Saudi Arabia to appoint 30 women to Shoura Council

ARAB NEWS

Sunday 2 September 2012

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia is expected to appoint 30 women on the Shoura Council before the consultative body begins its next annual session. “The expectations are that up to 30 women will be appointed to the Shoura,” sources close to the council told Al-Sharq Arabic daily.

In 2015, Saudi women will have the opportunity to run for civil office.

The newspaper said that talks have already begun with several institutions to propose the names of qualified women in order to be appointed on the Shoura. A high-level panel, headed by the king, will look into the nominees and select the final list, it added.

The move comes after Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah announced the government’s decision to appoint women members on the Shoura in September.

“We made this decision because we refuse to marginalize women in Saudi society in their roles that comply with the Islamic Shariah and following consultations with many of our scholars who supported it,” King Abdullah said. “Muslim women in our history have had stances that cannot be sidelined since the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),” the king said. Female members must be holders of Saudi citizenship, be a minimum of 30 years of age with an impeccable personal record, a high level of competency and practical experience.

Sadia, a humanitarian activist, applauded the latest move. She said: “This is a solid step to involve women in the public sphere. We welcome King Abdullah’s decision that will enable women to serve as full members of the Shoura Council and will have the right to participate in the elections. These reforms recognize the significant contributions Saudi women have been making in society and will offer them new ways to participate in taking decisions for the welfare of the community.”

The Shoura Council’s bylaws do not oppose the membership of women and do not specify the gender of the appointed members, the daily reported yesterday. However, since it was founded in 1993, the Council has only had male members.

The Shoura Council in Saudi Arabia

King Abdullah in the same speech, while addressing the Shoura, also announced that women would have the right to run and vote in the 2015 municipal elections. Reacting to the development, dentist Sonia Ali said: “This is excellent start for Saudi women to come out of their shell and take part in governmental activities. This decision of King Abdullah will strengthen the confidence of Saudi women in their abilities.”

Hanouf Al-Jouiad, a postgraduate student, said: “We are thankful to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque King Abdullah and his government for showing his trust in Saudi women and giving them a chance to be a member of the Shoura Council. Women’s voices will finally be heard and they will be allowed to take part in the decision-making process on serious matters. We look forward to Saudis voting for suitable persons who will be bold enough to take right decisions rather than just looking to work for their interests.”

Fatema Al-Refai, a teacher, said: “We appreciate King Abdullah ‘s efforts to introduce progressive political reforms by opening an opportunity for Saudi women to be a part of the Shoura Council. We hope that the decision taken by the king will benefit women who have been looking forward to making effective contributions to the country’s onward progress. The Shoura Council will give Saudi women an open platform for showcasing their talent and their love for the country. We expect appropriate candidates will be elected to the Shoura Council.”

Click here for original article

Repression continues in Bahrain

Unconfirmed reports surfaced today that a female poet who recited her anti-government poems in Pearl Square had died after enduring torture. She remains missing.

Twenty-year-old Ayat al-Ghermezi was actively involved in the peaceful protests against Bahrain’s authoritarian government led by King Hamad bin Isa. When the government’s response to the demonstrations turned violent in mid March, security forces searched Ghermezi’s home and threatened her family until they revealed her whereabouts. She was arrested shortly afterwards. Her death was reported today, although it was later claimed that the news is a leak by the Bahrain government to discredit media. Bahrain is currently under a media blackout enforced by the government.

Bahrain’s government continues to abduct both female and male protesters and human rights activists. On Monday, six female teachers and several pupils were arrested at a school in Hamad. Teachers have gone on strike several times since the beginning of demonstrations in Bahrain on February 14, to show solidarity with the aims of the protest movements. The Education Ministry has responded by setting up a committee to take action against administration staff and teachers who are active in the protests and strikes. Security forces have further abducted medical staff from several medical centres. Human Rights Watch has estimated that at least 400 activists have gone missing since the beginning of the government crack-down on March 14.

Bahraini youth began a mass hunger strike on March 18 to show their rejection of the abuses of human rights currently underway in their country. They are following the example of Zainab Alkhawaja, daughter of human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who is now on her eighth day of hunger strike.

