How a 12-year-old girl can change the world - The Girl Effect

The Girl Effect is a worldwide campaign that encourages development through increasing women's rights. If you keep a girl in school and giver her economic rights and opportunities, you can help her to:
=> marry when she is ready,
=> have babies when she is older,
=> survive childbirth,
=> have fewer children, and therefore help reduce overpopulation,
=> support her family and avoid prostitution,
=> avoid HIV and therefore stop its spread.
The girl effect is a ripple effect. Watch the video to find out! Visit the Girl Effect homepage: http://www.girleffect.org/

Terror package suspect released after clearing her name

First published in Yemen Times 

SANA’A, Oct. 31 - The planned protest at Sana'a University to demand the release of a fellow classmate turned to a joyous celebration with Hanan Al-Sawami, 22, as the event's star.

"I thank everyone who stood by me. I will never forget their support," she said after being released with her mother on Sunday night.

The computer science student at Sana’a University is now recovering from being held for a day with her mother in the National Security detention after being suspected of sending explosive packages to western destinations in the USA and UK.

"It was a matter of identity theft. Someone knew Hanan's full details and gave her phone number, address and full name as the return address for the sent packages," said Abdulrahman Baraman a lawyer from HOOD, a Yemeni human rights orgnization that volunateered to defend her case.

According to an Al-Jazeera report, when the shipping agent was called in to identify her, he said she was not the right person who sent the packages.

A US official said Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, a Saudi bombmaker believed to be working with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is now a key suspect in the plot.

The USA security authority had informed Yemen of the packages after recieving an intellignece tip-off from Saudi security. The main suspect now, Al-Asiri, is in the Saudi wanted list after his brother was killed while attempting to assasinate Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the Saudi counterterrorism chief.

Hanan was relaxing at home listening to music on her MP3 player when at 8:15pm the house was stormed by a female government security unit on Saturday.

Overnight Hanan found herself a terrorism suspect in an international case. She was dragged out of her home along with her asthmatic mother and detained in the national political prison.

Mohammed Al-Samawi, Hanan’s father had known that his daughter was innocent and her arrest was a ‘big misunderstanding.’

“I don’t want to challenge the government,” Al-Samawi had said when his daughter was detained. “I just want them to let my family out. I don’t want any trouble.”

The mother of the student, Amatulillah Mohammed, was also held in a bad medical condition, but now she is recovering and happy that the ordeal is over. She suffers from asthma and her husband feared for her health while she was detained with their daughter.

On hearing the news Mohammed Al-Samawi had travelled more than 13 hours by road from Hadramout, where he works for a governement establishement.

Tens of students demonstrated at Sana’a University on Sunday morning following the arrest of computer science student Al-Samawi in connection with explosive packages found on two cargo jets bound for the U.S. They had planned another larger protest on Monday morning, which fortnutely turned into a celebration of her release.

Hanan is a fifth year student based at the faculty of engineering at the New Campus of the capital’s university. Friends at the protest described her as a ‘moderate Muslim girl’ and denied she had any connection with radical Muslims.

Security forces surrounded the university campus on Sunday afternoon, restricting the movement of students around campus, according to Ridhwan Al-Masodi head of the student union at Sana’a University.

“Her direct relation to the packages has not been confirmed, said, Abdel Rahman Berman, the human rights lawyer, from HOOD, volunteering to represent the two women. “We should not let the security forces use the pretext of terrorism to violate human rights.”

Friends and fellow students went to the office of HOOD in Sana’a today to meet Abdel Rahman Bahman. They maintained their friend and classmate Hanan had no connections with terrorism or fanatics.

“They were crying and asking just one question ‘why her’ and the answer to this question can only be answered by the General Attorney of Prosecution,” Abdel Rahman Berman told The Yemen Times.

Suspects should be formally charged within 24 hours and have access to a lawyer, according to Yemen’s constitution.

Yemen security authorities were lead to Al-Samawi by information received from Washington, including a telephone number of the sender of two packages alleged to have contained explosives in the form of ink cartridges, Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh said in a press conference on Saturday evening.

In the press conference Saleh doubted that all packages suspected to include explosives came from Yemen, but he said Yemen will look into the issue and welcomed a British intelligence team into the country to participate in the investigation.

“But we will not tolerate any interference in our internal affairs,” he warned.

Nobody has so far made contact with the two detained women and their exact location is not known, Abdel Rahman Bahman speculated that they were being held, possibly underground, in the National Security Prison.

