Tag Archives: Indian Muslim Women

Mumbai photographer Prarthna Singh’s first solo-book is a walk down the alley called Shaheen Bagh

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Events, Exhibitions, Conferences (wef. Nov 18th, 2021), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

The photo-book ‘Har Shaam Shaheen Bagh’, comprising visual stories of resilience and resistance, isolates individuals from the image of the mass movement as was seen on prime-time news and press photographs.

Portraits from Har Shaam Shaheen Bagh (Credit: Prarthna Singh)

Who is the perfect protester? We imagine raised fists, hurt faces, angry stances. We imagine climbing barricades, braving tear gas. If we go by this visual vocabulary, Har Shaam Shaheen Bagh (Every Evening Belongs to Shaheen Bagh) takes us by surprise. With over 150 portraits of non-violent protesters, the photo-book gently challenges the imagery of contemporary resistance movements.

Har Shaam Shaheen Bagh is Mumbai-based photographer Prarthna Singh’s first solo photo-book (she had earlier teamed up with the authors of Sar: The Essence of Indian Design in 2016). In December 2019, after the Delhi police reportedly assaulted students of Jamia Millia Islamia University who were challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a sit-in protest led by Muslim women started in Shaheen Bagh. Under a tent, with hundreds of women and children on any given day, the peaceful protest lasted for 100 days, until the pandemic struck.

Har Shaam Shaheen Bagh; By Prarthna Singh; 143 pages; Rs 3,300

Singh joined the anti-CAA protest in January 2020, spending most of her time on ground. Known for her women-centric narratives and portraiture work, she taps into her speciality to create portraits in an on-site photo studio, cobbled together with whatever was available at Shaheen Bagh. The result is these portraits of women, either looking directly at the camera or away, but always with a sense of pride. Poised and calm, the unnamed sitters indicate trust in the space, the purpose and the photographer.

Har Shaam Shaheen Bagh is Mumbai-based photographer Prarthna Singh’s first solo photo-book (she had earlier teamed up with the authors of Sar: The Essence of Indian Design in 2016).

Our collective memory of Shaheen Bagh, as is often the case with resistance movements, is of the masses, as seen on prime-time news and press photographs. Indeed, mass resistance movements give rise to the most recognisable images in the documented history of the world. Vulnerability and resilience coalesce into one defining moment — people standing up to power and confrontation, whether it’s one man blocking a row of tanks or a girl offering a flower to an armed soldier. Har Shaam Shaheen Bagh trades the monumental for the intimate, asking us to reconsider what we mean by “iconic”. It isolates individuals from the sea of faces, almost as if to say that a movement’s power lies not in numbers but in the will of its people.

Har Shaam Shaheen Bagh takes the form of a personal diary or a scrapbook.

Har Shaam Shaheen Bagh takes the form of a personal diary or a scrapbook. It contains drawings, a painting by artist Sameer Kulavoor, whose company Bombay Duck Designs has also designed the book, verse and a letter from one of the protesters, available in Urdu, English and Hindi. Some pages are deliberately uneven, recalling the makeshift quality of the Shaheen Bagh tent. While the book’s cost makes it inaccessible to some socioeconomic groups, Singh has shared copies with the protesters. A portion of the book sales goes towards Jeevan Stambh, an NGO working on the rehabilitation of the victims of the Jahangirpuri demolition last month.

During the pandemic, the Delhi police cleared the Shaheen Bagh site, painting over its graffiti and dismantling its art installations. In a country that is determined to erase and rewrite its history, one could say that a photo-book on a citizen protest is as good as an act of protest itself.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Books & Literature / by Benita Fernando / New Delhi – May 21st, 2022

Bhadrak’s Gulmaki Dalawzi Habib makes history, becomes first Muslim woman to head a municipality in Odisha

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , ,

ODISHA :

In the history of Odisha, there had never been a Muslim woman helming the top post of any municipality. That changed last week when she won the election to the chairperson post of Bhadrak town.

Thirty-year-old Gulmaki Dalawzi Habib. (Photo | EPS)

Bhubaneswar :

Thirty-year-old Gulmaki Dalawzi Habib has smashed many social and political conventions. Fighting the polls as an Independent in Bhadrak, the 31-year-old of Puruna Bazaar area made the candidates of three major political parties – the ruling BJD, BJP and Congress – bite the dust.

In the history of Odisha, there had never been a Muslim woman helming the top post of any municipality. That changed last week when she won the election to the chairperson post of Bhadrak town.

Gulmaki won the election by defeating her nearest rival, Samita Mishra of BJD, by a margin of 3,256 votes. While she secured 28,115 votes, Samita bagged 24,859 votes. The BJP candidate came a distant third with 6,787 votes while the Congress nominee could only secure 1,977 votes.

