- Islam in Europe highlights a niqabi protest in Brussels, Belgium.
- Two women in Iran committed suicide in response to violence from their husbands. May Allah give them peace.
- Saudi Arabia has no place for Nujoods. Via ProgressiveIslam. More from the Guardian and the Saudi Gazette.
- Pakistan will issue a 10 rupee coin in honor of Benazir Bhutto.
- Apparently, all it takes to be desirable to women is to throw your shoes at somebody.
- The Angry Arab News Service argues that the Miss Pakistan isn’t doing anybody any favors. And speaking of Miss Pakistan, she gives an interview about Pakistani women and her plans as Miss Pakistan.
- Pakistani Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman says that a nation cannot afford to ignore half of its citizens (i.e., women).
- Leora Tanenbaum looks at how Jewish, Christian, and Muslim women are making a place for themselves in religious traditions.
- RH Reality Check examines recent cases of South Asian honor killings.
- Muslim designers in the Indonesian market are beginning to use spandex, previously thought unsuitable for Islamic clothing.
- Here’s a pretty ridiculous “new story” on how Indian soap operas allegedly cause psychological problems for Pakistani watchers.
- The new marriage contract in India is giving women hope.
- Two women in Pakistan have been killed as part of an “exorcism.” May Allah give them peace.
- A British gallery is accused of hypocrisy after hanging a painting depicting a Muslim woman aiming a gun. The painting has since been removed.
- Eight women and their children have been taken hostage in Pakistan. May Allah protect them.
- A Ugandan MP urges Muslim women to support laws mean to protect their rights.
- The Telegraph profiles the late Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, an activist and scholar on Muslim women.
- Islam on my Side gives the movie Yes Man a talking to for its portrayal of Muslim women.
- The National reports on the status of Esha Momeni and other Iranian women’s rights activists. Via ifeminists.
- Iranian police shut down Iran’s largest human rights center, run by Shirin Ebadi. AKI says that the office will reopen soon. CODEPINK has created a petition to demand the president allow women’s rights activists to continue their work. Somebody should have told CODEPINK that Ahmedinejad doesn’t run the country…
- The Daily News examines the victories of Egyptian women in 2008.
- On the history of “patchitra,” a traditional Bangladeshi art form carried on by Muslim women in India.
- alt.muslim looks at the terrible ordeal of Dr. Humeyra Abedin. Via ProgressiveIslam.
- Wired magazine says that marriage between cousins is acceptable from a scientific viewpoint. Something Muslims have known all along! (wink)
- Al-Azhar university backs an interpretation of the Qur’an by Kariman Hamza. More on her from The Daily News.
- A woman is among the nine hung by Iran for murder.
- Saudi women are demanding permanent positions on Tawafah boards, which look after Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.
- ‘Tis the season for manhunting. Since there are too many men in the U.A.E., why don’t they do the math?
- Three Kurdish women in Iran have committed suicide by self-immolation. May Allah give them peace.
- A Malaysian politican says that those who are HIV positive should not marry in order to prevent “sick children.”
- In Saudi Arabia, a group of women have opened a restaurant that they own and manage entirely by themselves.
- Thousands of women belonging to Indonesia’s conservative Hizb ut-Tahrir group have staged a protest during which they called for Indonesia to become an Islamic state.
- A Russian officer who was convicted of killing a Chechen woman during an interrogation is to be freed.
- life thru dusty lenses examines the stigma associated with Saudi women who go into medicine. Via Global Voices Online.
- On female calligraphers of the Ottoman period. Via DeenPort.
- Saudi women navigate life in Europe.
- Menassat’s Ola Madhoun recounts her experiences as a journalist in Gaza.
- British model Sahar Daftary died after falling from a 12th story apartment. Coverage from the Telegraph and the Daily Mail Online. Oh, and a post is definitely forthcoming.
- The women’s branch of the Saudi Human Rights Commission will be launching a campaign to raise awareness of women’s issues.
- Sabria Jawhar writes a great take-down of the NYT’s piece on Emirati airline stewardesses.
- Saudi religious police deny that there’s a ban on female staff in lingerie shops.
- In January, the Arab Women’s Leadership Forum will hold specialized workshops for Dubai students and working women.
- The heart-breaking story of Marya Amal and the latest on her treatment.
- Dr. Najeeb Gallab writes about why Yemeni women haven’t been successful in politics for The Yemen Times.
- A bill about reproductive health rejected by the Azerbaijani parliament has caused a major rift in the country’s Parliament.
- Social, verbal and economic abuse of women is more widespread in Saudi society than physical and sexual abuse, according to a study conducted by King Saud University.
- Pakistan’s The News asks, “Who is doing wrong to women?“
- Saudi women are pushing for divorce reform. More from the Christian Science Monitor.
- An Indian woman has written the longest English poem in India’s history.
- Female musicians are uniting to overturn Algeria’s family code. The website, for the International Museum of Women, also has an interesting archive of religion and women.
- Crypto-Muslim comes out during an interview and reflects on the process.
- Maryam Ismael writes about the Islamophobic experiences of some women who wear hejab in Dubai.
- An airline employee has been fired over wearing a headscarf.
- On traditional women’s music from Morocco.
- A profile of Hayat Sindi, a scientist who works to empower women.
- The Saudi Gazette profiles visa issues that arise with multiple wives.
- A 19-year-old woman is murdered by her father after she refuses to live with him. May Allah give her peace. Since I don’t have the whole story, this may or may not also be the same girl.
- On Iraq’s first public beauty pageant since 2003.
- On the increase of Malaysian women on mail-order bride sites.
- The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Labour confirms that Saudi women’s chances of employment are doubling.
- An Egyptian woman alleges that police have tortured her while she has been in custody.
