Edited by

Mrs. Qutub Jehan Kidwai

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO OUR READERS

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love! - Hamilton

Wright Mabie

The Noble Qur'an Al-'Imran 3:42

42. “And (remember) when the angels said: "O Maryam (Mary PBUH)! Verily, Allah has

chosen you, purified you (from polytheism and disbelief), and chosen you above the women of

the 'Alamîn (mankind and the Universe)."

Institute of Islamic

Studies (Reg. No. E-8900 (Mumbai)

Muslim Women’s Newsletter - Vol. 4 No.45, December 2010. Address: 602 & 603, Silver Star, Behind BEST Bus Depot, Santacruz (E), Mumbai: - 400 055. E-mail: csss@mtnl.net.in, Phone no: 91-22-26102089,26149668; Fax: 91-22-26100712

A STEP FORWARD

Muslim women rise up against false talaqs

HYDERABAD: Is the certificate of a divorce with the qazi's seal on it a legal document? Well, in

an increasing number of cases, the certificate is being challenged in family courts by Muslim

women. Their argument is the clauses laid down by the Holy Quran for a `talaq' to become

operational are not being followed, and hence the certificate with the qazi's signature should be

declared null and void.

In about half a dozen such cases filed in the city's family courts in the recent past, the women

have argued that they are the victims of a talaq which was given without following the procedure

of having a pre-divorce conference, a mandatory reconciliation attempt by elders from both

sides before the men can pronounce a triple talaq.

In one such case, the Secunderabad family court in a recent judgement has upheld the clause

cited by the woman and quashed the qazi's divorce deed as null and void. Three more petitions

of similar nature are currently being heard by the judge in the same court. The court is learnt to

be largely basing its views on a Supreme Court judgement of 2002 where the apex court

passed an order in favour of a woman, dismissing the qazi's divorce document as null and void,

and gave her an opportunity to iron out differences with her spouse.

Religious leaders said that it was a matter of concern that the divorce certificate was being

challenged in the court, but did not fault the women for the same. They said that such cases

were arising because many men were obtaining the qazi's document fraudulently. "It is being

rampantly misused by men wanting a hasty divorce from their spouses. By presenting distorted,

one-sided versions to the qazi, they are convincing him to sign the divorce document. It is rather

shameful that deeds so far considered the final word in the community are now being

challenged in the courtrooms where they are being overruled," said Maulana Naqi Imam Khan

Quadri, president of Sunni Ulma Board.

Qazis explain that the triple talaq is meant to hasten the divorce process once all attempts at re-

conciliation between the spouses by the family elders (pre-divorce conference) fail to yield a

positive result. "Or else, the divorce has to be pronounced over a period of three months, with a

month's gap between each utterance of `talaq'," said Wasim Ahmed Khan, a senior family court

advocate.

However, such rules are being given a miss. In the petitions filed in the court, the women have

alleged that their husbands have approached the qazi for marriage dissolution by pronouncing

`talaq' thrice, in their absence. Since the wife's presence is not mandatory, the qazi who records

the man's version puts his seal of authority and grants divorce. A copy of the divorce certificate

is thereafter sent to the wife, the legal sanctity of which now stands challenged.

Woman are driving change in Yemen

Nadera Mohammad Al-Amri is a rare female driving teacher.

Published:02-12-2010

Nadera Mohammad Al-Amri is an instructor with Al-Salama Driving School in Sana’a. Al-Salama

Driving School was established in 2005 and today has 24 branches around the republic.

Al-Amri is the second female instructor to join the school and has been working there for over

three years. She chose this career because she wanted to empower as many Yemeni women

as she can through enabling them to drive.

“When I realized how being able to drive benefits me, I decided to teach it to other women, so

they can depend upon themselves,” she said.

Since Yemen has a conservative society, families of girls would rather have a woman teaching

their daughters to drive than a man. This is why having a female driving instructor allowed more

girls to learn.

