Top UN woman urges Muslims: Move Taliban into 21st century

Top UN woman urges Muslims: Move Taliban into 21st century
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UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed says Muslim countries need to help Afhanistan's Taliban rulers to move from the “13th century to the 21st.” (AFP file)
Top UN woman urges Muslims: Move Taliban into 21st century
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In this photo taken on January 19, 2022, Taliban officials listening as Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund speaks at the former presidential place in Kabul. (Taliban handout via AFP)
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Updated 26 January 2023
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Top UN woman urges Muslims: Move Taliban into 21st century

Top UN woman urges Muslims: Move Taliban into 21st century
  • “Their definition of protection would be, I would say, ours of oppression,” says UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed
  • Mohammed, a former Nigerian Cabinet minister, her delegation met with Taliban officials last week to discuss how they treat Afghan women

UNITED NATIONS: The highest-ranking woman at the United Nations said Wednesday she used everything in her “toolbox” during meetings with Taliban ministers to try to reverse their crackdown on Afghan women and girls, and she urged Muslim countries to help the Taliban move from the “13th century to the 21st.”
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, a former Nigerian Cabinet minister and a Muslim, said at a news conference that four Taliban ministers, including the foreign minister and a deputy prime minister, spoke “off one script” during meetings with her delegation last week.
She said the officials sought to stress things that they say they have done and not gotten recognition for — and what they called their effort to create an environment that protects women.
“Their definition of protection would be, I would say, ours of oppression,” Mohammed said.

 

Those meetings in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and the Islamic group’s birthplace in Kandahar were followed by a visit this week by UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and heads of major aid groups. They are pressing the Taliban to reverse their edict last month banning Afghan women from working for national and international non-governmental groups.
Speaking from Kabul on Wednesday, Griffiths said the focus of the visit was to get the Taliban to understand that getting aid operations up and running and allowing women to work in them was critical. The delegation’s message was simple — that the ban makes the groups’ work more difficult, he said.
“What I heard from all those I met (was) that they understood the need as well as the right for Afghan women to work, and that they will be working on a set of guidelines which we will see issued in due course, which will respond to those requirements,” Griffiths said.
Mohammed said her delegation, including the head of UN Women, which promotes gender equality and women’s rights, pushed back against the Taliban, including when they started talking about humanitarian principles.
“We reminded them that in humanitarian principles, non-discrimination was a key part … and that they were wiping out women from the workplace,” she said.
As a Sunni Muslim, like the Taliban officials, Mohammed said she told the ministers that when it comes to preventing girls’ education beyond sixth grade and taking away women’s rights, they are not following Islam and are harming people.




In this photo released on January 19, 2022, Taliban officials listen as Afghan Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund speaks at the former presidential place in Kabul. (AFP) 

In one setting, Mohammed said, she was told by a Taliban official she didn’t name that “it was haram (forbidden by Islamic law) for me to be there talking to them.” These conservatives won’t look straight at a woman, she noted, so she said she played “that game” and didn’t look directly at them either.
“I gave as much as I think they gave, and we did push,” she said.
Mohammed said the Taliban have said that in due course the rights taken away from women and girls will come back so the UN delegation pressed for a timeline. “What they would say was ‘soon,’” she said.

The Taliban took power for a second time in August 2021, during the final weeks of the US and NATO forces’ pullout from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
Mohammed said the Taliban, who have not been recognized by a single country, want international recognition and Afghanistan’s seat at the United Nations, which is currently held by the former government led by Ashraf Ghani.
“Recognition is one leverage that we have and we should hold onto,” Mohammed said.
Before arriving in Kabul, Mohammed’s delegation traveled to Muslim majority countries, including Indonesia, Turkiye, Gulf states and Saudi Arabia, where she said there was wide support against the Taliban bans.
She said there is a proposal for the UN and the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation to host an international conference in mid-March on women in the Muslim world.
“It’s very important that the Muslim countries come together,” she said. “We have to take the fight to the region … and we need to be bold about it and courageous about it because women’s rights matter.”
Griffiths, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, and his delegation, including the heads of Care International and Save the Children US, did not travel to Kandahar, where the ban on Afghan women working for NGOs was issued on the orders of the reclusive Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzdaza.




Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief. (AFP)

Griffiths acknowledged Akhundzada’s top status but said there are many important voices among Taliban officials across the country.
“I don’t think it’s a simple matter of simply asking one man to take responsibility and to change an edict,” he said. “There is a collective responsibility for this edict, and I hope we’re building up a collective will to compensate for its ban.”
Save the Children’s Janti Soeripto said that there were meetings with eight ministries in two days and that some among the Taliban seemed to understand the need to reverse the ban.
“There’s resistance, they don’t want to be seen doing a U-turn,” she said. “If people don’t see the consequences as viscerally as we see them, people will feel less inclined.”
Mohammed said it is important for the UN and its partners to work more in some 20 Afghan provinces that are more forward leaning.
“A lot of what we have to deal with is how we travel the Taliban from the 13th century to the 21st,” she said. “That’s a journey. So it’s not just overnight.”
She said the Taliban told her delegation that it is putting forward a law against gender-based violence, which she called “a big plus” because rape and other attacks are increasing in Afghanistan.
“I want to hold the Taliban to champion implementing that law,” she said.
Mohammed said it is important to maximize whatever leverage there is to bring the Taliban back to the principles underpinning participation in the “international family.”
“No one objects to a Muslim country or Sharia (law),” she said. “But all of this cannot be re-engineered to extremism and taking views that harm women and girls. This is absolutely unacceptable, and we should hold the line.”


Australia end losing streak with consolation win over India

Australia end losing streak with consolation win over India
Updated 4 min 52 sec ago
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Australia end losing streak with consolation win over India

Australia end losing streak with consolation win over India
  • Glenn Maxwell returns career-best figures of 4-40 to spearhead Australia to victory
  • Mitchell Marsh led batting onslaught by scoring 96 runs to take Australia to 352-7

RAJKOT: Glenn Maxwell returned career-best figures of 4-40 to end Australia’s five-match losing streak with a consolation 66-run win over India in the third one-day international on Wednesday.
Mitchell Marsh led the batting onslaught with his 96 as Australia posted 352-7, a total their bowlers defended by bowling out India for 286 in Rajkot.
The hosts took the three-match series 2-1 but Australia finish on a high ahead of the World Cup starting October 5 in India.
Maxwell, who returned to the team alongside Mitchell Starc after the two players recovered from injuries, scored just five with the bat but made an impact with his impressive off-spin.
“I feel like I’ve come into this World Cup nice and fresh and I’m excited to hit the ground running,” Maxwell said after being named man of the match. 
“Nice to get a nice result tonight.”
The all-rounder added: “It’s nice to chip in, if Mitch Marsh was there on the field, we would have chopped and changed (on the bowling). Since he was not there, had to bowl more. That will be the role of the allrounders in this World Cup.”
Maxwell got the first three wickets including skipper Rohit Sharma, for 81, and star batsman Virat Kohli, for 56, after a brisk start by India.
Rohit raised his fifty in 31 balls and seemed to have the chase in control but Maxwell got the captain with a stunning caught and bowled in his second over.
He then sent back Kohli soon after the former captain’s 66th ODI fifty and, despite a fighting 48 by Shreyas Iyer, the Indian batting folded in 49.4 overs.
Pace bowler Josh Hazlewood took two wickets as Australia ended the losing streak which started in South Africa earlier this month.
Batsmen set up victory after Marsh tore into the Indian bowlers in attacking partnerships that included a second-wicket stand of 137 with Steve Smith, who hit 74.
The top four batsmen stood out with Marsh, David Warner (56), Smith and Marnus Labuschagne (72) all contributing to a mammoth total that looked like going beyond 400 before India hit back.
Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets while left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav took two.
India had only 13 players to pick for their XI with some rested and a virus in the camp that made Ishan Kishan miss out.
Rohit said the players are fresh and raring to go.
“When we talk about the 15 we are very clear what we want,” said Rohit.
“We are not confused, we know where we are headed as a team. It’s a team sport and you need everyone to play their part and that’s how we win championships.”
Marsh took on Bumrah with three boundaries and a six in the paceman’s first two overs and the left-handed Warner soon joined in the charge.
Warner hammered Prasidh Krishna for three fours and a six in the seventh over and raced to his fifty in 32 balls in the next with another hit over the fence.
Marsh reached his half-ton in 45 balls but was denied a century when he casually slapped Kuldeep straight to cover. His 84-ball knock included 13 fours and three sixes.
Smith, Alex Carey and Maxwell fell at regular intervals, slowing the tourists down before Labuschagne took control until he was undone by Bumrah’s slower ball in the penultimate over.
The two teams now head into the World Cup warm-ups before they meet in the 50-over showpiece tournament on October 8 in Chennai.
 