- Two mothers in Irvine, California, publish a book on Eid al-Adha.
- The Saudi Gazette interviews a woman who memorized the Qur’an at age 82.
- U.S. News profiles Rachida Dati. Via ProgressiveIslam.
- An Emirati woman complains about the lack of opportunities to participate in sports for women who wear abayas.
- More coverage of female filmmakers at Dubai’s Film Festival.
- A lawsuit attempting to ban female genital cutting in Egypt moves to constitutional court. Womens rights activists in Egypt are still fighting the practice.
- A woman’s flight from an abuse marriage opens up a terrorism investigation.
- Miss Belgium 2009 is a Turkish Belgian woman.
- A Chinese Muslim woman works on behalf of China’s Uighur community and pays the price. Via ProgressiveIslam.
Tags: Muslim women, News
1. Angry Arab link is broken (caom).
2. Anything from the Daily Mail should be taken with a bucket of salt. I’ve read so much nonsense from them that I have long stopped accepting it as a news source. If someone points out a story from there, I ask for a reliable news source.
3. The Telegraph comes close, but is not as bad.
4. Angry Arab is precisely how he intends to come off to be: Angry. I’ve come across his rants often, and he does make occasional good points. But I think he’s gotten carried away and at times focuses on maintaining the “angry” aura rather than an objective one.
[This comment has been edited to fit within moderation guidelines.]
Mod note: I’m unable to find the original Angry Arab link on the site; my apologies for any inconvenience.
@ Dude: I edited out your last part because your personal impressions of The Angry Arab aren’t relevant to the links or the post.
On that note, what does it matter if he’s angry? Does his anger invalidate his arguments or just make you less receptive to them? Either way, that’s better resolved if you email the owner of that blog rather than sharing your negative impressions here.
http://angryarab.blogspot.caom/2008/12/beauty-pageants-are-evidence-of-womens.html
should be:
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2008/12/beauty-pageants-are-evidence-of-womens.html
“Does his anger invalidate his arguments or just make you less receptive to them? Either way, that’s better resolved if you email the owner of that blog rather than sharing your negative impressions here.”
Hard to answer the first question and follow the latter request. In any case, my answer is below – you can erase it if you don’t want it here:
As for his mentality: Yes, it makes me less receptive of them – from a number of perspectives:
1) I said: “at times focuses on maintaining the “angry” aura rather than an objective one.” If I feel he isn’t being objective, why should I listen to him?
2) Perhaps I wasn’t clear. What I meant was that I suspect he at times wants to make a fuss over something, so he digs deep just to do so. Perspective is lost, and I feel he always tries to look at things from the worst viewpoint.
3) I never trust anything anyone says out of anger. It usually clouds their judgement.
That’s not to say that he’s always wrong. I treat him like I do any unreliable source (e.g. The Daily Mail). If he says something, and if I have time, I’ll crosscheck it from a saner place. I usually don’t want to take that time. The Daily Mail often does get stories right as well…
In full disclaimer: I don’t regularly read his stuff, and most of what I have read is sent to me or I see on places like here, so my view on him may be off. If he were just someone with a blog, then I wouldn’t care less. However, it worries me that a number of members from the press/media (e.g. Democracy Now) bring him on as an expert – and I suspect it’s not because of his credentials, but because of the blog.
I don’t view him as yet another blogger. I think it’s fair game to discuss him, just as it is to discuss any other commentator who’s often invited to speak in public and is often interviewed as an expert. He’s a public figure, and he chooses to be one.
And note that the link I had posted did not point out any personal details that he himself has not made public. All the information therein about him was linked to his own blog…
In retrospect, I’ll concede that the link I had posted about him probably was irrelevant to this post…
Fair enough. I don’t mind if we critique a writer/figure, his/her viewpoints, etc., but any further judgments aren’t relevant or appropriate. I don’t like to see sites/writers uncritically badmouthed on other blogs, and I don’t want that here. :)
hmmm…I’m just curious how Pakistani news got on a site about the Middle East…I’m not familiar with the blog so am really just curious.
On Humeyra Abedin – This forced marriage crap seems to be getting more common. Or maybe its just in the news more now. Eeek either way.
Apparently, all it takes to be desirable to women is to throw your shoes at somebody.
More specifically desirable to a couple of women’s fathers. The girls themselves aren’t offering anything, AFAI read.
And who said that blog was strictly about the middle east?
Also (apologies or the triple post) I don’t see what the problem is with being featured on Democracy Now, I mean first of all that is a show that features activists on a regular basis and the guy is a professor that specializes in Middle Eastern politics. I don’t see the issue, alot of people raise their profile to get media attention via blogs and facebook that have no credentials whatsoever, other academics and experts on the region do this as well. I just think you are overly focused on the namesake of the blogspot.
I read Angry Arab quite a bit, and I don’t think he writes in such a way to maintain the ‘angry’ theme. He expresses his anger in different ways and does not feel the need to resort to an angry tone to show he’s pissed off about something. In fact, he can be quite hilarious at times. Nor is he really interested in writing from an objective position (if that even exists).
Like ‘Pakistan’, the ‘Middle East’ is just a construction. However, often countries which don’t fit into these regional labels are mentioned depending on the subject. For instance, Pakistan is often included if the issue of the ‘war on terror’ is being discussed on a blog or news section that is dedicated to another region (middle east) and is connected some how.
Miss Pakistan beauty pageant??? YUCK!!! However, I read the interview and she doesn’t sound so bad– she wants to work for women’s rights, so more power to her for using her title for some GOOD, not for fame or Bollywood *cough cough*
I just came back from the Hajj a few weeks ago. I barely saw any Saudi women working on the Tawafah boards (I didnt know it was called that).
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