Women Told To Beware Of Shark Bites in Pakistan

All’s not well when ‘Working With Sharks’

Pakistan Today - Harassment – sexual or not – is a serious problem in a society regardless of gender and it is the collective responsibility of both men and women in a living sphere to address the issue.

This was agreed upon unanimously by speakers at the book launch of Dr Fouzia Saeed's autobiographical case study on harassment faced by women at workplaces titled ‘Working With Sharks’ at a hotel on Friday.

The guest speakers at the event included Sindh assembly member Sharmila Farooqi, distinguished singer Tina Sani, veteran actor and director Sahira Kazmi, and renowned director Adnan Malik. 

Complimenting the author for sharing her experiences and personal sufferings about an issue that the women living in a patriarchal society like Pakistan face on regular basis, the MPA said: “Reading the book, I kept on remembering that even as a woman with legislative powers, I have also gone through some of the situations [described in the book] like the social scientist [author].”

Citing the example of a gang rape victim, Farooqi expressed annoyance about the media's obsession with viewer ship ratings rather than addressing the “real issues”.

Congratulating the author on her courageous step to pen her personal encounters with male chauvinism, Sani lamented that despite legislation preserving rights of women, implementation of laws is not be witnessed.

Stressing on following up cases of human rights violations, she said that the media touches such cases once they spring up, but does not keep track of the cases afterwards. “The perpetrators are never caught and I think the larger share of responsibility lies with the media,” she added.

More Here

Didn't See This One Coming ... Turns Out That Iranian Women Are Against "Polygamy" ... Go Figure!

Iranian women fight controversial ‘polygamy’ bill

The controverisal 'polygamy' bill would reduce Iranian women's rights even further.

© Al Mak/Demotix

On a summer night in 2008, the wives of some Iranian members of Parliament started receiving phone calls.

“Would you mind if I married your husband – just for a week?” asked the female voice on the end of the line. 

The callers argued that taking another wife is a Muslim man’s right. By allowing it, the MPs’ wives would be performing a good Islamic deed. Some of the wives hung up in shock. 

But marrying the MPs was the last thing the callers actually wanted. In reality, they were women’s rights activists opposed to a controversial “Family Protection Bill” which the Iranian government proposed in 2007. 

The activists say they discovered that at least 65 male members of the country’s 290-strong parliament had two or more wives. This is despite the fact that polygamy contravenes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Iran has ratified. Article 23 stipulates that states must ensure that men and women have equal rights when marrying or at the dissolution of marriage.   More Here ... Amnesty International

Virginity Test Required For Female Attendees At Tahrir Square Demonstration

Samira Ibrahim is speaking out against mistreatment she said she was subjected to by the Egyptian Army. The Tahrir Square protester said she was detained back in March, beaten and abused, including being subject to a "virginity test."

Public Radio International

Samira Ibrahim, 25, made a seven-hour train ride to Cairo Monday night, to hear the verdict in her case against the Egyptian army.

She sued the army and accuses the miliaty of subjecting her to torture and abuse, including a so-called “virginity test,” while in military detention back in March. Judges had promised to issue a verdict on Tuesday.

Standing on the front steps of a Cairo courthouse, her round face wrapped tightly in a fuchsia headscarf, Ibrahim admitted she was nervous. But there was something that gave her confidence. About a dozen Egyptian friends, activists and lawyers came to court to support her.

A young, bearded Egyptian engineer named Hossam al-Din introduced himself as a Salafi, an ultra-conservative branch of Islam. Al-Din said he met Samira Ibrahim in early February in Tahrir Square. He has gotten to know her since then and he’s here because what happened to Ibrahim could happen to any Egyptian girl – Christian or Muslim, he said – under this military government. That's not acceptable.

Tuesday in court was a big disappointment. The judge did not make a ruling. Instead the case was postponed until late December. After the announcement, Ibrahim was visibly frustrated.

“I’m not angry,” Ibrahim says. “They’re just stalling, trying to kill my case. But I’m not going to give up.”

Ibrahim has described what happened to her – in detail – in a video posted online:

Ibrahim, along with 16 other women, were detained during a demonstration on March 9. She was held for four days and during that time, she said, soldiers beat her repeatedly. They subjected her to electric shocks, screamed at her and threatened her. Then, worst of all, they made her strip so a man in a military uniform could check to see if she was a virgin.

She felt like she had been raped.

In June, Ibrahim filed a criminal complaint against the army, but the case has gone nowhere. So she filed suit in civil court, with the help of several human rights groups. They are asking judges to rule on the legality of Ibrahim’s treatment by the military. If they win the case, it could amount to a serious legal blow to Egypt’s military rulers.

Ahmed Hossam, Ibrahim’s lawyer, stood outside the courtroom smoking one cigarette after another. He said this case was incredibly sensitive politically. Hossam is not sure how the judges will rule.

