STUPID HASSAN ALI!!! Meet the 13 most powerful Muslim women in Britain.. Must Read and Forward to All...

[Guest guest]

HASSAN ALI YOUR SELFISH IGNORANT TYPICAL MUSLIM WHO SHOWS NO RESPECT FOR OTHERS.

STOP POSTING RUBBISH LIKE THIS , WE ALL KNOW WHAT THE WORLD THINKS OF MUSLIMS

AND NOTHING YOU SAY WILL CHANGE THAT, MUSLIMS ARE CHARGED ON THEIR ACTIONS, AND

PRESENTLY THEIR ACTIONS ARENT THAT GREAT.

 

 

 

 

________________________________

Hassan Ali <shayariworld

hum-our-tum

Sunday, 22 March, 2009 8:12:47

[vedic astrology] Information: Meet the 13 most powerful Muslim women

in Britain.. Must Read and Forward to All...

 

 

 

 

Meet the 13 most powerful Muslim women in Britain.. Must Read and Forward to

All...

 

More Muslim women than ever are in leading positions in society, a fact that is

at worst misrepresented and at best under-reported.

 

Britain’s first Muslim Women Power List aims to change all that and recognise

the women who are making a difference

 

There are more than 100,000 Muslim women currently working in Britain, yet many

feel misunderstood and misrepresented. These women share the ambitions and

challenges of all working women: to succeed at a good job and often to combine

marriage and motherhood with a fulfilling career.

 

Yet searching for positive role models can be unrewarding work, and there has

not, until now, been a professional social network for working Muslim women.

 

With these issues in mind, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), in

association with The Times and Emel magazine, has published the first annual

Muslim Women Power List, a celebration of those who are on the way to, or have

already reached, the top of their chosen field. Any British Muslim over the age

of 18 could apply or be

nominated.

 

The aim was to create a network of women who could benefit from each other’s

experiences in the workplace; women who have shown strong leadership and made a

positive difference to their own and others’ work.. Working women are a small

percentage of the adult female Muslim population of 768,000, so the value of

positive role models is all-important.

 

 

“There aren’t many groups I can think of who are more stereotyped, yet less

understood by the wider community, than working Muslim women,†says Trevor

Phillips, EHRC chairman. “I hope this list will make the rest of Britain sit

up and take note – many members of the Muslim community are making a valuable

economic and social contribution

to our future.â€

 

What the list also shows is that the idea of a one-size-fits- all “Muslim

communityâ€, or a commonality of experience, is a myth. Some women have

supportive families who encouraged their aspirations; others have parents who

felt strongly that they should leave school at 16 and get married. Some choose

to wear a

headscarf, some don’t; some attend mosque, others consider their Muslim

identity to be more about the way they conduct themselves. Some talk about

“the Muslim communityâ€, others feel there is no such thing. And, while some

remain conflicted about being lumped together as “Muslim womenâ€, all agree

that it’s worth it if it highlights and celebrates the fact that not all

Muslim women are, as one put it, “oppressed, repressed and depressedâ€, but,

rather, active and successful in business and society.

 

Farmida Bi, 41, partner, International Securities Group, Norton Rose:

 

“Am I a typical Muslim woman? I suspect not. I was born in Pakistan but grew

up in Oxford. The mould that was created for me was school till I was 16, then

marriage to my first cousin and having six children by now.. I wanted from the

age of nine to break out of that.

 

 

“I think most British Muslim women have strong personalities, but they are

happy to accept some of the things that are expected of them by their families.

Our families are very strong, very loving, so wanting to stay on the right side

of them

is a natural impulse. My family accepted that they weren’t going to be able to

stop me from going to university and having a career, although they were

concerned how it would be

 

seen in the wider community.

 

“Until September 11 and July 7, being a Muslim was just a part of who I was,

not something I questioned. But… now it’s become something I feel I have to

be closely involved with. I have

to be active in the community in a way I suspect I wouldn’t have been [before

those events]. I can’t leave my community behind and go off to the joys of

middle-class London life. That would feel like an abrogation of my duty. I

don’t want a 14-year-old girl growing up in Britain now thinking, ‘I don’t

know anyone who’s been to university or works for a living.’ I want them to

know there are people like me, and that there is an alternative future for them

that is rich and fulfilling, and not in opposition to what their families want

for them.â€

 

Mishal Husain, 36, presenter, BBC One and BBC World

News:

 

“Most of the time the Muslim community is portrayed pretty unflatteringly.

It’s not that I think Muslim women get a bad press, I just

don’t think there’s much focus on the positive things..

