Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Anjuman Rahman
-
As the virus lockdown lifts, will Kuwait’s marine life be able to recover fully?
With a third of the world’s population on lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is growing evidence that oceans, rivers and lakes are cleaner and once more full of life. The virus is basically forcing us all to rethink our economies, supply chains and science. According to Assistant Professor…
-
Meet the ‘ex-Israeli’ artist refocusing the Zionists’ colonial gaze
In a country witnessing unprecedented displacement, murderous religious extremism and belligerent nationalism, arts has played an important role in the creation of a culture of human rights for the Palestinian people. As Israeli industry advances, threats remain against the human rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up 20…
-
‘We want to stop hearing about female firsts in Palestine, women should have the same chances as men’
‘There’s no limitation for innovation’ not even the occupation can hold you back, that’s the message Girls in Tech in Palestine want aspiring female entrepreneurs to hear’ The world is living in the age of a technological revolution that has fundamentally changed the way people, organisations and institutions communicate with…
-
Israel’s first hijab wearing MK: ‘I want my daughter to have no barriers to success’
Last month, Israel elected its first hijab-wearing Arab member of the Knesset as part of the Joint List, the climax of a year of political instability which resulted in three elections being carried out. Having worked in local politics for quite some time as the manager of a community centre,…
-
A simple box from Palestine is going global to counter Israel’s culture war
The Palestinian people have a long and complicated history. With it comes a rich cultural heritage, which is an essential part of their identity. It includes historical sites, cuisine, dance and embroidery, among other things, all of which have suffered tremendously through the waves of destruction ever since the 1948…
-
Saudi activists accused of launching hashtag ‘Palestine is not my cause’
Offensive anti-Palestinian tweets have been found trending under the Arabic hashtag “Palestine is not my cause”, which many believe was launched in response to a cartoon by a Palestinian artists which apparently insults Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Some believe the Saudi regime has teamed up with Israel to…
-
Israel’s jail conditions will kill Palestinian prisoners before coronavirus does
Palestinian prisoners today are trapped fighting two fronts: one against the coronavirus pandemic, and the other against Israel’s horrific jail conditions; they’re dying trying to survive. Four Palestinian prisoners have so far tested positive for the coronavirus with the number expected to increase greatly. Another detainee tested positive for the…
-
#WeArePalestine
As the number of infections and deaths from COVID-19 multiply by the day, there have been increasing calls across the world for people to show solidarity and care for each other, particularly, for Palestine. The newly-imposed restrictions on travel and large gatherings in Europe, as well as the horrific overcrowding…
-
How a Syrian artist is making art from the horrors of war
First-hand experience is a critical factor in the authority of official war art. Syrian artist Nour Zantah has plenty. Born in Homs in 1989, she watched the violation of her country in the opening months of the civil war. The turning point was when protesters in her home city swarmed…
-
Rape, torture and capture: The doctor helping Yazidi victims of Daesh rebuild their lives
“Doctor, why is it that people can be so evil? Why did they kill my mother and father? Why did they torture me like that? Doctor, why are humans doing this?” This is a series of questions that German psychologist, Dr Jan Ilhan Kizilhan, has heard since 2015 from children…
-
The coronavirus fashion trends
It hasn’t taken long for coronavirus mask fashion to actually become a trend. All over YouTube and Instagram, talented beauty influencers have turned the COVID-19 outbreak into a makeup challenge, and are sharing tutorials that see them creating special cosmetics looks to match their medical face masks. The majority of…
-
Arab silence on the Uyghur genocide is no surprise
Arab silence on the looming genocide of the Uyghur Muslims in China is deafening. Supposedly influential and powerful Arab states look on as the persecution continues. There are an increasing number of testimonies from Uyghur refugees and asylum seekers documenting the most unimaginable forms of cruelty, but when the opportunity…