A major international security alert was launched after multiple packages sent to synagogues in the U.S. were traced back to Yemen. A tip off from Saudi Arabian intelligence authorities launched a full scale major incident in the U.S.

Parcels sent by FedEx and UPS, both with offices on Hadda street in Sana’a, were involved.

An employee at the FedEx office explained to the Yemen Times that all packages are screened first by FedEx at their office, and a second time at the airport. “The company thoroughly processes packages that are being sent from Yemen every day, said another source at Fedex, “There are three stages of inspection followed by wrapping and sealing of the packages, then they are scanned at the Yemeni airport and again at the destination,” he said. “Even then, sometimes mistakes like this happen.”

Further down Hadda Street at the UPS an employee, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said that “all packages, one hundred percent, are checked visually by UPS personnel. This is according to our security manual. At the airport they go through the X-ray. I cannot say whether this was done this time, it is the responsibility of airport personnel, but our people are always there to make sure everything goes according to our procedures.”

A further 26 packages are being investigated by government officials on Sunday, with reports that several cargo and customs staff had been arrested in connection with the on-going investigation.

"It is more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in modern conflict" - Ten years on from the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security

Ten years ago, the UN Security Council made it legally-binding to involve women's perspectives and voices in conflict resolution and peace building. Still, the burden of conflict and war continues to fall heavily on female soldiers. There is a long way to go in the struggle to empower women as actors in peace processes and give them a say in the decisions that so deeply affect their lives. However, UNSCR 1325 points us in the right direction.

Bill Clinton once said: “If we’d had women at Camp David, we’d have had an agreement”.[1] His words recognize the contribution that a different approach to conflict resolution can achieve. From Serbia’s Women in Black to Israel and Palestine’s Jerusalem Link and our SAVE anti-terrorism platform, women are forging understanding at the grass-roots level across ethnic and religious divides in order to contribute to peace negotiation efforts.

Ten years ago, the United Nations made a landmark recognition that peace-building efforts have historically been half-blind. On October 31, 2000, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. It recognized the need to promote women’s involvement in all levels of the decision-making process, and legally-bound all UN member states to increase their efforts to combat gender-based violence in combat situations, and promote the involvement of women’s organizations in peace processes.

Promoting women’s involvement in peace making is not only important because women are good at peace making, it is also important because women should have a say in decisions that affect their lives. Peace accords shape how post-conflict societies are run, and war itself is a phenomenon that impacts just as much, if not more, on women as on men.

Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert once commented: “It is now more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in modern conflict.” In his capacity as UN Peacekeeping Operation commander in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he should know what he is talking about. Rape as a weapon of war has reached pandemic proportions in the African country, where last year over 8,000 women were raped – one for every hour of the day. Systematic rape as a method of ethnic cleansing, intimidation, and a way to disintegrate and polarize communities was brought to the world’s attention during the Bosnian war, when somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 women were raped over the three and a half years of conflict. That conflict led to war rape being classed as a crime against humanity, but it already was and continues to be a chillingly common weapon.

Rape is admittedly one of the worse ways women are affected by conflict, but there are many other channels through which the burden falls heavily on female shoulders. War has become much more democratic over the last century. Back in the early 1900s, 90% of war casualties were soldiers. Nowadays, 90% are civilians. And the majority of these civilians that become victims of conflict are women and children. Even when not killed by war or raped by combatants, women are often left with an almost insurmountable burden when their male relatives become casualties. The nature of patriarchal societies inherently means that it is harder for women to support their families when they are left without the male bread winner. Discriminatory laws and practices making it harder for women to inherit property, secure an income and protect themselves against exploitation, serve to exacerbate the difficulty of post-conflict situations for women, especially those supporting a family on their own.

However, women should not be portrayed simplistically as victims of war. Their status as one of the main groups affected by war should mean that, democratically, they play a major role in the conduct and resolution of conflict and post-conflict reconstruction. It is not sufficient that men make decisions for women, however inclusive and non-discriminatory these men try to be. It is time that women be allowed to exercise their human rights, make their own decisions and promote the specific needs and interests of women.

Even so, men make up 97.6% of signatories on peace agreements, with on average only 5.9% women in negotiating delegations. Considering the magnified adverse effects that war and its ongoing consequences have on women, this situation is not only hugely unfair and undemocratic, it is also untenable if conflicts are to be resolved on a lasting basis. Currently, over half of all conflicts reignite within a decade of peace being made. This signals that peace-building efforts are not targeting the root causes of conflict nor re-constructing societies on terms that are inclusive and acceptable to all. In peace agreements, the interests and needs of sections of society may be neglected – for example in the Dayton Peace Accords, which effectively banned certain segments of society from reaching the highest echelons of the political hierarchy – but with women we are not talking about a minority. The rights and interests of half – sometimes more than half – the population are consistently ignored.

