HomeNews Iran's women football fans dream of a return to the terraces Women football fans in Iran are hoping to use the next major international championship in Tehran to return to the terraces. Women have not been allowed to watch men's football games since 2006They say the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-16 Championship this September and October will give them an opportunity to end a long-standing ban that prevents women attending football matches be >>>   Egypt’s liberals call for sexual harassment law The Free Egyptians Party took part in a protest organized by women’s rights organizations in central Cairo against the sexual harassment phenomenonEgypt’s liberal Free Egyptians Party (FEP) declared its support for the calls by women’s rights organizations and NGOs , which called for anti-harassment laws, an Egyptian online news website reported on Monday.The party said it stands >>>   Women have joined the military for the first time in Saudi Arabia Saudi women check travelers' papers at passport control at a border crossing.Thirty women were recruited as privates at the Passport Department’s offices at border crossings like King Fahd Causeway and Salwa border point in the east of the Kingdom.A recent study of Naif University for Security Sciences’ Studies and Research Center showed that Saudi women have been embarking on sec >>>   Football championship games opened to Iranian women Ali Kafashian, the head of Iran’s Football Federation, has announced that Iranian women can attend the Asian Youth Football Championship games in Tehran.The Shargh Newspaper reports that Kafashian said: “We follow the regulation of the Asian Football Confederation and act along its requirements.”The chairman of the national competitions committee of AFC told ISNA that, according >>>   Pressure on the IOC to ban Saudi Arabia from Olympic games in London is growing The IOC president tells Channel 4 News he is "optimistic" Saudi women will be able to compete in London 2012. But pressure on the IOC to issue a ban is growing. "Olympism is a philosophy of life, which places sport at the service of humankind." So reads the first page of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) charter - a worthy statement putting society and human right >>>   Women’s rights threatened in Morocco as Salafists assault, strip woman Women in Morocco worried over spate of assaults.Women’s rights in Morocco have come under the spotlight recently after a young woman was assaulted in a Rabat market by people she called “Salafists,” or ultra-conservative Islamists. She said she was accosted by the men because of the short dress she was wearing.Other witnesses were reported by the Magharebia news portal as saying >>>   Palestinian policewomen break traditional stereotypes Palestinian women stand in line behind their male counterpartsIt is rare to see women police officers on the streets in any part of the Arab world.But in the Palestinian territories where civil police are themselves, a relatively new concept, concerted efforts are under way to bring more women into the force.In Hebron, the West Bank's biggest city, there are now about 50 women among the 900 p >>>   Kuwait Islamists oppose women to become judges Five Kuwaiti lawmakers are pushing for barring women from becoming judges under an amendment of the relevant legislationManama: Five Kuwaiti lawmakers are pushing for barring women from becoming judges under an amendment of the relevant legislation. MPs Khalid Al Sultan, Ammar Al Ajmi, Abdul Lateef Al Umair, Nayef Al Mirdas and Mohammad Al Kindari said in their proposal to the parliament that the >>>   The Muslim women who are excelling at top-level sport There are many barriers facing women from ethnic minorities from becoming involved in sport - but that is all now changing Salma Bi (right) … 'The main challenge is family support'. Photograph: Nick WilkinsonkOn a recent weekday evening at London's Wembley Stadium, half a dozen Muslim women, some wearing headscarves, were taking it in turns to flip over some male opponents with >>>   Husband guilty of hitting his wife sentenced to read books that explain relations between spouses in Islam Husband condemned to reading rights books for hitting his wifeA Saudi national found guilty of hitting his wife has been sentenced to reading two books that explain relations between spouses in Islam. He will later sit for a test on what he learned from the booksManama: A Saudi national found guilty of hitting his wife has been sentenced to reading two books that explain relations between spouses >>>   Taliban shut down Afghan girls' schools The Afghan Ministry of