Young Sri Lankan Muslim Woman wins prestigious entrepreneur competition in Mexico City

Fathuma Nisreen,(Hambantota of Souther Sri Lanka) owner of a bag and garment making business in Sri Lanka, has been named the winner of an international competition for young entrepreneurs, organised by Youth Business International (YBI).
The Sri Lanka business woman was announced as the YBI Entrepreneur of the Year last night at a prestigious awards ceremony in Mexico City, after being interviewed by a judging panel of experts on business and entrepreneurship.
The award reflects the challenges that Fathuma has overcome as well as the huge potential that she has to act as a role model for other Muslims in her community and inspire other women around the world.

In a joint statement, the panel said:

“We chose Fathuma because the award will have the biggest impact on her, her family, her community and send a strong message to the world that women are able to start a business while remaining true to their family values. We thought it was remarkable that she was able to start up her business without having to give up her religious and cultural identity.
Overall, we found in Fathuma the courage to overcome tough times, the intelligence to maintain the family as her main motivator, the vision to grow and most of all, the happiness of building a successful business.”
The YBI Entrepreneur of the Year competition celebrates the achievement of young entrepreneurs around the world in building a better world for themselves and others. The competition is supported by Barclays Capital and is now in its fourth year.

Fathuma Nisreen has become a role model in her community for her successes in overcoming the restrictions facing Muslim women entering into business, by setting up a design and manufacturing enterprise specialising in traditional outfits and bags. She was able to start up her business with the support of Youth Business Sri Lanka, an accredited member of the YBI network.

Fathuma was competing against three other young entrepreneurs in the competition:

Colin Davison from Canada: Stealth Acoustical Control & Emission Inc

Colin’s business enables industrial businesses to reduce noise pollution and employs around 60 other people.

Alex Tam and Felix Chung from Hong Kong: Ecosage Ltd

Alex and Felix are helping to tackle the waste crisis in Hong Kong with their recycling business, as well as creating employment for many of the city’s ragpickers.

Shriram Kaluke from India: Shri Ganesh Enterprises

Overcoming a difficult background, Shriram has grown a business providing cleaning services for water tanks, employing 14 people and servicing 1500 clients.

The judging panel comprised of:

Guillermo Baeza, co-founder of Mexican food company Grupo Bafar

Pedro Tejero, Managing Director of Barclays Capital Mexico

Stuart Macdonald, founder of Seric Systems in Scotland and ambassador for YBI

Laura Suarez, Editorial Director of Entrepreneur magazine in Mexico.

Fathuma will receive prize money of US$5,000 from Youth Business International, as well as an invitation to travel to London for a dinner at St James’s Palace, which last year was hosted by The Prince of Wales. (MW Group)
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UK Muslim Women Protest the Subjugation of Veiled Muslim Women Under French Secularism

Women from across London converged today at a protest outside the French embassy to voice their strong opposition to the divisive and discriminatory French law banning face veils from all public spaces in the country.

Dr. Nazreen Nawaz, Women’s Media Representative of HTB delivered the first talk in which she highlighted that the attack on the burqa and niqab in various Western countries exposed the failings of secular liberalism. She discussed how religious dress-code bans have criminalised and secluded Muslim women from society, stripped them of basic rights, deprived women of determining their own convictions in life, and increased the prejudice, abuse, and discrimination they face in society – all in the name of protecting secular liberal values. She stressed that it was such attacks against the Islamic dress that had shifted Muslim women into second class status rather than the veil or Islam. She also highlighted how in reality it was capitalist liberal values that have allowed the objectification and sexualisation of women in advertising, entertainment, pornography, and the sex industry under the premise of liberal freedoms – all of which that had enslaved, devalued, and dehumanised women rather than dress codes that are expressions of modesty.

Her talk also discussed how the French hijab and niqab bans are reflective of the failure of Western secular liberalism to accommodate the rights of religious minorities and create harmonious community relationships. Such bans demonstrated that Western freedoms and equalities are exclusive to those who tow the secular line and consequently challenge all notions of the universality of the ideology and its claim to champion tolerant, civilized society. She highlighted the cut throat nature of secular politics that had allowed politicians to use attacks on the veil as an electioneering tool to secure a few racist votes. Such cheap political opportunism had fanned the flames of racism and created division between communities – not the veil.

Finally she emphasized how veil and hijab bans are a symbol of failure of Western governments to intellectually convince Muslim women of the secular liberal way of life. That they were desperate attempts at ‘forced secular conversion’ by desperate governments trying to stem the overwhelming tide of Muslim women rejecting Western values and turning to Islam as their spiritual, social, and political path in life. She challenged Western politicians and governments to engage in open debate about the true causes of women’s oppression instead of hiding behind women’s clothing. She argued that for them to fail to do so was reflective of the fact that when it came to a battle of ideas with Islam, Western secular liberalism was unable to rise to the challenge.