In 2010, around 67 girls came for lessons and about 80 percent of them obtained a driving

license. Since 2007, more than 2000 women have obtained their driving licenses through the

school, and the interest in learning is growing. More than 30 percent of students are currently

women, most of whom are educated and working.

Most of the female students want to drive their own cars because of the bad experiences they

have had in using public transport. According to Al-Amri, the women have had enough, and

those who can afford to buy a car or use the family’s car have decided to learn to drive.

“Others need to learn driving because their father or brothers don’t have time to take drive them

around,” said Al-Amri.

She admits that being a female driving instructor has its challenges, especially when teaching

men.

“Many Yemeni– men do not have the morality to respect female instructors. Yemen is still

struggling with its men approving and respecting working women, unlike in developed

countries,” she said.

However, she was enthusiastic about women driving and said that women drivers adhere to the

laws and traffic regulations much more than men do.

“Woman in general likes to do things in a perfect way. Which means if they learn anything they

like to give it 100 percent, as part of a woman’s nature,” she said.

She objected to the notion that female drivers are worse than men. “It’s a male dominated

culture, and that is why they say that.”

Driving a car is both an art and a discipline, reflects Al-Amri. She hoped that traffic and drivers in

Yemen will one day be disciplined enough to reflect this, instead of the chaotic driving that is

dominant in Yemen now.

'No need' for women to cover up -Saudi police

JEDDAH - A Saudi religious police commander criticized the kingdom's ban on gender

mixing on Tuesday and said women did not have to veil their faces to applause from his

female audience.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Ghamdi, outspoken head of the Mecca branch of the Commission for the

Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, also said there was nothing in Islam to prevent

women from driving, despite the Saudi ban on the practice.

"There is a difference in interpretation of the (Quranic) verse... which leads some scholars to

rule that the whole body must be covered ... However other scholars approve showing the face,

hands and elbows. And some even okayed the hair," he said.

He said the kingdom's mixing ban should be applied only to men and women meeting in secret,

not in public places -- a rule normally enforced by the religious police.

Islam "orders a woman to cover her body to allow her to participate in social life, not to prevent

her from doing so," he said.

The women in the audience, all clad in the all-black shroud-like abaya they must wear, broke

out in applause.

Ghamdi, who was mysteriously fired and reinstated in April after breaking ranks with the

religious police to endorse mixing, was speaking at a conference on "Women's Participation in

National Development", where the hot issue was the barriers posed by Saudi Arabia's ultra-strict

ban on women working.

Because Saudi women are not permitted to mix with unrelated men, must have a male guardian

and are not permitted to drive, there are huge limitations on their employment opportunities.

Recently, top religious officials strongly objected to a labour ministry effort to allow Saudi

women to work as cashiers in supermarkets.

Labour Minister Adel Fakieh said on Tuesday that 200,000 women in the kingdom, or 44

percent of the workforce, were unemployed, and that of them 157,000 had degrees above the

level of high school.

"The unemployed women are educated above high school, while unemployed men mostly don't

have degrees," he said.

Meanwhile, the country's sole female minister, Deputy Education Minister Noura al-Fayez, also

came in for criticism for not having achieved much in terms of women's educational

advancement and opportunities.

She urged the audience of Saudi women to have patience, and told them she could do little

about certain issues, like the high accident rate for rural women teachers who must travel great

distances to work because they are not permitted to live away from their families.

On Monday, King Abdullah's daughter Princess Adela bint Abdullah said a greater effort was

needed to provide jobs for Saudi women.

"Women's participation (in the workforce) is behind expectation. A society cannot walk with a

limping leg," she said.

Poster exhibition on Muslim women’s rights to be held in

Patna

Patna: A poster exhibition on the topic of “Muslim women – rights and reality” will be organized

here in Patna on 4th and 5th December. Eminent Hindi journalist Nasiruddin Haider Khan will

highlight various aspect of the issue through his pictures accompanied with word descriptions.

While being same like their counterparts in other communities Muslim girls and women are

different. Its main reason is their distinct religious identity. Islam took revolutionary steps for

women’s rights 1400 years ago but the Muslim society maintained the values which deny them

the rights. They continue to be neglected and ignored.