It is easy to dismiss the resolution as a “soft issue” that the UN will never be able to follow up. But it is not a difficult resolution to keep. It is largely about changing attitudes. It should not be an extra effort to incorporate women in peace-keeping missions and negotiating teams – women already exist; you don’t have to make them. It doesn’t cost any extra resources to involve women and consider their needs. The legal framework that the resolution put in place obligates peace-keeping missions and negotiating teams to consider the perspectives and needs of women before they make decisions that concern the whole population. Focusing on HIV/AIDs awareness, making women’s rights an integral part of policy-making on subjects such as repatriation and resettlement (women and children make up 80% of the world’s refugee populations), electoral and judicial systems, and eliminating impunity for those who have carried out gender-based violence will help build healthier societies. 

Post-conflict societies need stability and socioeconomic development. Empowering women is possibly the surest way to achieve this. In the words of Kofi Annan: “"No other policy is as likely to raise economic productivity, or to reduce infant and maternal mortality. No other policy is as sure to improve nutrition and promote health -- including the prevention of HIV/AIDS. No other policy is as powerful in increasing the chances of education for the next generation… But whatever the very real benefits of investing in women, the most important fact remains: women themselves have the right to live in dignity, in freedom from want and from fear.”

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[1] Swanee Hunt and Cristina Posa, „Women Waging Peace”, Foreign Policy, May-June 2001.

London inquest into 7/7 bombings begins, bringing closure for some while opening old wounds for others

As the inquest into the bombing five years ago gets underway, a rise in tensions between British communities is possible. It is important to stress the bridge building and reconciliation in order to avoid similar tragedies in the future.


It has been five years since four young men stepped onto London’s public transport at rush hour, each carrying a rucksack full of explosives. In a terrorist attack that shocked and saddened Britons of all backgrounds, 52 people died while around 700 were injured.

Four days ago, the long-awaited inquest into the 7/7 attacks finally began. The inquest will attempt to answer questions that victims and relatives are still asking themselves, such as why two of the bombers – who had aroused suspicion in the past – were no longer under surveillance, and whether the emergency services could have reacted more efficiently. Records as far back as 2004 will be examined in order to give victims and relatives a fuller picture of events running up to the attacks.

Until now, calls by victims and relatives for a full inquiry have gone unanswered. Many feel that official accounts of the attacks have been “insufficient, inaccurate and misleading”. The lateness of the inquiry is, however, stirring up mixed feelings for some.

"It took me years to deal with the anger. I don't want to feel angry again,” said Dania Gorodi who lost her sister Michaela in the attacks. Many family members feel that listening to statements about their loved ones could stir up old feelings that they have spent many years trying to work through, while the inquest will provide no concrete results to speak of.

Some relatives and victims are pleased that an inquest will finally look into the reasons why their loved ones were exposed to a deadly terrorist attack. However, the process risks reviving tensions within multi-cultural British communities, and could be detrimental to the emotional progress that some of the victims have made through the revival of painful memories and feelings of revenge. It will require a very delicate approach to ensure that the inquest provides positive results for families and victims, rather than setting back the emotional progress that some have made.

Letting go of unproductive feelings of revenge is a breakthrough that many of the victims have already made. Gill Hicks is a figure of hope, optimism and strength. She lost both her legs in the bombings, when Germaine Lindsay detonated a bomb on a Piccadilly Line tube train two steps away from her. Despite losing 75% of her blood and almost dying on the way to hospital, she made a speedy recovery, learning to use prosthetic legs quickly enough to walk up the aisle and marry Joe Kerr less than six months later.

Her ordeal has left her with no desire to avenger herself on those who carried out the attacks. On the contrary, she believes in the possibility of achieving peace, and has formed the charity Making a Difference for Peace. Based on the premise that peace starts from within, and each person is responsible for their individual contribution to resolve conflicts, the charity works through public awareness, education and bridging divides between communities. Hicks’ initiative focuses on the positive that can come out of tragic events.

While families and victims are owed the closure that the inquest will hopefully provide to them, it is important to stress the fact that to avoid such tragedies in the future, we must overcome tensions between communities and renounce revenge in favour of reconciliation.

