HomeNews First Saudi woman climbs to top of Everest, makes history Kathmandu: After a lot of persuasion, Raha Moharrak's Saudi family finally agreed to let her make an attempt to climb Mount Everest. With her attempt, Moharrak became the first Saudi woman to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, according to BBC. Her four-member expedition team also includes the first Qatari man and the first Palestinian man attempting to reach the summit. >>>   Iranian cleric says women can’t be president A member of Iran’s constitutional watchdog group insists that women cannot be presidential candidates, a report said Thursday, effectively killing the largely symbolic bids by about 30 women seeking to run in the June 14 election.Even before the comments by Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, chances for a woman candidate in Iran’s presidential election were considered nearly impossible.Wom >>>   Why I as a Muslim Woman Don't Wear a Headscarf Does the Koran really demand that women wear headscarves? Or is it mainly older men who claim they can decide how women should dress – with no theological foundation whatsoever? For the Islam scholar Lamya Kaddor, there is no question about it: the headscarf is obsolete.German Islam scholar Lamya Kaddor: "If God had required a special head covering, would He not have said so explicitly? >>>   Muslim woman boxer takes fight into the ring ''Elbows up, knuckles up'' are the orders being fired out to young Muslim women in a gym tucked away in a Footscray industrial estate as they work on their boxing technique.Amid the punching bags, champion flyweight boxer Bianca Elmir is demanding fancy footwork at Mischa's Boxing Central gym on Sunday. ''Now straight, straight, upper cut, upper cut, hook, hook an >>>   What Muslim women really want in the bedroom, Sex is taboo subject for most Muslims Sex is taboo subject for most Muslims. However, a growing number of young Muslim women are talking about what they really want when in the bedroom. Shelina Janmohamed, author of Love in a Headscarf, explains how women are leading the way in her faith when it comes to understanding sexuality. Under the new law, women who wear face-covering Muslim veils in 'public places' in France >>>   Saudi Arabia's first ever anti-domestic violence ad revealed Saudi Arabia has just launched the No More Abuse campaign.Photo / King Khalid Foundation This arresting image of a Saudi woman, her bruised eye visible through her burqa, is the first ever anti-domestic violence advert in the oppressive kingdom.In what could be a sign of long-awaited progress for the female population of Saudi Arabia - where all women must have a male guardian - the No More >>>   These stylish Saudi women entrepreneurs mean business Jeddawi fashionistas and beauty gurus recently attended a women-only event, in which three Saudi female entrepreneurs got a complete makeover that aims to make them look their best when doing the job. The occasion was to celebrate the Women Appreciation Month (WAM), which was initiated in 2011 by leading Saudi fashion brand Femi9. The event was organized by Jeddah Beauty Blog, which was also celeb >>>   Why Muslim women and men sit separately in mosques Muslims do not mix in mosques because it is the nature of men to be attracted to women and whenever they see a female, they may think immorally about them. Haji Nsereko Mutumba, the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) spokesperson, says: “Some men have a high libido and cannot control themselves when they see a woman. So sitting separately in a mosque helps men control themselves and f >>>   Muslim women's fashion exhibition held in Sydney >>>   Why is it different for Muslim women? When women write about suffering in Islamic states they are slated for supporting a patronising attitude towards those societies. Why such double standards.The success of harrowing true stories of abuse and poverty led to a special label for books such as Dave Pelzer's A Child Called It or Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. But while we can disagree about the literary merits of such " >>>   Canadian Muslim Life in Danger For a Bra Photo Unfamiliar pill bottles have become all too familiar to Sooraya Graham. Anti-depressants and anxiety medication have found a home in her life where they were previously unwelcome and unneeded.Graham sits at home, wondering what she ever did to deserve such a fate.Kamloops, the city she once called home, is now just a memory. While Graham wishes it were a more distant one, this memory remains very >>>   Australia will have its first Muslim woman MP THE NSW Greens have announced academic Mehreen Faruqi will replace upper house MP Cate Faehrmann when she resigns later this year. Ms Faehrmann is leaving state politics to run for a seat in the senate.She entered parliament in 2010 and is the NSW Greens spokeswoman on environment, transport, roads and sport.In a statement, the party introduced Dr Faruqi as the academic director of the Master of B >>>   913 girls and women, including 99 minors, were killed in Honor Killings in Pakistan last year ISLAMABAD -- The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) says hundreds of women were killed in so-called honor killings in the country last year. In its annual report, the HRCP said 913 girls and women, including 99 minors, were killed in 2012.The report said 604 were killed after being accused of having illicit relations with men.Around 191 were reported slain for marrying their own