Khan is associated with Hindi daily Hindustan and has been writing on women particularly

Muslim women. He has earned various fellowships under which he has done many research

works.

The exhibition will be open for public from 11 am to 6 pm on 4th and 5th December 2010 at

Patna Arts and Craft College, behind Patna Museum.

Patna-based Al-Khair Charitable Trust is organizing the exhibition in cooperation with some

other NGOs Koshish, Ipta Patna, Punshch.

Millionaire' woman to use money on kids' 'good education'

Giridih (Jharkhand): A 37-year-old homemaker from a humble family here who has become the

first woman to win a crore of rupees in "Kaun Banega Crorepati" says she will use her whopping

prize money to provide "good education" to her children.

For someone who spent much of her life facing endless hardships and completed her

graduation only after marriage, Rahat Taslim is clear that her two children should do well

academically -- for a better life.

Her son Faisal Iqbal is 10-year-old and daughter Tarannum Taslim is three years younger. Her

husband Imtiyaz Ahmad works with the Mica Trading Corp of India on a salary of Rs.6, 000.

To provide for the family, which resides in Gaddi Muhalla in Giridih district, Rahat used to sew

clothes and earn about Rs.2,000 extra.

She said now that she has won a 'crore' (Rs.10 million) on the popular gameshow "Kaun

Banega Crorepati-4", "I will spend the money on providing good education to my children."

Speaking in a voice choked with emotion over telephone from Mumbai and at least once

breaking down, Rahat recalled her unhappy childhood.

"My mother considered herself unlucky as she gave birth to a girl child. But now she would be

feeling proud about me," she said.

Does Rahat have any ambition of her own?

"You know, now that I am a celebrity, I am getting offers from several companies to become the

brand ambassador for their products."

But "I want to become a teacher. The qualification age to become a teacher is over... But if the

Jharkhand government provides me a teaching job, I would like to teach and share knowledge

with pupils."

Rahat, who does not regret the early hardships, added: "I have no regrets in life. But now I want

to do something more meaningful in life.

"I came to Mumbai to play the game and I did it with confidence. I think Allah wanted to give me

the money and from Amitabh Bachchan, so I got it."

More Qatari women than men seek jobs

DOHA: There are more women job hunters in the Qatari community than men, figures released

by the Ministry of Labor suggest.

And more interesting is the fact that more Qatari women graduates and post-graduates look for

employment than their male counterparts.

On the other hand, Qatari men who have not even completed secondary education and look for

jobs far exceed the number of women with elementary education who hunt for employment.

It is also interesting to note that more Qatari men were helped by the Labour Ministry to get

government jobs from April 2009 to March 2010 than their female counterparts.

While the number of Qatari women who accepted private sector jobs--not considered

prestigious and cozy in their community--during the above period, far exceeded their male

counterparts, ministry figures show.

The Ministry helped 1,744 Qatari men and women job seekers to land the cozier state

employment during April 2009-March 2010. Of these, women totalled only 852. On the contrary,

out of 2,831 citizens who got placement in private companies during the above period, more

than 1,800 were women.

More than 25 percent of the total number of Qatari graduate and post-graduate jobs seekers

during the above period, were women and only 16 percent were men. Qatari men with less than

secondary school qualifications who were looking for employment were 27.5 percent of the total

number of male job-seekers. The female percentage in this category was lower at 18.

Overall, 3,406 Qatari women sought jobs between April 2009 and March 2010, while the

number of male job hunters was slightly lower at 2,652. The Ministry also released the figures of

workers' complaints during the above period and said some 90 percent of them were amicably

resolved.

The grievances (over 6,000) mostly pertained to delays in salary payments and denial or air

tickets, terminal benefits and overtime payment.

AN INSPIRATION

Extraordinary stories of an ordinary women By Anjuman Ara Begum, TwoCircles.net,

Nazma Phumdreimeiyum is the founder of Organisation for Development (OFD), a group

working on the issues of violence against women and women empowerment in Santhal Namung

Leikai, Thoubal district of Manipur. She has been working on women’s rights since 2001 and

this passion became her profession in 2003. Nazma, a courageous and outspoken lady, shares

the challenges she faces everyday for her work.