Bahrain’s government is receiving support from Saudi Arabian, Kuwaiti and United Arab Emirate forces in an attempt to quell pro-democracy uprisings. The response of the international community to the violence in Bahrain has been lukewarm in comparison to previous responses in countries such as Libya and Egypt. Hesitation over the situation in Bahrain is damaging the image of Western governments in some quarters of the Arab world, as the USA is associated by many with Saudi Arabia’s government.

Petitions asking the UN, EU, USA and UK governments to take a firmer stance to dissuade the government in Bahrain from violating human rights are operating online.

Through the peaceful and democratic process of letter-writing, you can bring your concern over the situation in Bahrain, especially in regard to the deaths of human rights activists and the detention of pregnant women and children, to the attention of decision-makers around the world. For more information about the human rights situation in Bahrain, visit Human Rights Watch.

United States of America: To find and contact your representative in the USA click here, or contact the White House here.

United Kingdom: To find and contact your MP in the UK click here, or to write to the Prime Minister click here.

Austria: To contact your representative in the Austrian Parliament click here.

EU: To contact your representative in the European Parliament, click here.

UN: Contact the UN General Assembly here.

Thousands protest in Yemen against president's criticism of women's presence at demonstrations

Original article by Ahmed al-Haj in The Republic.

SANAA, Yemen — Yemen's anti-government movement took up the issue of women's rights in the conservative Muslim nation on Saturday, as thousands of demonstrators seeking the president's ouster denounced his comments against the participation of women in protest rallies.

In a speech Friday, President Ali Abdullah Saleh said the mingling of men and women at protests in the capital was against Islamic law. Demonstrators, including thousands of women, responded by marching through the capital of Sanaa and several other cities, shouting: "Saleh, beware of injuring women's honor."

"This insult has made us more determined to remain at the opposition squares with the men to topple the ugly regime," said Jameela al-Qabsi, a female professor at an education college.

Though it was a young woman who first led anti-Saleh demonstrations on a university campus in late January, women didn't begin turning out in large numbers until early March. It was a startling step considering the Muslim nation is a largely tribal society with deeply conservative social and religious traditions.

Many Yemeni women remain out of sight and conceal themselves in public under black head-to-toe robes. The issue of child brides in Yemen has also drawn international criticism. But unlike in neighboring Saudi Arabia, women in Yemen are permitted to vote, run for parliament and drive cars.

Two months of near-daily protests and defections by key allies in the military, powerful tribes and diplomatic corps have failed to bring an end to Saleh's 32-year autocratic rule over the impoverished and fragile nation in the Arabian peninsula.

A crackdown on protesters by Saleh's forces has killed more than 120 people, according to Yemeni rights groups, but has not deterred crowds from gathering.

On Saturday, a group of female protesters presented the chief prosecutor with a complaint against Saleh for his remarks. Amat al-Salam Abdullah, one of the protesters, said the prosecutor ordered an investigation.

"I don't rule out that the president has been traumatized as a result of the involvement of tens of thousands of women in the demonstrations calling for his downfall," said Faiza al-Sharji, a female university professor.

The youth movement leading the anti-government protests took up the women's cause, calling for people to come out in millions on Sunday for a day of "honor and dignity."

The youth movement said in a statement that Saleh's comments were "a continuation of his violations against the Yemeni people after he killed them and accused them of being agents and outlaws."

Advocacy for women's rights in Yemen is rooted in the 1967-1990 period when the once-independent south had a socialist government. After unification, women in the south became more marginalized, resulting in high unemployment among female university graduates.

Make sure women can lead in the Middle East

An article from Common Ground News Service by Carla Koppell and Haleh Esfandiari

Washington, DC - In Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Tunisia and elsewhere, women have stood with men pushing for change. In Libya, Iman and Salwa Bagaighif are helping lead, shape and support protesters. And in Egypt, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, one of the oldest and most well-known non-governmental organisations in Egypt, estimated that at least 20 per cent of the protesters were women.

For example, the 26-year-old co-founder of Egypt’s April 6 Youth Movement, Asmaa Mahfouz, mobilised thousands of youth in support of the protest through her impassioned YouTube video. In Yemen, a 32-year-old mother of three, Tawakkul Karman, helped organise protests against the current government.