Education says 550 schools in 11 provinces where the Taliban enjoy popular support have been shut recently.Headmaster Abdul Rahman was heading to work when a man he believes was a member of the Taliban accosted him and warned him to shut his high school in eastern Afghanistan or face the consequences.Rahman agreed and his school, which teaches girls and boys, became one of m >>>   Egypt’s women will press newly-elected president to appoint female Vice President Egyptian women will call on the country’s newly-elected president to appoint a woman in the post of Vice President, an Egyptian daily reported on Tuesday.Head of the National Council for Women (NCW) Mervat al-Talawi was quoted by the state-run al-Ahram daily as saying that she will ask the winner in the country’s forthcoming presidential election to appoint a woman as his Vice Presiden >>>   Indian Islamic seminary issues fatwa, says avoid polygamy New Delhi: A landmark fatwa issued by a leading Indian seminary to avoid practice of polygamy has stirred interest in India, which is home to 150 million Muslims.The fatwa issued by a mufti at the leading Deoband Islamic seminary located in Deoband town in northern India had said earlier this month, that marrying more than once made it “hard to provide equal justice to two wives in the India >>>   Saudi woman matters In one media release, Princess Hessa bint Salman, a well-known female figure and a patron of some women activities in the Kingdom, underscored the significance of various government and private organizations in fulfilling their social responsibility by ensuring the participation of women in the development of national industries.The press release goes on "Princess Hessa was attending a ceremo >>>   Egypt: National Women’s Council refuses to help female detainees Over a dozen women were arrested in Cairo recently, during the clashes outside the Ministry of Defense.CAIRO: Azza Haikal, member of the Women’s National Council said that the council will not intervene to defend the women who were arrested in Abbassiya on Friday as it is not a ‘national or patriotic cause’. The member of newly restructured council rejected the notion that the co >>>   Wearing the hijab for a week, opportunity for non-Muslim female students to wear head scarf When Forest Park resident Sarah Reich heard that the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at the University of Illinois - Chicago was providing an opportunity for non-Muslim female students to wear the head scarf, called the "hijab," for a week, she intuitively knew she had to take advantage of the opportunity.Reich, a senior psychology major who will graduate from UIC in May, wrote the foll >>>   UK Muslim woman beat 10 year old girl with steel ladle for not reading enough Koran, 56 wounds the child body Doctors found 56 wounds the child's body Asia Parveen also forced the girl to stand arms outstretched for four hours Police found her after she escaped from the house in north LondonA Muslim woman who repeatedly beat a 10-year-old girl with a steel ladle for not reading enough verses of the Koran is facing jail today. Asia Parveen, 31 brandished a knife at the child after accusing her of lying >>>   Morocco 30,000 minor girls married every year, Islamist want right to marry off girls over age 9 Morocco Still Divided Over Marriage of MinorsThe widespread practice of marrying minors continues to be one of the most incendiary legal and political issues in Morocco today, causing open confrontations between hard-line Islamists and moderates throughout the country.Speaking on national television last month, Mohammed Abdenabawi, an official of the Ministry of Justice, declared that 30,000 minor >>>   Women-only Saudi village bans women who not dressed conservatively or dressed like men,to combat alien phenomena The Women’s Village in Sakakah in Saudi Arabia has disallowed women dressed in attire deemed to violate societal norms from entering its premises.An all-female village in Saudi banned women who are not dressed conservatively or dressed like men from entering the village grounds in an attempt to combat “alien” phenomena that violate social traditions and spread negative practices. >>>   Dubai to ensure decent working and living conditions for domestic workers, more rights for housemaids Residents, employers welcome more rights for domestic workers Draft law expected to reduce maltreatment of housemaidsAccording to the Ministry of Interior’s statistics at the end of 2007, there were around 750,000 domestic workers in the UAE. Abu Dhabi/Dubai: A new draft law which aims to ensure decent working and living conditions for domestic workers, was