Tag: burqa

  • Whether a woman chooses a burqa or a bikini, she has the right to decide for herself: Malala

    Whether a woman chooses a burqa or a bikini, she has the right to decide for herself: Malala

    Nobel Laureate and Women’s Education Rights Activist Malala Yousafzai, in a recent essay, Please stop telling us how to dress, has talked about the criticism and pressure women have to face on the choice of their dressing.

    Malala, sharing some text from her essay on her Instagram, wrote: “Years ago I spoke against the Taliban forcing women in my community to wear burqas – and last month I spoke against Indian authorities forcing girls to remove their hijabs at school. These aren’t contradictions – both cases involve objectifying women. If someone forces me to cover my head, I will protest. If someone forces me to remove my scarf, I will protest.”

    “Whether a woman chooses a burqa or a bikini, she has the right to decide for herself. Come and talk to us about individual freedom and autonomy, about preventing harm and violence, about education and emancipation. Do not come with your wardrobe notes,” she added.

    “Someday I might make changes to my wardrobe. I also might not. But exploring and understanding clothing will remain part of my life, as will defending every woman’s right to determine what she wears. I love my patterned, floral shalwar kameez. I love my jeans too. And I am proud of my scarves,” she wrote while concluding her essay.

  • ‘Women cover up’: Taliban order new ban on Afghan women

    ‘Women cover up’: Taliban order new ban on Afghan women

    The Taliban’s religious police have put up posters around the capital Kabul ordering Afghan women to cover up, an official said on Friday, reports Dawn.

    The poster, which includes an image of the face-covering burqa, was slapped on cafes and shops this week by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

    “According to Sharia law, Muslim women must wear the hijab,” the poster reads, referring to the practice of covering up. A spokesman for the ministry, responsible for enforcing the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law, confirmed on Friday that it was behind the orders.

    “If someone does not follow it, it does not mean she will be punished or beaten, it’s just encouragement for Muslim women to follow Sharia law,” Sadeq Akif Muhajir said.

    “What they’re trying to do is to spread fear among the people,” a university student and women’s rights advocate, who did not want to be identified, said.

    “The first time I saw the posters I was really petrified, I thought maybe (the Taliban) will start beating me. They want me to wear a burqa and look like nothing, I would never do that.”

  • VIDEO: Muslim woman in India forced to remove burqa in public

    VIDEO: Muslim woman in India forced to remove burqa in public

    A mob in India forced a Muslim woman to remove her burqa in public, India Today reported.

    The video of the incident went viral on social media. The video showed a burqa-clad woman sitting on a motorbike, accompanied by a man. 

    A mob could be seen harassing the girl for wearing the burqa, after which she was forced to take it off. 

    “Take the burqa off, you are giving a bad name to the nation,” one of the members from the group could be heard telling the woman.

    The man protested when the mob asked the woman to remove her niqab (veil).

    “You have to take the niqab off as well,” one member of the mob said. The entire incident was recorded by the mob.

    As per reports, no case has been registered against the people yet. Two men were reportedly let off by the police after receiving a warning.

  • Man with Covid-19 wears niqab to get on a flight, pretends to be his own wife

    Man with Covid-19 wears niqab to get on a flight, pretends to be his own wife

    An Indonesian man with Covid-19  boarded a flight from Jakarta to Ternate after wearing a niqab disguising as his own wife.

    As per reports, the man, who has been publicly identified only by the initials “DW,” boarded a Citilink domestic flight from Jakarta to Ternate wearing a burqa that covered him from head to toe.

    The man’s wife had tested negative for the virus so he attempted to use her ID and negative results to travel.

    A flight attendant reportedly told authorities that she saw “DW” go into bathroom of the plane, then came out wearing men’s clothes instead of the niqab.

    She reported it to the airport authorities in Ternate, who held the passenger  once he disembarked from the plane. 

    Read More: Indian couple gets married on plane to avoid Covid restrictions

    A health officer instantly tested him for Covid, and the PCR result came positive.  

    Ternate Covid task force operational head Muhammad Arif Gani said: ‘The airport immediately contacted the Ternate City Covid-19 Handling Task Force team to evacuate the man while wearing personal protective equipment, and then taking him in an ambulance to his house to self-isolate, where he will be supervised by Task Force officers.’

    Once he will be done with quarantine period, police said they intend to prosecute the man.

    Mr Gani said airport security will be updated with extra screening in response to the incident.

  • Coronavirus: JI woman leader trolled for comparing hazmat suit to burqa

    Amid global coronavirus fears, Jamaate Islami (JI) leader Dr Samia Raheel Qazi on Wednesday was trolled for what appeared to be a comparison between a hazmat suit and burqa on her Twitter.

    “Food for thought,” the women wing leader of the religio-political party wrote as she tweeted two images, one of which showed a person in a hazmat suit and the other a burqa-clad woman.

    The tweet that came as the world battles the deadly coronavirus that has so far claimed at least 500 lives and left over 24,000 others infected, met with trolling on the micro-blogging website, as people reacted to what they said was an absurd comparison.

    Meanwhile, China’s National Health Commission has said the number of confirmed infections in the country rose to 24,324 after an additional 3,887 people were diagnosed with the virus.

    Other countries have rushed to evacuate their citizens from Hubei and its capital city, Wuhan, while many have also imposed extraordinary travel restrictions on travellers to and from China, Al Jazeera reported.

    Countries outside China continue to report more cases, with Hong Kong and the Philippines reporting one death each from the disease.

    The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for greater solidarity among the international community, and criticised governments for being “well behind” in sharing data on virus cases. He said he had received complete case report forms for only 38 per cent of the cases outside China.

    THE CURRENT LIFE WITH DR SAMIA RAHEEL QAZI:

  • Burqas distributed among KP school girls

    Burqas distributed among KP school girls

    The government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has distributed “Burqas” among students in girls model school in Cheena village of Rustam valley.

    According to the pictures circulating on social media, the authorities with the help of funds provided by Pakistan Tehreeke Insaf’s (PTI) former district council member, Muzaffar Shah, distributed 69 burqas among students in KP girls school.

    The development has come after the provincial government made it mandatory for the girls in schools to wear a veil.

    Earlier, the KP government had decided to make it mandatory for female students of government-run schools to cover themselves up in educational institutions with an abaya, gown or chador for protection against “unethical incidents” — harassment.

    But after facing widespread public criticism the KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan directed the authorities to withdraw the mandatory burqa order.

  • Burqa-clad man sneaks inside girls hostel in Multan

    Burqa-clad man sneaks inside girls hostel in Multan

    A burqa-clad male student was caught red-handed inside the girls’ hostel of Multan’s Bahauddin Zakaria University.

    As per reports, the culprit, Daniyal, who had hidden his identity by wearing a burqa (veil), entered the hostel with his female classmate. Though he managed to enter, the authorities caught him inside the hostel after he became skeptical.

    The hostel’s warden and the resident officer were informed about the case and Daniyal was handed over to the police. His female class fellow has confessed to her mistake and apologised to the administration.