Two Marathon Organisers Arrested In Iran For Allowing Women To Compete Without Veils
New Age Islam News Bureau
07 December 2025
• Two Marathon Organisers Arrested In Iran For Allowing Women To Compete Without Veils
• ‘SC Ruling On Wedding Gifts A Win For All Muslim Women’: Rousanara Begum Case
• 'Will Never Return To Delhi': Sunali Khatun Returns To Birbhum From Bangladesh; Bengal To Bear Medical Costs
• Iran Files Case Against Marathon Organisers After 'Hijab Breach'
• Domestic Worker’s Nightmare: Malaysian Woman Burnt, Stabbed And Punched By Employer In Rawang, Selangor
• Taliban Ban Women From Entering UN Offices; United Nations Calls For Immediate Reversal
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/marathon-organisers-women-arrested-compete/d/137921
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Two marathon organisers arrested in Iran for allowing women to compete without veils
06/12/2025
Participants who competed in a marathon on Iran's Kish island on December 5, 2025. © DR, Instagram
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Iran's judiciary said on Saturday that two organisers of a marathon on Kish island were arrested for allowing unveiled women to compete in the race.
"Two of the main organisers of the competition were arrested on warrants," the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported on Saturday, the day after the marathon took place.
"One of those arrested is an official in the Kish free zone, and the other works for the private company that organised the race," it added.
More than 5,000 people took part in Friday's race, according to local media, with images online showing a number of runners who were not following the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women, which was enshrined in law in the early 1980s.
"Despite previous warnings regarding the need to comply with the country's current laws and regulations, as well as religious, customary, and professional principles ... the event was held in a way that violated public decency," the local prosecutor was quoted as saying in the judiciary's official news outlet, Mizan Online.
"Considering the violations that occurred and based on the laws and regulations, a criminal case has been filed against the officials and agents organising this event."
Conservative-aligned outlets including Tasnim and Fars had earlier condemned the marathon as indecent and disrespectful to Islamic laws enforced after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the US-backed shah.
But adherence to the hijab rules has become more sporadic since the 2022 protests that followed the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman arrested over an alleged dress-code breach.
Iran's government under President Masoud Pezeshkian has refused to ratify a bill passed by the parliament that would have imposed tough penalties for women who do not observe the dress code.
In May 2023, the head of Iran's athletics federation resigned after women without headscarves took part in a sporting event in the southern city of Shiraz.
Source: www.france24.com
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‘SC Ruling On Wedding Gifts A Win For All Muslim Women’: Rousanara Begum Case
Dec 7, 2025
NEW DELHI: More than 20 years after her marriage, Rousanara Begum finally heard the words she had waited for when the Supreme Court recently ruled that a divorced Muslim woman can reclaim the wedding gifts her parents gave her at the time of marriage. Now nearly 45, she told TOI on Saturday: “It started two decades ago. I had to fight a lot for the victory.” For her, the SC’s decision is not just a legal victory. It is the closing of a wound she has carried since 2005. Rousanara was barely married when her marital life collapsed. According to her case records, she was married in 2005 but the relationship fell apart almost immediately.
By late 2005, the first cracks had appeared. In 2008, after allegations of dowry harassment, mental cruelty, and being forced out of her marital home, she returned to her parents. The Talaq eventually came in 2011. The gifts her father had given -- 7 lakh rupees in cash and some gold that were part of her wedding -- were never returned to her. “(Rs) Seven lakh is a lot of money for folks like us,” she said in broken Urdu.
Unlike many families who fear the social judgement that comes with a daughter’s divorce, her parents stood rock-solid behind her. However, despite winning in the lower courts more than once, Rousanara’s fight ran into a wall at Calcutta HC, which in Jan 2024 reversed the earlier orders and denied her the right to reclaim the cash and gold her parents had given when she married. HC ruled in favour of the divorced husband, SK Salahuddin. This prompted Rousanara to move the SC.
Through the years of litigation, Rousanara rebuilt her life even as she walked in and out of courtrooms. Today she works as a primary school teacher in a govt school, is remarried, and has two sons.
