QUEZON CITY (MindaNews /03 October) — I was in Phnom Penh last week for a meeting of the ASEAN Women for Peace Registry (AWPR) with the Governing Council of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR). Launched December 2018
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 26 Sept) — Iran is in the spotlight today, with hundreds of thousands protesting over the death of a young woman while under the custody of the morality police. Why was Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, detained? Because
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 19 September) – September 11 (9/11) may have been a day of tragedy for the United States but in Muslim Mindanao, it was a day of unity. Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, chair
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 12 September) –Watching the news about remembrance ceremonies of 9/11 made me remember the impact of that day on me, personally. Sometime in 2000, I was in Washington DC for a conference and decided to meet
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 04 September) — Does Islam limit women’s leadership? My cohost, Dr. Ayesah Uy Abubakar, and I had an interesting conversation with Hadja Nur-Ainee Tan-Lim. One could say that she grew up with the Moro National Liberation Front
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 28 Aug) — I have received many messages requesting more information about my previous posting on the Sabah Claim. Let me share a piece that I had written for BusinessWorld (“Intropectives,” August 21, 2022), below: Several descendants of Jamalul Kiram,
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 21 August) — In our podcast today, we discussed the situation of female ex-combatants in Aceh with Dr. Arifah Rahmawati. I started the conversation on “She Talks Peace” with my cohost, Dr. Ayesah Abubakar, dreaming of what
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 07 August) — Our deepest condolences to the family of our beloved FVR – Tita Ming, her daughters Angel, Cristy, Carolina, Gloria, and her grandchildren. We share your loss. When Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) ran for President in
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 26 June) — Dear readers, let me start by sharing an urgent open letter sent by my friend and colleague, Radwan Masmoudi, founding president of the Center of the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID). Based in Washington DC,
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 19 June) — Last week, The United Nations (UN) commended Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. for his role in advancing the Bangsamoro peace process as Presidential Pdviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity. UN Resident Coordinator in the Philippines
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 12 June) — New corruption charges were filed against Myanmar’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week, who has been under arrest since February 2021. According to the junta’s Anti-Corruption Commission, they have new evidence on top of
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 29 May) — Last March, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security released a paper on the impact of climate change on women stating: “The fields of climate change and Women, Peace, and Security (WPS)
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 22 May) — Last Monday, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) held its Peace Partners’ Recognition Day 2022 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) to thank individuals, NGOs, government
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 08 May) — Dear readers, tomorrow we vote for those who will lead us – either to a more secure future or to a weakened state. I have been following the presidential candidates’ promises on many issues. Education,
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 01 May) — Advanced Happy Hariraya! Eidl Fitr Mubarak, everyone! The blessed month of Ramadan is almost over and we can face the challenges of the year ahead with renewed hope, with a refreshed spirit. Summer is here and
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 24 April) — A few weeks ago, we had a virtual focus group discussion on ASEAN’s initiative to have a regional action plan for Women, Peace, and Security. The initiative is supported by UN Women. It was
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 10 April) — Have you been following the developments in Ukraine? If so, you must be feeling horror, disbelief, amazement, and hope – all at the same time. Those emotions described our state of mind as Dina Zaman
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 03 April) — We assume that when a woman is in power, she will be a champion of women. Do you, dear readers, think it is true? Are women politicians automatically champions of women’s rights and empowerment? Dr.
