A wave of solidarity has swept through New Zealand in the wake of the country’s worst terrorist attack last week.
Thousands of non-Muslim women across the country, many with little previous exposure to Islam, posted pictures of themselves wearing headscarves – typically worn by some Muslim women to denote modesty.
The move sparked both sympathy and controversy.
On March 16, the day after the attack in which 50 people were killed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern touched down in Christchurch wearing a black veil, in a show of support for the Muslim community.
Later that week she spoke at the memorial – again, her hair tucked away beneath a black veil. “New Zealand mourns with you. We are one,” she said.
Across the country, women followed suit. From news presenters to police officers, some wore them to work, others to memorials, their images circulating widely on social media.
Residents mobilised on Facebook, setting up groups such as Scarves in Solidarity and Headscarf for Harmony, and calling on women to cover their hair in a symbolic show of solidarity.
In Auckland, a doctor asked women to wear headscarves after a Muslim woman said she had been too scared to leave her home in her hijab.
“I wanted to say – we are with you, we want you to feel at home on your own streets, we love, support and respect you,” said Dr Thaya Ashman.
But what began as a call for solidarity also fuelled a heated debate on social media.
Some have labelled the move tokenism, while others have argued it represents a patriarchal symbol of oppression and control that some women have fought tooth and nail to end.
“I consider those victims as humans. But the people that consider them only Muslims, wear the hijab for solidarity” novelist Taslima Nasreen said in reference to the 50 people killed in the Christchurch attack.
Canadian human rights activist Yasmine Mohammed said on Twitter that wearing a hijab was a highly charged issue: “One reason being that the hijab is not a universal symbol for Muslims”.
The west, she said, had “fetishized” the hijab “because they don’t have to wear it”.
The Washington Post Beijing bureau chief Anna Fifield, who reported on the attacks from Christchurch, wore a headscarf to the Friday prayers.
“I’m not pro-hijab or anti-hijab. I’m pro-choice,” she said. “I chose to wear hijab to Friday prayers in the park because it felt like the right, respectful thing to do. Just as I have worn hijab to Friday prayers the Mideast, just as I wore a suit jacket to interview Japanese bureaucrats”.
Mehpara Kahn – a victim of Islamophobia – referred to the headscarf as a religious symbol, deserving of "a degree of understanding and respect, otherwise it does become a token gesture.”
“When those that have protected and served our community wear it, it was a powerful gesture, because they will continue to protect and serve our community,” she said.
Ms Kahn said she hoped the women who had chosen to wear the hijab would continue to stand up for Muslim women’s right to wear it daily.
Chair of the Australian Muslim Women's Centre for Human Rights Tasneem Chopra described the debate as “innocuous”.
"I see people trying to show solidarity in the immediate aftermath of a horrific tragedy; it's a gesture of good will, not cultural appropriation. There's nothing wrong with it," she told The National.
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
SQUADS
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Results for Stage 2
Stage 2 Yas Island to Abu Dhabi, 184 km, Road race
Overall leader: Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Fernando Gaviria COL (UAE Team Emirates) 2. Elia Viviani ITA (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) 3. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal)
Company profile: buybackbazaar.com
Name: buybackbazaar.com
Started: January 2018
Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech, micro finance
Initial investment: $1 million