Observers say it is hard to overstate just how much courage it takes for Ibrahim to go through with her case. Ibrahim isn't the only woman who has been subjected to “virginity tests” while in military detention, but sexual abuse carries a powerful stigma, said Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch.

“Egypt remains a very conservative society and even talking about the fact that these virginity tests took place is very difficult for young women," Morayef said. "In fact, most of the women who’ve been subjected to these forced virginity tests have not wanted to come forward.”

Ibrahim’s lawyer said the case is probably being held up because the political atmosphere is so sensitive right now, with the recent violence and ongoing parliamentary elections.

“There’s not much to do now,” he said. “Except to wait.”

As for Ibrahim, she won't wait for anything. Minutes after the disappointing announcement in the courtroom, she joined a small group of demonstrators and together, they marched straight back to Tahrir Square.

Challenges in the Workplace: Physical, Psychological and Sexual Harassment

It's A Very Good Thing That Women Are Equal Under Islam ... 

Woman in a man's world: Kazmi is Pakistan's first female cabbie

DW-World

Pakistan is experiencing a rapid increase in the number of women joining its workforce. But the country is grappling with physical, psychological and sexual harassment of women in the workplace.

Afsheen*, an air hostess with the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), recalls when she was selected to work with the airline company. She was briefed on how to keep passengers satisfied, but the introductory training did not include any clues on how to keep the pilots "happy."

A few months later, the pilots called her and her colleagues to go to the cockpit. "They would touch us on the back and the chest intentionally, and pretend it was a mistake," she remembers. Things got worse when pilots started demanding sexual favours during flights and on the ground, and managed to get some too.

On October 9, Captain Riffat Haee took the matter to his own hands and filed a case at the Lahore High Court. He claimed that female workers faced problems like the withholding of promotion and even demotion if they refused to fulfil the "demands" of officers.

'Respectable' equals suffering

Every year, thousands of women in Pakistan are harassed by their male colleagues. Most women from the so-called "respectable families" are forced to remain silent. Official data suggests that more than 70 percent of women are harassed at their workplaces everyday, although the ‘Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Bill 2010’ was signed by President Asif Ali Zardari as soon as he came to power.Air hostesses in Pakistan are often harassed by their male colleagues

"Harassment exists and we cannot ignore that. But we have to remain silent, otherwise our fathers and brothers wouldn’t let us continue working, and we cannot afford that," Sara, a 25-year-old banker, says. For her, losing her job means that she would not be able to afford branded clothes, bags and accessories to keep up with the latest trends, like her ‘rich’ friends and colleagues.

In Germany, however, sexual harassment at the workplace is rare, though not absent. Dr Bettina Burkhardt, representative for gender equality at the Deutsche Welle, Bonn, says some women co-workers seek advice from her on how to deal with harassment at the office.

"There were complaints about male colleagues who just can’t keep their hands to themselves. But once brought up, there was an immediate end to that," she says, adding that "Too many men or too many women will always affect the balance. This why we make sure there is gender equality at workplace," she said.

More representation at the workplace

German women are more qualified than men, says Burkhardt, but when it comes to work, women still earn an average of 23 percent less than their male counterparts. Women here also face the famous glass ceiling when it comes to promotions - the ones who do get to the top are few.

According to Burkhardt, several companies are now working actively with universities to attract more female students towards technical jobs, traditionally dominated by males. Several German companies have set goals to achieve at least a 30 percent female employee ratio in top positions with an aim of making it 50 per cent in the near future.

In Pakistan the number of working women is still very low and women are paid only half of what their male counterparts earn. However, Pakistani companies might see more working women in the near future. According to a 2010 Higher Education Commission report, more than 42 percent of Pakistan’s 2.6 million high school students in 2010 were girls, up from 30 per cent 18 years ago. In universities, women made up 47 per cent of Pakistan’s 1.1 million university students, up from 23 per cent in 1993.

Kazmi dresses conservatively for her job

According to a February 2011 report on Women in the Boardrooms, women now make up 4.6 per cent of board members of Pakistani companies and women members hold 78 seats out of the 342 seats in the National Assembly in Islamabad. Pakistan's foreign minister, Hina Rabbani, the speaker of the National Assembly, Fehmida Malik and the country's new ambassador to the United States, Sherry Rehman are all women.

Encroaching upon 'male territory'

Women have also embraced traditionally male-dominated professions such as taxi-driving, although they need to take some precautions to keep men off. Zahida Kazim, a widow in her 50s, drives her leased taxi in the capital Islamabad. Passengers are kind, respectful and friendly.

But this might be because of her old age and the big shawl that covers her head all the time. In Pakistan, working women who do not properly cover their head and chests with a shawl are considered "easy to approach" and "broadminded," a male prejudice which will still take decades to change.