Dubai’s Arab Media Forum wraps up with insights into AI-led future

Dubai’s Arab Media Forum wraps up with insights into AI-led future
Updated 20 min 34 sec ago
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Dubai’s Arab Media Forum wraps up with insights into AI-led future

Dubai’s Arab Media Forum wraps up with insights into AI-led future
  • Forum had two key themes: impact of artificial intelligence and influence of film and drama

DUBAI: The 21st edition of the Arab Media Forum wrapped up in Dubai on Wednesday, with leading media figures, ministers, heads of local Arab and international media organizations, as well as intellectuals and writers coming together to discuss the future of the industry.  

The two-day forum had two key themes: the impact of artificial intelligence on the media, and the influence of film and drama as sources of soft power.  

Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammad Al-Maktoum highlighted the importance of culture in society, saying it is intertwined with creative economy, the basis for countries’ development.  

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, spoke of the importance of finding common ground in the region in order to coexist peacefully.  

”This pillar is stability. This stability is not just for the UAE but for the entire region as this cannot be achieved in isolation. There is a need to calm the region and not focus on disagreements. Confrontation leads to a high price for all parties. So, the first pillar is stability, and this is an established fact. The second pillar is geo-economic more than a geo-strategic. Economic growth is important,” he said.

Most of the attendees and panelists shared the view that AI can be beneficial in terms of solving problems in a cost-effective and timely manner. However, some journalists warned of its dangers in terms of spreading fake, unverified news, as well as its possible impact on job losses in the media sector.  

Bahraini Minister of Information, Ramzan Abdulla Al-Nuaimi, and H.E. Karam Gabr, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation, discussed the differences between Arab media operations and their counterparts in West.

“Each country has a different set of laws, morals and culture; we Arabs have been stereotyped on how we handle our journalists and our media, but what the West fails to understand is that we live according to our values and not theirs,” Al-Nuaimi said.  

Both agreed there should be economic opportunities for the youth to express their creativity, and channel their opinions and frustrations in positive ways.  


Saudi Olympic Committee president attends 19th Asian Games esports competition

Saudi Olympic Committee president attends 19th Asian Games esports competition
Updated 28 min 9 sec ago
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Saudi Olympic Committee president attends 19th Asian Games esports competition

Saudi Olympic Committee president attends 19th Asian Games esports competition
  • Saudi handball team misses chance to qualify for 2nd round after 23-23 draw with Iran, which qualified along with Japan from the group
  • Table tennis players Ali Al-Khadrawi and Turki Al-Mutairi qualify for 32nd round in singles competition

HANGZHOU, China: Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee president, who is leading the Kingdom’s delegation to the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, on Wednesday attended the Saudi team’s esports competition.
The Saudi team reached the quarterfinals of the League of Legends game in the esports stadium, where they lost 0-2 to the Korean team.
Committee Vice President Prince Fahd bin Jalawi attended the Saudi handball team’s game against Iran as part of the handball competition group stage.
The Saudi team missed the chance to qualify for the second round after a 23-23 draw with Iran, which qualified along with Japan from the group.
A total of 193 Saudi athletes will compete in 19 sports at the Asian Games, which conclude Oct. 8.

