ISIS Female Jihadist Manifesto: Women Should Be Veiled and Hidden

The latest manifesto from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is aimed at females, who are allowed to marry at nine, since they are the "most pure" at that age, but definitely by 16 or 17, basically espouses the whole keep 'em barefoot and pregnant mentality.

... all women should consider motherhood the purpose of their existence, according to a manifesto attributed to an all-female branch of the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

The Quilliam Foundation, a UK-based anti-terrorism think-tank, said the text states women should be hidden and veiled, stay at home and shun fashion boutiques and beauty salons as the work of the devil. Produced by the Al-Khanssaa Brigade, the manifesto reveals a more sober picture of what is expected of Muslim women than the accounts of Western female jihadists who have exaggerated their role on social media, the foundation, which translated the document into English, said. “Just as they have sexed up what it is to be a women living in the so-called caliphate, this document dresses it down.

Women, it is unambiguously stated, are homemakers and mothers,” the foundation said in concluding remarks to its translation. “The matters of adventure and excitement, themes most used by female Western recruiters trying to recruit young girls to IS, are the realm of men,” it added.

[snip]

The document, which first appeared last month in Arabic, sets out what is permitted in terms of education and work. From seven to nine, girls should learn religion, Quranic Arabic and science. From 10 to 12, there should be more studies relating to Islamic sharia law on marriage and divorce in addition to knitting and cooking.

The manifesto indicates that a girl’s education ends at the age of 15. It states that a woman may leave the house if she going to study theology, if she is a woman doctor or teacher and if it has been ruled by fatwa that she must fight jihad or holy war. 

The rest here, on Arab Times.

UK Muslim Boys' School- Only Men Need Apply For Science Teacher Job

A school for Muslim boys in Leicester, England is in trouble for discrimination with regard to its hiring practices. The school needs a temporary science teacher but they don't want women working there, so they specified men only in an ad placed with a recruiting company called Capita.

The advert published by the outsourcing company Capita requested a “Male Science Teacher” to cover lessons, including some mathematics classes, until the end of the current academic year on a short term contract for up to £150 a day.
[snip] 

The National Secular Society said it had been alerted to the advertisement by a female science teacher who had been looking for work in the Leicester area.

The ad was eventually pulled after the Department of Education got involved stating that

“Schools must comply with equality law. "We asked Leicester City Council to raise this with the school and the advert has now been withdrawn.”

But we all know the school will still only hire a male.

The NSS had this to say:

 “Being male isn't a genuine occupational requirement for a science teacher in a state school. Any attempt to try and make it so is unjustifiable.

“The Government's encouragement of schools run by religious groups will bring with it increasing demands for religious customs and practices to be accommodated within our education system.

“If religious demands to discriminate and segregate along gender lines are accommodated, teachers of the 'wrong sex' will be disadvantaged and children in such schools are unlikely to be adequately prepared for life as equal citizens in a liberal democracy – which should be one of the fundamental aims of education policy. “For some religious groups, it is clear that the primary goal of state education should be to instill parents' religious beliefs in children. “Equality must not be sacrificed in the rush to satisfy their demands.”

Source: UK Telegraph

UK Students Protest Planned Gender Segregation At Brit Universities

British students are up in arms about a policy that Universities UK (UUK) is planning on implementing which would allow for gender segregation under certain circumstances in Brit colleges.
So people were out demonstrating yesterday, on what happened to be Human Rights Day. Quite fitting, methinks.

The universities want the option to allow gender segregation during speaking lectures from 'outside' speakers, if those 'ultra-orthodox' speakers happen to request it. 'Ultra-orthodox', of course, is just a p.c. reference to Islamists, because they're pretty much the only ones who would. In fact, University College London had a bit of a controversy back in March, 2013 when a debate between atheist Lawrence Krauss and Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, organized by the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA), ended up with Krauss walking out when he noticed the lecture hall had been gender segregated. The organization was banned from any future events, but obviously other universities think it's a grand idea- to separate men and women.

More here on the protests.