What are you interests?

I am interested to work on the issues of violence against women, child rights. The economic

development of women and proper education for children are my main focus. I started dealing

with the cases of domestic violence directly since 2003.

What kinds of cases you deal with?

Different kinds of issues come in from time to time. Mostly, cases of survivors of sexual assault,

dowry, and domestic violence come in.

You are working for a long time on this issue. What are the challenges you are facing

both personally and professionally?

For me working on the issues of women is challenging both personally and professionally. The

mindset of Muslim community in Thoubal district is very conservative and religious fanatics

imposed dictum on women often and controls women’s social behavior. When I started working

people looked at me differently as someone who has challenged the society and branded my

work as something against the society and order. My perspective didn’t match with the so called

elites and leaders of the society. They also presumed that I am earning money through elicit

means. I was branded as someone who doesn’t respect her husband or obey his ‘commands’

which is considered as duty for the women in my society. The local religious community, the

Maulavis thought that I will become more popular than them and they saw my work and

prosperity in the professional field as a challenge. They started imposing dictum on me. They

said that when I take up cases since I am a woman I should talk to man in the courtyard or meet

police in the police station or lawyers in their chambers. They said that my work will destroy the

society and its norms.

How did you face these challenges?

Maulavis mobilized villagers and had meeting to boycott me and throw away me from the village

or at least impose restriction on my mobility. In 2007, I formed a Self Help Group (SHG) to help

women to stand at their feet. The SHG started making detergent powders, pickles, soap etc.

and we were doing well. Maulavis instigated the villagers against me arguing that my work in

anti Islamic and I take interests. I was asked to resign from the SHG and also asked the

husbands of other SHG members to force their wives to resign from the group. I was afraid as if

there is no member would mean automatic closure of the group. Then we decided to have

meeting every Friday and discussed among ourselves. We struggled for three months. I had to

complain to police too. Police helped me. Police informed the miscreants that they will send

police commandos if I am bothered further. I was afraid of repercussions. I decided to know if

Islam permits women to work or not. If Islam permits then I will work, otherwise I will stop

working altogether. I did this as my mobility was criticized and restricted. It became problematic

for me to do small things like buying something for the shop or fetching water. I complained to

police as it was unbearable to me. I also consulted some good NGOs that extended solidarity

with me. These are All Manipur Students Union, United Manipur Muslim Women Development

Organisation etc. The Maulavis made false allegations against me and collected signature from

the villagers. I protested and asked them to remove the false words. They also called a meeting

in the mosque and caused spilt in the community over my issue. All Manipur Jamiat e Ulema, a

religious body in Manipur was informed about these developments and called me and the

Maulavis for a hearing. I attended and the Maulavis too attended the hearing. I informed the

Ulema that the SHG is for women’s financial independence and not for earning interests. I

produced all the documents in my support. The Ulema personnels rebuked the Maulavis and

asked them not to disturb me in future for my work. The hearing continued for four hours. I was

allowed to continue my work. The conflict was clear and a declaration was done that women

can work. Right now I have no problem but the Maulavis fear that I may become a big leader in

future.

Do you work only for your community or for others too?

Right now my work is not confined only to my community but I work for all.

What type of work are you concentrating now?

I constructed a shelter home for female survivors of violence. I took donations from various

sources and also accepted rice as donation. I have a three room shelter home with basic

amenities.

How do you manage the shelter home?

It’s again very challenging as I don’t have continuous source of funding. Earlier I got support

from Centre for Social Development but it stopped now. I managed with my own savings.

People also give food and other help. Sometime I do counseling for victims and if the victim is

rich I get some money. I use such earning to recharge my cell phone. I am also getting help

from Integrated Rural Social Development Organisation (IRDSO), a NGO. My children are

growing up and I need to think seriously now. My SHG group too now started silk warm rearing.