Table tennis
Ali Al-Khadrawi and Turki Al-Mutairi qualified for the 32nd round in the singles competition after winning their 64th-round matches on Wednesday.
Al-Khadrawi defeated his Pakistani opponent 4-1, while Al-Mutairi beat a Mongolian rival 4-3.

Equestrian
Saudi rider Samantha Saifi concluded the qualifying round of the dressage competition, scoring 57.706 points in the second round of the competition on Wednesday. Saifi had previously scored 57.617 points in the competition on Tuesday, claiming 29th place in the overall standings.

Shooting
Prince Saud Al-Saud, Hatem Al-Shammari and Saed Al-Mutairi, who are representing Saudi Arabia in the shooting competitions, concluded their participation in the individual shotgun.
Al-Shammari finished 21st in the overall standings with a score of 116 out of 125, while Al-Mutairi ranked 25th with a score of 113. Prince Saud ranked 25th with a score of 113.

Taekwondo
Hisham Al-Dukhi and Mohammed Al-Suwaik exited the games in the quarterfinals of the taekwondo competitions after losing to China and the Philippines, respectively, on Wednesday.
Al-Dukhi defeated his Iraqi opponent Hussein Al-Lami 2-1 in the 32nd round before losing against China’s Chenming Xiao in the 16th round of the U-68 kg weight category. Al-Suwaik departed in the quarterfinals of the U-80 kg weight category.

Football
The Saudi U-23 football team trained for the last time ahead of their match against India in the 16th round on Thursday. National coach Saad Al-Shehri led the training session, which included fitness recovery exercises, a midfield mini-match, shooting practice and stretching exercises.


Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season

Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season
Updated 38 min 18 sec ago
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Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season

Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season
  • 700 races will be run at King Abdulaziz Racecourse with a total prize fund, excluding the Saudi Cup meeting, of $21.9m
  • Three other new cup races for Thoroughbreds have been added to the calendar

RIYADH: Prize money for the 2023-24 horse racing season in Riyadh, which begins on Oct. 16 and continues until Mar. 16, will increase by more than 7 percent compared with last season, and 56 additional races will be run at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, where the highlight remains the Saudi Cup in February.
The total prize money for the season, excluding the Saudi Cup meeting, will rise by $1.5 million to a total of $21.9 million, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia said. The total number of races will increase to 700 across 59 meetings, all of which will comprise 12 races compared with the previous 11: 10 for Thoroughbreds and two for purebred Arabians.
This represents a significant increase in the number of races for purebred Arabians over the course of the season, the jockey club added, with 66 races added to the calendar. They include a new cup race, the $80,000 Abdulaziz bin Musa’id bin Jalooey Cup, which will be run for the first time on Feb. 10, 2024.
Five purebred Arabian contests have been introduced to the pattern, the highest level of races, this season and will be run as listed contests. The JCSA Cup will take place on Nov. 25, a week after a new, yet to be named listed race on Nov. 18. In the new year, the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Sword on Jan. 13, the Sprint Championship on March 8, and the King Abdulaziz Racecourse Championship on March 9 will be run as purebred Arabian listed events.
Three other new cup races for Thoroughbreds have been added to the calendar. The Imam Mohammed bin Saud Cup, worth $240,000, is a notable addition to the King’s Cup race day on Jan. 13, and the others are the $80,000 Prince Saad bin Abdulrahman bin Faisal Cup on Jan. 19 and the $80,000 Prince Fahad bin Jalawi Cup on Feb. 10.
A further development this season is the reduction of the distance in the listed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup to 1,800 meters, the same trip as the $20 million Saudi Cup, to better reflect its status as a key qualifier for that contest.
The dates for the Saudi Cup meeting have been confirmed as Feb. 23 and 24. It will once again carry an enormous prize fund of $35.4m, with the centerpiece $20 million Saudi Cup race itself maintaining its position as the most valuable in the world.
For the first time this season, the Saudi Cup meeting will feature three international G1 races, after the Al-Mneefah Cup for purebred Arabians, which takes place the day before the Saudi Cup, was promoted to G1 status this season.
Prince Abdullah bin Khaled, chairperson of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia’s Technical Committee, said: “The announcement of the 2023-24 Riyadh program marks the JCSA’s continued commitment to the growth of racing in the Kingdom.
“The Riyadh program, held throughout the autumn, winter and spring at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, builds on the success of the Ta’if summer season and leads the Saudi Arabian racing community into the Saudi Cup weekend and beyond, to the conclusion of the season in March and then potentially an international campaign for the top performers.
“This season the listed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup will be run as an 1,800-meter race for the first time, making it a true prep for the Saudi Cup, which is held over the same course and distance.
“In addition we have added to our purebred Arabian program, with almost double the amount of races on offer. Every race night will now feature 10 Thoroughbred races and two purebred Arabian contests, underlining our continued commitment to developing this code of racing both in Saudi Arabia and beyond.”
 