well received by various segments >>>   Cervical cancer is less among Muslim women than among women from other communities in India NEW DELHI: The incidence of cervical cancer is less among Muslim women, than among women from other communities, a research paper by a leading oncologist has said.Professor of Medicine Haematology and Oncology Arun Seth from St John’s Medical College Hospital in Bangalore, south Central India presented a paper on cancer mortality in the country, in which he also says that the country suffers >>>   Saudi Woman Sentenced to Lashing for Driving Finally Won and Will Not Be Whipped Nearly a year after she was arrested for defying the law banning women from driving, Shaima Jastaniah has finally won a reprieve from her sentence. Saudi women in Riyadh speak to the media after driving their vehicles in defiance of the ban on driving. ReutersJastaniah was one of many Saudi women who got behind the wheel last summer to protest the archaic law forbidding women from driving, which >>>   Body piercing trend rises among Saudi women to defy societal norm There is a growing number of Saudi women getting their lips, tongue and eyebrow pierced for reasons ranging from cosmetic to wanting to defy societal norm. Several trends seen as imported from Western cultures have invaded Saudi Arabia and encouraged women to seek change through them. While clothes and accessories seem like the most traditional influences, piercing is the latest and most outr >>>   Tortured Afghan Bride Defies The Odds, They Wanted Me To Do Bad Things When we last left her, Sahar Gul was in dire straits. The 15-year-old Afghan newlywed, who was allegedly tortured by her husband and in-laws and kept in a basement for several months, was near death when she was rescued about two weeks ago. KABUL -- Sahar Gul, the young Afghan bride whose harrowing ordeal at the hands of her in-laws attracted international media attention, has received some solace >>>   Iranian-Canadian designs hijab for Muslim soccer players Elham Seyed Javad, who founded the company iQo Quebec, manufactures a sports hijab for FIFA, which could be carried by thousands of Muslim women worldwide. (SARAH-MAUDE LEFEBVRE/QMI Agency)MONTREAL - The international soccer governing body will consider a prototype of a sports hijab designed by an Iranian-Canadian.The International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its acronym >>>   Turkish fashion magazine appeals to fashionable Muslim women who wear a veil Magazine's sales figures are catching up with Turkish 'Elle' and 'Cosmopolitan'.The staff of the magazine are firm believers that wearing the veil is perfectly compatible with style and femininity.A new magazine has filled a gap in the market in Turkey: Âlâ is a monthly publication aimed at women who wear a veil. After just a few months, it's already selling alm >>>   Muslim scholar launched campaign against forced marriage in Scotland, We need to overcome this cancer that's in our community Shaykh Amer Jamil says the practice has no place in Islam. During the next few weeks leaflets and sermons are being given in mosques as part of an initiative to educate the community."In the Muslim community there's a misconception amongst some people that religion allows this, that parents have an Islamic right to choose partner of their children, and that they don't have a choice in >>>   Chechen women in mortal fear as president backs Islamic honor killings ACHXOY-MARTAN, Chechnya — Chechnya's government is openly approving of families that kill female relatives who violate their sense of honor, as this Russian republic embraces a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam after decades of religious suppression under Soviet rule.Couples on dates must meet in public and sit a distance from each other. All physical contact is forbidden before mar >>>   India Aligarh Muslim University for the first time elected woman to its influential teacher association After being in the news for alleged gender bias, the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has for the first time elected a woman to its influential teacher's association.S. Chandni Bi, assistant professor of history, has been elected to the powerful executive council of the AMUTA (Aligarh Muslim Unversity Teachers Association), officials said."It's a significant development and I hope to f >>>   Pakistani Women Unite to Battle Religious Extremism Sameena Imtiaz, a soft-spoken, educated Pakistani social worker, operates in the midst of U.S. drone strikes and Taliban suicide bombings. She regularly travels to remote parts of her country