Category Archives: Government Oppression

Wouldnt you feel that it was your fault that this child was raped? I know that I could never live with myself if something like that happened. That is why I wear the hijab.

Although only two or three years younger than Zoepf, this Muslim woman named Asma is light years removed from the idea that blaming an unveiled woman for the actions of a child molester [is] outrageous [and] to argue otherwise [is] to suggest that men [aren't] responsible for themselves.

Zoepf quotes Fatima Mernissi, a Moroccan sociologist who has explained that the traditional Islamic society hardly acknowledge[s] the individual, whom it abhor[s] as a disturber of the collective harmony. Consequently, traditional society produce[s] Muslims who [are] literally submissive to the will of the group.

If seen in a positive light, this group cohesion creates a strong community bond where all Muslims are guardians of the others in the group. Thus, if someone slipped, then the guilt would be shared." Consequently, less important are the rights of the individual compared with the "rights of the community." This sense of group identity is certainly a common thread among tightly knit communities of many different religious organizations.

On the other hand, this misogyny disproportionately burdens female members. Thus, females who grow up under this constant scrutiny face a particularly difficult path, since the mere fact of their being in the public eye is often enough to raise suspicions about their modesty.

Hereinlies a fundamental and clear-cut difference between a society based on individual responsibility for ones actions and one based on group conformity wrapped around a guilt-induced rationale. At no time does a mans accountability for assault enter this mindset. According to this point of view, the woman deliberately put herself in a position to be victimized and the community did nothing to stop the womans actions. This, is why Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali, Australia's most senior Muslim clericcan assert, without irony, that an unveiled woman is asking to be raped since she is "like uncovered meat who attract sexual predators." Moreover, al Hilali "suggested that a group of Muslim men recently jailed for many years for gang rapes were not entirely to blame" since there were women who "sway suggestively" and "wore make-up and immodest dress." He went on to say that if the woman "was in her room, in her home, in her hijab (veil), no problem would have occurred." Thus, the problem of rape lies entirely with the women victims.

And many followers of Islam concur. Abdul Jabar Azimi states that "Hijab prevents molestation" and mentions the Qur'an in the following verses of Surah Al-Ahzab: "O Prophet! tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad); that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested (Al-Qu'ran 33:59)."

Thus,the "Hijab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women and this will also prevent them from being molested."

Which, of course, begs the question -- if a woman is uncovered, does that make her ripe for a sexual attack -- thus, if a non-Muslim woman is wearing Western garb, is it correct to presume that she is a proper target for an attack? Ask the rape victims of Cologne and other European cities.

In her graphic novel Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi demonstrates how in 1980, Iran was transformed under the Islamic Revolution so that she no longer could go to a French secular school but was forced to wear the veil, attend a segregated school, and fear for her mother, who was demonstrating for freedom and choice.

With the Shah'soverthrow in 1979, alcohol was banned, clubs were shut down, and women had to be covered head-to-toe in public. Daniel Greenfield documents what happened recently to one young girl and her friends who had the audacity to remove their hijabs. The young people were taken to prison and the court issued its punishment -- for wearing a skirt, each girl would receive 40 lashes while the boys who had partied and listened to western music would receive 50 lashes.

Farhana Qaziwas interviewed by Abigail R. Esman and recounts how she was "blessed to be an American Muslim woman who would not have had the same opportunities in life if she had remained in Pakistan." She explains that her father raised her to be a bridge between the East and West and she has used her skills in counterterrorism work. Her work focuses on the divisions in the Muslim world today -- "a broken mass of billions blinded by age-old customs, traditional, and patriarchal norms steeped in ancient cultures." She is trying "to understand the way that Islam has been destroyed by splinter groups, religious fanatics, and hardline conservatives, issuing fatwas that oppose women's rights."

Qazi maintains that many Muslim females join Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups because, the groups, e.g., ISIS, "empower these girls." This is because "many Muslim girls living in the West are still bound by cultural (read controlled) rules and have little freedom outside of their home environment; they aren't allowed to 'hang out' with Western friends and these girls certainly don't have the same opportunities as their brothers or male cousins. In these cases, girls look for alternatives, which terrorism provides" and the terrorist groups are only too happy to make use of the girls as "cannon fodder." And, if the girls do not obey, they will be silenced by being shot with paintballs, whipped, or stoned to death.

Qazi states that because Muslims "believe that God's love is only for the select few, then this teaching restricts children in many ways; they are unable to cope in a western society and compelled to stay with their own communities. They are quite vulnerable to extremist recruitment."

In 2010, Nonie Darwish wrote that President Obama

did not tell the Muslim world what they needed to hear, and should have heard from the leader of the Free world. He had a moral obligation to add that we need to protect the right of Muslim women not to wear the hijab and punish those who force them to do so.

Many Muslim governments do not force the Islamic outfit on women. Egypt is one such country and the problem for the majority of Egyptian women is not being forced by their government to wear the hijab, but rather, they are forced by radical Islamists and their families. Mr. Obama should have known that the Egyptian government itself often discourages women from covering up and actually forbids the wives of Egyptian diplomats from wearing the hijab and even head covering. The reason I know that is because my brother is an Egyptian diplomat. The social and religious pressure on Egyptian women is huge and tyranny does not necessarily come from the top but often from Islamist Sharia enforcers on the streets who often want to take matters in their own hands. They use ridicule, pressure, intimidation, humiliation, and even throwing acid on women who do not wear the Islamic garb.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes that Muslim women,resigned to their circumstances,survive by reciting "Inshallah, God willing." Thus, if a woman does not submit, "then a man's good name, and his authorityare damaged." This "belief is part of a larger one that individuals don't matter; that their choices and desires are meaningless, particularly if the individuals are women." As a result, "[t]his sense of honor and male entitlement drastically restricts women's choices [so that] a whole culture and its religion weigh down every Muslim, but the heaviest weight falls disproportionately on women's shoulders."

