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16/7/2010
UK: Women Faith Leaders

A woman led Muslim prayers in Oxford last week. Her actions and those of others like her, across faiths, deserve our support. Only Muslim women from abroad dare lead men in Friday prayers in the UK.  Canadian, Raheel Raza, became the second Muslim woman to do so at the Muslim Educational Centre in Oxford last week. African American convert, Amina Wadud, was the first Muslim woman to lead mixed prayers at the same centre in 2008.  It’s not surprising that British Muslim women are not brave enough to follow their footsteps - both have been demonised, labelled as heretics and have received death threats after leading men in prayers in their own countries.

16/7/2010
Egypt: Administrative Court defers appointment of female judges

ECWR was shocked when it received the decision of the State Council, Egypt’s Administrative Court, to defer the appointment of female judges, although consensus of the Special Council was reached, allowing women to be appointed to judicial positions. The State Council attributed reason for the delay in approving the appointment of female judges to regulation problems, including a lack of safe and secure places for women to stay when presiding over a trial and a lack of nurseries for their children.

9/7/2010
Thailand: Roles and Challenges for Muslim Women in Southern Border Provinces

The report “Rules and Challenges for Malay Muslim Women in the Restive Southern Border Provinces of Thailand” was first presented at the Conference on Religious Activism & Women’s Development in Southeast Asia: Highlighting Impediments, Exploring Opportunities, organized by Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA), Singapore National University, on 20 November 2009. This report focuses on the roles of Malay Muslim women in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand who have to face life amidst problems, obstacles and difficulties in bringing up their families in a time when violence forces them to stand forward as leaders.

9/7/2010
Indonesia: Women point to biases in Koranic exegesis

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the National Commission on Violence Against Women and Children are hopeful their newly launched book will change the views of the Indonesian Muslim community surrounding women and their rights. Breaking the Silence: Religion listens to the voice of women victims of violence for the sake of justice, launced on June 30, is intended to serve as a reference for clerics, Islamic women's organizations and the government, in promoting progressi

9/7/2010
United States: Octavia Nasr fired from CNN for expressing respect for Ayotallah Fadlallah

CNN—a pioneer in global broadcasting and at one time a major force in world journalism —fired twenty year veteran editor Octavia Nasr for a 140 character twitter tweet that expressed “respect” for a highly respected Shi’ite Muslim cleric, Ayotallah Fadlallah. 

9/7/2010
Iraq: The Campaign ‘Reform of the hijab’

In a new campaign of its kind, created by a group calling itself the ‘Centre of al-Kadamiyya for Civil Society’, in June 2010 the group started a campaign called ‘Reform of the Hijab’. Some activists in Iraq believe that the government has a role in distributing tens of adverts in the streets of the neighbourhood of al-Kadamiyya (North Baghdad), placing them near the military checkpoints that are spread all over the city. Some of these adverts and pictures show uncovered or partly-covered women in such a way as to suggest they are somehow disgusting or ugly.

9/7/2010
Afghanistan: Marriage for young victim of rape

Here in Afghanistan, Samia's story is typical – its happy ending is not. Samia is a rape victim, but now it's the morning of her wedding. By late afternoon, she will be married in a private ceremony in Karte Se, Kabul. One of the 150 guests at this extraordinary marriage ceremony will be the activist and suspended MP Malalai Joya: Samia's handsome husband-to-be, Faramarz, has been one of Ms Joya's bodyguards for more than four years.

9/7/2010
UPDATE: Iran: Sentence of stoning denied, but Mohammadi Ashtiani may still face execution
8/7/2010
Iran: Norwegian and British foreign offices issue condemnations of stoning sentence of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani

UK FCO Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt has called on Iran to put an immediate stay to the execution of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani by stoning. Speaking on Ms Mohammadi-Ashtiani's case, Alistair Burt said: "I am deeply distressed by reports of the imminent execution of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani by stoning in Iran. Stoning is a medieval punishment that has no place in the modern world. The continued use of such a punishment in Iran demonstrates a blatant disregard for international human rights commitments which it has entered into freely, as well as the interests of its people.

7/7/2010
Indonesia: Islamists target Christians in city of Bekasi

A banner with a picture of a young, bespectacled Christian man is draped in front of the mosque, a fiery noose around his neck and the words: "This man deserves the death penalty!" Churches are shut down. And an Islamic youth militia prepares for its first day of training. Though the events all occur less than 5 miles (10 kilometers) from Indonesia's bustling capital, making headlines in local papers and dominating chats on social networking sites such as Facebook, they've spaked little public debate in the halls of power.