment of women is religiously forbidden and should be punished

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SHAFAQNA- Egypt’s top Sunni Muslim authority, Al-Azhar, has issued a statement expressing harassment of women is religiously forbidden and should be punished 'regardless of the context or conditions'. Al-Azhar, which has huge influence…

Can Muslim Marriage be covered by English law?

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SHAFAQNA - Muslim women in Britain have been “given hope” by High Court judge ruling that a Muslim woman can have a British court dissolve her religious marriage and was entitled to maintenance from her husband after they split even though…

The Atlantic's report on Banning Muslim Veils across Europe 

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SHAFAQNA- Denmark has passed a ban on face veils in public which widely understood to be targeting Muslim face veil like the burqa and niqab. The Atlantic reports about this law in Denmark and other European countries and its effect on Muslim community…

Women challenge social standards in Egypt by practicing Parkour on the streets

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SHAFAQNA - A group of women in Egypt collect at a park in a Cairo once a week , climbing up wall surfaces and jumping about in the strenous physical technique known as Parkour to form the first professional Parkour team in Egypt, while also…

More than 120,000 Saudi Women applied for driving license

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SHAFAQNA - More than 120,000 Saudi females had applied for driving license after Lifting ban on women driving as Saudi Arabia was considered as the last country on Earth to have a ban on women driving cars. The historic event is part of reforms…

The hate Muslim women face ...

SHAFAQNA - Toronto-based Somali Canadian poet Naeema Hassan recently posted a video in response to Punish A Muslim Day on April 3rd, offering support to Muslim women who face the threat of Islamophobic violence daily. The reality is that…

Imam Hussain shrine held Quran competition for women

SHAFAQNA - “The aim of organizing this competition is to build a Quranic generation committed to the divine texts, especially the women, considering them the incubator for future generations and representing half of society,” added Abbas. The…

Nike releases its first sports hijab for Muslim athletes

SHAFAQNA - Nike Pro Hijab has gone on sale all over the world and is being promoted with the tag line 'sport is for everyone'. The sports manufacturing giant announced earlier this year it was working on bringing out a headscarf for female…

Young Southeast Asian Muslim Women Are More Religious Yet More Progressive, Study Finds

SHAFAQNA - Young Southeast Asian Muslim women are more cosmopolitan and global and yet more religiously observant compared with the older generation of female Muslims, according to a recent study. The study -- conducted by the New York-based…

The First Women's Health Center Opens in Idlib

SHAFAQNA - The first women’s health center in Syria’s Idlib province, designed to accommodate up to 3,500 patients, has been opened near the Turkish border by an Istanbul-based NGO. Mehmet Cihat Aygun, a board member of the Alliance…

Saudi groom flees wedding after bride's dad demands she drives

SHAFAQNA- A Saudi groom walked out of his own 'melka' (wedding ceremony) after the bride's father demanded that his daughter should be allowed to drive after the marriage, Al Marsd reported on Sunday. According to the news site,…

Another woman stabbed in Karachi despite police claim of ‘important arrest’ in knife attacks

SHAFAQNA- As the city police chief on Thursday claimed to have made a key arrest in the mysterious ‘knifeman’ attacks in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and Gulshan-i-Iqbal, another woman was stabbed and injured in Gulistan-i-Jauhar in the evening despite…

The Role of the Women of Ashura

SHAFAQNA- Simindokht Behzadpoor In all the events that occurred before, during, and after the Day of Ashura, the role of the women was especially remarkable as they were exemplars in demonstrating how to resist against oppression. There were…

Muslim designers push forward modest fashion movement

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SHAFAQNA - Despite the arrest and subsequent release this week of a young Saudi woman wearing a miniskirt in a video that went viral, a growing number of Canadian fashion designers are looking to prove that fashion for Muslim women can be…

Being a Muslim woman in the West - Reflection

SHAFAQNA - A stain on the Judeo-Christian world Islam - and those who abide by its tenets, whether Sunnis or Shiites, remain the object of much ire and controversy.  Branded THE Terror among all terrors for a minority few chose to diverge,…

Quranic Course for Female Teachers Held in London

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SHAFAQNA - The London-based branch of the Holy Quran Institute affiliated to the Astan (custodianship) of Hazrat Abbas (AS) holy shrine held a Quranic course for female teachers in Britain. According to Al-Kafeel website, Sheikh Ziauddin…

Hijab is from modesty

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SHAFAQNA- Hijab which is known for the covering of Muslim women has been recognized by various philosophers, historians and sociologists around the world, specially the westerns. There are five main theories which have been mentioned by the…

Ayatollah Khamenei: Islam doesn’t demand women obey their husband on everything

SHAFAQNA - It is not that the woman should obey her husband in all cases. Not at all. There is no such command in Islam or Sharia. The Qur’anic verse 4:39 which says men are supporters of women, does not mean that woman should obey her husband…

Islamophobia, populism, and the West’s headscarf conundrum

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SHAFAQNA - Who knew that a few yards of fabric plonked onto one’s head would send western democracies spinning onto their axis - threatening to bring “Society” as we, western folk, know it, and in the clutches of Islam see western civilization…

SHAFAQNA: Fighting Islamophobia - the Debate

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SHAFAQNA - Austria’s President has revealed a controversial plan to fight Islamophobic sentiments. Alexander Van der Bellen is suggesting that EVERY woman should wear a head-scarf - in a show of support to Muslim women.

Saudi Arabia was just elected by the UN ... to promote women's rights

SHAFAQNA - Saudi Arabia was recently elected to the 54-member United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, drawing the ire of many commenters and watchdogs alike. The CSW is about "promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality…

Bahraini Al-Khalifa strongly criticized over misconduct with women

SHAFAQNA - Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) fiercely censured Al-Khalifa’s misbehaviour against Bahraini female citizens. In its Saturday twitter message, BCHR said, “ICYMI Women in Bahrain: inequality and discrimination.” BCHR…

Juncker’s party calls for EU-wide ban on Muslim veil

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SHAFAQNA - The EU Parliament’s biggest group, the European People’s Party, has expressed support for a Europe-wide ban of the Muslim veil citing both cultural and security concerns. “The EPP calls for… A ban on full-face veils…

"Time to show who we are": Speaking out for Muslim Women's Day

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SHAFAQNA - When Maysoon Khatib first moved to Murray, Kentucky, with her husband back in 2012, it was a big change. The 44-year-old grew up in Southern California and was used to seeing people of all different races and religions, but in…

Vogue Celebrates Muslims In Special Feature On American Women

SHAFAQNA - Vogue is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year with a dazzling feature on the diverse lives and stories of American women around the country. Among the subjects featured is a community of Muslim women in Maryland, whose stories…

One Muslim Girl on What It's Like to Live in Trump's America

SHAFAQNA - Amani Al-Khatahtbeh is the founder of Muslim Girl, a website for young Muslim American women and the author of Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age. She's smart and funny and thoughtful, and great at communicating to non-Muslims her experience…