Read more about the London bombings inquest and the family’s reactions here:  (BBC)


Read more about Gill Hicks’ experience here (Daily Mail)


Click here (The Independent) or here (The Guardian) for the latest news on the progress of the inquest.

Destined for Death? Motherhood in Yemen a Game of Russian Roulette, by Afrah Nasser

Afrah Nasser, a Yemeni Journalist, speaks out on the appalling maternal mortality rate in Yemen.

A mother is the family’s spine. She is crucial for her family’s welfare because so much depend on her. In one-way or another, her wellbeing directly reflects upon the entire family’s wellbeing. Any damage experienced to her automatically affects her offspring and the family as a whole. The greater the attention that is given to a mother, the greater the chances are for her to have healthy and strong children. The stronger the children, the more stable and solid society will be. Investing all available and required health and social recourses into motherhood’s safety is unquestionably an investment in a nation’s wellbeing.

Around the world, every minute, a female dies during pregnancy or childbirth. 99 percent of these cases happen in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization’s 2006 report on global maternal mortality rates, Yemen women face frightening odds, as 570 of every 100,000 pregnancy is fatal. These numbers make Yemen’s mortality rate one of highest in the world.

The reasons behind the deaths vary from minor and indirect causes that are easily preventable to major and direct causes that require the provision of affordable health services.

The indirect causes typically stem from poverty, ignorance, social and economic deficiencies. These causes are demonstrated by the lack of attention young girls typically receive as they carry their own children, as well as the traditions that encourage early marriages and early pregnancy. Other certain unhealthy practices are based on false beliefs or superstitions, leading to mortality rates that are effortlessly preventable.

The direct causes stem from a poor health system and\or the poor care social and physical care females receive, especially within rural areas.

Considering motherhood’s importance and newborns’ vulnerability, the National Safe Motherhood Alliance (NSMA) in Yemen, a non-profit organization working between governmental institutions and NGOs, has been diligently striving since 2008 to tackle motherhood and children’s issues, specifically aiming to decrease the high rate of maternal and infant mortality rates in Yemen.

The NSMA in Yemen works closely with the White Ribbon Alliance (WRA), a nonpartisan, non-profit and non-governmental organization that aims to decrease maternal and newborn deaths globally. NSMA is one of 15 alliances working with the WRA. The 15 alliances are united together in implementing a common goal; they seek to ensure that pregnancy and childbirth are safe for all women and newborns in every country throughout the world.

After many initiatives, discussions and consultations among several parties, the alliance was launched on the 8th of March 2008, in parallel with the International Women’s Day celebration. Governmental and non-governmental institutions’ support constituted the alliance’s foundation.

Jamila al-Sharie, NSMA general secretary, explained the alliance’s main goals. “The alliance’s essential objective is to foster and cater safe motherhood issues. We aim to raise public awareness about the issues. In addition, we focus on communicating with government and non-governmental legislators in order to have more substantial results. We care about society’s participation, but we care more about organizational and governmental participation, as they are the ones who can directly influence change and improvement.”

Since the Alliance consists of governmental and civil foundations, it enjoys an essence that makes it unique. “NSMA is distinguished because we work in association with governmental bodies and NGOs to establish more effective and tangible results,” explained Afrah al-Qershi, NSMA executive director. Concrete members from both governmental and civil institutions form NSMA’s executive board. Fundamentally, NSAMA works to fill the gaps between all the divergent and separate efforts tackling motherhood issues. It focuses on brining fundamental changes to health matters related to motherhood.

Given the general health system’s statistics, drastic fundamental changes are required. “Yemen’s state budget allocates only 3% for the heath sector. Such a small percent is inadequate to cover all of the health care shortcomings. Moreover, there are laws making childbirth free of charge across the entire country, but unfortunately the funds are not enough to complete all of the tasks necessary. The laws have still not been implemented,” cautioned al-Qershi.

NSAM builds upon the capacity of the alliance’s members, encouraging education regarding the cause. It also has conducted awareness programs and projects to enhance public knowledge about the issue in several governorates. “We established committees to work with alliance members in a number of governorates, in order to coordinate with them for the smooth implementation of our work and activities in the future. Those governorates with committees so far are located in Amran, Lahj, Aden, Taiz and Ibb. We aim at establishing committees in all Yemen’s governorates,” said al-Sharie.