And recently, the military ruler for the region of eastern Libya, General Abdul Razek al-Nazouri, announced his decision to bar Libyan women from leaving the country unguarded by a male.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali also maintains that "the Muslim veil, [and the] different sorts of masks and beaks and burkas, are all gradations of mental slavery." In fact,a woman "must ask permission to leave the house, and when [she] does, [she] must always hide behind thick drapery. Ashamed of [her] own body, suppressing [her] own desires -- what small space in a [woman's] life can be called [her] own? The veil deliberately marks women as private and restricted property, nonpersons. The veil sets women apart from men and apart from the world; it restrains them, confines them, grooms them for docility. A mind can be cramped just as a body may be, and the Muslim veil blinkers botha woman's vision and her destiny. It is the mark of a kind of apartheid, not the domination of a race, but of a sex."

That a piece of cloth should be the center of so much attention should speak to the fact that it represents much more than a piece of material. Certainly, Muslims can wrap their explanations around the idea of modesty as much as they want, but, in reality, far too many women are gagging under the weight of the veil.

Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com

I am currently reading Excellent Daughters: The Secret Lives of Young Women Who Are Transforming the Arab World by Katherine Zoepf. One chapter discusses the use of the veil or the hijab and it is a most telling revelation about the astonishing differences of thinking in the traditional Islamic society as contrasted with Western thought. Zoepf recounts this encounter with a Muslim woman who proudly explains why she wears the hijab.

What if a man sees you girls walking in the street with your hair uncovered and becomes so aroused that he goes and abuses a child?

Wouldnt you feel that it was your fault that this child was raped? I know that I could never live with myself if something like that happened. That is why I wear the hijab.

Although only two or three years younger than Zoepf, this Muslim woman named Asma is light years removed from the idea that blaming an unveiled woman for the actions of a child molester [is] outrageous [and] to argue otherwise [is] to suggest that men [aren't] responsible for themselves.

Zoepf quotes Fatima Mernissi, a Moroccan sociologist who has explained that the traditional Islamic society hardly acknowledge[s] the individual, whom it abhor[s] as a disturber of the collective harmony. Consequently, traditional society produce[s] Muslims who [are] literally submissive to the will of the group.

If seen in a positive light, this group cohesion creates a strong community bond where all Muslims are guardians of the others in the group. Thus, if someone slipped, then the guilt would be shared." Consequently, less important are the rights of the individual compared with the "rights of the community." This sense of group identity is certainly a common thread among tightly knit communities of many different religious organizations.

On the other hand, this misogyny disproportionately burdens female members. Thus, females who grow up under this constant scrutiny face a particularly difficult path, since the mere fact of their being in the public eye is often enough to raise suspicions about their modesty.

Hereinlies a fundamental and clear-cut difference between a society based on individual responsibility for ones actions and one based on group conformity wrapped around a guilt-induced rationale. At no time does a mans accountability for assault enter this mindset. According to this point of view, the woman deliberately put herself in a position to be victimized and the community did nothing to stop the womans actions. This, is why Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali, Australia's most senior Muslim clericcan assert, without irony, that an unveiled woman is asking to be raped since she is "like uncovered meat who attract sexual predators." Moreover, al Hilali "suggested that a group of Muslim men recently jailed for many years for gang rapes were not entirely to blame" since there were women who "sway suggestively" and "wore make-up and immodest dress." He went on to say that if the woman "was in her room, in her home, in her hijab (veil), no problem would have occurred." Thus, the problem of rape lies entirely with the women victims.

And many followers of Islam concur. Abdul Jabar Azimi states that "Hijab prevents molestation" and mentions the Qur'an in the following verses of Surah Al-Ahzab: "O Prophet! tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad); that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested (Al-Qu'ran 33:59)."

Thus,the "Hijab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women and this will also prevent them from being molested."

Which, of course, begs the question -- if a woman is uncovered, does that make her ripe for a sexual attack -- thus, if a non-Muslim woman is wearing Western garb, is it correct to presume that she is a proper target for an attack? Ask the rape victims of Cologne and other European cities.

In her graphic novel Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi demonstrates how in 1980, Iran was transformed under the Islamic Revolution so that she no longer could go to a French secular school but was forced to wear the veil, attend a segregated school, and fear for her mother, who was demonstrating for freedom and choice.

With the Shah'soverthrow in 1979, alcohol was banned, clubs were shut down, and women had to be covered head-to-toe in public. Daniel Greenfield documents what happened recently to one young girl and her friends who had the audacity to remove their hijabs. The young people were taken to prison and the court issued its punishment -- for wearing a skirt, each girl would receive 40 lashes while the boys who had partied and listened to western music would receive 50 lashes.

Farhana Qaziwas interviewed by Abigail R. Esman and recounts how she was "blessed to be an American Muslim woman who would not have had the same opportunities in life if she had remained in Pakistan." She explains that her father raised her to be a bridge between the East and West and she has used her skills in counterterrorism work. Her work focuses on the divisions in the Muslim world today -- "a broken mass of billions blinded by age-old customs, traditional, and patriarchal norms steeped in ancient cultures." She is trying "to understand the way that Islam has been destroyed by splinter groups, religious fanatics, and hardline conservatives, issuing fatwas that oppose women's rights."

Qazi maintains that many Muslim females join Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups because, the groups, e.g., ISIS, "empower these girls." This is because "many Muslim girls living in the West are still bound by cultural (read controlled) rules and have little freedom outside of their home environment; they aren't allowed to 'hang out' with Western friends and these girls certainly don't have the same opportunities as their brothers or male cousins. In these cases, girls look for alternatives, which terrorism provides" and the terrorist groups are only too happy to make use of the girls as "cannon fodder." And, if the girls do not obey, they will be silenced by being shot with paintballs, whipped, or stoned to death.

