14 May 2007

Rasanya diterima penerbit !

Terima kasih LKiS....
mungkin nggak ada kata yang lebih pas buat mengungkapkan kegembiraan ini. Kalau ada kata-kata yang lebih indah dan pas di dunia ini (selain terima kasih) aku ambil deh buat kamu LKiS...
Tidak menyangka, setelah beberapa keberuntungan dan banyak kesialan yang beruntun menimpaku, pagi ini, setelah iseng-iseng kutelepon penerbit LKiS Jogja, untuk menanyakan naskah yang "iseng-iseng" juga aku kirimkan, ternyata hasilnya...
Alhamdulillah .. (kalau ada kata yang lebih pas aku pinjem lagi..) akhirnya naskah bukuku diterima oleh penerbit LKiS yang memang sudah cukup tenar di blantika penerbit Indonesia ini...
mereka memutuskan menerima naskahku setelah rapat redaksi hari jumat kemarin, pas ketika aku harus merevisi transkrip nilai yang salah hitung di fakultas...(sial...)
sekarang tinggal menunggu surat perjanjian dan menunggu wisuda tentunya..
thanks God...
kadoku untuk Ibu Bapak dan nenek tercinta yang sekarang genap seribu hari peringatan meninggalnya beliau.
Allahuma firlaha warhamha waafi'i wa'fu'anha

10 May 2007

Argentina: Scholarships 2007-2008

Scholarships for Study Abroad Programs in Argentina


Road2Argentina, a study abroad organization, is now offering scholarships for our semester, volunteer, Spanish immersion, and internship programs. The scholarships are merit-based and are open to any program participant. Applying is easy! Just fill our Scholarship Application Form and meet the scholarship requirements as outlined in the scholarship requirements as outlined below.

Criteria for Road2Argentina scholarships

Must be accepted to a Road2Argentina program
Submit a completed scholarship application
Submit a personal statement in English or Spanish (400 – 500 words)
Have a minimum 3.0 GPA
Copy of Transcript
Letter of recommendation
Application Deadlines
April 31: for programs taking place from June-December
November 15: for programs taking place from January-May
All application must be sent by e-mail or fax. By email to info@road2argentina.com or by fax to +54-11-48213271.
Selection process
Applicants who meet the scholarship criteria will have their application reviewed by our selection panel. Winners will be notified 3-4 weeks after the application deadline.

Scholarships
1st prize awards - $2,000
2nd prize awards - $1,000

Submited By: Katie Dunlop
Website: www.road2argentina.com

Slovakia: Beasiswa Pascasarjana S2/S3 2007

Free Scholarship April 18, 2007

Slovakia: Beasiswa Pascasarjana S2 S3 2007

Slovak Master & PhD Scholarship for Foreign Students

For PhD. Students,University Teachers and Researchers.

Establishment of the National scholarship programme for the support of mobility of students, PhD. students, university teachers and researchers was approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic in 2005. The National scholarship programme of the Slovak Republic is funded by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic.

The National scholarship programme of the Slovak Republic is intended to support mobility of foreign students, PhD. students, university teachers and researchers to stay at Slovak universities and research institutions.

Types of scholarships

Scholarships for foreign university students to take part in Master (graduate) study over a period of 1 to 2 semesters (from 5 to 10 months) at Slovak universities.
Scholarships for foreign PhD. students to take a part of PhD. study over a period of 1 to 12 months at Slovak universities or research institutes.
Scholarships for foreign university teachers and researchers over a period of 1 to 12 months to carry out teaching or research at Slovak universities, research institutes or nongovernmental organisations on the basis of an invitation.
Citizens from following countries can apply for scholarships