 

“My faith is one aspect of my identity. I’m a wife, a mother, a journalist,

a British citizen, someone who

loves books… I’ve thought harder about my faith since 9/11 and since

becoming a mother. I’m more conscious of passing on traditions to my children,

because knowing who you are is a solid base for a child.

 

“When I lived in America, I noticed that American Muslims, whatever issues

they had

with the Bush administration, were really proud to be American. We don’t make

such a song and dance about citizenship here. But most Muslims, especially in

the past four years, have been on a tremendous journey in appreciating this

country. People should be able to voice their dissent with British foreign

policy, but it shouldn’t collide with your citizenship – that’s the

journey that we’re on as a community.â€

 

Sabina Iqbal, 33, chair/founder Deaf Parenting

UK:

 

“Being Muslim and deaf makes me a

unique role model for other Asian deaf women. Many Muslim people are very

ignorant about deafness; it is like a taboo. But my family and my husband’s

family helped me a lot. I went to a school for the deaf where the support was

fine, but when I went to college it was appalling. I almost had a breakdown. But

I always had to prove wrong those patronising people who thought, ‘Ah,

you’re deaf, you can’t do this.’ My parents treated me and my brothers

equally; they were great.

 

“Being

Muslim is part of my identity, the same as being deaf and being a woman. What I

wear is about individual choice. I don’t wear a headscarf, but I make sure

that I look respectable. I don’t wear anything too revealing. You never really

see deaf women in the Muslim community working their way up the ladder, so for

me to say, ‘Yes, I’m deaf and I’m a Muslim,’ is very empowering.â€

 

Imtaz Khaliq, 44, bespoke tailor

 

“I was brought up in Bradford, in quite a closed Muslim community. I always

wanted to be a tailor, but the traditional route [for girls like me] was to get

married at an early age. I had to really scream and shout to get [my

parents’ agreement] for my course in Leeds, but once they saw my work on TV…

 

“Is being a Muslim compatible with having a public profile? Yeah, it hasn’t

really held me back. People are going to stereotype you anyway, so you might as

well own your own identity. My family have been so supportive, and that pushes

me on.

 

“I think women in the Muslim community probably have to fight a little bit

harder than women elsewhere, especially if you’re involved in the creative

arts.â€

 

Baroness Warsi, 37, Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action:

 

“I’d prefer to work in a world where we didn’t have to single out Muslim

women for their achievements in order to make a point. Having said that, I’m

honoured to be on this list, because the man in the street simply doesn’t

think of Muslim women as high achievers.

 

“Of course I’ve encountered prejudice as a woman, and as a Muslim woman. One

of the most specific forms of prejudice is journalists who ask, “Are you a

Muslim first or British first?â€, as if to say the two can’t be reconciled.

 

“I think that Islam is a hugely liberating religion for women. If Islam is

interpreted properly, it is a religion that respects, supports and reveres

women. Unfortunately, I don’t necessarily think that’s always the way that

the Muslim community interprets it.â€

 

Professor Farida Fortune, in her forties, dean of dentistry & professor of

medicine in relation to oral health, Queen Mary’s, London University:

 

“Until [9/11 and 7/7], I would never stand out from the crowd as being a

Muslim. But then my son… said he was scared of anyone finding out he was a

Muslim at school… and we had to say, ‘Never be ashamed of who you are.’

 

“Being on the dental faculty of the Royal College of Surgeons, I’m on the

podium when people get their diplomas, and one girl said to me, ‘When I heard

you were voted on, I knew I could do it too.’ I don’t think I encountered

any prejudice in my career until two years ago, when there was a discussion

within the

university

 

about dress code and Muslim sensitivities. I had to say, ‘Excuse me, being the

only Muslim woman here…’, and they looked shocked.

“I aspire to support all my staff and students and many from diverse

backgrounds. I don’t want to be seen to be supporting or representing a

particular group or that my achievements or failures have been because I am a

Muslim.â€

 

 

Bushra Nasir, 56, first Muslim state-school head teacher:

 

“Being Muslim is my core being. It’s guided me in my way of working and

thinking. I came to Britain when I was 8, so I went through the education system

here. My life chances were changed by teachers who nurtured me.

 

 

“I haven’t encountered prejudice in the workplace, but I have found that

people weigh me up to see if I’ve got the capabilities to do the job. I

don’t think it’s prejudice, I think it’s naivety, and it makes me want to

do my job even better.