Obviously there are some who think it's a grand idea.  Camillia Khan, Head of Communications at FOSIS (Federation of Student Islamic Societies), had this to say about gender segregation:

The term 'segregation' denotes discrimination and isolation - and this couldn't be further from the general reality. There needs to be a linguistic shift in the discourse - but more importantly, the shift must be an ideological one which accepts that there exist differences based on sound spirituality, and these need to be embraced, led by brave and nuanced organisations such as Universities UK. Male and female seating is a simple religious manifestation that has been established for multiple millennia and is one that is still actively implemented today by many churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious communities. Taking away the basic freedom to choose a room arrangement from mature and democratically elected student groups such as Islamic societies will only seek to alienate Muslim students from social engagement by denying their right to religious freedom.

No, they don't need to be embraced. There is a major difference between public education institutions and religious institutions. If you want to sit in the back of the mosque (or synagogue) by all means do so, we have no say over what happens on private religious property. But universities, forget it.  If they want segregation go to Al Azhar in Egypt or universities in Iran or Saudi Arabia where that's common practice, those universities will be happy to accommodate them. They should feel right at home. Stay out of Western, secular universities.

Saudi Father Of Bride Kills Groom's Brother For Entering 'Women's Hall'

This is what happens when you mix gender segregation, ignorance, and religious fundamentalism: death.

Saudis are so intent on keeping the genders separated, even at weddings, that they apparently have two separate halls, one for males and one for females. In a tragic case, the brother of the groom made the mistake of trying to make his way into the women's hall (along with some other relatives), so when the father of the bride witnessed this, he didn't just tell them to step away:

“He pulled his gun and shot at them.

“The groom’s brother was killed while the killer’s son was injured in exchange of fire between the two sides,” Sabq daily said without making clear if the incident affected the couple’s marriage.

Source: Emirates 24/7

Iranian Record Swim Denied Over Un-Islamic Attire

In support of Elham- From a Facebook page

32-year-old  Elham Asghari is a kick-ass Iranian swimmer who just broke a breaststroke record by swimming 20 kilometers in around 8 hours or so. Unfortunately, she lives in a country that has refused to acknowledge her record-breaking swim because her swimming attire did not pass Islamic muster. Oh she was amply covered from head to toe- she wore a wet suit, a swim cap PLUS a headscarf, goggles, AND some kind of cape thingy that covered her whole body. She also swam along a gender segregated beach, so no men could see her.  But since the sports ministry said that the shape of her body could be seen as she emerged from the water, she was docked 2 kilometers, and then they outright refused to recognize her swim at all.

"That day, my attire covered my body. I had seven witnesses. I swam at a women's beach. No man was present there," she says. "But now they've made an Islamic objection against my attire. Those who cannot swim 20 meters themselves have taken my 20-kilometer record hostage.”

She appealed to Deputy Minister of  Women's Physical Education, Marzieh Akbarabadi, to no avail. Akbarabadi told her she should switch sports.

20 Kilometers is quite a feat considering her cumbersome "attire", which when wet weighs a good 6 kilograms, and hurts her body, so she has taken to social media to fight for what is rightfully hers.

Women in certain Islamic countries, like Iran and Saudi Arabia, are very limited in the kinds of sports in which they are allowed to compete. Iran allows women to play archery, Ninjitsu, Sanshou, soccer and target shooting, but they can only wear uniforms that have been approved. Apparently, they have not yet approved an official open water swimming outfit.

According to RFE/RL, under Mahmud Ahmadinejad's reign, the restrictions on women's participation in sports have increased.

Elham will continue to fight for her right to swim and be recognized. Maybe things will change under president-elect Hassan Rohani's leadership.

She has posted a video on YouTube, in her swimming attire, thanking her fans for their support and encouragement.

No Women At Saudi Conference On "Women In Society"

Saudi Arabia allegedly hosted a global conference last year on "women in society", at the University of Qassim. Supposedly 15 countries were represented there.  But check out the photo below, they're all men.

The photo is only now going viral, for obvious reasons- the fact there is not one female in attendance at a conference devoted to women.  Although, when you think about it, it actually makes sense to not include women, since they are mostly hidden from society in places like Saudi Arabia. Just another example of the diminished role women have in most Islamic countries. And then there's that gender segregation issue.