in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, infamously known for the safe Al-Qadea and Taliban sanctuaries, to promote peace education among the radicalized you >>>   New filmmaker screens Arab world’s first documentary about sexual abuse In her first documentary, a thespian-turned-filmmaker records the tragic stories of Arab women sexually abused during childhood. The Greenhouse-supported film aims to break a social tabooWhen Palestinian actress and director Abeer Zeibak Haddad wrote a puppet play for children about sexual abuse, she soon discovered that, despite the play winning four local children theatre’s awards, no one >>>   Spate of attacks on unveiled women in Yemen SANA’A: Local residents in Aden told Bikyamasr.com that al-Qaeda militants in the region were now targeting unveiled women: harassing them, and at least one instance, physically abusing them as they are trying to enforce the full face veil.Although the Qur’an only specifies that a woman should cover her hair, neck and ears, Ansar al-Sharia chose to understand this somewhat differently, >>>   Saudi Arabia considers allowing women sport clubs Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah United team participated in a basketball match against a Malaysian team in Kuala Lampur in February this year. (Reuters)Saudi Arabia has set up a ministerial committee to consider allowing women’s sports clubs, al-Watan daily newspaper reported on Saturday, despite opposition to female exercise from religious conservatives.Abdullah al-Zamil, a senior official fro >>>   Female British Muslims fearless starting to challenge inequalities that faced them for generations Female British Muslims are at last finding their voice'It is heartening to see a proliferation in Muslim women’s networks and forums right across the UK.' Photograph: Linda Nylind for the GuardianAnyone who has worked in British Muslim communities will tell you the very notion of women's rights is still considered a taboo subject. Like many women who have spent years challenging >>>   Muslim Fashion Fascinates Australia Interweaving their faith with modern fashion, Australia Muslims are creating a new, flourished brand of modest clothes that apply to the needs of Islamic faith and everyday life. “Modest fashion is one of the fashion industry’s largest potential growth areas,” says Glynis Jones, curator of Faith, Fashion, Fusion: Muslim Women’s Style in Australia, a ground-breaking exhibiti >>>   Saudi man divorces wife during live radio talk with religious scholar advising him because travelling without his approval His wife “offended his manhood because she was not obeying her husband, a matter that is very important in IslamSheikh Ghazi al-Shammari said his advice was legitimate and not damaging to marital relationsA Saudi man accepted the advice of a prominent religious scholar on Saturday and divorced his wife during a live radio program tackling marital issues. The man phoned the program to complai >>>   Moroccan Islamist PM refuses to talk with female Belgian minister, insults MP for being woman From Point Abdelilah Benkiran does not seem to conceive that a foreign government could send a female representative to talk with him. During the whole meeting he talked strictly with Belgian minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders and refused to speak with the Belgian minister of JusticeMoroccan PM Abdelilah Benkirane recently met in Rabat with two Belgian ministers: Minister of Foreign Affai >>>   Muslim Women in India Seek Gender Equality in Marriage NEW DELHI -- Three years ago, Salma Khatun's husband divorced her in a fit of rage after a quarrel, pronouncing what is known as the triple talaq in the presence of witnesses. The triple talaq is a formula of repudiation. The first two times it is pronounced, it can be revoked, but the third time it makes a divorce binding, according to some interpretations of Islamic law.Although Ms. Khatun&# >>>   Young Moroccans Women Keep Arab-Spring Spirit Alive The youth-led Feb. 20 Movement in Morocco has simmered down to a core group that includes many female activists. They're keeping an eye on constitutional reforms enacted last year that some say didn't go far enough. "We want real, radical change," says one. RABAT, Morocco (Zineb Belmkaddem hadn't ever given much serious thought to political activism. She didn't believe sh >>>   Saudi women threatened to follow fatwa which allows breastfeed their drivers & turn them their sons Riyadh: Saudi women plan to turn a controversial fatwa (religious ruling) to their advantage and launch a campaign to achieve their long-standing demand to drive in this conservative kingdom. If the demand