Hope this will help with some money. Also few men are supporting our SHG.

What about your family? Do they cooperate with you in your work?

My husband Ayub Khan is a cultivator and a small trader of fish. I have two sons and three

daughters. My parents help me a lot. My brothers are doctors and lawyers. They support me

both morally and financially. In 2007, my husband use to beat me a lot because of my work. My

family too confronted with my husband. He didn’t allow me to travel to other states to attend

workshop. Once he took money from the organizers for my participation in a conference in

Mizoram. I challenged my husband. Now he has changed a lot and supports me. My children

are young and studying in schools.

(Nazma Phumdreimeiyum is reachable at Organisation for Development, Santhal Namang

Leikai, Thoubal district, Manipur, India. Phone: +91-9856326838)

STRUGGLE CONTINUES

MUSLIM WOMEN FACE MULTIPLE DISCRIMINATION:

AIDWA, INDIA

“The triple talaq is a sword hanging over the heads of married Muslim women,” said Sehba

Farooqui, secretary of the Delhi State Unit of the All India Democratic Women’s Association, in

her introduction to the resolution on the practice of triple talaq passed by the 9th national

conference of the organisation on Wednesday. “A minor disagreement can result in talaq.”

Drawing attention to a case where a wife was recently divorced by triple talaq through an online

Skype chat, the resolution highlighted the “iniquity and absurdness” of a practice that is affecting

thousands of Muslim women in the country today. The Darul-Uloom-Deoband upheld the

husband’s right and issued a fatwa against the wife.

The AIDWA resolution argues that not only is the practice of triple talaq discriminatory and

unjust towards the wife and thus against constitutional principles, it is also contrary to Islam.

“Triple talaq said in one sitting is a part of one interpretation of the Koran. Actually, the Koran

proscribes it,” argues Ms. Farooqui. “There is another interpretation that talaq should be given

over the three-month period, and we are urging that this pro-woman option be exercised.”

Triple talaq, according to the resolution, has been proscribed or limited in a number of countries

across the world, for example in Pakistan, Indonesia, Iraq, Turkey and Tunisia, and that it is only

in India that Muslim men have untrammeled freedom to pronounce triple talaq.

AIDWA sent a representation against the practice signed by 20,000 Muslim women to the

central government and the Muslim Personal Law Board, but this was ignored.

The occasion was also marked by the release of a book entitled ‘Muslim Women: AIDWA’s

Interventions and Struggles,’ a collection of articles, reports and documents on the many levels

of discrimination faced by Muslim women: in the personal sphere, as victims of communalism

and terrorism, and as a section deprived of basic rights of citizenship.

For AIDWA, however, the issue of fighting for citizenship rights – for fair wages, jobs, access to

civic amenities (including the public distribution system), is an area of immediate priority, said

Ms. Farooqui. “In Delhi, for example, Muslim women are concentrated in exploitative home-

based industries working on piece rates, where they earn between Rs.1000 and Rs. 1200 a

month. They cannot afford to lose their jobs when their men are out of work, but here we have

fought for provident fund provisions for such women.”

The contrasts in the status of Muslim women across the country is vividly illustrated by the

experiences of Tajwar Sultana, an activist who lives and works in the crowded bylanes of the

Jama Masjid area of Old Delhi, and 35-year-old Parveen Akhtar from West Tripura, who is an

elected member of the Zilla Parishad. “There is absolutely no practice of triple talaq in my

State,” said Ms. Akhtar with a laugh, adding that Muslim women have come forward significantly

into the political space. “In the Ashabadi Panchayat of Baksanagar block of the nine members,

eight are Muslim and one Hindu. The State government has introduced many schemes for

Muslim women.”

SPORTS

Muslim female athletes shine at Asian Games

“This welcome is like icing on the cake after our victory,” Pakistan's gold-medal winning team's captain Sana

Mir said. —AFP Photo

GUANGZHOU: Back home, the Pakistani women’s cricket team is not as well-

known as their illustrious male counterparts.