Of course, who knows if this is for real. Huffington Post did do some research and found the photo on Beladalorb.com which was sourced from the Saudi paper Okaz, but you never know.

Afghan Doctor Stoned For Treating Female Patient Without Chaperone

Someone snitched on an Afghan doctor who was treating a female patient, and soon the angry mobs appeared. Although the police attempted to escort the two out, the doctor was pushed off the second-floor balcony of his office, and was subsequently stoned.

A mob attacked an Afghan medical doctor and his female patient, stoning the doctor after the two were discovered in his private examining room without a chaperon, Afghan officials said on Thursday.

There were conflicting accounts that the doctor had been killed or that he had been severely injured and sent out of Afghanistan for treatment. The woman was initially feared missing, but was later reported to be at a women’s shelter, according to an official there.

The attack took place in Sar-i-Pul, a government-held town in the northern province of the same name, on Tuesday, but news was slow to leak out and officials initially denied that anyone had been hurt.

The provincial police chief, Abdul Raouf Taj, said that local villagers and shopkeepers stormed the private clinic when they heard that the doctor, Ajmeer Hashimi, was treating a patient, a midwife named Mahboba, alone in his examining room.

The doctor and midwife both worked at the same hospital.

As is often the case, it will take a while to find out the details, if we are ever privy to them.

Source: NY Times

Illiterate Pakistani Housewife Runs For Parliament- First Woman Ever

Badam Zari

53-year-old Badam Zari (the one in the colorful Islamic garb) is illiterate, even though her husband happens to be a teacher. Although that's not particularly surprising- considering she lives in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), a hotbed of Islamic militancy and home to the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other lovelies- what is surprising is that she's running for office. Yes, the brave housewife will be the first female ever to be approved to run for the upcoming parliamentary elections, even though everyone knows she won't win. She, however, is apparently hopeful.

“I am contesting the election with passion, with a clean heart and a clear conscience. My passion is to educate the future generation, girls and women, and to serve them,” she told AFP in a telephone interview from Bajaur district.

“I know I am the first woman to contest and I am hopeful that I will win.”

Bajaur is one of seven districts that make up Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The semi-autonomous region of mountains, valleys and caves is one of the most deprived, impoverished and ill-educated in the country.

It has been a stronghold for Afghan Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other Pakistani militant groups, and for years a battleground between the army and insurgents.

Thanks to reforms introduced by the outgoing government in a bid to lessen the grip of militancy, political parties can now contest elections for the first time in FATA.

But 53-year-old Zari, who comes from Arang, is standing as an independent.

She says she has nothing to fear but acknowledges she will not be able to campaign in public. Instead, she will stay in purdah -- either in her quarters or in the quarters of other women who are not allowed to gather in public.

“I have no fear, I have never been threatened by anyone,” she said.

I'm glad she has no fear, but a female running for office, bucking for education for women?  Has she forgotten about schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai? That's right, she can't read. And so she obviously hasn't heard about the Taliban threatening those who contest the elections, including voters. Democracy is un-Islamic, after all.

Poor woman, we'll see how long she lasts before she's the next Taliban target.

Saudi Women Can Now Ride Bikes- With Major Restrictions

Graphics: MuslimWomenNews.com

Hallelujah, Saudi women will now be able to ride bicycles and motorcycles- as long as they wear their long veils and abayas [so they can get caught in the wheels and strangle them], they are accompanied by a male guardian [am still trying to figure that one out- a bicycle built for two, perhaps?], and last but not least, only in certain private, recreational areas. Yippee.

The al-Yawm daily on Monday cited an unnamed official from the religious police as saying women can ride bikes in parks and recreational areas but they have to be accompanied by a male relative and dressed in the full Islamic head-to-toe abaya.

[snip]

Women are also banned from riding motorcycles or bicycles in public places. The newspaper didn't say what triggered the lifting of the ban.

The official says women may not use the bikes for transportation but “only for entertainment'' and that they should shun places where young men gather “to avoid harassment.''

Such strides!