European Union member states – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom,
other countries participating in the Bologna process (listed are only countries that are not stated in item
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine,
Belarus,
Canada, Central American countries, Latin American countries, Mexico, the United States of America,
Australia, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.
Amount of a monthly scholarship
a) university students 7 000 SKK
b) PhD. students 14 000 SKK
c) university teachers:
lecturers with or without a PhD. degree 20 000 SKK
associated professors 25 000 SKK
professors 30 000 SKK
d) researchers:
young researchers (< 4 years of experience) 20 000 SKK
PhD. holders (or > 4 years of experience) 25 000 SKK
senior researchers (>10 years of experience) 30 000 SKK

1 EUR = 35 SKK, 1 USD = 26 SKK

Application procedure
Applications must be submitted on-line at www.scholarships.sk and documents marked with asterisk (*)(see the List of required documents that must be attached to the on-line application form) must be sent by post and received by the deadline at SAIA, n. o. The submitted documents must be originals.

Documents must be received by deadline at:
SAIA, n. o.
NĂ¡mestie slobody 23
812 20 Bratislava 1
Slovak Republic

Applications deadlines for the academic year 2007/2008:
15 May 2007 - for academic year 2007/2008
15 November 2007 - for summer semester 2007/2008

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04 May 2007

Tentang Perempuan Bercadar (3)

Wearing Niqab (Cadar) by Modern Moslems Women

my (yanu) next "thesis"

Why I Shed Bikini for Niqab: The New Symbol of Women’s Liberation
By
Sara Bokker*

I am an American woman who was born in the midst of America’s “Heartland.” I grew up, just like any other girl, being fixated with the glamour of life in “the big city.” Eventually, I moved to Florida and on to South Beach of Miami, a hotspot for those seeking the “glamorous life.” Naturally, I did what most average Western girls do. I focused on my appearance and appeal, basing my self-worth on how much attention I got from others. I worked out religiously and became a personal trainer, acquired an upscale waterfront residence, became a regular “exhibiting” beach-goer and was able to attain a “living-in-style” kind of life.

Years went by, only to realize that my scale of self-fulfillment and happiness slid down the more I progressed in my “feminine appeal.” I was a slave to fashion. I was a hostage to my looks.

As the gap continued to progressively widen between my self-fulfillment and lifestyle, I sought refuge in escapes from alcohol and parties to meditation, activism, and alternative religions, only to have the little gap widen to what seemed like a valley. I eventually realized it all was merely a pain killer rather than an effective remedy.

By now it was September 11, 2001. As I witnessed the ensuing barrage on Islam, Islamic values and culture, and the infamous declaration of the “new crusade,” I started to notice something called Islam. Up until that point, all I had associated with Islam was women covered in “tents,” wife beaters, harems, and a world of terrorism.

As a feminist libertarian, and an activist who was pursuing a better world for all, my path crossed with that of another activist who was already at the lead of indiscriminately furthering causes of reform and justice for all. I joined in the ongoing campaigns of my new mentor which included, at the time, election reform and civil rights, among others. Now my new activism was fundamentally different. Instead of “selectively” advocating justice only to some, I learned that ideals such as justice, freedom, and respect are meant to be and are essentially universal, and that own good and common good are not in conflict. For the first time, I knew what “all people are created equal” really means. But most importantly, I learned that it only takes faith to see the world as one and to see the unity in creation.

One day I came across a book that is negatively stereotyped in the West--The Holy Qur’an. I was first attracted by the style and approach of the Qur’an, and then intrigued by its outlook on existence, life, creation, and the relationship between Creator and creation. I found the Qur’an to be a very insightful address to heart and soul without the need for an interpreter or pastor.

Eventually I hit a moment of truth: my new-found self-fulfilling activism was nothing more than merely embracing a faith called Islam where I could live in peace as a “functional” Muslim.

I bought a beautiful long gown and head cover resembling the Muslim woman’s dress code and I walked down the same streets and neighborhoods where only days earlier I had walked in my shorts, bikini, or “elegant” western business attire. Although the people, the faces, and the shops were all the same, one thing was remarkably distinct--I was not--nor was the peace at being a woman I experienced for the very first time. I felt as if the chains had been broken and I was finally free. I was delighted with the new looks of wonder on people’s faces in place of the looks of a hunter watching his prey I had once sought. Suddenly a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I no longer spent all my time consumed with shopping, makeup, getting my hair done, and working out. Finally, I was free.

