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Category: Lifestyle

  • Kabul’s last Jew fearing Taliban divorces wife to be in Israel

    Kabul’s last Jew fearing Taliban divorces wife to be in Israel

    Zebulon Simentov, who is known as the last Jew of Kabul, divorced his wife over a Zoom call so that he can be allowed to enter his Holy Land, reports Dawn.

    Under Jewish religious law, a husband must agree to grant his wife divorce, which Simentov had refused to do for many years. But last month, he finally agreed to avoid any legal procedures from his wife, who lives in Israel.

    Simentov fled Afghanistan last month after the Taliban takeover and landed in Turkey on Sunday on what his rescuers say is a final stop before travelling to Israel.

    Rabbi Moshe Margaretten, whose non-profit group Tzedek Association funded Simentov’s journey, said he had spent the last few weeks living quietly in Pakistan.

    “We are relieved we were successful in helping Zebulon Simentov escape from Afghanistan and now into safety in Turkey. His life was in danger in Afghanistan,” said Margaretten.

    He said his group had looked into bringing Simentov to the United States (US) but decided that Israel was a better destination as he has many relatives, including five siblings and two daughters, already in Israel.

    Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in the Islamic States, greeted Simentov at the airport in Istanbul upon his arrival.

    He said he had an appointment to take Simentov to the Israeli consulate to arrange his entry to Israel. Under Israel’s “Law of Return”, any Jew is entitled to Israeli citizenship.

    Simentov was born in Herat, Afghanistan, in 1959 and used to run a kebab shop.

  • VIDEO: Muslim woman in India forced to remove burqa in public

    VIDEO: Muslim woman in India forced to remove burqa in public

    A mob in India forced a Muslim woman to remove her burqa in public, India Today reported.

    The video of the incident went viral on social media. The video showed a burqa-clad woman sitting on a motorbike, accompanied by a man. 

    A mob could be seen harassing the girl for wearing the burqa, after which she was forced to take it off. 

    “Take the burqa off, you are giving a bad name to the nation,” one of the members from the group could be heard telling the woman.

    The man protested when the mob asked the woman to remove her niqab (veil).

    “You have to take the niqab off as well,” one member of the mob said. The entire incident was recorded by the mob.

    As per reports, no case has been registered against the people yet. Two men were reportedly let off by the police after receiving a warning.

  • 78% Pakistanis think women ‘not safe’ here: Survey

    78% Pakistanis think women ‘not safe’ here: Survey

    Almost 78% of Pakistanis believe that no woman is safe in Pakistan while only 20% believe that women are safe in the country, a survey conducted by Pulse Consultant has shown.

    At least 18,000 Pakistanis participated in the survey conducted by a Karachi-based marketing and social research company, Pulse Consultant. 

    Most of the Pakistanis who think women are unsafe in the country were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    The survey showed that 35% of citizens of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa consider women safe to some extent in Pakistan, while only 19% consider them completely safe.

    Similarly, 35% of people in Punjab saw women as unsafe in Pakistan, 41% saw them safe to some extent, and 21% saw them completely safe.

    The rate of people who consider women unsafe in Pakistan from Sindh was 26% in the survey, while the rate of those who consider them safe to some extent was 49%. Meanwhile, 24% of the survey respondents considered them to be completely safe in the country.

    The survey showed that most Pakistanis who see women safe to some extent in Pakistan are from Balochistan, where 74% of people vouched for it.

    Whereas, 19% of citizens of Balochistan saw women as unsafe in Pakistan. Only 7% of the respondents from the province saw them as completely safe.

    The statistics compiled in the survey based on social status suggested that 45% of people from the lower class believe that women are not safe in Pakistan.

    The rate of people who saw women as unsafe from the lower middle class was 35%, 30% from the middle class, 29% from the upper-middle class, while 34% from the upper class.

    Meanwhile, statistics based on gender showed that women were more positive than men when it came to their safety in Pakistan.

    As many as 29% of women believe that they are safe outside the home, while only 22% of men vouched for it. 

    The survey was conducted through CATI (Computer assisted telephonic interviews), a state-of-the-art technology where all calls are recorded.

    Overall Perception of Women Safety in Pakistan

    •  Only 20% of Pakistanis feel that women are ‘safe’ in Pakistan
    •  43% believe that women are ‘somewhat safe’ – it means their opinion is in between – neither they believe that Pakistani women are ‘unsafe’ nor do they believe that Pakistani women are ‘safe’
    •  35% of Pakistanis believe that Pakistani women are entirely not safe in Pakistan
    •  Highest perception of “unsafety” reported from KP (46%) followed by Punjab (35%)

    Women Safety – Outside the home – Women’s Perception

    •  29% of the Pakistani females feel that they are ‘safe’ when they go outside the home
    • However, 35% of females believe that they are “smewhat safe” and similar population (35%) believes that they are absolutely “unsafe” when they commute in society
    •  The highest perception of “unsafety” again reported from KP (46%) followed by Punjab (36%)
    •  Almost half (51%) of the female respondents from ‘Upper Class’ & one third (38%) from ‘Lowest Class’ have a concern about safety when commuting outside the home

    Women Safety – Outside the home – Male’s Perception

    •  Interestingly, males consider females less safe (22%) in Pakistan as compared to female respondents (29%)
    •  The majority 45% of males believes that their family female members are “somewhat safe” and 30% believe that their family females’ members are ‘unsafe’ outside the home
    •  Interestingly, contrary to females belonging to ‘Upper Class’ (Where 51% believe that they are unsafe), almost one-third of males belong to the same class have the opinion that their female family members are safe (36%) and only one-fourth (25%) have the opinion that females family members are ‘unsafe’
  • Supreme Court grants bail to Zahir Jaffer’s mother

    Supreme Court grants bail to Zahir Jaffer’s mother

    The Supreme Court has approved the bail of Zahir Jaffer’s mother, Asmat Adamjee. Zahir is the prime suspect in Noor rape and murder case. His mother’s bail is granted in exchange for bail bond of Rs1 million.