Yet women's leadership in 2011 is not a new phenomenon. In Iran, women have for many years successfully pushed for greater freedom in personal status law, and greater employment and educational opportunities. Many Iranian women have been imprisoned simply for endorsing the Million Signature Campaign, which seeks equal rights and the repeal of laws that discriminate against women.

Women have been using social media and leveraged communications technology to pursue greater social and political openness since before the arrival of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Notwithstanding a rich history of non-violent activism and extraordinary leadership, women have rarely been involved in political decision-making in the Middle East and North Africa region.

At an even more basic level, women do not feel confident that their rights will be preserved under the systems emerging from recent political transformations.

In Iraq, there have been female judges since the 1950s and thus many of women’s rights have been protected since 1978 by a personal status law. Yet in 2003, the new Iraqi Governing Council sought to strip women of these rights. Only in the face of domestic petitions, letter writing and face-to-face advocacy were women successful in ensuring their rights were preserved. Iraqi women continue to face efforts to reduce their freedoms and each time they have defeated the assault.

Already Egyptian women are risking similar marginalisation. There are no women on the committee revising the constitution. In an almost uncanny parallel to the struggle of Iraqi women after former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Egyptians have drafted a petition, endorsed by over 60 local organisations, decrying women's absence from transitional political bodies.

Bias embedded in the new draft constitution suggests that these concerns may be real.

The international community and the new generation of progressive, democracy-minded leaders in the Middle East need to see women as critical partners for change. The evidence is undisputable. The 2005 UN Arab Human Development Report cautions that under-employment and under-investment in women severely drains overall well-being and concludes that "the rise of women is in fact a prerequisite for an Arab renaissance, inseparably and causally linked to the fate of the Arab world."

The world has an unprecedented opportunity to transform nations held down for decades by oppressive regimes. We must make sure that this opportunity is open to all citizens, including women.

Women’s role must be honoured in the struggle and protect against the fundamentalist push. Most importantly, their involvement will be key to enabling pluralistic, economically thriving societies to emerge in a region whose progress has been stalled for generations.

The window is small but the time is now and the opportunity is enormous. As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day on 8 March, let's remember how critical advancing the status of women will be to success.

BREAKING NEWS BAHRAIN: "We want our children to have their mothers back"

One woman has died and up to 30 are still detained in undisclosed locations in Bahrain, during a violent government crackdown on protesters.

Women are arrested and tortured by government forces in order to deter their relatives from continuing to protest, said Lebanese freelance journalist Zeinab Al-Saffar in an interview with SAVE.

"The message the government forces are sending is: If you don’t calm down, we will attack your women," said Al-Saffar, who has close ties with citizens in Bahrain. Bahiya Abd Rassoul AL-Aradi, a woman in her thirties from Al-Manama, died on March 21 due to a bullet wound to the neck.Three of the 20 missing women are believed to be pregnant, and many more are mothers. "We want these children to have their mothers back," said Al-Saffar.

In total, over 600 people have disappeared during the unrest. The youngest is Ali Ahmad Abass Yehia Thamer, who is under 12-years old. Several have died during their imprisonment, including the prominent businessman and member of opposition party Wefaq, Kareem Fakhrawi. The authorities refuse to release the bodies, blaming the deaths on chronic diseases, such as diabetes or heart problems, according to Al-Saffar. Police have also been entering the Al-Salimiya Hospital to arrest wounded protesters and hospital staff. Other women have been abducted at check-points or at their homes late at night.

In many cases, whole families are held in captivity. Zainab Alkhawaja, the daughter of prominent activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, is on hunger strike to protest the arrest of her father, husband, brother-in-law and uncle. She announced her protest action through her blog, addressing herself to US President Barack Obama, as she said that her own government has "proven that they do not care about our rights, or our lives."

Protests began on February 14, inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. For a month, demonstrators peacefully demanded reform, but did not aim to oust the current regime. The protests, which often centred on Pearl Square and its iconic pearl monument, escalated until Bahrain saw its biggest demonstrations ever, with an estimated 200,000 people taking to the streets - about a fifth of the national population.