-
One Palestinian group is running to restore freedom of movement
Reading, research and short trips are simply not enough for visitors to Palestine to understand how difficult it is for those living under occupation with restrictions imposed on their movement as they go about their daily lives. Palestinians are caged in by a forbidding wall, and have to negotiate permanent…
-
Sudan’s elite are selling out to the Gulf regimes, and the Palestinian cause is a victim
The anti-government protests in Sudan over the past five decades are part of a vicious circle in a region rife with sectarian and political conflicts. Ever since long-serving ruler Omar Al-Bashir was overthrown last April, the country has been in the midst of a political crisis. A deepening identity crisis…
-
Palestine: Memories of 1948
“Oh, you’re Israeli.” “No, I’m not Israeli! I’m Palestinian!” He stared at me for a few seconds in silence and then continued, in the same neutral tone; “Listen, I don’t know of any country called Palestine. Look on the map: there’s Israel, there’s Jordan, there’s Syria… but there isn’t any…
-
How the first Palestinian woman is disrupting the finance industry with her fintech start-up
Fuelled by a supportive ecosystem and a tech-savvy population, the fintech industry in the Middle East has been growing rapidly in the last few years, disrupting the financial landscape and attracting billions in investment globally. In the future, it’s believed that the whole world will move to the digital space…
-
Gaza musician: The siege has ‘made us strong through difficult experiences’
As the Middle East continues to shift in terms of dynamics and politics, the music scene in Gaza remains stagnant. There are a lack of break out artists in Gaza and female musicians are even more scarce, explains Hamada Nasrallah, lead singer of SOL Band. As a singer, Hamada feels…
-
‘Unveiled’: How an Iraq artist is taking control of the veiled Muslim narrative
Faceless, the silent image hanging at the entrance spoke a thousand words. Words which the artist Husam Al-Deen wanted viewers to comfortably exchange and discuss on the heavy topic of veiled Muslim women who receive much attention from Western politicians, media and academics. Currently displayed at London’s P21 Gallery, a…
-
Remembering Ahed Tamimi’s arrest
What: Imprisonment of Ahed Tamimi When: 19 December 2017 Where: Nabi Saleh village, occupied West Bank When most people think of Palestinian protesters, a young, blue-eyed and blonde-haired girl doesn’t come to mind. But two years ago, fair-haired Ahed Tamimi changed that. At just 16, after a video of her…
-
Rights group: Our role is to reduce Palestinian suffering
While the crisis in the West Bank is sliding dangerously backwards from the ongoing denial of civil rights, massive land grabs and an upsurge in settler violence, any real hope for change is being undermined. “It’s no easy task,” admits Shawan Jabarin, general director of Al-Haq, a Palestinian rights organisation…
-
Why is a right-wing Israeli group coming to London to advocate destroying Palestinian lives?
The representative of a notorious right-wing settler group which campaigns for the demolition of Palestinian villages has been re-invited to London to promote the construction of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. The settlements are intended to block the possibility of a future Palestinian state. Naomi Linder Kahn is…
-
An app powered by virtual reality makes borders and checkpoints in Palestine disappear
For many, the Palestinian territories have become a land to which it is forbidden to travel. This includes Palestinians themselves. In the name of security, interrogations by border officials about visitors’ identity and political beliefs make it, if not impossible, certainly burdensome to visit “Palestine”. In many cases, some potential…
-
Global solidarity with Palestinian photographer shot in the eye
A Palestinian freelance photographer who was shot by Israeli soldiers while covering a demonstration in the occupied West Bank has drawn international attention, with journalists voicing solidarity by posting photos of themselves wearing eye patches or covering their eyes. Muath Amarneh, 35, is being treated in Israel’s Hadassah Medical Centre…
-
Syria: ‘I finally learnt how to enjoy the torture,’ says former prisoner
Screams of agony became the norm, his own as well as thousands of others. And so did the deafening silence. For three years, Omar AlShogre, 24, was confined in a 4 foot by 4 foot cell, and trapped skin to skin with 40 to 50 other detainees in an overcrowded…