choice of >>>   Saudi Arabia To Allow Women To Ride Bikes But With 5 Restrictions, woman must bring along her husband For the first time ever, a country which is notorious for its ultraconservative values has made an effort towards the relaxation of rules and regulations that have long suffocated a major chunk of its population.The women in Saudi Arabia may not have permission to drive cars, but the government has now allowed women to ride motorbikes and bicycles. There are some restrictions though, some ifs and >>>   Muslim girl discriminated for wearing hijab at Chicago school Chicago: The parents of a Muslim student said their daughter was discriminated against when a teacher sent her to the office for wearing traditional Muslim headwear- 'hijab'. School authorities, however, said the teacher was only following school policy regarding hats and head coverings. Attia Gray, 15, a sophomore at the Hammond Academy of Science and Technology, said her teacher looked a >>>   Saudi Arabia to allow women’s sports clubs for the first time Saudi Arabia is to license women’s sports clubs for the first time, al-Watan daily reported, in a major step for an ultra-religious country where clerics have warned against female exercise.Last year the conservative Islamic kingdom, where women must have permission from a male relative to take many big decisions, sent women athletes to the Olympics for the first time after pressure from int >>>   New Middle East Needs Fusion of Islam and Feminism As the Middle East reconfigures politically, post Arab Spring, women are fighting for their rights, but not at the expense of their faith, says Isobel Coleman in the new preface of her book "Paradise Beneath Her feet. Women face off with police in a protest in Cairo, Egypt.The new Middle East is still taking shape, but clearly, the Arab uprisings have brought Islamism--the belief that Islam >>>   Muslim Brotherhood opposes UN declaration on violence against women, reject idea of equality as undermining family values Egyptian women have been attacked while on demonstrations in order to discourage them from taking part. Muslim Brotherhood has held up finalisation and promulgation of a UN document dealing with violence against women, claiming it violates Islamic law, principles and traditions and undermines family values.The draft text, due to be issued by the UN Commission on the Status of Women today, calls fo >>>   The majority of Muslims physically attacked, harassed because of their faith are women in UK Muslim helpline reveals majority of faith attacks on womenTell MAMA, for victims of Islamophobia, logged more than 630 incidents during its first 12 monthsLady Warsi was threatened online by an English Defence League member The majority of Muslims physically attacked, harassed or intimidated because of their faith are women, according to the first results from the UK's official helpline for vi >>>   After Gadhafi, Libyan women now press back against rising Islamists On her way back from her job as a lecturer at a university near Tripoli, Libyan poet Aicha Almagrabi was stopped by a group of bearded militiamen. They kicked her car, beat up her driver and threatened to do the same to her. Her offense: being alone in a car with men without a male relative as a guardian."You have violated the law of God," the militiamen told her, Almagrabi said."I >>>   Iranian activists go topless to protest against hijab Members of the Iranian Communist Party and the Organization Against Violence on Women in Iran dedicated their action to International Women’s Day on March 8. Iranian female activists have taken a bold move to protest against the hijab (head cover) in Stockholm this week, shedding most of their clothes and painting slogans on their bodies in an effort to get their message across.The activists >>>   Designer’s scarves empower Muslim women Ithaca College will host Nancy Hoque, designer and founder of sixteenR.com, an online store that sells scarves for Muslim women.Hoque will address the campus at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Handwerker Gallery. She will speak about the use of the scarf as a tool of empowerment, perceptions of the headscarf and the evolution of Muslim women’s identities.SixteenR.com produces scarves based on the bel >>>   Muslim women lawyers aim to reconcile traditional beliefs with secular society On a sweltering day in mid-July, Azizah al-Hibri, founder and chair of Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights, presided over the graduation ceremony for the group’s 2012 Law and Leadership Summer Program. It was a festive occasion, held in the elegant drawing room of Karamah’s offices in Washington, D.C., housed in a building that once was the French ambassador’s residenc >>>   A modelling agency for Muslim women New York fashion designer Nailah Lymus has opened up the world of modeling, known for its bravado of skin show — for Muslim women. Her agency Underwraps, represents Muslims models proving that women can dress modestly and find themselves on the ramp.The 29-year-old stylist and designer who is a practicing Muslim says, “You can be modest and still be fashion-forward and stay true to you >>>   Nearly half Saudi women are beaten at home, Study shows desert people are less violent that other Saudi men Nearly half Saudi women are beaten up by their husbands or other family members at home and many of them are hit by sticks and head cover, according to a university study published in local newspapers on Tuesday.Surprisingly, the study