On March 14, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa declared a 3-month state of emergency and cracked down on the protesters, choosing violence over dialogue. Aided by neighbouring countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, he invited foreign troops into Bahrain in an attempt to quell opposition to his regime. The monument in Pearl Square has been demolished by the government, as it has come to represent the spirit of the protest movement.

The protesters have now changed their demands, aiming to topple the regime and achieve wide-ranging constitutional changes.

Despite the severity of the crisis in Bahrain, few reports have surfaced in the international media. The government in Bahrain is enforcing a media blackout, and Bahrain is also a close ally of the United States, hosting a large US naval base. US politicians such as Hilary Clinton have expressed tempered criticism of the government’s behavior.

Women in Bahrain have been taking an active part in anti-government demonstrations. The population of Bahrain is only 800,000, and since 2002, various reforms have introduced improved political and social rights for women. They are economically active, and Al-Saffar expects that in the event of a new regime, women’s voices will be louder in the reform process than they have been in countries like Egypt.

Amnesty International is organizing a petition calling on King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa to conduct full inquiries into the deaths of protesters, guarantee the right to peaceful protest and freedom of association, and release all opposition activists immediately. Read more about this action here.

BREAKING NEWS: Yemeni women call on international community to support their urgent demand for inclusion

Women in Yemen claim that international pressure is essential if their voices are to be included in decisions about the country’s future.

Figures such as Tawakkol Karman have become increasingly prominent in Yemen’s current uprisings. Women are playing a key role in mobilizing protesters and leading demands for change. However, the experience of Egypt shows that women are too often forgotten once revolutionaries have achieved their goal.

“The international community must put pressure on Yemen’s decision-makers to include women in any new administration; otherwise they will not do it,” said Nadia Al-Saqqaf, editor of the Yemen Times. “There has to be a fair recognition of the part women are playing. The international community should use a carrot and stick approach to encourage decision-makers to include women.”

The participation of civil society, youth and intellectuals in an emerging administration will be decisive for Yemen’s future, Nadia adds. She is hoping for a presidential council that will carry out the transfer of power under a clear mandate, and for extensive financial support to flow into Yemen. The country’s economy has been hit hard by the protests, and Nadia predicts that recovery will take years.
However, the protests in Yemen seem to be far from over. Over the last two days, deadly clashes in Taiz, a city in the south of Yemen, have left at least 19 dead and hundreds injured. The clashes occurred when protesters – many of them students at Taiz University - marched on the town hall, apparently in an attempt to occupy the building. Government forces stopped them, using bats, daggers and a brand of tear gas, which some have claimed is illegal under international law. Facebook has lately been inundated with videos and images of the attacks.

Opinions differ as to who was at fault in these clashes. Although many believe the government response was disproportionate, some Yemenis believe that the protesters’ actions were too aggressive, worrying that the violence will jeopardize dialogue and be used by Saleh as an excuse to stay on.

Sana’a has seen further disturbances today, with the New York Times reporting that tribesmen loyal to Saleh have clashed with soldiers who have joined the opposition, leaving three dead.

There are ongoing skirmishes and stone-throwing between government supporters and anti-government protesters in Sana’a. Some streets of the capital are in lock-down mode due to frequent clashes – shops and businesses are shut, while many residents have evacuated.

Maha*, another contact in Yemen, says that many Yemenis are “thrilled” by the increased pressure that the USA is exerting on Saleh to step down. However, many are worried that Yemen may end up in a similar position to Libya. President Saleh’s administration has agreed to attend talks with opposition leaders in Riyadh. Locals view this initiative with skepticism, believing that little progress will be made. Saleh is also expected to demand diplomatic immunity for himself and his family for the rest of his life if he is to stand down. But it is unlikely that Yemenis would accept such a compromise. “Saleh should pay for what he has done to the country,” said one Sana’a resident.

Fears are increasing that the unrest in Yemen is paving the way for radical forces to gain a stronger foothold in the country. Women, as strong advocates for dialogue, democracy and non-violence, must be included in government, in order to create a safe arena for moderate voices. Saleh has said that he wants to leave Yemen in safe hands: a responsible, accountable and stable government requires the participation of the whole of society, both male and female.