Source: Al Jazeera

Court Overturns Gender-Mixing At Saudi Primary Schools

Saudi Arabian primary school kids almost got the chance to study together- well, not quite, since the boys would have had separate buildings. But even this was too much for parents to bear, many of whom balked at the idea of young boys mingling with their little girls at the same school. When they heard of the decision, mums and other custodians descended upon one all-girl school, the Al Abrar School in Medina, in a show of protest.

“They [mothers] continued to pack the school for most of last week after that school got approval by the Ministry of Education allowing it to have boys…the report gave rise to rumors through some websites that the boys have been moved into the same classes where the girls study,” the paper said.

It quoted the school’s head, Noha Surour, as saying the problem had been caused by rumors that the school would allow gender mixing.

“They were wrong because there will be no sex-mixing in classes.…we reassured them that the boys had been moved into a separate building and separate classes…they will use separate toilets, separate canteens and separate gates…we received approval from the Ministry of Education to admit boys until the second primary class and we are the first school in Madina to do so.”

However, they needn't have worried since the decision by the Ministry of Education to allow co-education- for the first time ever- was short-lived.

The Administrative Court in the capital Riyadh criticized the Ministry of Education for taking such a move, saying it should have examined its actions before issuing that decision, according to Saudi newspapers.

“The Court annulled the Ministry’s decision, saying it had erred in making such a decision, which was wrong,” Alsaudeh daily said.

“It said the Ministry should now work to redress this wrong action, which has no legal basis in the religion and the system.”

Easy come, easy go.

They still have so far to go to catch up to the 21st century.  So, Saudis will continue to promote gender segregation, and the people will continue to be screwed up.

London University Bans Islamic Organization Over Gender Segregation At Debate

Good for Professor Lawrence Krauss and the University College London for taking a stance against Islamic gender segregation. First, on March 9, atheist Krauss walked out on a lecture "Islam or Atheism: Which Makes More Sense?"  where he was to debate Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, after he noticed gender segregation was being enforced. Then the university banned the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA)-  proponents of gender segregation and the hosts of the debate- from participating in any future events.

When Krauss saw people being moved from their seats, he said he would not speak at an event that was segregated and walked out to cheers and boos from the audience. An organiser pursued him and said segregation would be abandoned.

UCL said in a statement: "We do not allow enforced segregation on any grounds [but] it now appears that, despite our clear instructions, attempts were made to enforce segregation at the meeting.

"We are still investigating what actually happened at the meeting but, given iERA's original intentions for a segregated audience, we have concluded that their interests are contrary to UCL's ethos and that we should not allow any further events involving them to take place on UCL premises."

Saleem Chagtai, head of PR at iERA, expressed disappointment at the ban and denied that the group had tried to enforce segregation at the event. [snip]


Chagtai claimed that the group had offered audience members separate seating, with mixed-sex seating at the front of the lecture theatre with rows only for men and women who wished to adhere to their religious beliefs further back.

He said: "I would classify segregation as people saying, 'you're a man you sit there, you're a woman you sit there'. We understood that we could not enforce separate seating but we could facilitate it."

The rest here.

I'm proud of them for taking a stance. Perhaps there is still hope for England.

UNRWA Cancels Gaza Marathon After Hamas Bars Female Runners

Gaza was set for its third annual international marathon on April 10th. Hosted by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the near east (UNRWA), some 807 people were readying to participate.

551 locals and 256 international runners. Of that number, 385 are female – 266 from Gaza and 119 from overseas. [snip] Another 1,600 schoolchildren, girls and boys, were also to have joined the race.

That is, until the neanderthals in Hamas decided that this year (unlike the past two) no women over the age of 16 would be allowed to participate. So, UNRWA opted to cancel the whole thing.

In a statement on UNRWA's website:

UNRWA regrets to announce that it has cancelled the third Gaza marathon which was to be held on 10 April. This follows the decision by the authorities in Gaza not to allow women to participate.

Registered participants who still wish to come to Gaza are welcome and UNRWA is working on a programme of other events, which will be forwarded to those interested as soon as possible.

UNRWA is disappointed with this decision, and sincerely regrets the inconvenience this may cause to those who planned to participate in the marathon.