Qazi states that because Muslims "believe that God's love is only for the select few, then this teaching restricts children in many ways; they are unable to cope in a western society and compelled to stay with their own communities. They are quite vulnerable to extremist recruitment."

In 2010, Nonie Darwish wrote that President Obama

did not tell the Muslim world what they needed to hear, and should have heard from the leader of the Free world. He had a moral obligation to add that we need to protect the right of Muslim women not to wear the hijab and punish those who force them to do so.

Many Muslim governments do not force the Islamic outfit on women. Egypt is one such country and the problem for the majority of Egyptian women is not being forced by their government to wear the hijab, but rather, they are forced by radical Islamists and their families. Mr. Obama should have known that the Egyptian government itself often discourages women from covering up and actually forbids the wives of Egyptian diplomats from wearing the hijab and even head covering. The reason I know that is because my brother is an Egyptian diplomat. The social and religious pressure on Egyptian women is huge and tyranny does not necessarily come from the top but often from Islamist Sharia enforcers on the streets who often want to take matters in their own hands. They use ridicule, pressure, intimidation, humiliation, and even throwing acid on women who do not wear the Islamic garb.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes that Muslim women,resigned to their circumstances,survive by reciting "Inshallah, God willing." Thus, if a woman does not submit, "then a man's good name, and his authorityare damaged." This "belief is part of a larger one that individuals don't matter; that their choices and desires are meaningless, particularly if the individuals are women." As a result, "[t]his sense of honor and male entitlement drastically restricts women's choices [so that] a whole culture and its religion weigh down every Muslim, but the heaviest weight falls disproportionately on women's shoulders."

And recently, the military ruler for the region of eastern Libya, General Abdul Razek al-Nazouri, announced his decision to bar Libyan women from leaving the country unguarded by a male.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali also maintains that "the Muslim veil, [and the] different sorts of masks and beaks and burkas, are all gradations of mental slavery." In fact,a woman "must ask permission to leave the house, and when [she] does, [she] must always hide behind thick drapery. Ashamed of [her] own body, suppressing [her] own desires -- what small space in a [woman's] life can be called [her] own? The veil deliberately marks women as private and restricted property, nonpersons. The veil sets women apart from men and apart from the world; it restrains them, confines them, grooms them for docility. A mind can be cramped just as a body may be, and the Muslim veil blinkers botha woman's vision and her destiny. It is the mark of a kind of apartheid, not the domination of a race, but of a sex."

That a piece of cloth should be the center of so much attention should speak to the fact that it represents much more than a piece of material. Certainly, Muslims can wrap their explanations around the idea of modesty as much as they want, but, in reality, far too many women are gagging under the weight of the veil.

Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com

More here:

Articles: Islam, the Veil, and Oppression - American Thinker - American Thinker

A music video entitled Hwages, which loosely translates to concerns, featuring a trio of veiled female artists with colourful clothing underneath, playing together and singing about the oppression women face in Saudi Arabia has not only gone viral, but has also divided the country, reported The Independent on 5 January 2017.

The women, while they are shown playing basketball, skateboarding and riding in bumper cars, sing lyrics such as: May men be eradicated as they cause us to have mental illnesses; may they all go crazy, they seem to be possessed.

Saudis on social media have called the video disgusting and extremely inappropriate, but many have also praised the video for breaking stereotypes and helping to empower women in the country, reported The Sun on 4 January 2017.

The video, which was released on 23 December 2016, has over 9.2 million views as of the writing of this article. Click here to watch the Hwages music video and to learn more about women artists in Saudi Concerts and cinemas corruptMeanwhile, Saudi Mufti Abdel Aziz Bin Abdulla Al Sheikh, the highest religious authority in Saudi Arabia, has denounced a decision by the government-affiliated Entertainment Organisation to grant permits for music concerts and to establish the countrys first movie theatre, reported France24 on 14 January 2017.

Al Sheikh warned the organisation not to open the doors to evil, saying that no good can come from music concerts and that cinemas allow men and women to mingle a move that would violate public morality, reported Saudi online news source SABQ on 16 January 2017.

Concerts and cinemas corrupt the public, Al Sheikh said. Cinemas might screen films with sexually explicit content, thus harming public morality, inciting blasphemy and destroying our values; foreign films would impact negatively on our culture.

These new initiatives are part of the countrys ambitious new Economic Reform and Diversification Programme known as Saudi Vision 2030, which was launched in April 2016 by Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman, in part, to develop Saudi Arabias entertainment sector. History of censorshipWomen in Saudi Arabia live under harsh restrictions and art featuring women is often censored in the countrys male-dominated society.

In 2015 the Daily Mail reported that the country would censor album covers that were deemed to have sexy covers. In extreme cases, religious police were paid by the government to physically alter album covers by unwrapping individual CDs, removing the inserts and colouring over any exposed female flesh with a marker.

In response to such actions, three female artists in 2015 launched a poster campaign in Saudi capital Riyadh, pasting more than 400 posters that said Art is halal, meaning art is permissible, to provoke a discussion about the limits to freedom of expression people have in the country, reported Bustle in March 2015.

In 2013, the countrys Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) allegedly ordered music shops to put up signs that banned women from entering. In May 2015, authorities cancelled a concert scheduled at the Jeddah Amasy concert hall because the audience was going to be of mixed gender.

More recently, in 2016, the emir of the eastern region of Makkah banned the playing and carrying of musical instruments, headphones and speakers in public spaces. Also in 2016, the CPVPV in the Mayahel province stopped artists from performing music at a festival on two consecutive nights to prevent swaying and dancing which they deemed inappropriate and not worthy to be performed in front of women.