*Name has been changed

The Hijab and women in Afghanistan

The Burqa ban has inspired much debate around Europe and the world. In this article first published in Foreign Policy blogs, Tahera Nassrat explains women's motivations for wearing the Hijab, considers the family's role in preventing women from achieving independence, and suggests how families can better follow the Quran through equal treatment of girls and boys.

Hijab is the Arabic word for “Curtain, or Cover”. It is taken from Hajb meaning to cover, to veil, to shelter. Muslim women wear the Hijab for different reasons. Some wear the Hijab to delight their God- in reference to holy Quran. Some to please their families and some to obey the Islamic law.

Afghanistan is one of the Islamic countries where women wear Hijab by law, not by choice. The law which powerful Islamic groups created misuses the concept of Hijab in the Quran and forces women to cover and remain home. The holy Quran asks Muslim women to wear an outer garment when going out to differentiate them from non-Muslims and identify them as “believing” women in the society. The holy Quran does not say that women should be veiled and kept at home away from mixed society. Conversely, it insisted on full participation of women in society and religious practices.

Women in Muslim countries like Afghanistan are compelled to behave in a certain way from the very beginning. When a girl is born, different treatment is afforded to the girl. They are told to avoid men’s room, talking among elders, walking without a veil and joking with boys. Girls are always shown to be weak human beings while boys are seen as strong. It is common among families, that when a boy cries, the parent says, “Are you a girl to cry?” or “A boy never cries”. Boys get the sense of being a strong human being. Girls get the sense of being weak, dependent and followers of men.

This internal discrimination germinates a feeling inside Muslim men that they no longer wish their wives and sisters to be independent and uncovered. They meet and make relations with non-Muslim women who are not veiled and treat them respectfully, but do not provide the same respectful treatment to Muslim women.
Motivation, support and equality are not delivered to the girls in the families. Rather, discrimination spreads out into the society, where women find it hard to stand up and speak for their rights. So, why such a discrimination from parents to their children? Why should women should dress and behave against their wishes when men do not?

I think reconciliation of these incorrect concepts is necessary. Families should educate themselves and deliver equal treatments to their children. They need to understand that personality, Islam and religion is not an appearance. It is in you and the way you behave and treat others. People should increase their level of awareness and avoid practices like forced marriages and limiting women from society. They should instead sponsor a poor family or provide shelter, food, clothes and medication for those who are suffering.

Follow this link to watch an interesting short video from "60 Minutes" about the Burqa and Hijab bans in Australia and Europe.

Misperceptions work both ways: Muslim and secular women need to work for inclusive dialogue

Greater understanding is needed between Muslim and secular women. Instead of criticizing one another's way of life, women should conduct an inclusive dialogue that recognizes the common ground that all women have. Arzu Merali of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, describes common misperceptions from both sides and why we should work to respect everyone's point of view.

They hate women, don't they?

"It must be terrible having to wear all that," a friend of mine was told last December as she attended a meeting to discuss the future of Afghanistan, particularly its women - "all that" being some baggy clothing and a headscarf. "Not particularly," she retorted, putting an abrupt end both to the conversation and to the prospect of building bridges between Muslim and secular feminists.

My friend is the founder of an NGO dedicated to penal reform. A convert to Islam, she is as British and as white as the participant who so earnestly assumed she was a victim of the Taliban and in need of liberation. No doubt the woman meant well, but no amount of good intentions justifies the way that she, like many others, berates Islam for embodying all things anti-women. This misconception predates the Rushdie era - indeed, so oppressed were we deemed to be in the 80s that even an illicit affair with Ricky Butcher in EastEnders provided an avenue of liberation.

The Islamic Human Rights Commission receives case after case of employers and educators using this image of the downtrodden Muslim woman to excuse discrimination. Muslim women are denied many opportunities on the assumption that they will - if not on a whim then by force - get married, or have many children. Or they face the horrendous dilemma of having to choose between employment and their Islamic garb.