The issue’s magnitude necessitates more action to be taken. “70% of maternal deaths occur in rural areas due to many factors. Those areas lack basic health services, services that are crucial to a mother’s safety. Every day, seven women die in Yemen as a result of complications related pregnancy and childbirth. Having babies is not a disease! Something is fundamentally wrong and the issue must be immediately addressed,” added al-Sharie.

Decreasing the maternal mortality rate in Yemen requires combining many factors together, working hand in hand, to address the issue. It is extremely beneficial to have an ever-growing resource from which to pull funds, however, it is just as important to continue to raise public awareness among society about the importance of monitored pregnancy and childbirth. Statistically, most complications occur within rural areas, leading educational efforts to focus on rural citizens. “Just recently we had remarkable progress by conducting several awareness raising projects in a number of governorates by committed voluntary work. Our efforts facilitated a vast increase in awareness within rural areas,” said Dr. Rami al-Maqtari, DFID project officer at NSMA.

Nevertheless, NSMA is concerned as to how to corral all concerned organizations on these issues. There is a strong desire to have all concerned bodies work jointly in their efforts to solve the issue. Therefore, NSMA is developing a Consultancy Committee, consisting of governmental and civil bodies, as well as donors, to establish effective communication among all.

Since many parties are involved in tackling the issue, such as the government, civil society groups and international donors, a medium for harmonious cooperation between all is critical. “The fact that we work in close association between all the concerned parties allows us to aim at using this multi-support to good advantage by expanding our work, conducting training courses and carrying out raising awareness programs in the most targeted areas that lack attention. Those most targeted areas are rural areas, but not necessarily. Big cities also witness this issue as well,” added al-Qershi.

“It’s not fair to let women die just because they are pregnant or just because they are becoming mothers. Every woman, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, is entitled to live through pregnancy, childbirth and afterwards in safety, no matter what. Enlightened people have a responsibility to implement such realities,” concluded al-Sharie.

Countering Radicalization in Pakistan: Efforts Must be Initiated From Within the Society

SAVE Pakistan members Shabana Fayyaz and Arshi Salim Hashmi took part in a discussion on countering radicalization in Pakistan at the Pak Institute of Peace Studies.

It is important to challenge the extremist and literalist interpretations of Islam to prevent further radicalization in Pakistan and defeat the militant groups operating in the country.


This was the crux of a seminar organized by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies on July 16, 2010, in Islamabad.


The seminar was arranged to launch the latest edition of the organization’s quarterly journal, Conflict and Peace Studies. The journal contained the finding of a survey that was recently conducted by PIPS to study the trends and patterns of religious radicalization in Pakistan. The findings were further explained in research papers that examined the phenomenon from multiple dimensions.


While the participants of the seminar agreed on the importance of developing counter narratives to defeat the extremist ideology, they disagreed on the strategy. Dr Maqsudul Hasan Nuri, the acting President of Islamabad Policy Research Institute who chaired the meeting, blamed the state for being negligent in this regard. But Dr Shabana Fayyaz thought that these counter narratives must be developed by the civil society, not the state. Wajahat Ali, a journalist, maintained that the state had a role to play. However, he also added that it must try to reclaim its lost credibility first. Speakers agreed that any direct involvement of the state to promote or support a particular set of thought in response to extremists’ ideology will be counter-productive and fraught with various challenges.


Commenting on the topic, Arshi Salim Hashmi, Senior Research Analyst at Institute for Regional Studies opined that Pakistani state has failed to deal with the threat of radicalization on social level. She was of the view that when it comes to public perspective on extremism, it is very important in societies like ours to see the difference between religiosity and religious extremism.


Wajahat Ali stated that religiosity cannot be regarded as a manifestation of radicalization. He further elaborated that in order to formulate effective counter-strategies, it is imperative to understand the phenomenon of radicalization in Pakistani context. The pervasive confusion over the various issues including Pakistan’s decision to support international campaign against terrorism, the U.S drone strikes in Pakistan and the issue of Jihad is manipulated by the militant groups to forward their own agenda. He observed that the average Pakistani takes his religion seriously and wants to see it in the public domain. But unlike the Taliban, he does not want to make it claustrophobic to other people. He wants to progress. But he does not want to abandon his religion.