is not met, the women threatened to follow through the fatwa which allows them to breastfeed their drivers and turn them into their sons. The campaign will be launched under the slogan: "We >>>   Saudi girls school defies clerics with basketball The school in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province has now become the first state-run girls school openly to encourage sports, Watan reported, quoting a supervisor as saying it would expend pupils’ energy “in a positive way”.A girls’ school in Saudi Arabia has defied a religious ban on female sports by initiating basketball hoops and letting pupils play at break-time, the >>>   Egypt women urge MPs not to pass early marriage, allowing husband to have sex with his dead wife Egypt’s National Council for Women (NCW) has appealed to the Islamist-dominated parliament not to approve two controversial laws on the minimum age of marriage and allowing a husband to have sex with his dead wife within six hours of her death according to a report in an Egyptian newspaper. The appeal came in a message sent by Dr. Mervat al-Talawi, head of the NCW, to the Egyptian People&rsq >>>   Saudi Grand Mufti, Girls ready to marry at age 10 years according to Islam, Our mothers married age 12 Saudi's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh. The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia has reportedly voiced his support marriage for the marriage of under-age females in the kingdom, while condemning those who seek to raise the legal marriage age.A girl is ready to marry at 10 or 12 years of age according to Islam, London-based Al Hayat reported Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al Sheikh as saying, adding that Is >>>   Husband set his first wife on fire for insulting his second wife, Pakistan Karachi Police Monday charged a man with allegedly setting his wife on fire after dousing her with petrol as punishment for insulting his second wife. The incident occurred on Sunday evening in Thatta district, some 135km east of Karachi. Reports identified the man as Qasim Maachi, a resident of Makli. The victim was identified as Mumtaz. Burns to 50% of her body Mumtaz sustained burns to 50 per c >>>   Muslim women reinterpret Koran, fighting medieval interpretations with modern scholarship ISTANBUL (TrustLaw)—When it comes to Islamic law, one short verse in the Koran poses one very big obstacle to advocates for Muslim women’s rights--but they may have found a way around it.A worker cuts a sticker on a helmet at Taracitra Kusuma motorcycle helmet factory in Cikarang, Indonesia's West Java province February 20, 2012. REUTERS/BeawihartaThe key is fighting medieval inter >>>   Florida high school football team don hijab to show solidarity with their Muslim captain HOLLYWOOD – Cheering up their Muslim teammate, a Floridian high school football team decided to don hijab before their season finale game to show solidarity with their Muslim captain who has been taunted repeatedly over her religious outfit."Everybody looked at us weird," West Broward senior Marilyn Solorzano told Sun Sentinel website on Friday, April 20."I understand now ever >>>   Feminism, Brotherhood Style, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood have their own take on women's liberation Azza al-Garf wants to film our interview. I don't want her to. The parliamentarian from Egypt's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, says it's party policy. I tell her I've never had another FJP politician tape an interview, and I offer to send her the audio recording I'm about to start. She refuses. Garf is obviously hesitant and wary. E >>>   Islamist MPs criticize niqab-ban for nurses Members of Parliament’s Health Committee, who belong to the Islamist Freedom and Justice and Nour parties, have denounced certain hospitals and nursing schools for banning nurses from wearing the niqab.“The niqab does not impede their work nor prevent patients from identifying their nurses,” said MP Fawzi Hamed.“We must thank - not punish - a nurse wearing the niqab but doi >>>   Depriving women of inheritance violation of Islam: Egyptian cleric Egyptian women in a demonstration, carry blue placards that read, “I want my sister’s rights.”An official of the esteemed al-Azhar university in Minya governorate in Upper Egypt, Sheikh Mahmoud Abd al-Hafeeth, said that depriving women of their inheritance violates all principles of Islam, reported a website on Saturday. Hafeeth said that denying women their legitimate right was >>>   Police foil party for 5-year-old bride’s parents, plan to marry off a 5-year-old Pakistani girl The minor girl was being married off to an 18-year-old, who will be nominated as accused PESHAWAR: Police on Friday managed to foil a plan to marry off a minor girl to an 18-year-old boy in the outskirts of Peshawar.