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LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The first woman to head Britain’s biggest Muslim umbrella organisation said on Monday she hoped to tackle Islamophobia, inspire other Muslim women to go for leadership roles, and encourage ethnic minorities to get COVID-19 vaccinations.
Zara Mohammed, 29, a charities consultant and law graduate from the Scottish city of Glasgow, was elected head of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) after winning nearly two-thirds of the votes against her opponent, an imam.
“It’s humbling, it’s an honour, and it’s really overwhelming because I cannot believe how much attention it’s gotten,” Mohammed told the Thomson Reuters Foundation following Sunday’s win, which drew congratulations from many politicians.
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KATHMANDU (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Angel Lama sashays down the catwalk in the Miss Universe Nepal finals on Wednesday she will make history as the first transgender woman to be a finalist in the Himalayan nation’s most glamorous annual event.
Nepal ranks among fewer than a dozen countries in the world that accept trans contestants in their national pageants and only the third in Asia after Myanmar and Mongolia, according to LGBT+ activists.
The move comes after new management relaxed the criteria for height, weight and appearance, and allowed any “bold, beautiful and confident woman” between 18 and 28 years to participate.
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PHNOM PENH (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - School students in Cambodia will learn about the dangers and laws around human trafficking from an updated syllabus starting in 2021, officials said.
The Southeast Asian country - which faces U.S. sanctions if it does not improve its record on human trafficking by next year - will add lessons for primary and high school students, a spokesman for the education ministry said.
“Hopefully, students learn about the ways to stop human trafficking in school and among youths,” Ros Soveacha told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Sex trafficking will be a specific focus of the new lessons, which will also cover drug offences and other crimes, he said.
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