Media representations of the hijab - Julie Posetti, University of Canberra
Timeline
1995
1997
- Turkey bans hijab in state-run institutions including schools, universities
and military institutions. Female journalists wearing the hijab banned
from government press conferences in the interests of maintaining a
secular state.
1998
- Turkish students banned from taking university entrance exams in
Istanbul because of refusal to remove headscarves.
1999
2001
2002
April
September
October
- October 12 – First Bali bombing. Terrorist blasts in the resort
town of Kuta kill 202
people and injure 209, in the deadliest act of terrorism
in Indonesian history. Most of the dead are foreign tourists, especially
Australians, although
nearly one-fifth are Indonesian nationals.
- Attacks on Muslims escalate. Police report there have been around
40 attacks on Muslims in NSW since the Bali bombing, and the state’s
police commissioner issues a warning (http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/stories/s712862.htm).
- October 23 – Moscow theatre hostage crisis. 900 patrons taken
hostage by Chechen Islamic extremists whose number includes women wearing
burqas and niqabs. These female suicide bombers become known as “black
widows”.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahidka;
http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s709550.htm)
November
2003
January
February
March
August
September
October
November
December
2004
January
February
April
- German state (Baden-Wurttenberg) bans school teachers from wearing
headscarfs, with other states lining up behind the decision with similar
legislation – in Berlin all public servants to be banned from
wearing religious symbols.
- Victorian soccer referee orders a Muslim player to remove her hijab.
She refuses; the game is stopped and an investigation instigated amid
claims the referee breached anti-discrimination laws (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200404/s1095108.htm).
Afifa Saad (ABC TV
May
June
July
September
October
- Schapelle Corby arrested.
November
2005
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
- Second Bali bombings. A series of explosions on October 1, 2005,
at two sites in Jimbaran and Kuta. Twenty-three people killed –
among them, four Australians. Three suspected bombers also die in the
explosions.
- October 12 – Corby’s sentence reduced to 15 years.
- Hijab on parade. A fashion parade featuring Muslim women wearing
hijabs is reported by ABC and SMH.
- Muslim women campaign for right to wear hijab (http://www.mwa.org.au/attachments/Pro-Hijab%20Declaration%20signed%20as%20at%20261005.pdf).
- Michelle Leslie condemned for being a “fake” Muslim.
On her first court appearance, she is mobbed and taunted by Indonesian
media. She faces two charges under Indonesia’s tough psychotropic
drugs laws.
November
December
2006
February
March
April
May
June
July
- Federal Government plans to evacuate Australians from Lebanon. Foreign
Minister Alexander Downer specifically identifies most of them as “Lebanese-Australians”.
“I mean, there are ... there may be somewhere in the vicinity
of 25,000 Australians in Lebanon, though a very big percentage of those
people would be dual nationals, they’d also be Lebanese citizens.”
(http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1687995.htm).
August
- Airline terror plot foiled – Islamic extremists implicated.
- Foreign Correspondent reports that unveiled women are being threatened
with death in Baghdad. “The situation for women is getting worse
daily. Many of the armed militias that are in the street now have announced
that any woman not wearing hijab will be killed … if she is wearing
makeup she will be killed.” (http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2006/s1706729.htm).
- Daily Telegraph reports simultaneous attacks on Muslims and Jews
as the Israeli assault on Hezbollah continues in Lebanon. The Telegraph
was particularly appalled by attacks on Jewish students at the University
of Sydney: “In one of the most shocking cases of violence, Jewish
students at Sydney University, who identify their faith with religious
skullcaps, have been attacked.” NSW Premier Morris Iemma called
for a report on racial violence to be prepared for the Police Minister,
while chastising “foreigners”: “Ancient hatreds and
rivalries from other lands do not belong in Australia. Australia is
a welcoming and generous society. There is no place for people who think
they can bring foreign arguments (here) …” (http://www.news.com.au/sundaytelegraph/story/0,,20208907-5001021,00.html).
- Muslim beauty queen uproar. This, in part, is how the Melbourne Herald
Sun reported a story about a teen beauty pageant entrant who happened
to be Muslim and whose decision to enter the competition had attracted
both support and criticism from the Muslim community: “Miss Ahmet,
a Muslim of Turkish heritage, said she was not going in the competition
to make a religious statement. ‘I don’t believe religion
should make a difference in the competition,’ she said. Miss Teen
Australia Victorian manager Carley Downward said Muslims who criticised
Miss Ahmet should ‘get a life’. She said Miss Ahmet was
a nice girl who had a good chance in the competition.” (http://www.news.com.au/sundayheraldsun/story/0,,20265449-661,00.html).
Top
|