“They were informed that marriage of underage girls is illegal and they were shocked,” a policeman, who was part of the raid, told The Express Tribune. “They said we& >>>   Why Arab women still have no voice >>>   Abnormal fear of women on the rise in Saudi Arabia, Gynophobia Psychologists define gynophobia as an abnormal fear of women. The cause may be referred to a bad experience at a young age or mistreatment by society. When society adopts a negative attitude toward women, it deprives a large resource of its potential to be part of its progress and allows seeds of conflict to become stumbling blocks in its natural development.An extreme case is how the local commun >>>   British Muslim career women choosing polygamous relationships because of lack of suitable men Muslim career women in Britain are choosing to become involved in polygamous relationships because of a lack of suitable men.Some of them even choosing to become second or third wives to married men, according to the Islamic Sharia Council.The charity, based in Britain, gives legal guidance to Muslims and has said it is receiving a high number of queries from women struggling to find suitable part >>>   A Discussion About Secularism&Women’s Rights in Egypt With Reem Abdel Razek Reem Abdul Razak uses social networking to publicize her Ideas about Women's Rights and Gender Equality- Can you tell us about yourself Reem?I am a nineteen year old college student interested in science ,philosophy and literature. I advocate women’s rights and gender equality.- Why have you decided to take off the veil?There were a bunch of pro-veil ad campaigns that ironically opened m >>>   Arabs believe women will be better off in post-revolution where political Islam is on the rise Most Arabs believe women will be better off in post-revolutionary countries where political Islam is on the rise, an opinion poll indicatesAccording to the Doha Debates poll, 75 per cent of the respondents believed women's prospects would be brighter as the quality of life would improve and women, as active agents of the revolutions, would continue their movement and fight for their rights. Pa >>>   Indian Middle class Muslim women still victims of bias Muslim women from middle class homes continue to battle discrimination despite efforts by the government and non-profit organisations to empower them, says veteran filmmaker-activist Rama Pandey, who is serialising her encounters with 26 women from the community in three volumes of stories.Her book, "Begum Bano Aur Khatoon", a collection of seven plays in Hindi, was unveiled in the capit >>>   Justice Ministry to establish the age of consent for Saudi women to marry The Justice Ministry will soon make an announcement to establish the age of consent for Saudi women to marry, local daily Al-Madinah reported yesterday quoting an official source at the ministry.Director of the Department of Marriage at the ministry Muhammad Al-Babtain said a decision on the issue would soon be announced following the agreement of departments in the ministry involved on deciding o >>>   Protests against veil ban in Tunisian universities bring lectures to a halt Lectures have been stopped at an arts college in University of Manouba after Salafi students protested discriminatory measures against face veiled students.The controversy over the face veil, which emerged following the fall of former Tunisian President Zein Abidine Ben Ali’s secular regime, has resurfaced again on campus with lectures coming to a halt following ongoing disputes on the issu >>>   Afghan schoolgirls poisoned in anti-education attack About 150 Afghan schoolgirls were poisoned on Tuesday after drinking contaminated water at a high school in the country's north, officials said, blaming it on conservative radicals opposed to female education. Since the 2001 toppling of the Taliban, which banned education for women and girls, females have returned to schools, especially in Kabul.But periodic attacks still occur against girls, >>>   Arab woman willing to pay $1.3 million to find suitable husband For the second year in a row, Arabic press is circulating a story of an anonymous Saudi woman who is ready to pay SR. 5 million ($1,330,000) to find a suitable husband. The women whose identity is not yet known by the Arabic magazine Roa that published her request. The lady has said applicants can communicate by e-mail or fax their interest. “Applicants should provide their contact number so >>>   1/18  NEXT   End