This week, men don headscarves in Iran to mock authorities, an artificial paradise created by the Taliban to recruit young male would-be suicide bombers was seized, Indian investigators conclude that two Kashmiri women drowned and were not raped and murdered by Indian police as claimed by local residents, and in the view of the Christian Science Monitor, Muslim women are not required by the Qu’ran to observe a head covering.
Supporters of Iran’s opposition accuse authorities of forcing Majid Tavakoli, a student leader and activist, in a head scarf and woman’s robe to humiliate him, reports the Associated Press. In response, male supporters posted hundreds of photos online of themselves in women’s clothing to mock the treatment of Tavakoli.
Dawn News reports on the “artificial paradise” created by the Taliban to recruit teenage boys to become suicide bombers, in South Waziristan, Pakistan. Pakistani security forces report facing tough resistance before capturing the militant stronghold.
BBC News reports on Indian investigators’ conclusion that the deaths of two Kashmiri women that sparked massive protests were not raped or murdered. Local residents accused authorities of raping and murdering the Muslim women, Neelofar Jan and her sister-in-law, Ayesha, on May 30, which resulted in protests that shut the town for 47 days.
The Christian Science Monitor‘s Editorial Board expresses its view that head covering is not mandated in the Qu’ran for Muslim women, and that it is male interpretation of the Qu’ran that has denied many Muslim societies of awareness of the many freedoms granted to women by the Qu’ran. Islamic feminism and female scholars, they add, are changing this centuries long course.
Shazia Riaz is Associate Editor of Altmuslimah
