Activist Shabnam Hashmi's "Muslim Right" Post After Javed Akhtar's Event Postponed
New Age Islam News Bureau
02 September2025
· Activist Shabnam Hashmi's "Muslim Right" Post After Javed Akhtar's Event Postponed
· Afghanistan Making Photos On Women’s National ID Cards Optional
· Iran Conservatives Denounce Hijab Style Bloggers As Moral Threat
· TikToker Samiya Hijab Alleges Harassment And Kidnapping Attempt by a Pakistan Man
· Kyrgyzstan's Niqab Ban: Dozens Of Women Fined, Hundreds Warned In Police Raids
· Police React To Killing Of Woman For Blasphemy Against Islam In Niger
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/activist-muslim-right-event-postponed/d/136691
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Activist Shabnam Hashmi's "Muslim Right" Post After Javed Akhtar's Event Postponed
Sep 01, 2025
Shabnam Hashmi has offered to host a Javed Akhtar event in Kolkata
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Activist Shabnam Hashmi has come out in support of legendary poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar after a cultural event he was invited to was postponed due to objections by the Muslim outfit Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. Ms Hashmi, the sister of playwright and activist, late Safdar Hashmi, has hit out at those legitimising platforms "run by the Muslim right" and offered to host an event for Mr Akhtar in Kolkata if he is open to it.
This comes after the West Bengal Urdu Academy announced that its four-day cultural event, scheduled to start on Sunday, had been postponed. While the Academy cited unavoidable circumstances, multiple reports said Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind's Kolkata unit had objected after Mr Akhtar was invited as the event's chief guest.
Confirming the opposition, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind's Kolkata unit's general secretary Zillur Rahman said they wrote to the Academy and flagged the invitation to Mr Akhtar. "Javed Akhtar has spoken a lot of bad things against Islam, against Muslims, and against Allah. This person is not a human but a devil in human guise. Do not include Javed Akhtar in this programme," he said, elaborating on the content of the letter.
"There are many good poets, writers, and journalists in the Urdu world who can be invited to this programme," the letter said. Soon after, the Academy announced that the programme had been postponed.
The event, titled 'Urdu in Hindi Cinema', was aimed at showcasing the contribution of Urdu to Indian cinema. Discussions, poetry recitations, and cultural performances had been planned. Mr Akhtar was to preside over a key mushaira today.
In a sharp response to the developments, Ms Hashmi said she had been telling activists to stop legitimising the "Muslim right".
This is the beginning. I have been shouting from the roof top , telling my fellow senior activists and the young ones to stop legitimising platforms run by the Muslim right . 1/3 pic.twitter.com/mZBqVWmGbB
"This is the beginning. I have been shouting from the rooftop, telling my fellow senior activists and the young ones to stop legitimising platforms run by the Muslim right," she said in a post on X.
The well-known activist said she had been cornered within Delhi's civil society because of her stand. "I have been systematically pushed to a corner within the Delhi civil society because I refused to share platforms with Muslim right-wing orgs while a large number of senior activists are fooling themselves in the name of fighting against majoritarian politics," she said.
Ms Hashmi added that the struggle for the dignity of minorities can be fought only within the framework of the Constitution. "Struggle for democracy, equality, dignity of minorities- Muslims, Christians, Jains, Sikhs can be fought only within the framework of the Constitution."
Tagging Mr Akhtar, she said, "If you are open to it, I will organise the program in Kolkata. Dekhtihoonkiskihimmathai jo rok de (Let's see who dares to stop it)."
Source: ndtv.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/javed-akhtar-jamiat-ulema-e-hind-activists-muslim-right-post-after-javed-akhtars-kolkata-event-postponed-9196083
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Afghanistan Making Photos On Women’s National ID Cards Optional
Sep 1, 2025
Afghanistan is making photos on women’s national ID cards optional, the Taliban government has proclaimed, noting that religious scholars have deemed photos of women contrary to Sharia law.
The decision was announced last week after a decree issued by the Taliban’s religious authority, Dar al-Ifta, and overrides previous photo requirements by the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA).
The statistics agency has attempted to argue that photographs on ID are necessary for identity verification, fraud prevention, easier travel and international standards compliance. The Dar al-Ifta, however, has declared that most arguments for attaching women’s photos to ID cards were “un-Islamic.”
International travel already required passports and visas, making ID cards unnecessary, says the Islamic body. Photos on ID cards would be mandatory only for Afghan women living abroad or travelling overseas for medical care. For legal matters, a woman’s name and address alongside the name of her father and grandfather is sufficient, TV news station Afghanistan International reports.
Women’s rights advocates criticized the decision, saying that it represents another step in the systematic erasure of Afghan women from public life. Since taking over the country in 2021, the Taliban have targeted women and girls by issuing bans on education, prohibitions on employment and restrictions on movement without a male guardian.