The level of restriction on freedom of expression in the country has gotten so stringent that in 2015 the United Nations human rights expert David Kaye expressed grave concern, noting a series of severe punishments against artists and citizens who expressed their beliefs and opinions about the country.

Photo: Screen shot from Hwages video/8ies Productions Sources

NPR 1 February 2017 Saudi women stunt hard (and dis men) in a music video gone viral

SABQ 16 January 2017 Mufti takes decisive stance on entertainment, concerts and movies are corruptive

France 24 14 January 2017 Saudi Mufti: Music concerts and cinemas corrupt the public

Stuff 9 January 2017 Women star in music video rebelling against banned activities in Saudi Arabia

The Independent 5 January 2017 Saudi Arabian women release video mocking kingdoms driving laws

The Sun 4 January 2017 Female pop band spark outrage in Saudi Arabia with music video mocking Donald Trump and condemning oppression of women

Daily Mail 25 March 2015 Cover up! How overtly sexy album artwork from singers like Madonna and Lady Gaga are censored for audiences in the Middle East

Middle East Eye 29 March 2015 Art is Halal poster campaign sparks lively debate in Saudi Arabia

Bustle 15 March 2015 Art is Halal posters by Saudi Arabian female artists ignite debate about censorship, a risky move in the kingdom More from Freemuse

3 March 2017: Podcast: Spotlight on Saudi female artists

8 July 2016: Saudi Arabia: Emir bans playing and carrying of musical instruments in region

20 January 2016: Saudi Arabia: Festival stopped due to swaying and dancing

17 December 2015: Saudi Arabia: Growing clamp down on freedom of expression

30 June 2015: Saudi Arabia: Concert with mixed gender audience cancelled

3 July 2013: Saudi Arabia: Women banned from entering music shops

Original post:

Saudi Arabia: Music video and government initiatives split society - Freemuse

As the world gears up for Israeli Apartheid Week 2017, Pedro Ferraracio Charbel says that Israel continues to enact violence in Latin America, and South Africans and Latin Americans should stand together to oppose Israels continued globalised oppression.

As a child of the 90s Ive only read, watched and listened to the inspiring stories of the South African anti-apartheid movement. I am deeply proud to come from Latin America, where social movements and some governments backed and advanced this struggle. It is even more inspiring to see that our people, while still struggling locally today, continue to find the time and energy to commit solidarity and support to others that are fighting oppression elsewhere.

Our struggles unite us, and this sense of internationalism becomes only more urgent with the rise of conservative and racist forces around the world. In this context, the recent support by Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to US president Donald Trump and his intention to build a wall on the Mexican border does not come as a surprise. Israel considers policies such as Trumps as golden opportunities to promote and export their field-tested weapons, military technologies and racist policies.

Israel truly is a world leader in globalised oppression. When most of the world was isolating the apartheid regime in South Africa, it was Israel that broke the boycott and supplied the racist government with military including nuclear technology. Israel, it has been documented, also exported weapons to Rwanda during the genocide in 1994, and it further fueled the civil war in South Sudan supplying groups there with weapons.

The Israeli regime was also deeply associated with bloody dictatorships and death squads in Latin America. In fact, till today, Israel and its companies are promoting, abetting and profiting from human rights violations and killings perpetrated by several governments and police in my region. In Latin America, this violence that Israel is essentially part of, is almost always against black, poor, migrant and indigenous populations. Israels mistreatment of Palestinians and of Africans is been imported by our governments and used against our peoples.

There is no surprise, then, that Trumps wall on the Mexico border would whet the appetite of the Israeli government and companies complicity with its violations. One such company, the Israeli Elbit Systems, was already contracted by the previous US government to build watchtowers on the US-Mexico border. Elbits selling point includes Israels apartheid wall and military drones which have been used against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

From Latin America to South Africa the question asked by most conscious people when confronted by Israels racist regime against Palestinians and its collusion with human rights violations abroad is how do we confront this?

Launched in 2005 by the vast majority of Palestinian civil society, the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) is inspired by the isolation campaigns that helped to put an end to apartheid in South Africa. It aims to pressure Israel to meet its obligations under international law, calling for citizens and progressive grassroots movements around the world to pressure governments, companies, universities, artists, and different entities to break the ties of complicity with Israels occupation, colonisation and apartheid. Not only because of its legitimacy, but also because of its spectacular results and connections to our own local struggles, BDS is the main answer as to what we can do.

Elbit, mentioned earlier, recently lost a major contract in Brazil, after pressure of local social movements in solidarity with Palestinians. Effective BDS pressure has led major multinationals, like Veolia, Orange and CRH, to abandon the Israeli market. The giant private security company G4S, which is also active in the US-Mexican border, sold almost all its business in Israel after losing several contracts and investments worldwide, including in South Africa, Colombia and Ecuador, due to BDS campaigns. Connecting BDS to struggles against water privatisation in Latin America, Brazilian and Argentinean social movements have managed to suspend deals of Israels apartheid water company, Mekorot.

These are just few examples of how people all around the world are answering the Palestinian call for BDS and effectively internationalising the struggle for human rights and against globalised repression and injustice. For South Africans and Latin Americans, standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people is organically connected to our own struggles in our respective regions. The two go hand in hand fighting local battles and lending solidarity internationally.

The South African government, like several Latin American and other African governments, has shown support to the Palestinian people. However, Palestinians, who were among the most principled and reliable supporters of the struggle for liberation in South Africa as well as for battles for justice in Latin America, are asking for effective solidarity, not just rhetorical support. Actions taken by our governments must be strengthened and intensified. It is time for a full military embargo on Israel and concrete measures to hold the Israeli regime and complicit companies to account.

Otherwise, no matter how eloquent ones speech may be, our governments will be supporting the material and symbolic walls being built and promoted by Netanyahu and Trump. Walls that are part of an international industry of injustice that has been harming Palestinians and our own peoples for decades. Let us all fight together for freedom, justice and equality.