found that the Bedouin men who still dwell the desert in the conservative Gulf Kingdom, are less violent than Saudi men in urban areas.The study was conducted by Dr >>>   Sharia law ban and Muslim wives, Muslim women in Kansas are hit by the Sharia law ban, as they are unable to claim compensation from their estranged men When Kansas State Senator Susan Wagle voted for Senate Bill 79 that would ban Sharia law in Kansas, she said that a vote in favour of the legislation was "a vote to protect women". "In this great country of ours, and in the state of Kansas," Wagle said, "women have equal rights."Her words echoed the sentiments of many of the 33 Senators in Kansas, in March 2012, who v >>>   Lebanese women take on Muslim judges who call rape a marital right Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) -- Lebanese women are taking to the streets to demand that the government takes domestic violence seriously, by introducing laws to protect women from abusive partners.Nadine Mouwad, a founder of feminist collective Nasawiya, says the prevalence of unveiled, glamorous women in Beirut can create the impression that Lebanon is more liberated from patriarchal cultural attitudes >>>   In Saudi Arabia: No for a woman cashier but yes for Misyar? Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University has licensed a study which one of its conclusions – I say this out of hope that it has other less shocking conclusions – goes as far as considering a woman’s work as a “cashier” at a mall is considered a form of “human trafficking because (the job) includes mixing and subjecting the woman to be tempted by men.” The >>>   Midwest Muslim women have difficulty seeking help IOWA CITY, Iowa | The 42-year-old woman, originally from Pakistan, married a man selected by her parents and came to the United States with a firm belief that her husband would respect her, value her opinion and encourage her ambitions.Those hopes remained a dream. The woman, who asked that her name not be used for her safety, said her husband brought her to the Midwest United States to cook, clea >>>   Muslim fashion designer Nailah Lymus promotes modest modelling Among the hundreds of shows during New York's Fashion Week, the presentation for the Ann Nahari label may be the only one in which the models are draped to conceal rather than reveal.A practicing Muslim and a fashion designer, Nailah Lymus, who designs a line for secular women who desire a little more modesty in their clothing, said that one can be more modest and still be fashion-forward and >>>   Turkey allows female lawyers to wear hijab in courts: source Female lawyers in Turkey won their right to don the Islamic headscarf, commonly known as hijab, AFP cited a Turkish judicial source as saying on Saturday.The State’s Council, which is the highest judicial authority in Turkey, has made a decision to allow women wearing hijab inside courts after it was banned. The decision was made after a female lawyer had complained that she was being religi >>>   Morocco’s only female minister says wearing hijab made her a media target Morocco’s only female minister claimed that the media has targeted her because she dons the Islamic headscarf, commonly known as the hijab.Minister of Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development, Bassima Hakkaoui, said since taking office in January 3, 2012, the media attempted to mar her credibility by reporting false news and information about her.Hakkaoui’s husband having a sec >>>   A historic decree for Saudi women The controversy surrounding women’s issues in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken on tremendous dimensions and sizes. It has preoccupied the public and stimulated debate within societies for many years, with public opinion ultimately becoming divided over the matter in a manner closer to hysteria than natural discourse. Indeed, when religion becomes involved in a social affair, the situati >>>   Russia Allows Muslim Women to Wear Headscarves in ID Photos The order says that it's allowed to take photographs of persons wearing head attire that doesn't cover the face of people whose religious convictions prevent them from having their head uncovered in the presence of strangers. Photographing in overcoats or scarves covering up part of the chin is not allowed," Federal Migration Service spokeswoman Zalina Kornilova told Interfax on Frida >>>   Get educated, gain empowerment, Indian Muslim women Women from Muslim community should come forward and start business units like women self help groups by obtaining loans, and achieve economic empowerment, Collector Jayashree Muralidharan has said. Presiding over a meeting organised by the District Muslim Women Aid Society in Tiruchi on Wednesday, Ms.Jayashree Muralidharan exhorted girls from the Muslim community to come forward in large numbers a >>>   Domestic violence campaign targets Scottish Muslims A new campaign asking Muslim men and women to speak out against domestic violence is being launched in Scotland.The Change This campaign wants people to report any violence they have seen or experienced.Muslim women's charity Amina will use Islamic teachings and an Imam to challenge the misconception that Islam allows violence against women. The charity said it was aware of many cases where pe >>>   Are Muslim Women Really Second Class Citizens? The Muslim world today is inundated with stereotypes and fallacies about women's role within society. Despite the Quran's clear promotion of women's rights in Islam, the