Sultana Parvin, the Deputy Women’s Media Representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain delivered the second talk in which she addressed how Muslim women should respond to this attack on their Islamic dress. She began by discussing how the attack on the niqab affects all Muslim women – those who wear the garment and those who do not – since it is an attack on Islam and its values rather than simply a piece of cloth. She explained how the veil is simply the latest chapter in the vilification of Islamic practices, values and symbols that includes attacks on mosques, the Prophet(saw) and the Quran. She stressed that regardless of whether Muslim women chose to wear the niqab or not, insults against Islam by Western secular politicians and governments would continue. As such, Muslims should not support or show indifference to calls for veil bans based upon difference of views on the religious significance of the veil, nor allow the issue to become a source of division in the Muslim community, hence strengthening the hand of those who seek to attack Islam.

She went on to discuss that Muslims must respond in 2 ways to this attack. Firstly, by holding onto their Islamic values and not compromising their beliefs regardless of the intensity of pressures. Secondly, by raising a debate within society as to the best way by which to organise society. She stressed that Muslims should not accept for Islamic values to be attacked while it was Western secular liberal values that had failed on so many fronts. She explained that while liberalism has harmed the dignity of women through her objectification, Islam has prohibited it; that while Western freedoms includes the freedom to insult the religious beliefs of others, this is outlawed in Islam; and while secularism enforces coercive assimilation of minorities into its values, the Islamic system prohibits forced conversion of religious minorities, allowing them to practice their religious practices free from harassment. She ended by encouraging the gathering to take this debate forward and force liberal values to be placed under the microscope and to be held to account. Simultaneously the sublime values and laws of Islam should be presented as the best manner by which to guarantee the respect of women, to protect families, to create healthy cooperation between men and women, to secure the rights of minorities, to eradicate racism and to achieve harmony between communities. (Ends/)

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Protest Letter to the French Ambassador on the French vote to criminalise Muslim women wearing the veil in Public Places

Re: French Ban of Islamic Face Veils from Public Spaces, Read more>>>

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By Sentencing Dr Aafia to 86 years the US has shown the Cruelty, Injustice and Inhumanity of its ‘Freedom and Democracy’

A US kangaroo court has sentenced Dr Aafia Siddiqui to 86 years in jail.

Dr Aafia, a neuroscientist who studied at MIT, was kidnapped from the streets of Karachi in 2003, along with her three children. The whereabouts of her baby are unknown but there are reports that one of her children was shot and killed. Dr Aafia herself was shot in the stomach by US troops, and held in the notorious US Bagram prison airbase.

She was charged in a US court for attempted murder, armed assault, using and carrying a firearm, and three counts of assault on U.S. officers and employees.

Shockingly no one other than Dr Aafia – and most likely her child – was shot in the alleged incident upon which she was charged and convicted.

She has always denied the charges and said the interrogators fired on her when she understandably attempted to flee.

Her family has said she was tortured by U.S. intelligence.
The apparent injustice in this case is huge. Evidence points to Dr Aafia being kidnapped illegally, held without trial, assaulted, her children abused and quite probably one of them killed.

By contrast there is no evidence that she harmed anyone.
This daughter of the Ummah was sold to America by Musharraf, and abandoned by Zardari. Sadly, such injustices will continue until the Ummah has a Khaleefah who will be a shield for the Ummah, expel the invading occupier and ransom the prisoners. The Ummah needs a Mua’tasim Billah, for that is the most vital issue today. (HTB women)

Read more>>>

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London Muslim Women Protest Against French Niqab Ban

PROTEST AGAINST FRENCH NIQAB BAN FRANCE SUBJUGATES MUSLIM WOMEN IN THE NAME OF ‘LIBERTY’


On September 14th, the French Senate ratified a bill to ban face veils in all public spaces across the country in the name of protecting ‘liberty’ and ‘equality’. Muslim women in France will no longer be allowed to wear the niqab in the streets, in parks, on public transport, and in all government buildings including benefit offices, hospitals and schools.

Alongside the hijab, madrassahs, Muslim schools, Shariah courts, marriage and mosque minaret bans, the face veil is simply the latest Islamic belief that has come under attack by Western governments. In this current attack on the niqab, it is not a piece of cloth on trial but ISLAM and its position in theWest and the world. Bans on the hijab and niqab are aimed at forcing Muslim women to leave their Islamic values in exchange for Western secular liberal ones.

For too long,Western politicians have labelled the Muslim woman’s dress a symbol of oppression, while ignoring the epidemic of violence, harassment, and sexual abuse that women suffer under liberal values.

As Muslim women we can no longer accept for such lies to be thrown at our deen.We need to turn the table on this debate and show that it is Islam alone that can secure the respect of women, protect families, and solve the plethora of social problems plaguing Western liberal societies. 

SATURDAY 25th SEPT 2010 11:00am @ French Embassy

No. 58 KNIGHTSBRIDGE, London, UK, SW1X 7JT

Contact: Sri Lankan Sisters; +447591615103 (Women Only)

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