In a communally-sensitive town like Bhadrak, Gulmaki’s poll victory was an outcome which was least expected. 


Though there were councilors from minority community in the past, the municipality chairperson post was never helmed by a Muslim. The fact that a Muslim woman could be choice of voters, majority of whom were Hindus, was something which even poll pundits could not predict.

The chairperson-elect said she was both humbled and proud to be the first Muslim woman in the State to be elected to the top municipality post. 

“The whole of Bhadrak town is celebration my victory. People were steadfast in their support to me. I dedicate my win to both Hindus and Muslims of the town,” she said.

Of the total 30 Wards in Bhadrak Municipality, 12 are dominated by Muslims while two have a sizable population of the minority community. 

There are more than 87,000 voters in Bhadrak town of whom over 34,000 are Muslims.

Contrary to the perception, there was no reservation in the minds of Hindu voters towards a Muslim candidate. 

“While campaigning, I was treated like one of their own. In my personal experience, there is no divide between Hindus and Muslims as was being spread by some people during the elections. Irrespective of religion, voters showered their love and blessings on me.”

Though Gulmaki is a political greenhorn, her husband Sheikh Jahid Habib was the former district vice-president of BJD’s youth wing. 

In the run-up to the urban local body polls, people of Puruna Bazaar demanded a chairperson candidate from the area which always bore the brunt of civic authorities’ neglect. 

However, BJD ignored the demand following which Gulmaki filed nomination as an Independent candidate.

Development of the town is top on the agenda of Gulmaki, who hold a degree in Business Administration. 

“Roads and drainage system need to be be drastically improved in the town. Especially in Puruna Bazaar, the living conditions are poor. I plan to work on these issues first after taking office.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Odisha / by Anup Nayak, Express News Service / March 28th, 2022

Success story Lamya Majeed: Hijab-wearing girl bags seven gold medals

Amazing Feats, Education, Karnataka (under research project), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , ,

Mangalore District, KARNATAKA :

Success story: Hijab-wearing girl bags seven gold medals (Photo credits: Mysoorunews.com)

Amid the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka, another hijab-clad student Lamya Majeed from Karnataka has bagged seven gold medals and two cash prizes in M.Sc Botany at the 102nd convocation of the University of Mysore.

Majeed, a native of Mangalore district is currently working on her master’s thesis in the University of Mysore. She opted to study M.Sc Botany but didn’t have anything specific in her mind. As the years passed and she developed an interest in the subject and wants to engage in research works to help farmers.

Interested in plant pathology and plant disease, Lamya has also applied to go abroad for more research work, especially in the UK. She has also cleared the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).

Speaking to THG, Lamya said, “I’m a very average student and didn’t expect to get this much. But I really like the subject and my dreams are to do research in the field of Life Sciences. I had good company with me who also had similar dreams are like-minded people. We would all support each other and some of my best friends were like good support for me. Particularly, my parents, they’re my greatest support.”

When asked if she faced any obstacles during her journey, the gold medalist said, “I didn’t face any obstacles from my family but some other people have done it. Especially, because I opted for regular science courses, you know, the general Indian mentality of engineering and medicine. So my subject wasn’t something that is kind of not even mainstream, especially in my family. There are not many like the people who have done BSc or MSc, everyone took. And people were like because I couldn’t study engineering, I took botany. It’s not something that was hyped, I would say, not the first choice for many people.”

But the good thing is, Lamya said, the environment in her university was really nice. “They really encouraged research. So, I am someone who wants to get into research, which is why I am doing botany. It was a risky move in a way that you know, most of us are expected to just like go into teaching, or do this thing. I want to continue doing a Ph.D.,”

The 23-year-old topper wants to encourage to people to come in this field because basic sciences and research is something that is a thought like only certain section certain people can do but “it’s obtainable and not out of reach for not general public. An average person can dream of being a scientist or researcher,” she said.

With a percentage of 86 in her Pre University Exam and interest in biology, people expected Lamya to go into medicine. She said, “But that was not where my interest was. I have massive respect for whoever takes medicine but it was not for me.”

“I wasn’t really sure what a gold medal is, who select it or how do they select, nothing. It was actually a shock for me because one of my friends called me early in the morning and asked did you see they released the gold medalists’ names and your name is there several times on the list. I was like, oh my god, it was completely unexpected. My parents are so proud of me,” she told THG, when asked what was her reaction when she first got to know that she bagged 7 gold medals.

Daughter of a retired employee of Bharat petroleum, Lamya has worn hijab all her life, and never faced any problem at all. She said, “I have worn hijab and never faced any problem even now.”