The ones who will suffer are the children, as they oft do in those countries.

For the past three years, the annual UNRWA Gaza Marathon has raised funds for UNRWA’s summer programme for children in Gaza. In the past, local parents have praised the initiative as a welcome break from the difficulties of life in Gaza. 

But Palestinians don't seem to care too much about their offspring, other than grooming them to be suicide bombers, so this probably doesn't really matter.

Hamas probably thought UNRWA would cave and allow the race to continue, but thankfully they did not, at least for now.  Who knows if they will eventually relent, since they did mention something about working on some kind of alternative.

Of the decision to cancel, cabinet secretary of Hamas- Abdessalam Siyyam told AFP:

"We regret this decision to cancel the marathon but we don't want men and women running together."

"We did not tell UNRWA to cancel the marathon and we haven't prevented it, but we laid down some conditions: We don't want women and men mixing in the same place."

Oh well. Too bad.

Source: Al-Akhbar.com, UNRWA

Saudi Cleric Fatwa- Women Can Unveil, Travel Alone and Eat With Men

Saudi Cleric Sheikh Ahmed Bin Qassim al-Ghamdi has always been a progressive voice of reason in the Muslim world.  In 2010, after some comments he made regarding antiquated, outdated Saudi Islamic thought, al-Ghamdi was fired and then, thankfully, rehired. A senior officer, at the time, in the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV) or better known as the Saudi religious police, he had caused a major commotion in the ultra religious Kingdom when he suggested that nowhere in Islamic scriptures does it mention that the mingling of sexes was forbidden. Saudi Arabia, one of the most repressive countries in the world, has overly strict gender segregation laws which apparently have no basis in Islam. Not only did al-Ghamdi have the guts to challenge the religious status quo with regards to segregation of the sexes, but he then had the audacity to state that Muslims don't need to pray in packs at a Mosque, which is presumably the reason why he was sacked, before he was reinstated as general manager for the Mecca branch of the religious police.

Ghamdi was reportedly dressed down three days ago by the country's highest cleric for saying that Muslims are not necessarily required to pray inside a mosque with a group of other Muslims in daily prayers.

Apparently, one of the duties of the PVPV is to make sure that shops and offices close for the daily prayers so that men can pray together. Finding the closing of shops to be inconvenient, al-Mahdi made his statement that it was unnecessary for men to pray as a group.  But  these comments angered many.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh told Ghamdi he was getting involved in matters of Islamic sharia law that were outside his authority, the Al-Madinah newspaper reported on Friday.

Al-Sheikh also said in his sermon during Friday prayers that anyone suggesting that congregation prayer is not necessary is "leading people to hell," according to reports.

Although Saudi officials claimed his initial firing had nothing to do with his liberal statements, I think we all know it was. However, why they re-hired him remains a mystery, although he is no longer involved with the PVPV.

Then early last year he piped in about how there was nothing wrong with listening to music.

This year al-Ghamdi is back issuing fatwas that might just make the ultra conservative Muslim world explode. He has said that women can uncover their arms and faces, travel alone, and eat with men.

In statements posted on Twitter, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Qassim al-Ghamdi, the former head of Mecca's Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice committee, said: “It is permissible for people to look at what is not forbidden in women like their faces and their arms.”

In other statements, the cleric said women can travel without a male guardian provided that there is safety.

Al-Ghamdi backed his statements with references to sayings by prominent Muslim scholars in history.

This is pretty major, if anyone bothers to pay attention.

Maybe with people like al-Ghamdi Saudi Arabia will eventually reach the 19th century, since I think it will take at least another century before the Saudis reach the 21st.

Saudi Women Fight Back- Refuse To Leave Lecture

Muslim women are slowly waking up, at least those who seek freedom in countries that marginalize them, and they're fighting back for their right to exist in a male dominated culture/religion.

Take these brave Saudi women who were attending a lecture at the Jeddah Literary Club on "Saudi Elite and Alienation Issues", heady stuff, when a bunch of bearded conservative yahoos demanded they move to another room because they didn't want to be seated in the same hall as women. The women refused when the lecturer asked them to move.