Mr. Manzar Abbas Zaidi, Director Research at National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA), presented on the issue of radicalization in a conceptual framework. While pointing towards various flaws in academic research on the issue, he said that the term “radical” does not have any negative connotation according to classic linguistic standards. However, in the context of Pakistan, it is defined as a tendency to use a peculiar brand of religion, as the justification for conquest and control over territory, populations and resources. Mr. Zaidi noted that if one has to believe that radicalization is a process, there are four stages of radicalization i.e. Pre-radicalization, Self-identification, Indoctrination and Extremism and a number of social, religious, political and economic factors influence an individual during the process of radicalization. Based on his interactions with imprisoned militants, Mr. Zaidi revealed that those people are happily settled in their thoughts and it will not be an easy task to shake extremists’ convictions. He also negated the general perception about the religious seminaries for their alleged role in promoting radicalization and militancy in society. Militant threat from Madrassa is overblown and this is validated by various researches on this subject, he noted.


Experts’ presentations on the issue were followed by a lively QA session. Responding to a question relating to cultivating counter-narratives to extremist’s ideologies; the chairperson said that our state has been negligent to this challenge of cultivating counter-narratives. Speakers called upon the civil society organizations and intellectuals to come forward and take the lead to undo such hate ideologies. While commenting on the need for defining radicalization in local context, Director PIPS, Mr. Amir Rana asserted that PIPS has already accomplished this task through extensive research and repeated interactions with the leading national and international subject-specialists. Hence, we need to move forward to adopt some practical measures to counter this phenomenon.


This article was posted by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies.

We Muslims Must Move Beyond Medieval Laws, by Ed Husain

Most Islamic nations do not stone or flog women. It is time Iran moved out of the past.

Why are male clerics so obsessed with controlling female sexuality? In an Iranian prison today, a Muslim mother in her forties, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, awaits her fate for the alleged crime of adultery. She has been in jail for five years, received 99 lashes and awaits the manner of her execution for the crime, now that the authorities say she will not be stoned to death.


I write as a human, Muslim, son, brother to sisters and proud father of two baby daughters. And nothing, nothing warrants a mob of men stoning women to death or lashing them. The vast majority of the world’s Muslims feel the same way. We know that as a fact because, from Indonesia in the Far East to Bosnia in Europe, Muslim-majority nations do not stone people to death for adultery. The Muslim consensus, or ijma in Arabic, therefore, is against such outmoded penal codes.


Sadly, in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Sudan this popular ijma is rejected. They seek a reading of Sharia that is harsh, literalist and disregards human rights. And in that, they are supported by hardline male clerics who draw rulings from medieval textbooks that are defunct in the modern world. This clerical opposition to modernity stems from a crisis of scholarship within contemporary Islam, an institutional failure to understand religious text within a 21st-century context. That paralysis leads to clerical silence on Iran’s desire to stone or lash a woman accused of adultery.


When I meet leading Muslim scholars in private in Syria or Egypt, they readily admit that stoning and flogging belong firmly in Muslim past, but dare not say as much in public lest they lose scholarly credentials among their more conservative peers. Muslim scholars see themselves as transmitters of a tradition rather than as agents of change. But for how much longer will Muslim clerics remain silent? Where is their compassion and humanity? Do our women not deserve better than living in fear of capricious male punishment?


One senior cleric who has broken ranks in Iran is none other than the grandson of the man who founded the “Islamic republic” in 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini. His grandson, Ayatollah Hussein Khomeini, has in clear terms, within an Islamic framework, called on his grandfather’s followers to end floggings and stoning of adulterers. As humans, we are not sinless and perfect—as worldly, flawed beings it is not our duty be [sic] judge, jury and executioner on private aspects of people’s lives.


Once upon a time, Jews and Christians implemented Old Testament teachings from the Book of Leviticus, which also advocated stoning adulterers and flogging fornicators. But Jews and Christians understood those instructions within their historical milieu. And Islam adopted these teachings within our tradition. Fortunately most Muslims relegate these practices to history—illustrated by most Muslim-majority states not equating these teachings with state law today. The countries that do, however, shame us all.


Iran is home to an ancient civilization, the proud owners of a rich Persian language and deep culture. Tabriz, where Ms Ashtiani is imprisoned for allegations of adultery, produced poets and dervishes who taught Europe about mysticism and joy of religion. Rumi—a 13th century poet whose work is a bestseller in the US today—was inspired and taught by the mystic Shams of Tabriz 700 years ago.


In the 11th century, Persia gave us the great Omar Khayyam who in his famed Rubaiyyat called for freedom, joy, love, wine-drinking, and, some say, hedonism. Victorian Englishmen found liberation in Khayyam’s poetry. What happened to that Iran?