 

 

“The stereotype of Muslim women hidden away in burkas doesn’t annoy me, but

I do see images that are not necessarily the most positive role models. I think

it’s important to be proud to be a Muslim woman, and I feel in a very

privileged position as a British

Muslim.â€

 

Dr Gülnur Aybet, 44, lecturer in international relations, political scientist

and principal investigator of a British Academy project on Nato and EU

state-building in

Bosnia:

 

“In a predominantly male-dominated career like mine, women are constantly up

against challenges. Being a Muslim woman makes it three times as hard. It

creates barriers in the workplace in terms of recognition and promotion. I have

experienced both. I’m the only Muslim woman that I know of in my

field.

 

“My religion has been very important to me. I don’t find any contradictions

between my faith and having a high-flying career.I come from Istanbul and a

family embedded in European culture. I came here when I was 3. I don’t think

there is a cohesive Muslim community [here] as yet. I

don’t think in Britain it’s centred so much on religion as the culture of

the country from which you originate.

 

“I was always encouraged to achieve and succeed

and… I do a lot of mentoring for young women, Muslim or otherwise. I think for

Muslim women it’s much more pressing, because I do feel they’re

under-represented.

 

“But it is wrong to generalise that most Muslim women are disadvantaged. I

strongly believe that being European or Western and being of the Muslim faith

are not mutually exclusive. One can have multiple identities.â€

 

Mehmuda Mian, 46, BBC trustee, qualified solicitor and commissioner of the

Independent Police Complaints

Commission:

 

“My father and grandfather were university-educated . I had three siblings and

we were all expected to go to university. In fact, it would have been a big deal

if we

hadn’t.

 

“Being a Muslim is the bedrock of my existence. Islam is

about peace and justice, though unfortunately some of those precepts have been

taken over and there are some very odd views as to what Islam means

..

 

 

“There was racism when I was growing up in the Seventies… but professionally

it’s never really been an issue. I work on the Lokahi Foundation [an

organisation that promotes harmony in society], and meet Muslims from right

across the country. Some of their experiences bring it home to me that I’ve

been very privileged. I went to a pretty awful estate in East London and a

shaven-headed guy just started shouting abuse at some Bengali

women.

 

“This list is great because it’s portraying a positive image of Muslim

women, but it is still a label. I don’t particularly like

labels.â€

 

Reedah N. El-Saie, 38, founder and director, Islamic Art and

Design:

 

“My father died when I was 13, and this has always made

me strive to be the best I can be. I read law at LSE, did a masters at UCL,

qualified as a barrister and worked as a management consultant. Then I opened a

club in Clerkenwell promoting Islamic art and culture.

 

“I have two sons and my husband’s Egyptian, so we’ve had a few stares and

stops at the airport, which has made me aware that my sons are growing up in a

climate of fear and mistrust. I think the media perpetuates the myth by using

words like “Islamic terroristsâ€, so there’s a link in the average

person’s mind between Islam and terrorism. Pre 9/11, there wasn’t that link.

 

 

“I’m running a national art competition, ArRum, to explore what it means to

be a British Muslim. There is a responsibility on our community to step forward

more, and a project like the Muslim Women Power List, which highlights and

celebrates the contributions that Muslim women are making, is definitely a great

thing.â€

 

 

Salma Yaqoob, 37, leader of the Respect political party and elected member of

Birmingham City Council

“9/11 was a turning point for me. I felt like I was being associated with it

because it was called ‘Islamic terrorism’… In the playground people would

shun me, on the bus I

would hear people saying they wanted to stab Muslims.. I was spat upon. I was

waiting to hear someone speak up, but nobody did, so I did it myself.

 

“Muslim women are most definitely stereotyped: that we’re all oppressed,

repressed, depressed! I think there’s a seed of truth in that we have issues

within our own community; there’s a lot of rhetoric about equality and

the Holy Quran and the Prophet, but the practice is definitely far from the

theory. I saw many of my own cousins coming under pressure [to get married

straight from school]. My sister and I were the first to go to university. Now

it’s the norm. I remember going to my father and showing him the verses [in

the

Holy  Quran] and saying, ‘Well, you say you believe this stuff, but actually

we do have a right [to study].’

 

“I saw how the faith was being used – well, misused

– to deprive women of rights, and I found that I could assert my rights

through going back to the faith. I hope that’s made it easier for other

women.â€

Rimla Akhtar, 26, chairwoman of the Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation

 

“I think there’s a lot of work to be done in terms of understanding the

Muslim community. All the people here today are working to get the message

across that we’re basically the same as anyone else.. We have a faith that

defines us, but that doesn’t make us different. We’re doing positive things

for the whole of the UK. I’ve been playing sport for a long time, and I

haven’t encountered any prejudice at all.

 

 

Get rid of Add-Ons in your email ID. Get yourname@rocketmail .com. Sign up now!

http://in.promos. / address