interpretation of the Hadith and Quran by men has led to patriarchal structures and male dominated cultures. Ironically, Muslim women had more rights during the time of the Prophet in seventh century Arabia than they d >>>   Muslim Clerics Threaten Saudi Labor Minister with deadly prayers for Creating Jobs for Women About 200 religious figures meeting at the labor ministry on Tuesday asked Minister Adel Fakeih to ban women from working in lingerie shops. (Photo courtesy of aleqt.com) A group of religious figures in Saudi Arabia have threatened to strike the labor minister who seeks to create jobs for women with “deadly prayers.” They threatened to pray that he gets cancer like his predecessor Ghaz >>>   Muslim women & mutual divorce: Talaq should not be exercised by husband without wife's consensus In a first, some Muslim women have raised their voice against unilateral divorce by Muslim males. The issue raised by a female organisation in Mumbai is that talaq (divorce) should not be exercised by a husband without a consensus with his wife and that women too should have the right to divorce a husband. One has to examine this issue from the Shariah (Muslim law) point of view.The Quran has spec >>>   No Muslim woman as receptionist, says fatwa calling it illegal and against Sharia law Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has issued a fatwa against the appointment of Muslim women as receptionists, calling it illegal and against Sharia law.The fatwa was issued after a query on November 29 from a Pakistan-based company asking if it could appoint a Muslim woman as a receptionist.Darul Uloom said, “Muslim women working in offices as receptionist is un-Islamic because M >>>   First woman to lead Friday prayers in UK A Canadian author will become the first Muslim-born woman to lead a mixed-gender British congregation through Friday prayers tomorrow in a highly controversial move that will attempt to spark a debate about the role of female leadership within Islam.Raheel Raza, a rights activist and Toronto-based author, has been asked to lead prayers and deliver the khutbah at a small prayer session in Oxford.Sh >>>   Bangladeshi and Pakistani women are finally surging into the labour market in Britain A hidden explanation for Britain’s surprising job numbers: Bangladeshi and Pakistani women are finally surging into the labour marketIN AN upstairs room at the Jagonari women’s centre in east London, six women in colourful headscarves grin as an instructor enunciates simple English phrases from a whiteboard. The women are mostly new immigrants from Bangladesh, who are being taught Engl >>>   Female students in Saudi university banned from wearing trousers The Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University for women in Saudi Arabia has banned students from wearing trousers, urging them to abide by the campus dress code.The statement was mainly addressed to female students in the school of art and design, for reasons unstated by al-Hayat newspaper.The dress code bans students from wearing skirts made out of mesh, or see through materials and they must be >>>   In Male-Dominated World, Afghan Businesswoman Breaks Boundaries, Taboos Roya Mahboob is a rarity -- an Afghan woman in a position of power and influence. The 25-year-old tech entrepreneur is the CEO of Afghan Citadel Services, an IT firm she founded in the western city of Herat. Her staff of 20 software programmers -- more than half of them women -- develops computer software for government ministries, universities, and international organizations in Afghanistan.But i >>>   Indonesian politician divorce via text message his 17-year-old wife The marriage lasted four days and ended in divorce via text message, from the 40-year-old local politician to his 17-year-old wife. Aceng Fikri claimed his young bride Fani Oktara was not a virgin, as she had claimed, so he decided to end the union, his lawyer Ujang Suja'I said.She denied it, and in turn accused Aceng -- who is the head of the district of Garut in West Java -- of spreading bas >>>   Malaysia ministry reclassify female genital mutilation as medical practice Debate is raging in Malaysia over Muslim female genital mutilation as the country's health ministry reportedly develops guidelines to reclassify it as a medical practice.Debate is raging in Malaysia over Muslim female genital mutilation as the country's health ministry reportedly develops guidelines to reclassify it as a medical practice.In 2009, the Fatwa Committee of Malaysia's Natio >>>   In Pakistan, Moves To Ban A Tribal Marriage Custom Gul Ghotai has bitter memories of the day her suitor proposed marriage. The reason? This was no ordinary proposal but one made under an ancient Pashtun custom called "ghagh" that entitles a man to force his marriage proposal on a woman.Once invoked, ghagh -- which means "a call" -- can have various outcomes, none of them happy for the woman. She might end up being married again >>>   Saudi school books feature women’s photos for the first time Photos of women had been banned in all school books in both girls’ and boys’ schools since the inception of Saudi state education in 1926. (Courtesy: Al-Hayat) For the first time in the public education system in Saudi Arabia, photos of women have been added to English high school books, the al-Hayat newspaper reported on Tuesday.Photos of women had been banned in all school books in b >>>   Turkey has lifted a ban on female students wearing headscarves in schools, critic from seculars The headscarf ban