Of all places, I found my Islam at the heart of what some call “the most scandalous place on earth,” which makes it all the more dear and special.

While content with Hijab I became curious about Niqab, seeing an increasing number of Muslim women in it. I asked my Muslim husband, whom I married after I reverted to Islam, whether I should wear Niqab or just settle for the Hijab I was already wearing. My husband simply advised me that he believes Hijab is mandatory in Islam while Niqab is not. At the time, my Hijab consisted of head scarf that covered all my hair except for my face, and a loose long black gown called “Abaya” that covered all my body from neck to toe.

A year-and-a-half passed, and I told my husband I wanted to wear Niqab. My reason, this time, was that I felt it would be more pleasing to Allah, the Creator, increasing my feeling of peace at being more modest. He supported my decision and took me to buy an “Isdaal,” a loose black gown that covers from head to toe, and Niqab, which covers all my head and face except for my eyes.

Soon enough, news started breaking about politicians, Vatican clergymen, libertarians, and so-called human rights and freedom activists condemning Hijab at times, and Niqab at others as being oppressive to women, an obstacle to social integration, and more recently, as an Egyptian official called it--“a sign of backwardness.”

I find it to be a blatant hypocrisy when Western governments and so-called human rights groups rush to defend woman’s rights when some governments impose a certain dress code on women, yet such “freedom fighters” look the other way when women are being deprived of their rights, work, and education just because they choose to exercise their right to wear Niqab or Hijab. Today, women in Hijab or Niqab are being increasingly barred from work and education not only under totalitarian regimes such as in Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt, but also in Western democracies such as France, Holland, and Britain.

Today I am still a feminist, but a Muslim feminist, who calls on Muslim women to assume their responsibilities in providing all the support they can for their husbands to be good Muslims. To raise their children as upright Muslims so they may be beacons of light for all humanity once again. To enjoin good--any good--and to forbid evil--any evil. To speak righteousness and to speak up against all ills. To fight for our right to wear Niqab or Hijab and to please our Creator whichever way we chose. But just as importantly to carry our experience with Niqab or Hijab to fellow women who may never have had the chance to understand what wearing Niqab or Hijab means to us and why do we, so dearly, embrace it.

Most of the women I know wearing Niqab are Western reverts, some of whom are not even married. Others wear Niqab without full support of either family or surroundings. What we all have in common is that it is the personal choice of each and every one of us, which none of us is willing to surrender.

Willingly or unwillingly, women are bombarded with styles of “dressing-in-little-to-nothing” virtually in every means of communication everywhere in the world. As an ex non-Muslim, I insist on women’s right to equally know about Hijab, its virtues, and the peace and happiness it brings to a woman’s life as it did to mine. Yesterday, the bikini was the symbol of my liberty, when in actuality it only liberated me from my spirituality and true value as a respectable human being.

I couldn’t be happier to shed my bikini in South Beach and the “glamorous” Western lifestyle to live in peace with my Creator and enjoy living among fellow humans as a worthy person. It is why I choose to wear Niqab, and why I will die defending my inalienable right to wear it.

Today, Niqab is the new symbol of woman’s liberation to find who she is, what her purpose is, and the type of relation she chooses to have with her Creator.

To women who surrender to the ugly stereotype against the Islamic modesty of Hijab, I say: You don’t know what you are missing.

To you, the ill-fated corrupting conquerors of civilization, so-called crusaders, I say: BRING IT ON.


*Sara Bokker is a former actress/model/fitness instructor and activist. Currently, Sara is Director of Communications at “The March For Justice,” a co-founder of “The Global Sisters Network,” and producer of the infamous “Shock & Awe Gallery©.”
Sara may be reached at: srae@marchforjustice.com