In Iran today, the practice of mut’a, or temporary marriage, is legal and widespread. A man and woman can contract a marriage that can last for one day, or one year. Critics have lambasted these arrangements as glorified prostitution and demeaning to women. Iran’s clerics are renowned for not only authorizing such fluidity in relationships, but luxuriating in such arrangements themselves; and often with more than one woman at any one time.


Ms Ashtiani has pleaded her innocence repeatedly and still been lashed and imprisoned. But she is not alone—seven other women are in a similar predicament in Iran today. According to the Iranian Embassy in London, Tehran says that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani will not be stoned. That is welcome news, but not enough. Ms Ashtiani and others deserve more—freedom, compensation, and a repeal of Iran’s penal laws.


As a fellow Muslim with huge respect for Iran’s past and admiration for its cultural and religious icons of Rumi, Hafez, and Sadi, I call on its leaders to live up to the teaching and spirit of the Prophet Muhammad. Be compassionate, merciful and loving: show the world that Iran was, and is, a civilized nation. Release Ms Ashtiani and change the laws. Let Muslim women be proud of their religion and heritage, and not live in fear of it.

This article was first published in The Times on July 9, 2010

Germinating Peace Through Storytelling, by Shabana Fayyaz

Going through the TOT (Training of Trainers) of the ‘Mothers for Change’ SAVE-Pakistan project launched at PAIMAN on the 9th of this month was an extremely rewarding and exciting opportunity to learn a unique technique of ‘Storytelling’ both as a means of connecting and instilling positivism in an otherwise depressing environment.

Though Storytelling has always been an integral part of our daily routines, we very seldom make use of this technique for moving forward and forging positivism in the society. It happens that most of us hear the stories of hardships, sufferings and loss whether at the personal, community or national level and often end up showing sympathy and inaction. What I learned from this workshop was how to move beyond the “sympathy syndrome” and engage in a dialogue with the person (plus community) that has undergone certain experiences (both positive and negative) and work for the common good of the society at large. That is, the value of humanity, peace and tolerance must be preserved and strived for in all the conflict situations whether at the micro or macro level.

The value of active listening and honoring a story (we observed a minute silence after listening to each one of the stories during the session) created a bond of trust and respect – critical to generating hope in the environment. I feel this is needed most in Pakistan is these days. We must act together to reclaim the goodness in our society and be prepared to engage with the extremists through dialogue, debate and discussion.

I feel very passionate to be a part of SAVE’s initiative, “Mothers for Change,” and will be travelling to Peshawar and Charsada this month to observe the training sessions and enlarge the chain of Sisters standing up against extremism and violence in Pakistan. I feel this is a beginning of new life for me both at the personal and professional level ... it will go a long way for the peace within and beyond my homeland.

The Price of Reconciliation, by Robi Damelin

Since when does the loss of a child to the conflict make anyone an expert on military maneuvers, or signify expertise on terrorism and its causes?

How long must the Shalit family beg for the life of their son? How many hours must they spend chasing Knesset members who cannot commit to saving a fellow human being? How many people need to march to Jerusalem and how many concerts will be held until they understand? Would these politicians be so determined and hard-nosed, pontificating about Israel's security, if it were their own child's life at stake?

How many more broadcasts will be aired of bereaved families, showering us with their pearls of wisdom about the security of the state and its dire future if we release the Palestinian prisoners? Somewhere, deep down in their commitment to securing a safe future for the citizens of Israel, is there not also an element of one of our most natural, human traits - revenge? It would be so much more honest if this aspect were actually expressed, instead of being couched in expertise and terms of security. Since when does the loss of a child to the conflict make anyone an expert on military maneuvers, or signify expertise on terrorism and its causes?

Learning from history does not suit the local agenda; it seems that our present leaders have the answers to everything. We know for sure that the prisoners, once freed, will immediately don their armor and rush off to murder the nearest innocent civilian. Apparently we have not learned that some of the most dedicated peace proponents in Northern Ireland sprang from the ranks of the Catholic and Protestant prisoners whose hands were covered in a thick layer of blood.

These political prisoners were released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement - and the world did not come to an end. On the contrary, Northern Ireland has since forged ahead on a path toward a solution. It may not represent the entire answer to the problem, but releasing prisoners was certainly a step in the right direction. "Healing of Memories" is but one of the courses offered by an ex-prisoner who spent 13 years in jail for murdering a Catholic during that conflict. With or without Gilad Shalit, to push the peace process forward the powers that be will have to negotiate the release of the Palestinian prisoners.

