I. Trends in Family Law - Information about the following family law trends:
Progress, regress and stagnation – a campaign to increase awareness of newly passed Family Law in Bahrain is being drawn up; although a Family Law for Sunni women in Bahrain has been passed, a Family Law for Shi-ite women is being shelved based on opposition by religious leaders; women’s activists in Jordon criticise a new law that maintains Shari’ah judges’ authority to allow marriages of girls between ages 15 and 18; in Mali, Fatoumata and Moussa marry in style under the new Family Law; Human Rights activists in Saudi Arabia call for codified personal status law that regulated judges’ jurisprudence in issues of marital dispute; research partners at the Danish Institute for Human Rights speak of the importance of reforming Family Law in West Africa.
Child marriages persist – data by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reveal shocking statistics on the number of Muslim girls under the age of 14 who have undergone mandatory premarital HIV screening; a Nigerian senator accused of marrying a 13-year-old Egyptian girl says he has done nothing wrong; Saudi Arabia’s state human rights body hires a lawyer to review the case of a girl whose mother sought her divorce from an 80-year-old man; some of Yemen’s most influential Islamic leaders declare supporters of a ban on child brides as apostates.
News and opinion – Cassandra Balchin writes that steps to take a fresher look at Muslim marriage contracts will help achieve egalitarian and just relations between spouses; the New York Times reports that although women’s groups in Malaysia applaud the recent appointment of two female judges to Islamic courts, it will be a month before the new judges find out if they will be prevented from hearing certain cases; Muslim male preachers are taking the streets and villages to stand up for women’s rights say an OpenDemocracy article.
II. Building Our Knowledge - Information about knowledge-building projects and other resources:
Musawah research project on Qiwamah (men’s ‘authority’ over women) moves onto its second phase with news of the commissioning of ten research papers.
Musawah Key Messages are now posted on the website in English for to allow Musawah Advocates to convey to their own networks and contacts what Musawah is about. The Key Messages will soon be available in Arabic, French and Bahasa Malaysia.
The French version of Wanted: Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family will be available in August.
New article by Ahmed E Souaiaia, ‘From Transitory Status to Perpetual Sententiae: Rethinking Polygamy in Islamic Traditions’, published in Hawwa (Vol. 2:3, 2004).
New journal Contestations dedicated to create discussion and debate on women’s empowerment and gender justice is available online.
New book by Isobel Coleman Paradise beneath Her Feet discusses one of the most contentious issues with Islam today which is the role of women in society.
Guide: Islam and Human Rights by Abdullahi An-Na’im and Mashood A Baderin discuss in part III, the rights of women and international law in Muslim contexts.
III. Building Our Movement - Information about the latest Musawah events and activities:
Musawah Events – new member Djingarey Maiga fromMali joins Musawah’s International Advisory Group (IAG);Alimat-Indonesia and Musawah Secretariat host the Musawah Outreach Strategy Meeting in August 2010 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Musawah Outreach – a session on Musawah was featured in the Cairo launch of the first Young Arab Feminist Network (YAFN) in April this year.
Musawah Focal Points – the Centre for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA) held 32 outreach events over the past four months, training over 72 religious leaders and holding two closed meetings with the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs and the National Council for Women; the Sudanese Organisation for Research and Development (SORD) launched a project to focus on two main activities: drafting an alternative personal status law and research to document the impact of current 1991 Act on women/family life; the Canadian Council of Muslim Women has continued its advocacy by developing documents regarding family laws, including the creation of a sample marriage contract in keeping with Muslim and Canadian family laws.
IV. International Advocacy - Information about Musawah’s engagement with CEDAW Committee and NGOs:
Musawah is now conducting research on CEDAW to analyse how governments use Islam and Shari’ah;
Musawah will conduct two closed seminars and a public forum in Geneva in October on the Musawah Framework and the possibilities for reform to reconcile Islam and women’s rights.
To submit and article or information to Vision, email: info@musawah.org .
Download the second issue (March 2010) of Musawah Vision, the quarterly update on Musawah activities:
Look for the next issue of Musawah Vision in October 2010!
► Activities
Musawah's activities from 2007-2010 include:
1. Consultations and support for organisations and activists at the national, regional and international levels to build the initiative and its analysis.
2. Development of tools and materials that can be used in advocacy efforts, including:
Theoretical background papers on topics relating to Shari'ah, human rights and the historical, sociological and political contexts behind Muslim family laws and practices;
A resource kit on family laws that provides religious, human rights, legal and social arguments for reform.
3. Discussions among local, national and regional groups on equality and justice in the Muslim family in their countries and communities. The main objectives are to:
Ensure that Musawah is rooted in and responding to the needs of national movements and developments; and
Share information about family laws across networks, organisations and individuals at the national and regional levels.
4. Development of a website that contains documentation on Muslim family laws, initiatives for reform, conceptual and research papers and other materials helpful in the push for the promotion and protection of rights within a framework of equality and justice.
5. Media outreach at the international, regional and national levels to help publicise the ideas behind Musawah and provide support for national-level advocacy.
6. A Global Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 13-17 February 2009 to:
7. Networking at the international level to connect with regional and international networks and share information, ideas and frameworks with international bodies and mechanisms such as United Nations treaty bodies and special rapporteurs. In August 2009, Musawah presented a statement to the CEDAW Committee on the proposed CEDAW General Recommendation on the economic consequences of marriage and its dissolution.
► Past and Upcoming International Events
24-26 February 2010
International Advisory Group meeting
London, United Kingdom
Late January 2010
Participation in the 45th CEDAW Session
Geneva, Switzerland
13-15 January 2010
Seminar and a three-day training on 'Muslim Family Law: A Women's Rights Perspective'
In cooperation with the Networking for Women's Rights Organizations in Egypt (NWRO) network
Cairo, Egypt
6-7 January 2010
Meeting of the Qiwamah Working Group
Cairo, Egypt
18-20 October 2009
Communications Advisory Group meeting
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3-16 August 2009
Short Course on Understanding Islam from a Rights Perspective
In collaboration with Sisters in Islam (Malaysia)
Cyberjaya, Malaysia
4 August 2009 Statement at the CEDAW Committee public meeting on the Economic Consequences of Marriage and its Dissolution
New York, United States