Pedro Ferraracio Charbel is the BDS Coordinator for Latin America. He has been involved in various campaigns and struggles for justice, equality and freedom in Brazil and around the world.

View post:

From Latin America to South Africa: it's time for effective solidarity towards Palestine - The Daily Vox (blog)

Excessive military presence in public spaces, a rigid approach adopted by the ruling power in India and, most importantly, the grave human rights violations in the aftermath of the deathof militant commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani have increased home-grown militancy and radicalization among the Kashmiri population.

Educated youth havingpicked up arms to fight for a cause, lackgenuine training and are these days giving a tough time to the highly equipped government forces. Although, the situation exhibits that the current situationin Kashmir is similar toan armed struggle, it can never be compared to the insurgency of the 90s. The popular local support, the seed sown by Burhan Wani and the unrest after his death have motivated the educated youth towards militancy.

They feel that the government of India does not care about their pain and suffering due to the lingering Kashmir issue. In such circumstances, declaring militancy because of lack of economic opportunities and frustration due to high unemployment is contradictory to their demands.

Before the 2016 unrest, the Indian army under theArmed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) used to cordon off the whole area or village for anencounter with armed militants. After Burhan Wanis killing, the whole scenario has changed. Now, the local populace come out on the streets during search operations and start throwing stones to help the militants escape. Many civilians have lost their lives and a large number of people have been injured. With such obstructions the army has, on several occasions, called off the search operations.

Recently, armed personnel of the 55 Rashtriya Rifles (a Special Operation Group of Jammu & Kashmir Police from Pulwama and Newa) cordoned off Urivan village after a tip-offthat two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were hiding there. When the government forces started a combing operation, the local population attacked the army and SOG personnel with stones, thus, forcing the men in uniforms to vacate the site.

The armed forces in Kashmir are now taking stern steps to deal with the people who help militants. They have been directed to use only rifles and drop their batons. This direction has comeafter General Bipin Rawat issued warnings of harsh action against those who help militants escape.

The army has also tried the use of soft measures like using smoke cover to prevent locals from obstructing operations but this has not yielded much result, forcing them to consider using harsher methods. The state government has now decided to impose strict restrictions within a radius of three km from the site of any counter-insurgency operation in Kashmir.

On the other hand,students in the Valleys educational institutes, including those at Kashmir University, are now openly cautioning the government to end oppression and suppression of the people of Kashmir otherwise they will be left with no choice but to pick up guns. Recently, despite the ban on students politics, there was a protest march inside the campus of Kashmir University expressing solidarity with the families of militants and civilians killed in an encounter in Kulgam South Kashmir. Shouting pro-azadi(freedom) and anti-India slogans, the protesting students carried banners reading, End Occupation, Free Kashmir.

Nowadays, informers have become a new headache for the army units in Kashmir. Twice in the past fortnight, the armys local informers in the Valley double-crossed them and gave ared herring to the units involved in operations, leading theminto the militants trap.

Undoubtedly, there is much support to the militants in Kashmir by the local people, but the fact is that youngsters mostly get killed within a period of a month or two after joining militancy. Every encounter ends on a bitter note. Sometimes, civilians also fall to the bullets from the forces. Militant, innocent, policeman or even army at the end of the day, is made up by humans who lose their precious lives. To end the humanitarian crisis in Kashmir, the ruling partyhas to shun its stubbornness and initiate a process by taking concrete and honest steps for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

__

The writer can be reached at: [emailprotected]

Read more here:

This Is Why The Youth Is Picking Up Arms In Kashmir - Youth Ki Awaaz

The government's decision thatIrish Travellers are to be recognised as an official ethnic group in Ireland, has been warmly welcomed in Donegal.

The announcement has been greeted with joy by theDonegal Travellers Project (DTP), who see it as a productive response to the strong criticism that Ireland has received from national and international human rights organisations for failing to adequately address anti-Traveller discrimination.

The recognition of Traveller ethnicity is also expected to shift the focus of government policy regarding Travellers fully away from assimilation and towards respect for their culturally different but equal status as Irish citizens.

This is a historic and emotional day for the Traveller community and for Traveller organisations who have been campaigning for nearly 30 years to have our people recognised as an ethnic group, said Hugh Friel, DTP Mens Health and Development Worker, who attended the announcement in the Dil with DTPs Katie Boyle and Martin Mongan.

We know we are an ethnic group. Now the state has finally recognised our culture, our history, and the oppression we have experienced by its denial."

DTP Manager, Siobhn McLaughlin said: All of us in community development work to create the changes in society and government policy which promote the inclusion of the voices and experiences of marginalised communities.

Traveller organisations and the Traveller community have a sense of achievement, success, and jubilation today.

"The State has acknowledged the unique and undeniable status of being an ethnic group to the Traveller community. It may have been a long time coming, but it is still a day of great celebration.

DTP has actively participated in the long campaign for recognition of Traveller ethnicity alongside the ITM and other Traveller organisations, including Mincirs Whiden, the National Traveller Womens Forum, and the Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre.

Donegal Senator Pdraig Mac Lochlainn also played a leading role, including through writing a 2014 report on behalf of a cross-party Oireachtas committee which concluded that Travellers should be recognised as a distinct ethnic group.

If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Donegal Now editorial team. Between 9am and 5pm Monday to Sunday please call 074 9112712. Between 5pm and midnight please call or text 086 792 2103. Or you can email [emailprotected] at any time.

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Donegal Travellers Project welcomes government recognition of Traveller ethnicity - Donegal Now

Anofficial ISIS media outlet released a 30 minute video on February 27 that for the first time threatens China with attacks. Along with executions, the video included scenes that purported to show the daily life of its Chinese Muslim fighters.