World tourism leaders meeting in Riyadh highlight need for investment in people

World tourism leaders meeting in Riyadh highlight need for investment in people
Updated 52 min 4 sec ago
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World tourism leaders meeting in Riyadh highlight need for investment in people

World tourism leaders meeting in Riyadh highlight need for investment in people
  • Experts and leaders from around the world agreed that investment in talent was crucial to creating a sustainable sector
  • In 2020, more than 62 million jobs were lost globally due to the pandemic, many of those being in the tourism and hospitality industry

RIYADH: Global tourism officials meeting in Saudi Arabia have highlighted the importance of investing in people to safeguard the future of the sector.
With the industry getting back on track following the coronavirus pandemic, renewed efforts are being made to promote careers in tourism and hospitality.
Experts and leaders from around the world, gathered in Riyadh for the UN World Tourism Organization’s World Tourism Day, agreed that investment in talent was crucial to creating a sustainable sector.
Speaking on Wednesday during a panel session titled “Investing in Our People,” Indonesia’s deputy minister for tourism product and events at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Rizki Handayani, said: “Human capital development is the most important aspect that plays key roles in the success of sustainable, or green tourism.
“We really need to put our efforts into the development of our human capital, their skill, their knowledge, as well as their capability and entrepreneurship.”
In 2020, more than 62 million jobs were lost globally due to the pandemic, many of those being in the tourism and hospitality industry. Saudi Arabia has since managed a return to work for 80 percent of the sector’s employees. But for many, job security fears are holding them back.
Haitham Mattar is managing director for the Middle East, Africa, and Southwest Asia at IHG Hotels and Resorts, the largest operator and employer in Saudi Arabia with more than 18,000 rooms in around 40 hotels.
He said: “It is now a critical task for both the government and private sector to re-instil the confidence in giving employees job security, but also financial certainty.”
While employment in hospitality can offer fast-tracked career opportunities, and international work, many people were now looking for flexibility, work-life balance, and well-being with jobs in areas such as hotels and airlines.
One of the biggest challenges currently being faced by companies was providing education and training for future employees. But CEO of Sommet Education, Benoit-Etienne Domenget, said globally these were not among the key investment areas.
“For too long, our community players of hospitality, tourism, and travel have considered human capital as a commodity,” he added.
Delegates at the session debated the need for expanded education beyond hospitality skills to ensure content was locally relevant and through the encouragement of entrepreneurial mindsets.
Christine Bockelmann, dean of Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, said: “From a study in Portugal, we know that 50 percent of all people who have an education in tourism do not subsequently work in this field, so we have a problem with the attractivity of the jobs in this area.
“Education is very important and sustainability, and prosperity is very important. My key point is that we have to create a connectivity between these three topics,” she added.