* Names have been changed to protect identity

Democracy at Work: Egyptian Islamist Style

From YouTube:

Uploaded by YouCruising on Nov 28, 2011

http://www.euronews.net/2011/11/28/gender-issue-for-egyptian-political-party/

Women's Torture, Rape, Stoning and Murder by IR of IRAN

From YouTube:

Uploaded by myshinningstar1 on Nov 19, 2011

MUSIC BY: MAJEED ENTEZAMI, PERSIAN MUSICIANS
SONG WRITERS & POET BY: MASOUD AMINI, PERSIAN POET

TO GIVE OPPORTUNITY TO IRANIANS FOR TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT BASED ON THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUTE COURTS AND UNITED NATIONS.
The Islamic Republic of Iran: Torture, Rape, stoning and Murder of Iranian (Persian) women for the women's rights and democracy: Rape in prison is a cruel invasion of the helpless victim. In addition to its physical torment and transmission of sexual diseases, rape reduces the victim to a subhuman status—an object for the use of others to be discarded when no longer desired. Most civilized countries sternly guard against rapes and sexual assaults in prison, although with less than complete success.
Under the barbaric rule of the Mullahcracy in Iran supported by external forces, sexual assaults have become instruments of policy for extracting false confessions, satisfying the boundless sadisms and sexual perversities of the jailers, punishing the helpless victim and leaving him with the sense of dehumanization.
1. STONING TO DEATH
2. TORTURING
3. HANGING IN PUBLIC
4. RAPING VIRGIN WOMEN BEFORE EXECUTIONS
4. RAPING WOMEN A FEW TIMES A DAY
5. BODY BURNING BY CIGARETTES
6. BANNING ANY PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS
7. STOLEN THE 2009 ELECTIONS OF PEOPLE
8. TO IMPORT BASIJ FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
9. TO DISTRIBUTE CONDOMS TO CRIMINALS IN JAIL TO RAPE THE WOMEN FOR CONFESSIONS
10. TO ASSASSINATE THE IRANIANS IN OVERSEAS
11. TO EXPORT THE IRANIANS RESOURCES INCLUDING MONEY AND GOLDS
12. MULLAHS HAVE BEEN SUPPORTED AND CONTROLLED BY EXTERNAL FORCES

Persian Woman, you were not born incarcerated behind the Chador and Lachak!
The day will come for you to burn the chador and lachak; therefore, you can regain your status as Persian Women. Look at what you were and what you are! This is your wakeup call! Observe the beautiful names and deep meanings of the Persian names. You are a proud Persian Woman. Woman, Stand Up Now! I want you to right at this moment, go out and stand in the middle of the streets of Iran or exile, tell yourselves, you are proud Persian women, then shout it from the top of your lungs: "I am a proud Persian Woman, I will break the chains, Hear me roar, Hear me roar!" I promise you, The Resistance will be victorious. Many are schooled, yet only a few are truly educated! Never surrender, never accept leash of Islamic slavery, and never accept your status as one of the many temporary (Siqeh) wives or one of the four permanent (Aqdi) wives of a Muslim chauvinist Male Pig! You are not Siqeh, Aqdi or Concubines, but you are proud Persian women. Young Iranian woman, your place is high in the skies of Persia; your place is not by the foot of a Muslim man, as a lap dog! Arise and break the Arabo Islamic Chain of slavery, Arise and regain your lost "Persian Prestige", Arise and once more, regain your humanity!

Grope Me ... Feel Me ... Touch Me: Islam Forbids Sexual Harassment

NY Times
November 22, 2011, 1:00 PM

Women Take a Stand in Kabul

By NOORJAHAN AKBAR

BBC PersianParticipants marched against the widespread public sexual harassment of women on the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, last July. The protest was spearheaded by Noorjahan Akbar, a young woman currently studying in Pennsylvania, and the co-founder of Young Women for Change, an organization advocating against sexual discrimination and inequality in Afghanistan.

I was nervous when I woke up on July 14, 2011. The signs were ready, the pamphlets and flyers printed, and my attire for the day picked. I had received calls from the police, confirming that they would send us 10 officers for security. Media was informed and women’s organizations contacted. Everything was ready, but I was nervous.

Women’s protests and walks are very rare in Afghanistan and this was the first time I had organized one. I wanted to raise awareness about sexual street harassment and identify it as a problem, in a country where most Afghans either deny the existence of it or blame it on the women.

Every woman I know, whether she wears a burqa or simply dresses conservatively, has told me stories of being harassed in Afghanistan. The harassment ranges from comments on appearance to groping and pushing. Even my mother, who is a 40-plus teacher always dressed in her school uniform, arrives home upset almost every day because of the disgusting comments she receives, sometimes from youth half her age and sometimes from white-bearded men who sit by the roads. Only three days before the walk, I was groped in front of the orphanage where I taught creative writing.

