Among the dozens of mosques in Istanbul stands a radical exception. It is not only different in design but is also the first to be designed by a woman. Known for designing hotels and bars, the Architect Zeynep Fadillioglu said she wanted to create something contemporary.

“I think I don’t know of any other person - a woman - who has designed a mosque before,” she says. “It was both a privilege but it also scared me a lot. I had a lot of sleepless nights.”

Zeynep Fadillioglu drew on her own experiences praying in mosques when designing the ultramodern Sakirin Mosque in Istanbul. “In the Prophet’s time, men and women prayed next to each other,” she says.

Cairo, Egypt – It is a challenge to be unmarried in Egypt and even more so if the woman is “growing old” according to Egyptian customs. This means any unmarried woman past her mid-twenties is seen negatively through society’s lens, leaving many questions to be answered.

However, a group of Egyptian female activists are speaking out against the “A’anis,” or spinster, concept, calling for a re-examination of how the country views women. Youmna Mokhtar is a young Egyptian journalist who became fed up with the use of this word in everyday life. So she founded the social group called “Spinsters for change” that aims to educate people on the use of “A’anis.”

“I started the group to initiate a dialog between women to discuss how we can change that social look,” said Youmna. The group is outspoken against the social labeling and ill treatment of unmarried women.

SOURCE:
http://womennewsnetwork.net/

Dozens of young women have braved crowds of men screaming “dogs!” and throwing stones to protest against an Afghan law which effectively legalises rape within marriage, according to the UN.

“It was the first time in the history of Afghanistan that women were aware of their rights,” Shinkai Karokhail, one of Afghanistan’s 68 MPs said. “It was a fantastic statement that women will demand equal rights.”

While many women appeared to turn back, in the end about 200 turned out for the protest outside Mohseni’s imposing mosque and seminary.

In the Arab world, women’s empowerment has found an increasing number of champions. In Qatar, Ibthehaj Al Ahmadani, an active member of the Qatar Businesswomen Forum (QBF), decided to contest for a place on the board of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry – traditionally a male-dominated business nerve center.

Emerging victorious, Ahmadani said that her mission would be to enhance the role of women in the society and in the business world.

“There are an estimated 3,600 Qatari businesswomen but only a thousand of them are active. Women account for a scanty 3.4 per cent of citizens active in trade and industry in the country.” “As a board member, my main aim is to encourage participation of woman in the economy."

In March 2009, following the traditional Afghan academic calendar, the doors opened at “Project Wonkhai,” a secondary school for 1200 girls in Afghanistan’s Wardak province.

 There’s a Pashto proverb which means ‘Drop by drop, you make a river.’ And that’s what inspires Circle of Women, a young, non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that is dedicated to educating girls in developing countries.

By building one school at a time, the Circle of Women aims to make education available to every girl who wants one, with the belief that this is the best way to support positive, global change.

“Circle of Women feels that it has the opportunity and privilege of position to empower women in countries where gender equality is not an established right,” says Megan Dempsey, founding member.

SOURCE:
http://www.circleofwomen.org/project_wonkhai.html

Singapore - After starting the day with prayers and songs in honor of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, the students at the Madrasa Al Irsyad Al Islamiah in Singapore turned to the secular. An all-girls chemistry class grappled with compounds and acids while other students focused on English, math and other subjects from the national curriculum.

Singapore’s Muslim leaders see Al Irsyad, with its strict balance between religious and secular studies, as the future of Islamic education, not only in this city-state but elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Two madrasas in Indonesia have already adopted Al Irsyad’s curriculum and management, attracted to what they say is a progressive model of Islamic education in tune with the modern world.

For them, Al Irsyad is the counterpoint to many traditional madrasas that emphasize religious studies at the expense of everything else. Instead of preaching radicalism, the school’s in-house textbooks praise globalization and international organizations like the United Nations.

SOURCE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/world/asia/23singapore.html?emc=eta1

TEHRAN - Tehran’s Al-Zahra University is to hold a seminar to review the centennial poetry of world Persian-speaking female poets in late May.

“Poetesses from Tajikistan, Afghanistan, India and several other countries are to get together at the university,” said secretary of the seminar Fatemeh Rakei.

“The seminar emerged as a result of our feeling a necessity that female poets need to be introduced more emphatically, despite their active presence in the world contemporary literature.

All scholars and critics are also invited to take part in the seminar, she said, adding that an exhibition of outstanding works by the female poets will also be set up during the program.

SOURCE:
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=192183

GENERAL LINKS:
Empower Peace: http://www.empowerpeace.org/
Global Fund for Women: http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/cms/
Women for Women International: http://www.womenforwomen.org/
Women for Afghan Women: http://www.womenforafghanwomen.org/
Vital Voices: http://www.vitalvoices.org
Omid E Mehr: http://www.omid-e-mehr.org