“I really don’t want to comment on this (hijab controversy) although, I’m just upset that it has happened. I don’t really want to say anything I’m just wearing that itself is a statement,” Lamya said she doesn’t want to engage in the hijab dialogue.

Further talking of her future plans, she said, “I want to do PhD and become a research scientist in Plant Sciences. So right now I am in the University of Mysore working in the final year of my master’s thesis. I am currently working on that but in the meantime, I have been writing competitive exams. I’m trying to trying to build a portfolio so I can apply for PhD. I would either study here or even abroad because the opportunities are there in many places. I’m just seeing where I can fit the best.”

Conveying a message to especially young girls, the golden girl from coastal Karnataka said that they should trust themselves. “Girls should believe in their own worth and believe that they are as capable as anyone in their peers.”

When we feel like we are not being provided with the right opportunities, or we are not being taken seriously compared to others then we should take a stand because we are worth just as anyone else,” she adding that when given opportunies, “we can do so much more.”

“I believe everyone deserves the rights and opportunities that should be available to every child, regardless if they’re a boy or girl or trans or whatever they are. I want them to feel like they are deserving of every opportunity, deserving of love. They should feel that way and work towards their goals. They should believe in themselves, no matter who they are, and work towards their dream. If they trust themselves in the long run, no matter what people say, they’ll have themselves.”

source: http://www.thehindustangazette.com / The Hindustan Gazette / Home> News> Education / by Rabia Shireen / March 26th, 2022

Young women lead churn within Muslim League

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , ,

KERALA :

The young women leaders are talking about the “politics of honourable existence”, which is beyond the comprehension of the present IUML leadership.

Image of IUML supporters used for representational purpose (File Photo | A Sanesh, EPS)

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a constituent of the opposition UDF in Kerala, is currently engaged in fighting a fire triggered by some of its young women leaders.

Haritha, a girls’ collective part of IUML’s student wing MSF, chose to speak out against the sexist approach and remarks of the MSF’s male-dominated leadership and complained to the women’s commission when the party refused to take any action.

The offended IUML leadership asked the girls to withdraw the complaint and, when found that they were unrelenting, disbanded the entire Haritha committee. It then removed MSF national vice-president Fathima Thahliya and state vice-president P P Shyjal, who supported the Haritha leaders.

The developments underline the churn within and are seen as the outcome of the knowledge revolution among Kerala’s Muslim community that has pushed the girls onto the centre stage. They have gate-crashed into spaces that were the prerogative of the males till now. This leap is clearly visible in academia, social life and even in politics.

The young women leaders are talking about the “politics of honourable existence”, which is beyond the comprehension of the present IUML leadership.

What we see now is the conflict between the emerging politics that is sensitive to the rights of the marginalised, including women, and the conventional politics that sees only power.

The IUML leadership first tried to ignore the issues of self-respect raised by the girls. Then they tried to stifle the voice when it became louder. Now, the issue has become too hot to handle. As a political party that apparently stands for minorities and the marginalised, the IUML cannot turn a blind eye to the issues raised by women leaders. As the Haritha leaders said, the IUML has to regain its democratic structure at every level of the party. It is high time it changed its priorities and policies.

Unlike in the past, where the party enjoyed a monopoly over the Muslim community, there are other players in the field now. And they are more sensible and sensitive to the dreams of the new generation. The party should see the writing on the wall and transform itself to accommodate new perspectives.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Opinion> Editorials / September 17th, 2021

AMU ABK High School-Girls Hockey Team Win Gold in Goa

Sports, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

Aligarh : 

The undeniable girl power of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in sports came to the fore in Hockey as a team of AMU ABK High School-Girls clinched a decisive win in the final of the National Hockey Tournament in Goa to bag the Gold Medal.

Team members Aliya Rashid, Simran Shakeel, Rabia Khatoon, Shafiya Shakeel, Amreen Malik, Zenab Mohsin, Saniya, Shaby and others were felicitated in a special function at the school on their return. 

Congratulating the team members, Dr Samina (Principal) said that the School hockey team has not only capped an excellent performance in the tournament, but also inspired other girls to take up sport and bring laurels.

Wishing the team more success in the future, Dr Saba Hasan (Vice Principal) said that the team’s performance shows that dreams can come true as long as you work hard.

School teachers, Mr Nadeem Ahmad, Mrs Shaheen Khan, Mr Mahtab Ahmed, Mr Najmur Rahman Faridi, Mr Shamshad Nisar (Sports teacher) and Md Imran Khan (Coach) delivered motivating speeches to encourage the hockey team for more success.

source: http://www.amu.ac.in / Aligarh Muslim University / AMU Public Relations Office / August 24th, 2021