“This is an attempt to render Afghan women invisible,” a member of the Afghanistan Justice-Seeking Women’s Movement told news outlet Kabul Now. “A woman’s identity is not negotiable. The Taliban cannot erase us by removing our images from official documents.”
Afghanistan issues 16M eIDs
Afghanistan has issued 16 million electronic identity cards since the country started issuing the national IDs in 2018, according to last week’s data from the National Information and Statistics Authority.
“Since the start of the issuance of the national ID in 2018, more than 16 million Afghans have received electronic national identity cards and out of these, more than 10 million received over the past four years during the current government,” says NSIA spokesperson Mohammad Halim Rafi, as quoted by news agency Xinhua.
The country’s population is estimated at over 40 million.
NSIA is currently discussing opening more facilities for distributing electronic ID cards and implementing statistical surveys.
The agency has also announced it has provided more than 3,700 national identity documents, known as Tazkirahs, to Afghans living abroad. In July, the government opened an electronic ID card distribution center in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and plans to open similar centers in other countries.
Source: biometricupdate.com
https://www.biometricupdate.com/202509/afghanistan-making-photos-on-womens-national-id-cards-optional
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Iran conservatives denounce hijab style bloggers as moral threat
Maryam Sinaiee
Sep 1, 2025
Conservatives in Iran are criticizing hijab style bloggers for undermining Islamic femininity, promoting vanity and luring religious women away from traditional dress.
Rasekhoon, a youth-focused online outlet promoting Islamic values, seethed about the trend in a column last week as an inversion of the hijab's purported main purpose: modesty.
"(The bloggers) appear to observe the basic requirements of Islamic hijab, yet simultaneously seek attention and align themselves with global beauty standards," read an editorial on the outlet.
"They do so with bright colors, modern cuts, heavy makeup and a wide array of accessories.”
The publication argued that this emphasis on attractiveness erodes the spiritual purpose of the hijab and encourages visibility over modesty.
Internet-friendly modeling, it added, undermines the spiritual purpose of the hijab with its emphasis on attractiveness and drawing attention and visibility.
“Hijab-style influencers are the front-line soldiers of the cultural war, pushing religious and spiritual practices toward decadence,” Razieh Jabbari, a hijab activist, told the Revolutionary Guards-linked Tasnim News Agency last week.
“Behind these individuals stand think tanks seeking to alter religious lifestyles and appearances, trivialize our cultural and spiritual values, and promote a version of ‘American-approved Islam’,” she said.
Historically, the Islamic Republic has promoted the chador—a long black veil covering the entire body—as the ideal dress code for women.
Not popular
While officials often claim widespread support for Islamic veiling, only a minority, perhaps around 15 percent, wear the chador consistently.
According to a 2022 survey by independent research group GAMAAN, over 70 percent of men and women opposed mandatory hijab laws.
“The professionalized style promoted by hijab bloggers has even managed to influence the tastes of part of the population who is religious and believes in hijab, encouraging them to replace the traditional chador with long, modest manteaus,” the Jam-e Jam newspaper wrote.
This year, during the Arbaeen Walk to the shrines of Shia Imams in Iraq, hijab-style bloggers produced a flood of content. According to critics, “Their aim is to reduce grand ceremonies from a ‘spiritual and revolutionary event’ to a mere ‘spectacle—shallow and superficial,” Jabbari told Tasnim.
In Iran, the hijab functions not only as a religious observance but also as a political symbol tied to the state’s identity. Since 1979, the legally required hijab has been presented as a marker of revolutionary authenticity and resistance to Western influence.
For hardliners, enforcing the hijab validates the Islamic system, while opposition is framed as a challenge to state authority.
Women’s clothing has thus become a recurring political battleground, where debates over morality, freedom and national sovereignty converge.
Since the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, Iranian women have persistently defied the state's compulsory hijab laws, transforming personal acts of resistance into a powerful political statements.
In Tehran and other urban centers, going unveiled has become more common, although most women still carry scarves for public offices, banks or transport to avoid confrontation. Few dress entirely as they wish; most compromise with long sleeves and modest skirts while avoiding sleeveless tops, shorts or short skirts.
In May, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council shelved a new hardline bill mandating stricter hijab rules, likely to avoid a public backlash.
While enforcement has not disappeared, but reports of women facing harassment, including fines and impounding of their vehicles, are not as common as before.
Source: iranintl.com
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202509014993
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TikToker Samiya Hijab Alleges Harassment And Kidnapping Attempt by a Pakistan Man
September 1, 2025
Popular TikToker Samiya Hijab Jafri has come forward with disturbing claims of harassment, threats, and an attempted abduction.
She alleged that a young man from Lahore named Hassan Zahid had attempted to kidnap her.
In a video message released on Instagram, Samiya stated that the man had been stalking her for nearly three months.
She claimed that he was continuously pressuring her to marry him.
Samiya explained that despite repeatedly rejecting his advances, he persisted with threats and intimidation.
