Women's Issues

Shaking hands and hugging one's mother's friend

Q: My mother has a friendship with a woman (just a normal friendship). So, sometimes, when I meet her, my mother expects me to shake hands, hug and kiss her, or at least one of the mentioned. I have actually been doing this for last several years. I also need to mention that she is not a mahram to me. In addition, she does not observe hijab in front of non-mahram males. Alhamdulillaah, since last year, I actively started learning my religion. I will be 20 years old next month (September), by miladi calendar. I need to mention that the friend of my mother is more than 35 years. Most likely, she is between 35 and 40. I heard or read somewhere that shaking hands with old women is permissible if there is no fear of fitnah. I can verify that I have no fear of desire or anything attracting when I meet her since she is and looks quite old and has a husband. Also, the same with hugging and kissing if I am not wrong. However, these are things I heard or probably read from an untrustworthy source. 

Ghusal on the 10th day after haidh

Q: If a girl got her periods on Saturday morning 11 am- 12pm and on the tenth day which is Tuesday morning her periods end.

1. Can she perform ghusl after fajr or is it necessary to perform ghusl sharp at 11 am?

2. Can the ghusl be performed at any time after fajr or whats the shariah rule regarding it? If the girl wants to fast on Tuesday, can she bath after fajr and keep the nafl fast?

Girls madrasah encouraging girls to wear tight fighting clothes for exercises

Q: My daughter is attending an Islamic Muslims girls Madrasah. After complaints from some parents that the girls are picking up weight and not very fit, they started exercise for the girls. We generally encourage our daughters not to wear tight fitting clothing, and clothing that kufaar wear, but they are forced to wear these types of clothing for their exercises. After asr and before maghrib on Fridays, we generally encourage our family members to engage in dua and ibaadat, but they use this time also for exercise. Kindly advise if this is correct? Also advise what should we as concerned parents do.

Spending iddat at one's father's house

Q: I have recently been divorced spending iddat by my father. He has been making my life a living misery, speaking a lot of lies and calling me ugly names. Last night things got out of hand and he kicked me out of the house, disowned me and said he doesn't want anything to do with me. I don't have any family to go to. Is it possible to spend the rest of my iddat alone in another city?