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 27 March) — Who among us has not heard of the infamous Boko Haram? Who can forget the abduction of 276 girls, aged 16-18, in Borno State, Nigeria in 2014, which prompted global condemnation and efforts to
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 13 March) — Watching the news about Ukraine – seeing the terror, helplessness and hopelessness etched on the faces of the refugees – makes my blood boil. There are now some 2 million refugees after two
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 06 March) — “The crisis in Ukraine has exposed how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – once again – is divided as it fails to confront a pressing security challenge head on and through a
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 13 Feb) — Last Friday, I was part of a panel for the United States Institute for Peace-RESOLVE Global Forum Series. The topic, “Conflict and Violent Extremism in Southeast Asia,” explored “historical ties, ongoing developments, cross-border dynamics and
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 06 Feb) — What is going on in Ukraine? Will Putin wage war soon? Is Europe at risk of what essentially will be another world war? Today on “She Talks Peace,” we had a first-hand look at the Ukrainian
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 30 January) — What is a “whistleblower”? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “one who reveals something covert or who informs against another especially: an employee who brings wrongdoing by an employer or by other employees to the attention
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 23 January) — The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) celebrated its 3rd foundation anniversary last Friday. With the pandemic surging due to the highly infectious Omicron variant, the BARMM government held a low key program. Chief Minister Ahod
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 16 January) — Dina Zaman (co-founder of Malaysian think-tank IMAN) and I compared youth activism in our podcast for today. This month, Malaysia’s government finally to implement a constitutional amendment that brought down the voting age to
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 09 January) — Dear friends, I hope the holiday season has given you a break from worries – COVID, loss of income, depleted savings, political turmoil around the world. You have probably saved up on joy and
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 26 December) — For those who escaped the wrath of Typhoon Odette which made landfall on December 16, I hope you had a safe holiday with family and friends. For our beleaguered kababayans who suffered the
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews /19 December) — When I was in high school, we used to kid and ask “where do hippies come from?” From “Yeah, men” of course. That was my introduction, via a joke, to the fascinating country that
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 12 December) — The World Economic Forum (WEF), a bastion for business and enterprise, did a study on the impact of women on the economy in 2015: “There is mounting evidence that the lack of gender
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 05 December) — Recent events, with the victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan, have created a backlash of negative sentiment over Muslims and Islam in general. Witness the Islamophobia exhibited by a few members of the
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 28 November) — Did you know that there is a global campaign to end gender-based violence? It seems that, years ago, civil society had initiated this annual global campaign from November 25, the International Day for
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 14 November) — Beauty does not have to be skin-deep only. Take Gemma Cruz-Araneta, the first Filipina to win an international beauty pageant (Miss International, 1964). I was a kid when she won but I was
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 07 November) — The Ramon Magsaysay Awards, known as the Nobel Prize of Asia, has recognized 340 meritorious individuals and organizations over the last 60 years. Some are global icons (the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, the late
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 31 October) — Salahuddin Hassan, the leader of the so-called Dawlah Islamiyah (DI)-Philippines or Islamic State in the Philippines, was killed on Friday during a firefight with police and the military in Talayan, Maguindanao. According to
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 24 October) — Did you know that in 1939 computers referred to women? At the time, calculations were done with paper and pencil. Women, having the patience and meticulousness, were tapped to do the calculations –
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 17 October) — Salam! I hope all of you are coping well with COVID-19. Stay strong and healthy because Mindanao hasn’t seen the worst yet. Tokyo’s Nikkei Asia (a financial magazine) recently came out with its
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews/17 Feb) — Last Wednesday’s congressional committee hearing on the botched Mamasapano police operation was painful to watch. Unlike the Senate hearings effectively chaired by Senator Grace Poe, the congressional hearing was raucous, emotional, and marred by grandstanding.
(Amina Rasul, President of the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy delivered this opening statement at the Media Roundtable on the Bangsamoro Basic Law, Faber Hall, Ateneo de Manila University, on September 22, 2014) First of all, allow me to
We are celebrating Women’s Month. March 8 was Women’s Day, made possible by legislation authored by my mother, former Senator Santanina Rasul, who was not just the first Muslim woman elected to the Senate but the first Muslim ever re-elected
We are celebrating Women’s Month. March 8 was Women’s Day, made possible by legislation authored by my mother, former Senator Santanina Rasul, who was not just the first Muslim woman elected to the Senate but the first Muslim ever re-elected
It is indeed timely that the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has issued a call for a ceasefire and dialogue to end the violence. Sultan Jamalul III has followed the call of the UN Secretary General and has
IN ANOTHER David and Goliath move, a hundred armed Tausugs, led by Rajah Mudah (crown prince) Agbimuddin Kiram are in Lahad Datu, Sabah and have captured the attention of the world to the sovereign and proprietary claims of the Sulu