For her lawyer, Syed Mehdi Imam, it is one of the most meaningful victories he has seen. “This was a grey area. Till today, no clear judgment existed on whether the money and gold given to a bride at marriage, but kept with the groom, must be returned after divorce,” he told TOI.
“I urged the court: decide this once and for all.” Imam said there was hesitation in some quarters because the matter could have been misread as a religious flashpoint. “There could potentially have been pushback from some corners,” he said. “Some feared it could flare into a religious controversy since this issue had never been adjudicated before. It could have blown out of proportion as it was sensitive.”
Then, finally on Dec 2, SC placed equality and dignity at the heart of its interpretation of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, observing that law must be read in light of the lived experiences of women, especially in rural and small-town India, where patriarchal discrimination remains embedded.
Muslim bodies have welcomed the ruling. Maulana Raziul Islam Nadwi, national secretary of JIH and its Shari’ah Council, said, “Husband’s gifts to the wife, even if the marriage does not last, cannot be taken back under Islamic law. Women’s gifts have a different status. Shari’at gives the wife this right, unless she or her family willingly relinquishes it. There is no contradiction in the SC order.”
When the verdict came, Imam typed three words to her during the court lunch break: “Won the matter.” That night, his phone rang. She was in tears. “I am very happy,” she said. “This win is for all Muslim women like me.” For many divorced Muslim women across India, this case from rural Bengal is a precedent: one that finally clarifies that what is given to a bride at marriage belongs to her alone.
Source: timesofindia.com
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'Will never return to Delhi': Sunali Khatun returns to Birbhum from Bangladesh; Bengal to bear medical costs
Dec 7, 2025
KOLKATA/BIRBHUM/MALDA: "If I have a son, I will name him Deshprem, but it will be an honour if CM Mamata Banerjee chooses a name for my yet-to-be born child, be it a son or daughter," said Sunali Khatun, hours after she was admitted to Rampurhat Medical College and Hospital on Saturday. The 26-year-old, who was brought back from Bangladesh along with her eight-year-old son on Friday evening, was resolute about one thing though: "I will never go to Delhi again."After spending the night at Malda Medical College, Sunali returned to her home in Birbhum'sPaikar on Saturday. During a short stay at the village, she was unable to even step out of the ambulance to enter her house as a teeming crowd of women showered petals on her. Her daughter, six-year-old Anisha, who had been separated from her mother for the past six months, couldn't stop hugging her. Sunali's eyes welled up as she spotted a Tricolour in the crowd. "I am relieved to be back in my country. But I am worried about my husband and Sweety and her sons who are still in Bangladesh. I will be very happy if they are able to return soon," she told waiting newspersons.
"Even the police in Bangladesh were good. They gave me whatever I needed. But Delhi police tortured me. They refused to hear my pleas that I am an Indian," Sunali said.
Unaccustomed to a hundred cameras and cellphones recording her every move and the crowd around her chanting "we want justice", Sunali appeared unnerved at times but responded to every question thrown at her with a quiet confidence. "I am thankful to Mamata didi (CM Mamata Banerjee), Abhishek da (TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee) and Samirulbhai (TMC MP Samirul Islam). Without them, I would never have seen today," she stressed.
Sunali, husband Danish and Sweety Bibi were earning their living as ragpickers in Delhi, when they were picked up by cops on the suspicion of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants on June 17 and pushed into Bangladesh within 10 days.
Later, Sunali, who is over nine months pregnant, was driven to Rampurhat Medical College Hospital escorted by a police convoy and a Bengal govt medical team. Samirul, also Bengal Migrant Welfare Board chairperson, said, "As per the Supreme Court order, the state govt will extend all medical help to her free of cost. We are taking her to Rampurhat hospital and will do whatever doctors say. Next, Sunali will be given all social scheme benefits available in Bengal so that she does not have to look for work outside the state. This has been a long fight (to get her back). We hope her husband and Sweety Bibi and her two children are also released soon."