But after their gold medal triumph at the Asian Games, the girls in green were basking

in the spotlight for a change. It was Pakistan’s first Asian Games gold medal in eight

years – a milestone that supporters say points to the need for more education and

opportunities in sports for women in Muslim countries.

“Our media doesn’t give women’s sports that much coverage, as much as they give to

men’s sports,” said Pakistan all-rounder Nida Rashid. “There are so many sports in

which women participate in Pakistan, like squash, table tennis and volleyball, but they

go unnoticed.”

“I belong to Abbottabad where girls are not encouraged to take up sports leave alone

cricket but my family was supportive and made it possible for me to play cricket and

study as well,” Sana Mir, captain of the Pakistan women’s cricket team told Reuters

after a triumphant return home on Sunday.

“I hope our victory will serve as a catalyst for women’s sports in Pakistan.”

The women’s team, wearing their green team blazers, were garlanded and showered

with rose petals in a rousing welcome at Karachi airport after winning the gold medal in

a one-sided final against Bangladesh on Saturday.

“This welcome is like icing on the cake after our victory, “Mir said.

Pakistani media greeted the gold medal as a victory for women in the country.

“We never dreamt one day women’s cricket would be acknowledged this way,” said Mir.

“The day we won the medal I called up my family to thank them for their support.”

“The fact that we have played regularly since last year in International Cricket Council

(ICC) tournaments and against better opposition has helped these girls gain

confidence,” said Bushra Aitzaz who heads the women’s wing in the PCB.

The Asian Games, an Olympic-style event drawing athletes from a collection of

countries representing two-thirds of the world’s population, is the biggest stage for many

of the female competitors.

In parts of the continent, resources for coaching, training and competition generally lag

behind the funding set aside for male athletes.

Pakistan came to Guangzhou with 25 female athletes out of a total of 169, participating

in cricket, judo, shooting, squash and sailing.

Iran sent a women’s team to compete in kabaddi.

War-torn Afghanistan has seven women in its 67-member delegation, all of them

competing in martial arts events. Saudi Arabia has 170 men and not a single woman.

In comparison, host China, a sporting powerhouse that has invested heavily in

developing elite athletes of both genders, has 458 women and 507 men.

“There still needs to be more work toward educating females, educating their families to

make them feel that is it OK to represent their countries abroad,” said Basma Ahmad

Essa, a taekwondo athlete from the United Arab Emirates. “We’re not disagreeing with

any laws of Islam or things like that, that a lot of conservative people might put as

obstacles in front of players.”

Essa, 26, added that a lack of awareness about female participation in sports was also

hampering development.

“We’ve started looking at the West and trying to get the best out of them, and trying to

apply it within our countries, she said, sweat pouring off her face after beating a Nepali

opponent.

One pioneering women’s squad has been taking the field in Guangzhou with traditional

Muslim head coverings, showing that religious obligations can coexist with sports.

“The world has developed and it is time for women to take their place,” said Maryam

Ahmed Al-Suweidi of the Qatari handball team, just one of two female Arab teams in

Guangzhou. The other is the football team from Jordan.

Olympic Council of Asia president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, a Kuwaiti, said 80

percent of the west Asian national Olympic committees had females participating in

Guangzhou.

“For many of these athletes, it’s the first time in this environment,” he said, predicting

that the number of female athletes from conservative countries would continue to swell.

“This will continue to improve.”

The handballers are young and their inexperience has shown during lopsided losses to

Taiwan and Kazakhstan, but Al-Suweidi says it’s just the beginning, noting that

participation in women’s sports has been on the rise in her home region.

“Of course all people like to take part in sports … I do not believe there is any obstacle

at the moment against women taking part in sport in the Arab world,” she said

confidently.

Pakistan cricket captain Sana Mir noted that her squad used to just compete against

women’s teams but now also play men’s under-19 and under-25 sides.

“I think if women in Pakistan are given opportunities to play sports with proper coaches

and facilities, there’s no reason why they should not perform – not only at Asian Games

– but also in major international tournaments,” she said. “I believe if you do something

with honesty you can gain a lot in the field of sports.”