Empowerment

United Kingdom: Kurdish women's grassroots organisation launches website

Press Release: Roj Women is an umbrella site that seeks to publicise the work of Roj Women’s Association, a women’s charity working on community development in the UK, and of its political branch, Roj Women’s Assembly, that campaigns for far-reaching legal and political reforms in Turkey. Roj Women strives to give Kurdish women, whether in their countries of origin or in the diaspora, a voice to publicise the gender and racial discrimination they face. Beyond raising awareness at the national and international levels, Roj Women campaigns for change and offers services to support Kurdish women and child victims of male and military violence.

Mediterranean: Publication of 2009 annual report of EMHRF

The year 2009 has highlighted the recurring situations confronting defenders in the southern and eastern Mediterranean. These situations are closely linked to the nature of their activities but they are also related to broad political trends at the national and international levels. It is in this context that the Euro-Mediterranean Foundation of Support to Human Rights Defenders (EMHRF) increased its responsibilities and provided assistance to 36 defenders in 2009.

La méditerranée: Publication du rapport annuel 2009 de la FEMDH

La Fondation euro-méditerranéenne de soutien aux défenseurs des droits de l’Homme (FEMDH) qui a pour objectif de soutenir les défenseurs dans les pays du sud de la méditerranée publie aujourd’hui son rapport annuel 2009. Le rapport met l’accent sur les actions entreprises par la FEMDH au cours de l’année 2009.

السعودية: سعوديات يهددن بارضاع سائقيهن اذا لم يسمح لهن بقيادة السيارات

قالت احد الصحف بأن نساء سعوديات يخططن لاستثمار فتوى "ارضاع الكبير" في اطار حملة لتحقيق مطلبهن السماح لهن بقيادة السيارات.واضافت الصحيفة انه في حال عدم الاستجابة لمطلبهن، فان هؤلاء النسوة سيتبعن هذه الفتوى التي تجيز لهن ارضاع سائقيهن بهدف تحويلهم الى ابناء لهن بالرضاعة. ونقل عن الصحفية السعودية امل زاهد قولها انه سيتم اطلاق الحملة تحت شعار "اما ان تسمحوا لنا بقيادة السيارات او سنرضع الاجانب".وقالت زاهد ان قرارهن يتبع فتوى اطلقها عالم دين سعودي بارز وتقول ان بامكان النساء السعوديات ارضاع سائقين الاجانب من اجل تحويلهم الى ابناء لهن بالرضاع.

Saudi Arabia: Women threaten to breastfeed drivers if they aren't allowed to drive

Many were stunned when Saudi cleric Sheik Abdel Mohsen Obeikan recently issued a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, calling on women to give breast milk to their male colleagues or men they come into regular contact with so as to avoid illicit mixing between the sexes. But a group of Saudi women has taken the controversial decree a step further in a new campaign to gain the right to drive in the ultra-conservative kingdom, media reports say. If they're not granted the right to drive, the women are threatening to breastfeed their drivers to establish a symbolic maternal bond.

بريطانيا: اول أمرأة مسلمة تأم المسلمين في صلاة الجمعة

فى خطوة تثير الكثير من الجدل قامت المؤلفة الكندية المسلمة راهيل رازا بإمامة المصلين في صلاة الجمعة اليوم في المركز الإسلامي بمدينة أوكسفورد البريطانية لتكون أول امرأة ـ ولدت مسلمة ـ تتولى هذه الإمامة في بريطانيا. وكانت رازا والتي يطلق عليها أحيانا "راحيل رضا" قد دعيت لهذه الصلاة من جانب الإمام تاج هارجي الذي يدير المركز التعليمي الإسلامي في أوكسفورد والذي يؤيد الصلاة متعددة الأجناس ولا يعارض إمامة النساء في صلاة الجمعة. وتعد رازا ناشطة حقوقية من مدينة تورنتو الكندية ومدافعة عن حقوق المرأة المسلمة وتوليها الأدوار القيادية في المساجد، وقد تعرضت لبعض التهديدات بالقتل بعد أن قامت بإمامة المصلين ـ من الرجال والنساء ـ في صلاة الجمعة من قبل في تورنتو قبل خمسة أعوام.

Kyrgyzstan: Transitional Leader to Steer Country Through Troubled Times

The appointment of Roza Otunbaeva as head of state for a transition period of a year and a half is an attempt to ensure Kyrgyzstan has a strong hand on the tiller until the planned political reforms have taken root. The reasons for elevating Otunbaeva, named as acting prime minister in the administration that came to power in early April, are understandable. There are, however, also a number of problems and potential pitfalls associated with the decision. The interim government took control following the popular unrest of April 6 and 7, which swept former president Kurmanbek Bakiev from power.

Syria: Women Reflect on Rare Political Victory

Jailed activist writer Sarah Shourd filed this story in July, shortly before she was seized by Iranian border forces during a hiking trip in Iraqi Kurdistan. With the assistance of her mother, who reached out to Women's eNews, we are able to post the piece with staff updates: A year ago, this country was on the brink of passing a revision of the personal status law that some feared would be the most devastating blow to women's rights in Syrian modern history.

United Kingdom: 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. She has been invited by Dr Taj Hargey, a self-described imam who preaches an ultra-liberal interpretation of Islam which includes, among other things, that men and women should be allowed to pray together and that female imams should lead mixed congregations in prayer.

Iran: Interview with Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh

Armed only with the Camera, Iranian feminist and filmmaker, Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, has documented the lives of women enmeshed in the country’s political issues such as the legitimacy of Almadinejad’s regime, women and the family law and stoning on grounds of adultery. She was once more arrested last 20 December 2009 while on her way to the funeral of Ayatollah Montazeri.