On Friday night, Sunali had an emotional reunion with father BhoduSk, who had reached Malda Medical College with an ambulance to bring her home. "I had my child and my grandson in my arms. My tears just didn't stop. I couldn't speak," the relieved father said.
"It is all because of Mamata didi, Abhishek da and Samirulbhai that we got Sunali back. If they hadn't stood by us how could poor people like us have fought cases in the high court and Supreme Court," said Bhodu who used to drive a rickshaw. His son is now a Toto operator. He added that he was still worried about his son-in-law and the others who are stranded in Bangladesh. "When will they be released? I was born in Birbhum, so were my children, even my son-in-law. Then why call us Bangladeshi?"
Source: timesofindia.com
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Iran files case against marathon organisers after 'hijab breach'
06 December, 2025
Iranian authorities have opened a criminal case against the organisers of a marathon on Kish island, the judiciary said, after images emerged of women competing without hijab.
More than 5,000 people took part in Friday's race, according to local media, with images online showing a number of runners who were not following the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women, which was enshrined in law in the early 1980s.
"Despite previous warnings regarding the need to comply with the country's current laws and regulations, as well as religious, customary, and professional principles... the event was held in a way that violated public decency," the local prosecutor was quoted as saying in the judiciary's official news outlet, Mizan Online.
"Considering the violations that occurred and based on the laws and regulations, a criminal case has been filed against the officials and agents organising this event."
Conservative-aligned outlets including Tasnim and Fars had earlier condemned the marathon as indecent and disrespectful to Islamic laws enforced after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the US-backed shah.
But adherence to the hijab rules has become more sporadic since the 2022 protests that followed the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman arrested over an alleged dress-code breach.
Iran's government under President Masoud Pezeshkian has refused to ratify a bill passed by the parliament that would have imposed tough penalties for women who do not observe the dress code.
In May 2023, the head of Iran's athletics federation resigned after women without headscarves took part in a sporting event in the southern city of Shiraz.
Source: www.newarab.com
https://www.newarab.com/news/iran-files-case-against-marathon-organisers-after-hijab-breach
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Domestic Worker’s Nightmare: Malaysian Woman Burnt, Stabbed And Punched By Employer In Rawang, Selangor
By Malay Mail
07 Dec 2025
GOMBAK, Dec 7 — A 22-year-old Malaysian domestic worker was allegedly punched in the face, stabbed with scissors, and burnt on her left arm with a heated knife by her employer in Rawang last week.
Gombak police chief Assistant Commissioner Noor Ariffin Mohamad Nasir said the woman’s hair was also cut during the incident, prompting her to flee the house and seek help from neighbours before she was rescued, Harian Metro reported today.
“The victim, who received assistance and treatment, subsequently informed the police about the incident,” he was quoted as saying.
Police received a report on the case at 8.38pm yesterday and are investigating it under Section 324 of the Penal Code and Sections 12/13 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
Source: www.malaymail.com
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Taliban Ban Women from Entering UN Offices; United Nations Calls for Immediate Reversal
Mohammad
07-12-2025
The UN Women office says three months have passed since the Taliban banned women from entering United Nations facilities in Afghanistan, and urges the group to lift the restrictions immediately.
Susan Ferguson, the UN’s Special Representative for Women in Afghanistan, said in a statement on Saturday, December 6, 2025, that Afghan women have been barred from UN offices for roughly 91 days and have been forced to continue their work from home.
She stressed that the longer these restrictions remain in place, the more essential and life-saving services will be disrupted.
The statement reads: “Afghan women are indispensable to the UN’s work in Afghanistan. Only with their presence can we safely reach women and girls and provide culturally appropriate assistance to those most in need. Aid must be delivered to women by women.”
The United Nations said the restrictions violate fundamental human rights principles and strongly oppose the Taliban’s treatment of women.
The organization added: “We call for the reversal of the ban on Afghan female staff and contractors entering UN premises and for ensuring their safe access to offices and operational areas, so that assistance reaches the women and girls who need it most.”
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) had earlier confirmed that Taliban fighters have been tracking and threatening its female employees.
Source: 8am.media
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/marathon-organisers-women-arrested-compete/d/137921