Sahar Moussly: ‘Real happiness is not obtained from materialistic things’ PG 03 Monday 30.01.2012 Published in United Arab Emirates AED4
theguardian guardian.net.ae
Volume 1 Issue 1 | Rabi Al Awwal 5, 1433
WOMEN FOCUS EDITION
NO Violence against women and children GOVERNMENTS IN ARAB COUNTRIES UNDERTAKE ACTION TO STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN negative impact on the course of Islam with wrong interpretations resurfacing yet again. Syed Abdul Naveed, a student who is a strong supporter of the UNiTE campaign said, “Women are considered sacred in Islam. They demand much respect and are given the most importance. People who do hurt them are just scared of accepting the fact that they are nothing but failures, not only in life but in personality.”
Qudsiya Siddiqui UAE Editor Say NO - UNiTE to end violence against women; a campaign that is currently being handled by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s who calls for the prevention and elimination of violence against women, girls in all parts of the world. No country is immune from violence against women and girls or exempted from the responsibility to put an end to it. The global vision of UNiTE is to raise awareness about the negative impact of this violence and attain a world free from violence against all women and children. Arab World The highest number reported cases of violence were from the rural parts of the Arab countries where wife-beating is treated as a common practice among households. As reported by Gulf News that as many as 34 per cent of the children of 74 married women had been subjected to psychological and economic violence and 50 per cent were beaten by their fathers, according to a study conducted by the Lebanese council (2000). After much probing into this matter, psychologists have revealed a reasonable explanation for what leads to such types of violent behavior is the economic factor which includes unemployment and low income. Violence against women is a ‘battle of civilization’, said Hesham Qasem, head of the Human Rights Organization in Egypt. “It exists everywhere.Wifebeating differs according to the advancement of a society and the existence of laws that provide protection for women,” he added.
Syed Abdul Naveed a supporter of this cause, hopes for a quick action initiated soon. Qudsiya Siddiqui / the guardian
Islam Arab countries are under the strict rule of Islamic governance. Whilst in Islam in accordance to the Quran [Holy Book] the point is stressed several times that Muslim women are to be treated with great respect and their presence is meant to be honored at all times. And yet news reports still surface the contents of such shameful acts with the rape/molestation cases on a rising scale in the Arab world, where women are tortured, killed, raped and scarred for life as they fall to be the key victims to these acts. This not only affects the country’s reputation but also sends out a direct message that seemingly leaves a
Imposition of driving ban still ceases to exist WOMEN FROM SAUDI ARABIA STILL FIGHTING TO LIFT THE BAN Qudsiya Siddiqui UAE Editor Over the past couple of years, repeated efforts by the Saudi women to lift the driving ban placed on them has been back-fired wholly because of the law imposed by the interior ministry of Saudi Arabia which has taken this decision based on religious code of conduct or fatwas. Dr. Ebtisam Al-Ketbi, Assistant professor of Political Science at UAE University, said in accordance to the driving ban, “Islam promotes equality; wrong interpretations henceforth prove this religion as depriving women of their rights. Islam gives its women their freedom as long as they are in limits with their activities.” Whilst some women in Saud Arabia like Farhadh Nawaz Kaiser who has been living in the country for the past 17 years doesn’t find the strong urge to
drive, she said, “with personal drivers and cheap public transport, I don’t wish to drive.” She further added, “if women start driving around the city there will be superiority and the existence of the equality will banish.” But some strong willed Arab women are not ready to back out and have tied hopes to lift the ban. They have launched campaigns ‘women2drive’ on facebook, twitter and with petitions signed to raise the issue in the Saudi interior ministry. Upon receiving no prompt response from the ministry, furious women such as the activist Manal Al Sharif defied the ban and drove around the city with videos posted on Youtube which lead to her immediate arrest and released only after signing a pledge to never drive or speak publicly about her actions. In this ultra-conservative country women are obliged to be veiled in public and cannot travel unless accompanied by husband or close male relative.
Take Action Governments in Arab countries are acknowledging the existence of the problem and some are already taking steps to curb it, according to the women activists in the Arab countries. Through awareness programs women are encouraged to speak-out against the different types of violence they undergo. As specified in the United Nations website, many states have no specific legal provisions against domestic violence and that marital rape is not a lawful offence in more than 50 countries. UNiTE works alongside governments in different countries in a bid to develop and implement national laws and supports women who are victims and survivors, from all walks of life to get their deserved rights and respect in the society. A man who remained quite towards injustice towards a woman is equally responsible for the rise in crime rates that prevails in developing countries. In order to restore humanity in this world and attain a world free from violence against all women and children, it’s important to take action against it.
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Women and the exaggeration of their presence during protests. Agree or Disagree? pg 02