Enraged, I called my mother and told her that I no longer wanted to teach. Once I started planning the walk, however, I took that rash statement back.

On the day of the march, we met in front of a restaurant. For some reason that is still unclear to me, the manager of the restaurant had refused to allow us in, so we took refuge in the Afghan Culture House, a center owned by a woman. There were about 25 of us. The meeting was brief and emotional followed by hugs and good wishes.

Moments later we were in front of Kabul University, where we started the walk, and were joined by an additional 25 people. Soon the 50-plus marchers and supporters were surrounded by Afghan and international news. After a few interviews, we began walking towards the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. While we passed out flyers, talked to the police and supporters, and directed members of the media, an incredible feeling of empowerment and hope took over me. In the faces of my companions, I read hope, pride and solidarity. I was amazed at how everything happened so quickly. It had been less than two months since Young Women for Change had held its first meeting.

I had not even dreamed of this day when in May 2011 my friend, Anita Haidary, and I announced on Facebook that we were organizing a meeting on May 25 in Kabul to discuss sexual discrimination and gender inequality. We expected no more than 15 guests, but more than 75 women of different ages, ethnicities and backgrounds showed up. Over 10 Afghan and Afghan-American women in Washington D.C. attended via Skype. This organizational meeting was followed by many more.

During this process, we had to fight hopelessness when the police forbid us from meeting at Kabul University because they “did not want women making problems for them.” We had to persevere when we faced humiliation, harassment and insults as we tried to establish YWC as a non-profit. We had to remain strong and just smile, every time we were asked with disbelief and a smirk: “but you are too young and you are all women; how will you run an organization?” In addition to all that, we had to continue dreaming and planning even when only one or two women came to a meeting.

Eventually, we formed Young Women for Change, an organization commited to working for gender equality. We first decided to focus on a problem we all faced: street harassment. We designed a campaign that included posters, flyers, radio spots, social media, televised interviews and debates, and the first-ever walk against street harassment of women.

Soon we were writing slogans like “Islam and the law forbid the harassment of women,” “I have the right to walk in my city safely,” “these streets belong to me too,” “I will not keep silent the next time you insult me,” and many more. Next thing we knew we were marching down the street, accompanied by a supportive group of men as well as by members of the police and media. I was no longer nervous. I was proud.

Thursday, July 14, 2011 was the first day I felt like I belonged to the city I have lived in for most of my life. I realized that the women who were walking in their high heels and headscarves–as well as their male supporters–had so much strength and power waiting to be unleashed, and it made me so proud to be among them.

Despite Afghanistan’s history of war, and its news filled with suicide attacks, violence, Talibanism and corruption, I had found something to be proud of in my country. This was the moment I fell in love with Afghanistan.

Since then, YWC has been able to gain non-profit status, form a male advocacy group, organize monthly lectures on issues regarding gender and women’s studies, collect books to build libraries in Kabul and Helmand, and begin conducting research on street harassment in Kabul, thanks to a new grant. During this journey, my love for Afghanistan and its people has increased tremendously. It is not that I did not love my homeland before; but when I saw the ability and the motivation to form a grass-roots feminist movement in Afghanistan, it inspired me so much that I knew I would never be able to abandon it.

Yonus EntezarNoorjahan Akbar, the co-founder of Young Women for Change, an organization advocating against sexual discrimination and inequality in Afghanistan.

Noorjahan Akbar, 20, is the co-founder ofYoung Women for Change, an organization advocating against sexual discrimination and inequality in Afghanistan. She has been working for women and children since she was 12 and started a radio show that focused on teenagers in Afghanistan.

Noorjahan has also researched Afghan women’s folkloric music, translated a collection of short stories for Afghan children and held creative writing classes in orphanages. She is currently a student at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.

www.facebook.com/ywc.af

Some Women Think that Islam is ...

Islamist Party Launches “Revolutionary” Policy on Women

Comic Relief in Egypt: Women's Rights

Intifada Paslestine

Anyone who thinks Islamists lack humor is wrong. The Nour (Light) Party of Egypt, a new political formation established by a faction of the Salafist movement in Egypt, has provided some welcome comic relief in a period of dire crisis, by unveiling a startling new view of women in today’s world. The Salafists, who are Islamists close to the Wahabites in Saudi Arabia, and who reportedly enjoy 5% popular support in Egypt, recently held a conference on the theme of women, the first ever. As evident in a photo of the conference, the speakers were neither fully veiled nor did they wear any headscarves. Seated on the podium against a backdrop of banners in Arabic reading: “Nour (Light) Party: First Women’s Conference,” the three speakers were apparently striving to display the party’s commitment to the total equality between the sexes. No veils, no headscarves, — only full and bushy beards.

One secular Egyptian intellectual commented on the event: “But, hey, where are the women?”