Dr Amira Kashgari said of the incident:

“What happened was not right and cannot be tolerated." “We were surprised by the group of men who walked into the main hall. I think that they came in just to provoke another of their imaginary battles. The women who were at the hall are well known literary figures and intellectuals and nobody had the right to tell them to move out."

Of the lecturer, Kashgari was quoted as saying:

“He had no right whatsoever to make the request,” Amira said. “The women had a brave and strong stance. One of them told him to go and speak with her father who was sitting at the front.”

According to Kashgari, who is a member, the activities at the club are non-discriminatory.

“The club does not support an exclusion policy and does not monopolise views. Those who do not wish to see women in the club hall should simply leave and look for alternatives elsewhere." “The active participation of women in cultural activities is moving forward smoothly and should not be stalled by anyone nor should anyone meddle in their cultural and social activities.”

Another woman in attendance, Fatima Ilyas, was not surprised at all that the conservatives reacted in that way.

“I was really pleased with the reaction of the club chairman who refused to cater to the demands that we leave. " “We are aware of course that there is tension between conservative groups and cultural institutions. I do wonder though about the reasons that make these men afraid of the presence of women. I believe that these people have a phobia of women.” 

“Women were really upset and disturbed about the incident, especially that they are classy women and strongly believe in their right to be wherever they want at the club. If a woman does not feel comfortable in the main hall where men are also seated, she can go to a separate room for women. It is a matter of free choice. The club is not a bastion form [sic] men. Those who want to exclude or expel women should go to their own bastions,”

And that's the bottom line. If people feel uncomfortable in the presence of the other sex, then don't go to mixed gender events.

Source: Gulf news

Saudi Cleric Calls Hardee's Female Servers Prostitutes

Photo: Touchesvelvet.com

It's odd to think that a Saudi Cleric would have a Twitter account, but Sheikh Ali Al Mutairi does, and he's receiving a lot of flak for tweeting that the newly-hired female servers at Hardee's fast food restaurants in Jeddah are nothing more than prostitutes. Apparently, there had been some tweets about boycotting the U.S. fast food chain (yes, very odd they have Hardee's in the Kingdom) and he decided to pipe in, as well, about the new hiring practices. Naturally they're covered head to toe (see photo) because all women in Saudi Arabia are, but the fact they are mingling with men makes them whores, or potentially so. After all, interacting with the opposite sex naturally leads to prostitution. Or so they think.

Al Mutairi said:

“At the beginning of her shift she’s a waitress. When her shift ends she becomes a prostitute. The more she’s around men the easier it becomes to get closer to her”

Wow, Hardee's waitress by day, skanky ho by night.

Al-Mutairi (@4aalmutairi) has a whopping 5,000 plus followers, but not all of them were too pleased with his asinine remark.

“Prostitution is not in working trying to survive but it is in corrupted minds that use religion to distort other’s reputation,” posted one male in response to Mutar’s tweet.

“Prostitute? So any female employee in my country is a whore now?” wrote a female tweep by the handle of @Sulafa_97.

Many commented by telling Sheikh Al Mutairi that through doubting the morality of ‘chaste’ women and describing them in the way he did, the cleric would be committing a serious vice, according to well-known Islamic teachings.

Another tweep posted pictures of some Hardee’s waitresses posted over social media by saying “These women are all covered up that I wouldn’t look at them, plus if your sister goes to that restaurant would you prefer a man or a woman taking her order?”

His pronouncement even merited a hashtag, and Al-Mutairi actually responded to those criticizing him:

“In the name of God, I have seen this hashtag and some are asking to apologise because they think I have defamed Hardee’s waitresses – the truth is I warned from the dangers of sexes mixing, at the beginning she is a waitress and in the end they will want her to become a prostitute and between are the devil’s steps.”

“As for hypocrites who shave their beards and moustache (a common way of describing liberals in Saudi Arabia), there is no apology for them because their zeal isn’t for God,” he added.

Ah, ignorance is bliss. That country has such a very long way to go before it joins the 19th century.

Iranian Women Banned From 80 University Courses

The Iranian government is further marginalizing women by not allowing them to study almost 80 different course subjects including computer science, nuclear physics, engineering, business, and of all things English Lit. Over 30 universities have implemented the ban just as the new academic year commenced.

