Bradford Muslim Association recognizes the importance of International Women's Day (5 photos)

NEWS RELEASE
BRADFORD MUSLIM WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION
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For more than a century, people around the world have been marking March 8 as a special day for women.

International Women's Day (IWD), grew out of the labour movement, becoming an annual event recognized by the United Nations.

The seeds were planted in 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. A year later, the Socialist Party of America declared the first National Woman's Day.

International Women's Day was first celebrated in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The centenary was celebrated in 2011. 

International Women's Day has become a date to celebrate how far women have come in society, politics and in economics. 

Purple, green and white are the colours of IWD. 

According to the IWD website, Purple signifies justice and dignity. Green symbolizes hope. White represents purity, albeit a controversial concept. The colours originated from the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the UK in 1908. 

The Ahmadiyya Movement of Islam has always been at the forefront of women's development and emancipation. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Women's Association is committed to improving and increasing its efforts in service to the community, to spread the message of love and peace. It continues to be a cornerstone of the Bradford Community. 

For the month of March, Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association celebrated International Women’s Day by displaying the efforts and achievements of women. The displays were set up at D. A. Jones Branch Library in Beeton, New Tecumseth Public Library, and in Alliston.

The coronavirus pandemic also continues to have an impact on women's rights. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2021, the time needed to close the global gender gap has increased by a generation from 99.5 years to 135.6 years.

A 2021 study by UN Women based on 13 countries showed that almost one in two women (45 per cent) reported that they or a woman they know experienced a form of violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes non-physical abuse, with verbal abuse and the denial of basic resources being the most commonly reported.

"Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow" is one of this year's theme for International Women's Day. The day celebrates the achievements and contributions of women and girls in different spheres. The day also spreads awareness about women's empowerment and gender parity.

The International Women's Day website - which says it's designed to "provide a platform to help forge positive change for women" - has chosen the theme #BreakTheBias and is asking people to imagine "a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination".

The Islamic teaching about treatment of women is one of the most misunderstood. Western women generally view Muslim women as repressed and deprived of their rights. The media portrays the stereotypical Muslim woman as fully covered and dominated by her husband, with little more status than a slave. You may be amazed to find, that for 1400 years, Muslim women have been enjoying rights for which western women are still struggling. Muslim women were granted right such as; rights of inheritance, choosing a marriage partner,  right to divorce,  alimony,  political vote, right to choose profession as well as the right to proprietorship.

We believe that God has created men and women as equal beings. In addition, women’s rights were safeguarded by the Holy Prophet, as he himself carried out the commands of Allah and treated women with great honour, kindness, and dignity. No other religion has safeguarded the rights of women as Islam has done. 

Muslim women, contributed to the legacy of Islam as scholars, jurists, rulers, benefactresses, warriors, businesswomen, and legal experts.

Khadīja b. Khuwaylid (d. 620):   A successful merchant and one of the elite figures of Mecca. She played a central role in supporting and propagating the new faith of Islam and has the distinction of being the first Muslim.

Nusayba b. Ka‘b al-Anṣārīyya (d. 634): She is most remembered for taking part in the Battle of Uhud (625), in which she carried a sword and shield and fought against the Meccans. She shielded the Prophet Muhammad from enemies during the battle and even sustained several lance wounds and arrows as she cast herself in front of him to protect him. 

Ā’isha b. Abī Bakr (d. 678): Ā’isha was the wife of the Prophet Muhammad and transmitted expanses of knowledge from him, became a great jurist and scholar.

Lubna of Cordoba (d. 984): She was also a skilled mathematician and presided over the royal library, which consisted of over 500,000 books. 

Ashifa bint Abdullah: The first Muslim woman to be appointed by Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab as market inspector and manager. Amra bint Abdurrehaman was one of the great scholars of the eighth century who was a jurist, a Mufti, and a scholar of ahadith

Rufayda bint Sa’ad al-Aslamiyya: The first nurse at the same time as the Prophet (saws). She nursed the wounded and the dying in the battlefield during the Battle of Badr on 13th March 624 CE.

Hawa Abdi: Known as Mama Hawa, Hawa Abdi was a human rights activist and a physician who worked to provide health care and shelter for Somali women during Somalia’s civil war in the 1990s.

Sabiha Gökçen (1913-2001): She was the first female combat pilot in the world. She was appointed as a chief trainer at the Turkish Aviation Institution.

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