GROZNY, Russia: Checking her blind spot, Fatima Dzhambulatova changes lanes on a busy avenue in Chechnya’s capital Grozny. In this Muslim republic of Russia, she is spearheading a women-only taxi service. At the wheel of a white sedan bearing the bright purple logo “Mekhkari”, the name of the service launched this spring, the 49-year-old taxi driver explains the appeal of women drivers in the conservative region. Some clients have husbands who won’t allow them into a car with another man, she says, while some believe women are safer drivers, and others simply prefer riding with a member of the same sex. In the sparse office of Mekhkari, which means “girls” in Chechen, founder Madina Tsakaeva said she got the idea after realising she preferred to ride with female drivers, who were hard to find. “It was very rare for our city,“ she said. “So we did a survey on social media about what people thought of the idea of a women-only … [Read more...] about Chechen women go places with female-only taxi service
Muslim girl names starting with s
Impossible choices: a true story
Maryam Touzani has never forgotten the day a young woman knocked on the door of her home in Tangier asking for work. “She was from a village and she was heavily pregnant. My mother had no work for her but was afraid to let her go... she wasn’t in a good way and had clearly nowhere to go,” the Moroccan actress and director says. Sex outside marriage is illegal in the Muslim-majority country, and at the time a single mother who tried to give birth in a hospital would be thrown in jail. “The girl had been going door-to-door, so my mother took her in for a few days until we worked something out. “But there was no solution – she had been going from town to town after running away from her family, working as a cleaner and hairdresser until people noticed her predicament and then she would have to move on. Maryam Touzani, centre, poses with actresses Lubna Azabal, left, and Nisrin Erradi, right, the stars of her film … [Read more...] about Impossible choices: a true story
Key facts about Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo
YANGON: Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were freed on Tuesday (May 7) months after being sentenced to seven years in jail on convictions under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.The two were arrested in December 2017 while working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys by security forces and Buddhist civilians in western Myanmar's Rakhine State.The conviction of Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, in September last year sparked an outcry from diplomats and press freedom advocates, who said the jailing of two young reporters raised questions about Myanmar's progress toward democracy.During more than 500 days behind bars, their reporting on a military crackdown in Rakhine State was recognised with international awards and they were named by Time magazine as its "Person of the Year" alongside other journalists last year.Here are some key facts about the two journalists, who had been detained since Dec 12, 2017:WA LONEWa Lone, 33, was born … [Read more...] about Key facts about Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo
Deadly encounters: The night the Indian army arrived in a village in south Kashmir
PINGLAN, India/SRINAGAR: Hundreds of Indian soldiers descended on the picturesque village of Pinglan, which is surrounded by south Kashmir's apple and apricot orchards, just before midnight on Feb 17.By the time they left 18 hours later, one civilian, three armed militants, and five members of the security forces were dead, a row of houses was reduced to rubble, an unexploded missile had been planted in a rice paddy, and more than 120 villagers had sought treatment for exposure to tear gas, alleged beatings, and in some cases mental trauma.Reuters spent two days in Pinglan, which has a population of about 6,400, about a month after the crackdown to piece together what happened during those hours.Interviews with more than 60 eyewitnesses indicate that soldiers forced at least four villagers to act as human shields. That meant sending them first into a building where armed militants might be hiding, often using a phone to take video that could be viewed by nearby soldiers.Human rights … [Read more...] about Deadly encounters: The night the Indian army arrived in a village in south Kashmir