No-one is saying why, but people have their ideas. Human Rights Lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who won a Nobel Prize, believes that

"The Iranian government is using various initiatives… to restrict women's access to education, to stop them being active in society, and to return them to the home to weaken the feminist movement in the country"

After the Islamic Revolution women were encouraged to educate themselves, and in fact female university students currently outnumber male 60 to 40, but that is starting to change. According to Human Rights Watch Liesl Gernholtz,

"As university students across Iran prepare to start the new academic year, they face serious setbacks, and women students in particular will no longer be able to pursue the education and careers of their choice."

Of course, others blame it on the economy bolstered by Western sanctions.

"..the dean of Iran's Petroleum University of Technology, Gholamreza Rashed, was quoted by the IRAN newspaper last week as blaming market forces - implying job prospects were shrinking because of Western sanctions.

He said his school was no longer accepting female students due to "the hardship of the work situation, and because the oil industry does not need female students right now."

Still others believe the power and strength of the women in the 2009 revolution has the leaders running scared.

"The women's movement has been challenging Iran's male-dominated establishment for several years," says Saeed Moidfar, a retired sociology professor from Tehran.

"Traditional politicians now see educated and powerful women as a threat."

But it definitely has to do with the continued Islamisation of Iran, and the universities are suffering the fall out. Iran has apparently been pushing for gender segregation in colleges for a while now, and Kamran Daneshjou, minister of science, research and technology says they

"welcome the establishment of one-gender universities, schools for only men or women." He said that was the direction "our religion envisions for us."

Mr Daneshjou dismissed Western criticism of Iran's steps, saying: "The angrier Western media gets, the more we realise we are moving in the right direction."

Unless the Iranians take back their country, women will wind up like Afghan women covered in burqas and banned from education.

Sources: ABC Australia, BBC

UK Dads Banned From Day Care Center So As Not To Offend Muslim Women

Fathers are in an uproar in Birmingham, England after a children's play center banned all males so as not to offend Muslim mums. Kids Go Wild is located in Sparkhill, a mainly Asian/Muslim area of Birmingham, and up until the recent decision was a co-ed play center.

But it's not just dads that are being turned away, they're not even allowing males over nine. No wonder they're all so screwed up. If kids can't learn to deal with the opposite sex in a safe, supervised environment, they'll grow up maladjusted.

And it's not just non-Muslims who are more than pissed off at the decision, it has also infuriated some in the Muslim community. As a result, a large group of dads took their complaint to the Equality and Human Rights commission which intends to investigate the situation.

One dad called it "sexist" and "disgusting". One mum, Ruksana Ayub, said:

“I understand why women would want a place like this where there are no men. They won’t feel they have to cover up so they might feel more able to relax and to socialise. But I’m quite modern in my outlook, so I also find it quite shocking that men aren’t allowed in. It’s a shame for kids who don’t have a mum.”

Local Muslims are equally concerned:

The move was branded a “worrying situation” by local councillor Habib Rehman, a Muslim and father-of-four. He said: “There’s something wrong here when a dad can’t take his kids to a play centre.”

Father-of-three Tariq Mahmood, of nearby Hall Green, said: “In the Muslim community men and women being separate is normal at religious events and social functions. But a play centre isn’t a religious or function thing. It’s somewhere for children to play. A ban on men gives the wrong impression about men.”

Tory MP Patrick Mercer said: “It is clear there are common sense voices as you would expect from the Muslim community. I would hope that the play group would listen to people of every faith and respect the role of fathers within the family.”

Kids Go Wild has defended its decision:

The manageress of the centre, who refused to give her name, said she was catering for the “predominantly Asian community”.

She said: “It’s a cultural thing. It’s not that men are an issue, ladies are more comfortable around women. They’ve been asking for it for a long time.”

And this is how it starts, folks. Gender segregation will eventually become the norm in those communities, and then they will start demanding it elsewhere. But I blame Muslim males, in general, for forcing women to withdraw under their abayas, burqas and veils by burdening them with keeping the man's lust in check.