Source: Angola Press

http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=517202

A human rights advocacy group deplored on Thursday the firing of a Muslim woman who lost her Quebec prison guard job for refusing to remove her hijab.

Sondos Abdelatif, 19, was half-way through her training to become a prison guard at Montreal`s Bordeaux jail when she was fired Tuesday on concerns her hijab, a soft scarf worn around the head and neck, could pose a safety risk.
...

Author: Charles A. Radin

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/03/14/islamic_leader_urges_jews_be_wary_of_fundamentalists/

CAMBRIDGE -- The president of the Islamic Society of North America warned last night that American Jews who ally with right-wing Christians to oppose Muslim organizations are pursuing a high-risk strategy that could backfire.

...

Source: Daily India/ANI

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/124836.php/Meet-Sania-Sayyed-a-Muslim-singer-of-Hindu-bhajans

Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh): In India, there are innumerable examples of people trying to keep alive the country's rich heritage and promoting brotherhood between Hindus and Muslims.

Take the example of teenager Sania Sayyed, a resident of Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, who holds her audience spellbound by singing...

Author: Christian Science Monitor

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0314/p08s02-comv.html

Something special went unnoticed last week when the US State Department gave out its first awards for "women of courage" to 10 foreign recipients: Seven of the women had demonstrated their honored bravery within Muslim countries.

Were these awards another US effort to help reform Islam? Possibly. But Secretary of State...

Source: Lancashire Telegraph

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/misc/print.php?artid=1245734

WOMEN from every faith can lead the way in the fight to unite the communities of East Lancashire.

But women of different cultures should make an effort to learn English.

That was the message from religious and community leaders in Blackburn who gathered at Blackburn Cathedral to take part in a debate entitled "Women and Faith." The event was...

Author: Vasundhara Sanger

Source: The Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/A_pious_doctrine_but_untouchable/articleshow/1733642.cms

MUMBAI: March 8 is here, and so is the euphoria associated with the International Women's Day. Amidst talks of the celebration of womanhood, an issue that has reached a stalemate in India is the implementation of a uniform civil code for its citizens.

Sixty...

Author: Margaret Besheer

Source: VOA News

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-03-05-voa20.cfm

International Women's Day Thursday highlights women's struggle for equality, justice, peace and development. For many it is a day to celebrate progress. For others, it is a reminder of just how far they still must travel. VOA's Margaret Besheer reports that, positive changes affecting women in the Islamic world are coming slowly, but steadily.

The...

Author: Waveney Ann Moore

Source: The Buddhist Channel/St Petersburg Times

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=61,3791,0,0,1,0

PINELLAS PARK, Florida (USA) -- The petite woman with a shaved head, saffron robes and slippers carefully selects fruit and vegetables from the produce stand bins.

Here, she doesn't turn heads. She's a regular. But it's not unusual for Bhikkhuni Sudarshana Peliyagoda, 37, to stand out in a crowd....

Author: ROBIN MCDOWELL

Source: Canoe News

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2007/03/04/3695190-ap.html

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Women are jailed for being on the street alone after dark in parts of Indonesia, long held up as a beacon of moderate Islam. Gamblers are caned as punishment, Christian schoolchildren are forced to wear headscarves and a proposed law would sentence thieves to amputation of the hands.

Though most people in...

Source: The New York Times

Wire Service: AP

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Canada-Hijab-Conflict.html

MONTREAL (AP) -- An 11-year-old Muslim girl was ejected from a soccer game for refusing to take off her hijab, reigniting Quebec's debate over reasonable accommodation for minorities and even prompting comments from Premier Jean Charest.

Quebec's soccer federation said Asmahan Mansour of Ottawa was given the...

Source: Baha'i World News Service

http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=506

NEW YORK, United States, 25 February 2007 (BWNS) -- Among the hundreds of girls coming to the United Nations this week to discuss the problems facing girl children around the world will be a dozen with a distinctive viewpoint: their religion teaches that they are equal to boys.

"For Baha'is, it is a basic element of their faith that we must establish equality between women and men, not to mention...

Author: VICTORIA GUAY

Source: The Citizen of Laconia

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070225/CITIZEN_01/102250142/-1/CITIZEN

GILFORD - Trying something new for breakfast took on a more significant meaning at First United Methodist Church Saturday morning.

About 100 women of various faiths gathered at the church, located on Gilford Avenue, to share prayers, songs, stories and, yes,...

Author: Richard Hamilton

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6392531.stm

A radical innovation in the Islamic world has arisen in Morocco - women preachers. The Mourchidat, as they are known, are the first women ever in any Muslim country that can perform the functions of a male Imam in a mosque, except lead the prayers.

Fifty Mourchidat have graduated and have now begun their ministries.

However, not everyone agrees with...

Source: Daily News and Analysis

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1081494

LONDON: Britain's Metropolitan Police has assured the Hindu community here that it will take action against aggressive conversion techniques and intimidation being employed against Hindu girls by radical Muslim groups in university campuses.

This was announced on Wednesday at a conference organised by the Hindu Forum of Britain and the National Hindu Students Forum.

Issues...

Source: The Guardian

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2018006,00.html

A 12-year-old Muslim girl today lost her high court challenge to her school's ban on wearing the niqab full-face veil.

Lawyers for the girl and her father had argued that the ban was "irrational" and a breach of her human rights, but Mr Justice Silber rejected their plea for a judicial review.

The girl's lawyers said after the judgment that she and her...