Muslim women have become an absolute symbol of oppression, and distorted images of them permeate news coverage. While Daisy Cutters began to thunder down on Afghans last year, journalists from across the political spectrum - from Boris Johnson in the [conservative] Daily Telegraph to Polly Toynbee in the [left-wing] Guardian - maintained that it was Islam that oppressed Afghan women. Beware Muslims, they screamed in their unlikely unanimity. They hate women, don't they?

As soon as they turn their attentions to Islam, commentators become missionaries. Muslim women must be saved from a religion that reviles, objectifies and veils them. Everything is proof of this. Afghan women had to wear the head-to-toe burka (although it turns out they did not); were not allowed to work (although they did); and could not vote (nor could men under Mullah Omar's regime).

Even an Iranian (yes, Iranian) movie has become part of the iconography of the campaign to rescue the Afghan and, by extension, Islamic woman. Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Kandahar has been held up as a critique of Islam and its treatment of women. The fact that it may actually be an appraisal of the Taliban's prejudices is a subtlety grasped only by a few. It is almost impossible to find a mainstream critique of the horror of the Taliban that is not itself an Islamophobic diatribe. Muslims, who could provide such a critique, are left out of the debate. Their reactions might as well not exist.

The cartoonish realisation of long-held prejudices in the Taliban's Afghanistan has given succour to an anti-Islamic clamour that the experiences of "western" and "Muslim" women are utterly distinct. While western women are assumed to have, or at least be approaching, equality with men, Muslim women are simply the victims of terror and oppression. So unfettered are western women in this scenario that they are what, according to Johnson, "Islamic terrorists" are really afraid of.

But this language of liberation disguises an exclusionary discourse. Conversions in the west are increasing and more women than men opt for the faith. Perhaps, the argument goes, they are not able to see how oppressive their choice is. Donning the headscarf as a means of negotiating modernity invites contempt for Muslim women's non-conformity to a single vision of female emancipation. "No letters please from British women who have taken the veil and claim it's liberating," Polly Toynbee wrote not so long ago. "It is their right in a tolerant society to wear anything, including rubber fetishes." Either insane or masochistic, the motives and beliefs of Muslim women are voiced by everybody except themselves.

The polarisation and misrepresentation works both ways, however. Marginalised Muslims have accused liberal society of objectifying, reviling and unveiling women. Western society, they charge, is pornographic, voyeuristic and exploitative. The gender pay gap is shocking. None of this would happen in a truly Islamic society. Women's financial independence and property rights are absolute in Islam. No woman is considered a commodity and pornographers would face punishments.

While the gap between Muslims and the west is widening the most striking feature of each other's critiques of their treatment of women is the lack of dissimilarity. Violence, workplace discrimination, educational opportunity and a desire for basic respect from men are universal issues.

Whether we are western, Muslim, both or neither, we must wake up to the possibility that what we see as problematic for women is much the same whoever and wherever we are. Plastered over billboards, or banished from view, women are subjugated by patriarchy. Demeaning Islam excludes the voices of Islamic women and that liberates no one.

· Arzu Merali is director of research for the Islamic Human Rights Commission.

The Guardian (London) Friday June 21, 2002

Saudi female cashiers fatwa increases women's economic vulnerability

 Female Saudi cashiers are forbidden by recent fatwa. Amer Hilabi / AFP via www.thenational.ae

It is now prohibited for women to work as cashiers in Saudi Arabia’s shops, according to a fatwa issued by the Senior Board of Ulema at the end of October.

Many Saudis have been expressing their frustration with the ruling, which is intended to prevent the mixing of sexes by preventing women from seeking jobs where they could encounter men.

A conservative preacher called for a boycott of supermarkets employing female cashiers back in August, violating a government restriction on fatwas issued by clerics outside of the Senior Board of Ulema. The board itself has now taken up the idea, stating that  “It is not permitted for a Muslim woman to work in a mixed environment with men who are not related to them, and women should look for jobs that do not lead to them interacting with men which might cause attraction from both sides.”

The Saudi Gazette pointed out the inconsistency of the fatwa with other recent rulings by Saudi clerics. A fatwa approved by Shaykh Bin Baz which stated that “a human being, man or woman, is required to work and practice business,” and that “it is acceptable for women to work for what men require and for men to work for what women require in a way that does not harm either of them.”

