Muslim Women Will Have To Lift Their "Niqabs" In Order To Vote

Muslim women will have to remove their niqabs (Muslim face covering) if they want to cast their vote in Quebec. However, in the beginning they were allowed to vote with wearing their niqabs, but now the public doesn’t want them to wear it while casting their vote. Marcel Blanchet said that he was reversing an earlier decision that would have allowed Muslim women to wear their niqabs when voting on March 26, however the decision started a violent debate in Quebec after it was reported in Montreal Newspapres. The chief electoral officer's headquarters were “flooded with angry e-mails and phone calls, which forced Marcel Blanchet to hire two personal bodyguards and assign security officials to survey the building.” Some people of Quebec warned to turn up at polling stations wearing masks. This prompted the authorities to reverse its decision so voting day could go on without having any trouble. Quebec’s three main party leaders have urged Blanchet to reverse the verdict by allowing Muslim women to wear burqa to vote. I think that it is not a big deal if you show your face while you are voting because Islam allows women to show their face. It does not say that you have to cover your face. Muslim women are not required to cover their face. Their outfits must cover up their whole body, but hands and face may remain uncovered. So, I think that there should not be any problem with taking off their niqabs
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/quebecvotes2007/story/2007/03/23/qc-niqab20070323.html
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/EFatima_in_UAE_with_niqab.jpg

Namira Creates History - She is the First Pakistani Women Astronaut

Namira Salim creates history!!! She is the first Pakistani women astronaut. She is thirty-five years old and she is all set to fly high in the space. She will be joining the crew members of the Virgin Galactic Spaceship for their space adventure scheduled to push off in the year 2008. She said that she has done a lot of hard work to pass through for this purpose. “I will create a new direction for Pakistani women,” Namira said. She also stated that the government and Pakistani people are excited and willing to witness this flight. I think that she is right since she is the first Pakistani women astronaut. She truly deserves appreciation, and she has definitely created history. She will be the first Pakistani to go into space “when commercial operations commence in 2008 and will participate in the birth of an incredible new industry on behalf of Pakistan-space tourism.” I think this is great because it shows that Muslim women are going ahead and are walking with men side by side. They are willing to prove themselves and have their own identity. It is wonderful because Namira will become an inspiration for young Pakistani girls and they would love to follow her foot steps. This means that the Pakistani women will liberate and will have a bright future. As of now, I think that President Pervez Musharraf’s policy of enlightened moderation is working and it is assisting Pakistani women in order to create a better picture of themselves in the world as well as creating a brighter future for themselves.
http://www.pakistantimes.net/2006/08/20/top9.htm

Dr. Sima Samar ~Hope for Women in Afghanistan

Dr. Sima Samar is an idol for women in Afghanistan. She has done so much for the liberation of native women and her support for human and women’s rights have raised criticisms from extremists. She said that despite the fact that things have changed for women as compared to Taliban regime, there are some areas that still experience violation of women rights like forced marriage, child marriage, job discrimination and child abduction and trafficking. When she was talking about the judicial system she said, “women have nearly no access to law enforcement and every now and then they are victimized to domestic violence.” For example, “the women who run away from abusive family male members end up in jail or are slaughtered by a family member. The family is then immune from prosecution for this “honor” killing. In order to escape these situations, women try to commit suicide and burn themselves.”

She also talked about the political scenario and she said, “women had victories in the parliamentary elections, still, there are no women among the advisors to the president and there is now only one woman in the Cabinet.” According to my opinion, she is right when she said that women need to be part of decision making bodies otherwise men will be taking decisions for them. This is why it is very important for women to take part in decision making bodies since they understand women’s problems and they will be able to come up with better solutions for women. Women of Afghanistan should support Dr. Sima Samar because she is a great hope for them and she can help them improve their status in a men dominated society. Hence, it is essential that women support each other and work together to establish their status and rights in Afghanistan.
http://www.stophonourkillings.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1458

An Initial Step In The Direction Of Women liberation

President Pervez Musharraf announced Rs. 100 million for women’s welfare in Pakistan. He said, “To ensure the continuity of policies, vote for the people in next election, who support me. Mobilize other women and ask them to vote for the moderate people and those who support the policies of present government.” He said that when he was addressing a huge woman convention held to celebrate the Women Protection Act. He insisted on the women to eliminate extremist elements in the 2007 general election and vote for the reasonable forces to guarantee the permanence of the policies of development across Pakistan. The president announced Rs 100 million welfare package for the women of Balochistan, Pakistan. He also stated that the Women Protection Act is an accomplishment. It is the initial step in the direction of women liberation. In addition, he promised to eliminate injustices against women in the future as well. I think that Mr. President is absolutely correct when he said that the Women Protection Act was “in accordance with the injunctions of the Holy Quran and Sunnah” because justice is the basic of Islam and as we all know that Islam offers equal rights to men and women. However, some politicians use Islam for their political gains. I totally agree with Mr. President and I truly support his idea of enlightenment.
http://presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/NewsEventsDetail.aspx?NewsEventID=3435
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/eplive/expert/photo/20060913PHT10651/pict_20060913PHT10651.jpg