In one scene, a militant addresses the camera before carrying out an execution, saying you Chinese people who dont understand the language of the people, we the soldiers of the Caliphate will come to you to teach you the language of weapons, to spill rivers of blood as revenge against the oppressors. The man then turns to the victim, who is wearing an orange jumpsuit and is hanging upside down from the ceiling, and slits his throat while a young boy looks on from the side.

Uighurs are a Turkic ethnic group who live mostly in Chinas western Xinjiang province. They practice Islam, and are often targeted by the Chinese government for religious and security reasons. Human Rights Watch previously reportedon government oppression of the sect,including a recent campaign to confiscate Uighur passports. On February 27 the Chinese army held anti-terror rallies in the heart of Xinjiang, assembling over 10,000 troops in the regions capital.

The new video references Chinese government persecution of the Uighur minority, showing footage of Chinese security forces detaining Muslims.

The video also includes scenes of armed children and teenage boys, undergoing religious and military training. Children are shown trainingwith weapons, and one child soldier simulates the execution of a prisoner who is kneeling. In one disturbing scene, a child referred to asAbd al-Rashid al-Turkistani, executes a kneeling prisoner. The child is shown pressing a pistol to the top of his victims head, and pulls the trigger.

ISIS has in the past reached out to Chinas Uighur population, releasing a video in 2015 calling on them to join the group and move to ISIS territory. According to a 2016 report released by an American think tank, over 100 Chinese Uighurs have joined ISIS.

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ISIS Threatens China In New Video Showing Chinese Jihadists - Vocativ

How bad is religious persecution in China?

This is a question Ive thought a lot about over the past few years. Since 2010 Ive been working on a project documenting a religious revival in China, and seen new churches, temples, and mosques open each year, attracting millions of new worshipers.

But Ive also seen how religion is tightly proscribed.

Only five religious groups are allowed to exist in China: Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism. The government controls the appointment of major religious figures, and decides where places of worship can be built. It tries to influence theology and limits contacts overseas. And it bans groups it doesnt like, especially the spiritual practice Falun Gong, or groups it calls cults, like the charismatic Christian splinter sect Almighty God.

These problems are explained in a new and carefully researched study by Freedom House. The 142-page report, The Battle for Chinas Spirit, points out that some religions face little persecution. Daoists and Buddhists are faring well, while Catholics could soon enjoy better times, with ties possibly warming between Beijing and the Vatican.

But overall, the message is glum. Almost all groups are said to face serious restrictions, with three groups Uyghurs who practice Islam, Protestant Christians, and followers of the banned spiritual practice Falun Gong facing high or very high levels of government interference.

Cross-removals

While most of the facts in the study are correct, the context feels more negative than the religious world Ive experienced. Of course it is in the nature of such reports to be critical this is what watchdogs like Freedom House are for but it feeds into an overall assumption in western countries that the Chinese government is a major persecutor of religion.

According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, for example, China is one of just 17 countries in the world listed as being of particular concern.

Let me highlight one area where I think Freedom House could have done better: Protestant Christianity. The Freedom House report focuses on a cross-removal campaign, which ran from 2014-2016 and saw over 1,000 crosses removed from the spires of churches, or the tops of buildings. In addition, a church was demolished.

On the face of it, this is horrific so many churches shorn of the very symbol of their faith. What better example of a heavy-handed atheistic state persecuting belief?

And yet I think this is not typical of Protestantism in China. Ive made several trips to the area where the crosses were removed and feel I know the region well.

Id say that the most important point is that virtually none of these churches have been closed. All continue to have worshipers and services just like before. In addition, the campaign never spread beyond the one province. Some pessimists see it as a precursor for a campaign that might spread nationally, but so far that hasnt happened and there is no indication it will.

What seems to have happened is a fairly special case. That region is at most 10% Protestant above the national average of about 5%, but still a minority. But local Christians decided to put huge red crosses on the roofs of buildings and churches, so they dominated the skyline of every city, town, and village across the province. That gave the impression that Christianity was the dominant local religion and irked many non-Christians.

Self-critical Christians told me that their big red crosses were meant well. They were enthused by their faith and wanted to proclaim it. But they also sheepishly said it might also have been a sign of vanity; rather than putting their money into mission work or social engagement, they wanted to boast about their wealth and faith. I felt they were a bit hard on themselves in a normal, healthy society an open expression of ones faith should be normal but it is true that it was also a potential provocation for a state that does not give religion much public space.

In short, this campaign was fairly specific and not representative of most Protestants religious experience in China. In his new book Chinas Urban Christians, Brent Fulton of the Protestant think tank ChinaSource, writes that political oppression is a secondary concern, even for underground Protestants. Instead he says what keeps pastors of these churches up at night are problems that religious leaders around the world would recognize: materialism and the lures of secular society. The government is a hassle, but is not their main problem.

This mirrors what Ive seen as well. Protestantism is booming and Chinese cities are full of unregistered (also called underground or house) churches. These are known to the government but still allowed to function. They attract some of the best-educated and successful people in China. And they are socially engaged, with outreach programs to the homeless, orphanages, and even families of political prisoners. To me, this is an amazing story and far outweighs the cross-removal campaign, which basically ended and seems to have had no lasting consequences.

Dark future?

Now, its true that all this could change. Last autumn, the government issued new regulations on religion. The most important point of the rules was to reemphasize a ban on religious groups ties to foreign groups for example, sending people abroad to seminaries, or inviting foreigners to teach or train in China. This is clearly part of a broader trend in China that we see in other areas. Non-governmental organizations are also under pressure, and the surest way to get unwanted government attention is to have links abroad.

Given the predilections of the Xi administration, these new religious regulations could be harshly enforced. We could see unregistered churches forced to join government churches. And we could see outreach programs closed down.

