Friday Links — January 16, 2009

• A glowing pseudo-review of The Hijabi Monologues. Another one here.

• The life journey of one Lisa Nichols.

• Malaysia’s Secretariat on the Protection and Enhancement of Muslim Women raises money for Gaza.

• Yes, protesting can be fashionable.

• U.S. women visit the U.A.E. and give their opinion on the position of Emirati women. More here.

• A woman and her family face charges related to insulting Kuwait’s emir. More from The Sydney Morning Herald.

• The New Nation covers a conference on women and Islamic resistance.

• On the ladies of Elan magazine.

• Two sisters have been released from their half-brother’s abusive treatment.

• Hijab Style reports on a Palestinian fashion show.

• This is shameful, and helps no one.

• Bahraini women’s rights activists decry suggestions that an Iraqi cleric should review Bahraini law, specifically a Personal Status Law, would overhaul the way Bahrain’s courts handle domestic disputes – such as divorces and child custody cases.

• A Saudi woman refuses to vacate her house.

• The National profiles Salwa Zeidan and delves into her plans to re-open the first art gallery in Abu Dhabi.

• On “crimes of passion” (also known as “honor killings”) in Italy.

• Another sexism gem about Rachida Dati’s early return to work.

• Emine Erdogan, Turkey’s First Lady, invited the First Ladies of several nearby countries to come to Istanbul and discuss peace for Gaza. More from The Jordan Times.

• Doa’a al-Yemeni is the first female tour guide in Yemen.

• Saudi women want to lower their retirement age from 60 to 50 years.

• An Indonesian domestic worker’s horrific abuse in Saudi Arabia has drawn protestors outside the Saudi embassy in Jakarta.

• A Pakistani girl band rocks.

• Dr. Aseel Al Awadhi discusses the difficulty Kuwaiti women face in politics.

• Fifteen year-old Yemeni artist Sarah al-Samaiy has opened her third abstract art exhibition.

• A Turkish poster calling for more women in government positions has been ruled by the Turkish Supreme Court as legal.

• Afiya Shehrbano writes an interesting article about the branding and re-branding of Islam.

• More on the large role of Muslim women in India’s festival of kites.

• The New York Times reports that every last girl has returned to school in Kandahar, Afghanistan, despite the severe acid attacks designed to frighten them into staying home. MASHALLAH!

• Saudi Arabia’s senior cleric says that it’s just fine for 10-year-old girls to get married. After human rights groups in Saudi Arabia condemn it.

• The latest version of Iraq’s election law has only very weak provisions for guaranteeing women council seats.

• The appointment of a woman to be Switzerland’s ambassador to Iran is causing a stir.

• The Khaleej Times Online profiles several Muslim women’s blogs.

• Women in Lebanon, Bil’in, and Karachi demonstrate for Gaza. Israeli and Palestinian women both call for peace.

• Imams in Afghanistan seek to curb maternal mortality by educating local communities about birth gaps.

• Shirin Ebadi speaks about Palestine and the attacks on her home and office.

• A healthy baby is delivered in spite of the death of her mother two days earlier. May Allah protect this little girl and give her mother peace.

• Eleven-year-old Abeer wins freedom from her marriage to a 75-year-old man.

• Women’s College students in Dubai plan to practice human resources training in Italy.

• A Palestinian girl calls on Arab health ministers convening in the Saudi capital to offer support to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. International rights groups call for an end to the attack because babies and pregnant mothers are bearing the brunt of the fighting.

• A 20-year-old woman’s brother admitted to killing her. May Allah give her peace and justice.

• Arab Women Leadership Forum commends Palestinian women for surviving, highlighted the progress that Emirati women have made despite the glass ceiling that still exists, and urgest women to play a positive role in the country’s development. More from The National.

• Divorcees in Nigeria plan a mass demonstration against the growing divorce rate.

• An Indonesian maid has suffered blindness in yet another domestic abuse case in Saudi Arabia.

• Happy Daggers’ thoughts on Rachida Dati’s early return to work.

• Italy’s La Republica has been publishing diaries from a Palestinian girl.

• The case of Taslim Solangi, who was murdered horribly, may be on the path to justice.

• Iraqi bystanders say that U.S. soldiers shot an Iraqi woman with no warning. Via ProgressiveIslam.

• Sexual violence against women and girls is growing in Senegal.

• The number of single women in Qatar is rising.

• Gulf Weekly profiles businesswoman Huda Janahi.

• A woman found out that her husband had divorced her when she applied for a divorce herself.

• The Angry Arab News Service discusses the “colonial feminism” in the NYT article about Afghan schoolgirls (see above).

• Behind every woman is a great man?

• al Maktabah posts an interview with Nihad Abu Al-Qumsan about sexual harassment as an everyday occurence.

• Saudi Arabia’s divorce rate is growing.

• The BBC looks at Indonesia’s transvestites (waria).

• Riazatt Butt discusses Muslims’ “selective outrage“.

• Two men convicted of adultery in Iran have been stoned to death.

• Children are now being recruited as suicide bombers. May Allah guide us.

• The search is on for the most influential Muslim women in Britain.

• Middle East Online highlights the difficulties for Palestinian widows.

• Shahnaz Golami, an Iranian women’s rights activist, has been sentenced to six months in prison.

• Here is some major sexist and Islamophobic bullshit.

• A passage of legal code outlawing female genital cutting in Sudan is only the first step to its elimination.

• The stories of two Greek women converting to Islam.

• The birth of a baby girl brings happiness to a family in Gaza. Via DeenPort.

• More and more Uzbeks are marrying according to the Muslim rite  without going through the civil registration process.

Tags: Muslim women, News

Friday Links