A piece in Okaz, translated by Arab News, pointed out the obvious gender discrimination present in the fatwa, asking: “why is it not considered gender mixing when a man sits on the cashier’s desk and sells cheese, beans and olives to women?

“Why is it not permissible when the opposite happens? Why is it considered gender mixing and against Islam when a woman sits at the cashier’s desk selling cheese, beans and olives to men?”

The greatest danger of this fatwa is that many women working in these jobs need the money urgently, as commentators have pointed out. This fatwa makes it even more difficult for them to support themselves economically. As many studies have shown, lack of economic and social opportunities is one of the main driving forces that encourage individuals to join extremist movements. Often these groups offer a sense of purpose and the opportunity to earn money to people who are otherwise unemployed or vulnerable. Several high-profile cases, such as that of Wafa'a AL-Shahri, have shown that Saudi Arabia’s women are far from impermeable to the allure of extremist movements such as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Taking more job opportunities away from women can only be a step backwards in the struggle for gender equality and the fight against violent extremism.

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/

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

The Triangle of Peacebuilding, by Lily Zakiyah Munir

Women, faith, and peace are crucial elements of a peacebuilding process. A woman with faith and peace is a powerful force in peacebuilding both at home and in public. A mother of a peaceful home radiates love and peace to her loved ones in the family. It goes along with an Arabic saying, “Family is the first school in one’s life.” A mother is the first teacher who will lay the foundation for her children’s future. The natural blood bond between a mother and a child is fundamental for this purpose.


However, this important role will not materialize if the mother is entangled in a violent situation in her family. Domestic violence has an unimaginable and multi-pronged impact on women. Dehumanized, helpless, deprived, worthless, inferior—these are some of the adjectives that can illustrate the feelings of a victim of domestic violence. It is no surprise, therefore, that peace has been declared as a prerequisite for women to achieve equality and development. This trilogy of equality, peace, and development was coined back in 1985 in Nairobi as a forward-looking strategy for the advancement of women. This momentum was preceded by the decade for women in 1975-1985. The spirit of equality, development, and peace was reinforced in Beijing in 1995, where 35,000 women from all over the world gathered and expressed their solidarity and mutual support for each other in a global sisterhood.


Now, how is faith related with women and peace? Faith is like a double-edged sword. It can be a source of inspiration for peace and peacebuilding. But it can also be hijacked to crush peace. Islam, for example, literally means “peace and submission.” The religion is laden with teachings on peace, tolerance, respect for diversity, freedom of religion, equality of all human beings, and more. But these teachings are not always manifested in the lives of the Muslims. Thus, there are people who claim to be Muslims but do not implement Islamic values and principles on peace.


The gap between Islamic teachings and their reality is also found in the area of women and gender. There are numerous verses in the Qur’an which are explicit about women’s equal status with men as well as women’s rights and their obligations in both public and private spheres. But these teachings that would serve to emancipate women do not seem to be internalized and absorbed in the minds of many Muslims. Their mindsets, often shaped by patriarchal cultures, are too resistant to discern new progressive ideas regarding women.


Women, constituting half of humankind, cannot be left neglected. We need to tap into their potential as valuable resources. Along with other advances, women have moved forward from passive recipients of peace to becoming active agents of peacebuilding. The important role of women in peace building is recognized globally as stated in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.


Women worldwide, stand up! Fight against oppression and injustices. With your active role, our dream for peace will come true…


Lily Zakiyah Munir is a noted Islamic scholar and activist in Indonesia as well as the founding member of SAVE Indonesia. In Indonesia, she is the director of the Center for Pesantren and Democracy Studies (CePDeS), an NGO which she co-founded in 2003. CePDeS envisions the birth of progressive Muslim leaders through democracy and human rights education in Muslim society. SAVE Indonesia, which has mobilized several hundred students against violence and terrorism to date, and maintains their network through monthly reunion meetings. Lily started the youth camps “because of deep concerns about the violence which has emerged using religious doctrines and dogmas mainly targeted at youth. We hope these camps will give birth to a new generation of Indonesian youth who will internalize the values of love, peace, and appreciation of diversity.” You can find more of Lily's work here. For more information about Women without Borders or SAVE, you can visit us on the web at www.women-without-borders.org, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SAVEalerts, and join us on Facebook!