He went as far as to warn her of dire consequences.
According to Samiya, the situation escalated one evening when Zahid allegedly arrived outside her home uninvited.
With her brother absent and her mother unwell, she went to answer the gate, where he reportedly snatched her mobile phone.
She claimed that when she attempted to retrieve the device, he forcibly dragged her towards his car and injured her in the process.
The frightening encounter was captured on CCTV footage, which she later shared online as evidence of the incident.
Source: desiblitz.com
https://www.desiblitz.com/content/samiya-hijab-alleges-harassment-and-kidnapping-attempt
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Kyrgyzstan's Niqab Ban: Dozens Of Women Fined, Hundreds Warned In Police Raids
September 02, 2025
By Farangis Najibullah
Police in Kyrgyzstan have issued hefty fines and official warnings to hundreds of women wearing the niqab, a face veil that is banned in the Muslim-majority country.
At least 29 women were each fined 20,000 soms ($230) for violating the niqab ban, which came into force earlier this year, police said.
The women were stopped during raids in the southern Osh region and the southwestern Jalal-Abat Province, where local governments, police, and security services have been conducting raids to enforce the ban.
Some 300 women wearing the niqab in public were stopped by officers in the first two days of the raids in Osh in April, according to regional police.
Kyrgyzstan adopted a law this year that effectively bans the niqab, which covers the whole face expect for the eyes. The law imposes a fine for wearing the garment in public.
The law, signed by President SadyrJaparov, does not explicitly mention the niqab, locally known as "parandzha." But it outlaws "clothing that makes it impossible to identify a person in government offices and public spaces" -- a euphemism often used in Central Asia to describe the niqab.
The ban does not extend to the hijab, the Islamic head scarf that covers the hair and neck but leaves the face visible.
The niqab has become popular in Kyrgyzstan, especially in Osh and Jalal-Abat, over the past decade. The raids have primarily been focused on these two provinces.
Raising Awareness Of The Niqab Ban
The campaign to enforce the niqab ban has included raids on the streets as well as outreach and awareness-raising efforts since April, according to regional authorities.
Law-enforcement agents, including female police officers, have handed out leaflets and held meetings with residents to explain the law.
Large TV screens placed in public spaces in Osh region's Kara-suu, Uzgen, and Nukat districts played video clips informing people about the ban and the fine.
Authorities said they spoke with about 300 women wearing niqabs in a two-day raid in Osh's provincial capital, Osh City. Some 80 veiled women were stopped in another two-day raid that took place there in July.
The women were given warnings and leaflets, according to the Osh police department, which said the Osh city court, the regional office of the State Committee for National Security, and the state Agency for Religious Affairs and Interethnic Relations had all been actively involved in the campaign.
According to police reports, 22 of the 29 women who were given fines were residents of Osh City.
The other seven were stopped at outdoor locations in the neighboring Jalal-Abat region during Operation Niqab in August.
Security Threat?
The niqab's increasing popularity in Kyrgyzstan has raised concern among some local politicians and public figures who call it a security threat. Others argue that the niqab is not traditionally part of Kyrgyz culture.
Parliament and Kyrgyz media have debated the niqab's place in society for over a decade.
The country's state-backed Kyrgyz Muslim Spiritual Directorate publicly supports the government's stance. It states that "the hijab is obligatory [for Muslim women], but the niqab is not."
But critics of the ban say it alienates women who choose to wear the niqab and restricts their freedom.
The niqab has been outlawed in other Central Asian states that have also banned the Islamic hijab in schools and workplaces. Kyrgyzstan is the only country in the region that allows the hijab in schools and government offices.
Source: rferl.org
https://www.rferl.org/a/kyrgyzstan-crackdown-niqab-islam-women/33515551.html
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Police react to killing of woman for blasphemy against Islam in Niger
1 Sep 2025
A mob burnt a woman to death in central Nigeria over the weekend after accusing her of blasphemy against Islam, police said Monday.
The woman “was set ablaze” on Saturday in a “mob attack” after she made comments about the Prophet Mohammed, police spokesman WasiuAbiodun in Niger state said in a statement.
He said the woman was a food vendor named Amaye from northwest Nigerian Katsina state.
Abiodun added that the police condemned any act of “jungle justice” and urged members of the public to remain calm during the search for the attackers.
Sharia law operates alongside common law in 12 predominantly Muslim states in Nigeria — including Niger — and blasphemy is punishable by death.
In many cases the accused are killed by mobs without going through the legal process, though the attack on the weekend is not thought to have involved a legal process.
Such attacks are rare though a butcher in the northern city of Sokoto was stoned to death in June 2023 and a Christian college student was killed by Muslim students a year earlier, both after blasphemy allegations.
Source: guardian.ng
https://guardian.ng/news/nigeria/metro/police-react-to-killing-of-woman-for-blasphemy-against-islam-in-niger/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/activist-muslim-right-event-postponed/d/136691