If this happens, then I would say that Protestantism would be suffering from a high degree of persecution. And if it happens well need hard-hitting reports condemning it in no uncertain terms. But until this crackdown really occurs, we might be missing the forest for the trees.

Read this article:

Focusing on religious oppression in China misses the big picture - Gant Daily

Gurung, a student at Hong Kong University, went from sleeping on floors to being the first in her family to attend college.

By Jessie Yang, University of Hong Kong

Suskihanna Gurung is currently a junior at Hong Kong University, the school I studied at before studying abroad this semester in California.

Growing up as a Nepalese in Hong Kong, her unique experience has inspired her to dedicate her creative talents to highlighting the individuals that society often leaves behind. Through her photography, Gurung captures the struggles of marginalized communities, and ignites hope for minorities in Hong Kong to pursue their dreams.

I was able to talk to her about her photography, her experience in school and her plans for post graduation.

Student Suskihanna Gurung

Jessie Yang: So, I know that we both go to the University of Hong Kong, but beyond that, can you tell me about your background?

Suskihanna Gurung: Yes, so, in short, I am a Nepalese Hong Konger majoring in English Literature and Journalism. I come from a very humble family, and never thought that I would end up in university and become the first in my family to attend any higher education.

JY: What is it like growing up as a Nepalese in Hong Kong?

SG: I grew up in a diverse, but segregated Hong Kong. I went to a government school designated for immigrants and refugees children. Seeing my parents struggle and just bear with the racism made we work harder for my dreams.

I disregarded education for the longest time, because our teachers would tell us that we would never be as good as the locals, even when we were locals ourselves. Because we are not Chinese, somehow we are considered dumb and lazy.

Until I entered university, I spent the majority of my life without having a single Chinese friend, which shows that the segregation is pretty bad. Ironically, now people assume I came from an international school, while in fact I came from a free school that was usually undersupplied.

JY: What are some of the challenges that your upbringing has presented?

SG: Growing up, I always felt inferior to the local Chinese, because my skin was darker and I had curly hair. Our teachers told us we were not good like them.

Money was also always a huge problem in my family. My mom is the only person who works; she works as a floor attendant, which is heavy labor and little pay. I started working in restaurants, underage, during ninth grade to help her out. I have worked in a variety of jobs: waiter, cleaner, tutor, research assistant and cashier.

Looking back, I dont regret these experiences. I feel grateful to have learned so much at an early age, especially things that so many adults are ignorant of.

I care about human rights, everything from refugees to queer rights, because we are all human, and I have been marginalized for so long. It still astonishes me how people expect me to just bear with it or never stand up for myself.

I realized early on that I just had to stand up for myself. My parents always tell me to keep a low profile or just bear with the racism to not cause trouble, but I feel that it is wrong to get used to mistreatment, prejudice and racism, and treat it like a part of normal life. We have to speak up to make changes.

The older I get, the more confident I become. Everything I am is because of myself, my parents, my grandparents and my life experiences. I am glad that I know how to appreciate things in my life, while most of my friends get mad when their parents cant buy them the latest designer products. I learned to rely on myself, not to blame my parents or society, and that it is up to me to take charge of my own destiny.

JY: Creatively, what are you working on right now? Do you have any ongoing projects?

SG: I work as the social head for the Harvard College in Asia program, so we are currently preparing for that.

I am also working on a documentary about debunking LGBT stereotypes with a few of my friends, while also pursuing a YouTube channel and photography.

I also write stories and plays about the cross-cultural experiences I grew up around, and I hope I can turn them into actual movies one day, because experiences matter as well as representation. Right now, Im writing a love story about a local Chinese boy and a local ethnic minority girl, with their cultures and Hong Kong as the backdrop.

Working as a Unison scholar, which is an NGO dealing with ethnic minorities rights, I take part in forums and have met with candidates for the future leaders of Hong Kong, because I know how important representation is. And if they dont hear us, who will?

Photography by Gurung

JY: What inspires your work?

SG: Its been my dream since I was young to create, be it through stories or performance. I believe experiences matter, and I would like to express them through my stories and, one day, movies.

Since I never grew up around money, Im not really bothered by it; I will live a happy life as long as I can pursue something I like, as opposed to something that will make me rich. I went from sleeping on the cold floor to attending one of the best universities in the world, and I feel blessed.

I could live without getting married, owning a house, owning a car or any materialistic shit like that, as long as I can live comfortably pursuing my dreams. Maybe also because I never had money, I realize its dumb to base your life around money, because it comes and goes. My parents arent fond of my aspirations, and we have had many quarrels about this, but I hope I can buy a house for them one day, even if I have nowhere to sleep.

JY: Its clear that you have a purpose to your art, and its inspiring to see your devotion to it. What do you want your works to tell people?

SG: By bringing forth representations of marginalized people within society, I want to show that we too have a voice and a story to tell, that we experience love, and heartbreak and all that stuff.

JY: What do you want to do for Nepalese community, or minorities in Hong Kong?

SG: To prove to them that we are more than gangsters, drug dealers and addicts, construction workers or floor attendantsthe stereotypes I grew up aroundbut to also inspire the Nepalese community to be more than what society tells us we are.

I grew up seeing Nepalese people racially profiled, being arrested in staircases, in parks, being high on drugs or joining gangs to find a sense of belonging, and I wanted to always let them know that there is potential in every one of us, and that academics is not the only way to succeed.

I think passion and hard work are most important in life; even if I didnt enter university, I would still pursue my dreams, because why should I let a school stunt my growth?

JY: What do you want to do after you graduate?

SG: I want to take up writing full time, as well as filming, but to be practical, I will be training to become a teacher, as I got a fully funded scholarship from my university that covers all my fees. I hope I can also inspire the incoming generation to know that, Hey, I made it, so you can too.