Mothers as Counterterrorism Agents, by Fahmia al-Fotih'

Fahmia al-Fotih', the SAVE Yemen coordinator, wrote this essay to explain the role of SAVE Yemen in combating violent extremism in her country. Even though Yemen has recently received international criticism for its high rate of child brides, Fahmia sees women, and especially women as mothers, as vital agents against radicalization in the home. For more information, email the SAVE Global team at office@women-without-borders.org.

I always meet people who are skeptical about women’s role to stand against violent extremism, and they cannot comprehend the mission of SAVE: having women combat terrorism and extremism thinking. The first thought that comes to most of them that SAVE aims to have combatants or women in military to fight terrorists on the ground. In fact, the Yemeni government already has a Counter-Terrorism unit that consists of a number of qualified female soldiers, which greatly help in capturing terrorists who are disguised in women clothes.

However, when I explain the innovative idea of SAVE to counter terrorism via women (educated and uneducated alike) from their homes and their immediate surroundings through spreading peace, tolerance, and non-violence culture while raising up their offspring, a kind of relief could be seen then on their faces. The idea of working from home and with children just fits the mentality of majority of Yemeni men who do not prefer to see women working in public life. Therefore, many have already expressed their readiness to join and support SAVE work in Yemen.

Keeping in mind that Yemeni women might not discuss politics much, and their attitudes and opinions might be greatly shaped by the male figures in their lives (like their fathers, husbands, or brothers) as well as the fact that the majority of them are illiterate (which in turn excludes them from the public domain), I myself was skeptical about talking to uneducated mothers who might not have an ability to discuss terrorism and extremism or comprehend the threats posed by extremism and terrorism. Yet having conversations with simple uneducated women proved that I was wrong!

Meeting with uneducated ordinary women, I have found out that there are women who are well aware of extremism and terrorism as a phenomenal threat to us and the ways that extremists utilize to trap the very young people into their ideologies. Better than any counterterrorism expert, those women have well explained the techniques of the extremists and the attractions they have, and those women have highlighted the reasons that make the young people vulnerable to falling in their hands.

Needless to say, a mother is usually the closest person to her kids, which enables her to have a great influence on them. She is the one who could first closely observe the early warning signals of change in her kids’ behavior that might result in traveling down into the path of extremism and terrorism. If we aim to defeat extremist thinking in the bud, it would be very wise and essential to empower and work with those uneducated Yemeni mothers.

It is true that the public domain is confined for Yemeni men yet women have a lot to do in their private sphere. Here in Yemen, the majority of women are full-time housewives whose work centers basically around household chores and taking care of their children. Unlike fathers, who are either emigrants or spend much time working outside, mothers have chance to have more time with their kids and have more influence too. Hence the women have more opportunities to shape their kids’ attitudes among which accepting the other, tolerance and rejecting violence and terrorism. Yet, more support and empowerment should be provided for these women in order to arm them with the necessary skills and knowledge that enable them to adequately and effectively challenge the extremism ideologies.

More importantly, due to the unique Yemeni social structure where social relations are remarkably very strong, woman has an ability to spread the foundations of peace and tolerance beyond her home. She can freely move from a neighbor’s house to another, an advantage that Yemeni man does not have (for instance, that’s why in most population census, women are preferred to go and knock on the households’ doors). For example, it is normal to see a daily crowd of women sitting in one house chatting, chewing Qat, or attending a religious lecture, wedding party, or any social occasion.

To put it in a nutshell, if the counterterrorism experts just recognize the potential and the capabilities that women possess, which then could be effectively utilized in countering terrorism, uprooting, and drying its sources, they would save more money, time and energy in their efforts.

Last but not least, unquestionably no one competes with the mothers in their worries and fears about their kids. Hence, protecting and preventing the young people from travelling down into the path of radicalization is placed in the hands of these loving, committed mothers.