Thinking about the children, grandchildren and spouses of the Palestinian prisoners could certainly lead one to the conclusion that they might join the cycle of violence to take revenge in the name of their incarcerated family members. Perhaps this should be taken into account, as opposed to the rhetoric of doom spewing from the mouths of so many of our leaders and members of the public. If we cannot create some hope in the hearts of these families for an eventual release of the prisoners, are we certain that they would just sit back and do nothing?

Almost all the current male Palestinian members of the Parents Circle-Families Forum have served years in jail - and although they are all bereaved, they have chosen to take a stand and wish for reconciliation. Perhaps those individuals and organizations opposed to the release of prisoners should search their hearts and souls to see if an element of revenge is not part of the equation.

The man who killed my son is apparently on the list to be released, and I can only say that if this would return Gilad to his family and ease all of this impossible pain, nothing would be more worthwhile. As an aside, it is clear that there is no revenge for a lost child.

In the final analysis, peace doesn't only mean agreeing on who gets to control what piece of land, or how many are entitled to the right of return; it also means that those who have suffered most - the families of the dead - will not see the killers of their loved ones brought to justice. The price of reconciliation is high, but we owe it to the future of the children, who are our responsibility.

This article was originally published in Haaretz on July 11, 2010.

"Non-Violence Needs Women," by Asma Asfour

It is not easy for a Palestinian woman to say that she wants to work against violent extremism in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. To begin with, as a woman, it is harder to voice criticism while still remaining a legitimate political voice. Moreover, being in a place of national and political conflict where life is continuously stressful, one can find different definitions of the term “extremism”. For example, the Palestinians called the first and second “intifadas” (“uprisings”) patriotic acts against injustice. The same intifadas were labelled acts of violence by the Israeli side. Meanwhile, the recent war in Gaza was seen as a necessary security measure by Israel, while the Palestinians see it as an attack against civilians.

Notions of extremism and violence are shaped by the context in which they occur. As a Palestinian woman who has witnessed the two intifadas, I have been deeply affected—psychologically and politically—by the killing, the shelling, the curfews, roadblocks and the separation barrier. The violence that I have lived through has to a great degree shaped who I am. Moreover, I have been raised to love my homeland, strongly believing in my nation’s right to live in dignity on its land. I find it too difficult to say let us stop demanding our rights just for the sake of peace. That would be something a patriot would never do.

Yet despite being surrounded by violence, I believe in the essential goodness of humanity and do not think that members of modern nations should pay with their lives for myths and historical conflicts. The path of violence does not serve our legitimate struggle for independence.

The fact that violence has been ongoing for more than six generations makes me seriously concerned not only about the possibility of a peaceful resolution, but also about the effects of violence on the daily life of people living in the region. Violence equally affects the perpetrator and the person who suffers from violence. The child who witnessed killing in Gaza cannot be expected to treat others in as calm and gentle a way as a child who grew up far away from killing and shelling.

Living in an environment that adopts violence as a strategy to deal with the Other exacerbates further the negative attitudes and beliefs regarding the Other. Moreover, as we know, violence only begets violence. Eventually, acts of violence directed at an outsider turn inward towards the self. This can lead to internal chaos and divert the nation from its goal of independence. Leaders and non-leaders alike need to study the reasons why the conflict has become so violent and its impact on our societies so that they can work to reduce it.

Palestinian women as Palestinian citizens have much to say in this context. They are the ones who raise men. Partly because they are mothers, women are the real partners in building the future state. In addition, women—who are arguably naturally more predisposed to non-violence—could exercise significant pressure to stop internal violence first and then to form a common vision towards the future state.

As a Palestinian woman and patriot, I cannot cease struggling to attain the rights of my people in a Palestinian state. However, my values dictate that I conduct my quest for rights in a non-violent fashion. Practically speaking, pragmatism itself also dictates a non-violent approach.

I am calling for peace with dignity. This means adopting a new comprehensive strategy that identifies a way to obtain our rights as Palestinians, even if it takes a long time. A non-violent struggle could be the answer that would also lead other nations to support our cause.

Many of my international friends ask me why there is still no resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. At this point I realise that people do not know much about the cause and its complexities. The achievement of peace needs brave leaders who believe in humanity and the rights of nations to live in dignity and peace.

Living in peace does not mean Palestinians and Israelis have to be friends with one another; it does not mean selling out the Palestinians’ rights. Peace, as I view it, is finding the best realistic way to live in dignity without war.

This article was originally posted on Common Ground News Service.