Hong KongphotographySuskihanna GurungUniversity of Hong Kong

Read more:

Nepalese Student Suskihanna Gurung Portrays Chinese Oppression Through Photography - Study Breaks

But I've also seen how religion is tightly proscribed.

Only five religious groups are allowed to exist in China: Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism. The government controls the appointment of major religious figures, and decides where places of worship can be built. It tries to influence theology and limits contacts overseas. And it bans groups it doesn't like, especially the spiritual practice Falun Gong, or groups it calls cults, like the charismatic Christian splinter sect Almighty God.

But overall, the message is glum. Almost all groups are said to face serious restrictions, with three groups --Uyghurs who practice Islam, Protestant Christians, and followers of the banned spiritual practice Falun Gong --facing "high" or "very high" levels of government interference.

While most of the facts in the study are correct, the context feels more negative than the religious world I've experienced. Of course it is in the nature of such reports to be critical --this is what watchdogs like Freedom House are for-- but it feeds into an overall assumption in western countries that the Chinese government is a major persecutor of religion.

On the face of it, this is horrific -- so many churches shorn of the very symbol of their faith. What better example of a heavy-handed atheistic state persecuting belief?

And yet I think this is not typical of Protestantism in China. I've made several trips to the area where the crosses were removed and feel I know the region well.

I'd say that the most important point is that virtually none of these churches have been closed. All continue to have worshipers and services just like before. In addition, the campaign never spread beyond the one province. Some pessimists see it as a precursor for a campaign that might spread nationally, but so far that hasn't happened and there is no indication it will.

What seems to have happened is a fairly special case. That region is at most 10% Protestant -- above the national average of about 5%, but still a minority. But local Christians decided to put huge red crosses on the roofs of buildings and churches, so they dominated the skyline of every city, town, and village across the province. That gave the impression that Christianity was the dominant local religion and irked many non-Christians.

Self-critical Christians told me that their big red crosses were meant well. They were enthused by their faith and wanted to proclaim it. But they also sheepishly said it might also have been a sign of vanity; rather than putting their money into mission work or social engagement, they wanted to boast about their wealth and faith. I felt they were a bit hard on themselves -- in a normal, healthy society an open expression of one's faith should be normal -- but it is true that it was also a potential provocation for a state that does not give religion much public space.

This mirrors what I've seen as well. Protestantism is booming and Chinese cities are full of unregistered (also called "underground" or "house") churches. These are known to the government but still allowed to function. They attract some of the best-educated and successful people in China. And they are socially engaged, with outreach programs to the homeless, orphanages, and even families of political prisoners. To me, this is an amazing story and far outweighs the cross-removal campaign, which basically ended and seems to have had no lasting consequences.

Now, it's true that all this could change. Last autumn, the government issued new regulations on religion. The most important point of the rules was to reemphasize a ban on religious groups' ties to foreign groups -- for example, sending people abroad to seminaries, or inviting foreigners to teach or train in China. This is clearly part of a broader trend in China that we see in other areas. Non-governmental organizations are also under pressure, and the surest way to get unwanted government attention is to have links abroad.

Given the predilections of the Xi administration, these new religious regulations could be harshly enforced. We could see unregistered churches forced to join government churches. And we could see outreach programs closed down.

If this happens, then I would say that Protestantism would be suffering from a "high" degree of persecution. And if it happens we'll need hard-hitting reports condemning it in no uncertain terms. But until this crackdown really occurs, we might be missing the forest for the trees.

Ian Johnson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent based on Beijing. His new book, "The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao," will be published in April. The views expressed above are solely his own.

See the original post:

Opinion: Focusing on religious oppression in China misses the big ... - CNN

The anti-DAPL (Dakota Access Pipeline) protest camp burned last Wednesday, teepees set ceremoniously ablaze by protesters before the police swarmed in to arrest anyone who dared remain on the camp.

As Donald Trump and his cronies strip away the rights of trans people, Muslims, immigrants, and now Native Americans with his executive order to accelerate the building of DAPL, it may almost seem the world is burning down, engulfed in the wealthys insatiable hunger to steal more and more from the oppressed.

The struggle continues, however. This is only another example of, as described by Linda Black Elk, head of the Medic and Healer Council at Standing Rock, a continued legacy of oppression by the United States government. DAPL cuts through Sioux historical camps and ceremonial sites throughout its route, as well as being a threat to drinking water and their edible and medicinal plants that grow adjacent to the pipeline. The voices of the nearly 10,000 people who occupied the resistance camp at its peak have been silenced by force.

This is not unlike the history of Native Americans being coerced at gunpoint to give up their land to colonizers or the denial of Native Americans right to control their reservations resources by the U.S. government, causing disastrous mismanagement of Native American assets and burdensome bureaucracy, forcing those living on reservations into poverty.

But as oppression continues, resistance builds. This is not even close to being the end of the struggle against the capitalist machine that pollutes our water and robs us of what is rightly ours. The Indigenous Environmental Network is organizing an action from March 7th to March 10th in Washington, D.C. in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples across the world and [to] demand that Indigenous Rights be respected. The turnout is expected to be in the many thousands.

As Black Elk pointed out, we also have people who are going down to Texas to fight the Trans-Pecos pipeline. We have people who are going to Louisiana to fight the Bayou Bridge pipeline and Florida to fight the Sabal Trail pipeline. [] We continue to stand. We continue to educate. We will be everywhere to let people know that theres a better way to live, theres a better way to live with the Earth.

We will continue to fight for that better way to live, for a society where the working class and all the people of the world who have been exploited and oppressed can be liberated. If we are to see poetry in the rising smoke of the Standing Rock protest site, let it be this: this fire will never go out; our rage, our despair, our burning desire for justice will be our toolswith which we win freedom for the people.

Read more from the original source:

What should we see in the ashes of the Standing Rock protest camp? - Liberation