    Read more- My father asked me to get rid of Noor: Zahir Jaffer

    A three-member bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, while hearing the bail plea, granted bail to the accused Zahir Jaffer’s mothrr on the grounds of her gender and on the ground that she was not present at the crime scene, Urdu News has reported. However, the Supreme Court has rejected the bail application of Zahir Jaffer’s father, Zakir Jaffer.

    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Heavy snowfall blocks roads to Babusar Top, Chilas
    
			
    

    After heavy rain and snow, the roads to Chilas and Gilgit via Babusar Top-Naran Highway have been suspended, ARY News has reported.
    




    Different areas in Gilgit Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received heavy rain and snow for the two days resulting in a drop in the temperature of the region.
    




    Areas of Batogah Top, Fairy Meadows, Nanga Parbat have also been receiving snowfall.
    




    The entryways into Gilgit-Baltistan have been suspended while tourists have been told to avoid traveling here. The district authorities have stopped cars from entering the region.
    




    The rains have lashed out on the entire region, the district authorities said, as they stopped cars approaching the area.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Rickshaw Drivers Union warns govt to reduce fuel prices in 24 hours
    
			
    Rickshaw Drivers Union warns govt to reduce fuel prices in 24 hours
    
			
    

    Members of the Awami Rickshaw Drivers Union organised a protest against the increase in fuel prices in Lahore, Samaa has reported. The protesters threatened the government to hold an indefinite sit-in if the government did not lower gasoline and natural gas rates.
    




    Chairman of the Rickshaw Union, Majeed Ghori, stated that if the government does not reduce fuel prices in  the next 24 hours, they will hold sit-ins at city’s busiest junctions, disrupting traffic. He also warned that they would protest outside the Chief Minister House. 
    




    Read more- Petrol price goes up by Rs10.49 per litre
    




    The federal government on Saturday issued a notice to increase the price of petrol by Rs10.49 per litre. 
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    After marriage, women can keep their father’s name on CNIC: NADRA
    
			
    After marriage, women can keep their father’s name on CNIC: NADRA
    
			
    

    Chairperson of The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Tariq Malik, while addressing the concluding session of the 14th Annual Rural Women Conference, has said that Women now free to retain their father’s name on CNIC after marriage.
    




    The chairperson said that NADRA is abolishing an “unofficial policy” that made it compulsory for women to replace their father’s name with their husband’s name on their computerized national identity cards.
    




    He clarified that there was no official policy by NADRA that made it compulsory for women to change their surname after marriage, Dawn News has reported.
    




    Earlier you were required to get a new card with your husband’s name on it. That restriction has now been lifted.
    




    “We are breaking down this policy and women now have the authority to register themselves with their father’s or husband’s name…It’s their choice and not of a man’s,” said Malik.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Makkah Grand Mosque  drops social distancing first time since pandemic
    
			
    Makkah Grand Mosque  drops social distancing first time since pandemic
    
			
    

    The Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, on Sunday, operated at full capacity with worshippers praying shoulder-to-shoulder, and floor markings that guide people to social distance in and around the mosque were also removed, reports Al Jazeera.
    




    According to an official Saudi Press Agency, “This is in line with the decision to ease precautionary measures and to allow pilgrims and visitors to the Grand Mosque at full capacity.”
    




    Despite the lifting of social distancing measures, the authorities said visitors must be fully vaccinated against coronavirus and must continue to wear masks on mosque grounds.
    




    Pictures and footage of worshippers performing Muslim prayers are making rounds on social media.
    




    In Saudi Arabia, the authorities also lifted curbs on fully vaccinated people at closed venues, gatherings, transportation, restaurants and cinemas. Masks are no longer mandatory in open public places.
    




    Earlier, in July, only about 60,000 citizens and residents were allowed to take part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    LHC asks Punjab Govt to submit report over ‘discriminatory’ behaviour towards transgenders
    
			
    LHC asks Punjab Govt to submit report over ‘discriminatory’ behaviour towards transgenders
    
			
    

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued notices to the Punjab government, chief secretary, and inspector general ordering them to submit a report on Punjab police’s “discriminatory” actions toward transgender people, Arshad Ali reports for Samaa News.
    




    “Articles 4, 18, and 25 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, provide a shield against any kind of discrimination especially in respect to a job or profession to earn a livelihood but the act of the respondents not to permit transgender persons to compete with the other applicants offends against the said provisions of the Constitution,” the court observed.
    




    Sira Ashi, a transgender woman from Lahore, filed a court suit against the police earlier this month. She claimed that despite meeting all conditions, the Punjab police have been “discriminatory” in their treatment of transgender people by refusing to hire them.
    




    The court also noted that the Transgender Persons Act, 2018, is not being implemented by public functionaries during the recruitment process. “Let notices be issued to the respondents (Punjab government, chief secretary, and inspector-general) with the direction to file their report before the next date of hearing,” Justice Khan directed.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    #PetrolPrice: Memes that you cannot miss
    
			
    #PetrolPrice: Memes that you cannot miss
    
			
    

    The federal government has issued a notice to increase the price of petrol by Rs10.49 per litre. Apart from this, the price of high speed diesel (HSD) has been increased by Rs12.44 per litre.
    




    The prices of kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO) have been increased by Rs10.95 and Rs8.84 per litre respectively. The new price of kerosene is Rs110.26 per litre and that of LDO is Rs108.35 per litre.
    




    Social media users did not lose the opportunity to start a meme fest following the news.