has polarized society in Turkey, with some seeing the garment as a symbol of their Muslim faith and others viewing it as a challenge to the country’s secular constitution (Reuters) Turkey has lifted a ban on female students wearing headscarves in schools providing religious education, in a move drawing criticism from secularists who see it as fresh evidence of the governmen >>>   A 14-year Afghan girl Beheaded for rejecting marriage proposal KONDUZ, Afghanistan -- Two men have been arrested in Afghanistan's northern province of Konduz in connection with the beheading of a 14-year-old girl. Local police officer Nizamuddin Hakimi told RFE/RL that the girl's body was found late on November 27 in the province’s Imam Sahib District.Hakimi said that a preliminary investigation revealed that the two suspects had asked the girl& >>>   Bangladeshi Wife forced to remarry unfaithful husband who threw acid into her face A WOMAN whose unfaithful husband threw acid in her face after she divorced him has now been coerced into remarrying her violent former partner. Nurbanu divorced her husband of 18 years eight days before he returned and threw acid in her face in Shatkhira in south west Bangladesh. She had originally ended the marriage after she found him with another woman."My husband went into hiding. After 1 >>>   Saudi women stand up to guardianship laws Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA: Criticism of the Saudia Arabian government and the Ministry of Interior is mounting among global women’s rights and human rights activists as an app for mobile tracking technology has been approved for use by the Parliament of Saudi Arabia to track women who may wish to travel. To the disdain of numerous global advocates, the government has recently sanctioned the new t >>>   Saudi women to work in abaya shops The Ministry of Labor will start allowing women to work in accessories and abaya stores within six month.Fahd Al-Nikhaifi, assistant undersecretary in the Ministry of Labor and director of women's employment in private sector, said the plan excluded perfume and eyeglasses stores.Al-Nikhaifi said the ministry's strategy is to follow up on the implementation of the resolution by appointing s >>>   Saudi women monitored by electronic system that tracks any border crossing, male guardian get messages on phone  Women in Saudi Arabia face a new law allowing airport security to report their movements to their male "guardiansDENIED the right to travel without consent from their male guardians and banned from driving, women in Saudi Arabia are now monitored by an electronic system that tracks any cross-border movements. Since last week, Saudi women's male guardians began receiving text message >>>   Saudi man marries schoolgirl, teacher and principal and he is also married to a fourth wife Imagine a schoolgirl attending class, knowing that both her teacher and principal share the same husband. Awkward much?Well, for a Saudi man who married the three women, it may just be an example of love conquering all.The man, 50, was not named by the Saudi-based Okaz newspaper which reported the marital muddle.But his attraction to all things academic does not end there. The man is also married >>>   The invisibility of the Saudi woman, conference on contemporary women held in Saudi Arabia I was struck the other day by the message that two unrelated photographs conveyed.One was of President Barack Obama on stage with his wife, Michelle, and daughters Sasha and Malia, moments before he gave his victory speech after his re-election Tuesday night. The other photo was of a conference on contemporary women held in Saudi Arabia. There were no women in the photo, but hundreds of men in sho >>>   Iran To Restrict Women's Right To Travel Lawmakers in Iran are preparing to consider legislation that may drastically alter an adult woman's ability to obtain a passport and travel outside the country. The draft law, set to go before the 290-seat Majlis, stipulates that single women up to the age of 40 must receive official permission from their father or male guardian in order to obtain travel documents.Under current law, all Irania >>>   Emirati female weightlifter dreams of Olympics Twenty-three year old Amna al-Haddad trains five times a week under the close eye of a trainer in a private gym in Dubai - one of a small group of women training as competitive weightlifters in the country.But, it is not just the physical pain of weightlifting she faces but also that of prejudice surrounding the sport, regarded in the Arab world as a male sport.Haddad says she faced opposition fro >>>   PEN Day Of The Imprisoned Writer: Jailed Voices That Must Not Be Silenced "When your heart trembles for the rights of another human, that is when you begin to slip, that is when the interrogations begin.... When you find faith in people and believe in humanity and nothing else, that is when you commit your first crime." Jailed Iranian journalist, activist, and blogger Shiva Nazar Ahari, 28, wrote these words in a letter to a fellow prisoner. In September, Ahar >>>   Saudi woman sues ministry over driving ban A Saudi women’s rights activist said on Monday she has filed a lawsuit against the interior ministry over a decree banning women from obtaining driving licenses in the ultra-conservative kingdom.Nassima al-Sadah is the third woman to file such a lawsuit this year over the rule which enforces a traditional ban on women driving in the Muslim desert nation.“I filed the lawsuit against the >>>   1/9  NEXT   End