Middle East

The Islamist Ascension and Women

Submitted by Musawah on Wed, 12/26/2012 - 15:00
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By Hatoon Ajwad Al-Fassi

It is clear that there is a crisis between Islamist parties and women. Of course there are many women who are members and supporters of these parties. But there are also other millions of women who feel that the future is not safe under the rule of these forces that monopolise religion and speak in its name.

Gender in the Middle East: Islam, State, Agency

Submitted by Musawah on Wed, 12/26/2012 - 09:12
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This paper, by Mounira M. Charrad, offers a critical analysis of the scholarship on issues that constitute the core of the intellectual discourse on gender in the Middle East. These include the critique of Orientalism past and present, the exploration of the diversity within Islam; the study of states and gender with respect to symbolic representations, institutions, and kin-based solidarities; the analysis of women's agency; and the debates surrounding feminism and the veil.

Calling for a new interpretation of the Koran

Submitted by Musawah on Tue, 10/02/2012 - 14:38
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Copied as 'fair use'.

"We are calling for a new interpretation of the Koran."

A new research centre in Qatar seeks to focus more attention on the ethical dimension of Islam. The founders of the centre and its director, Tariq Ramadan, are calling for a new interpretation of the Koran in order to advance a contemporary Islamic understanding of matters such as environmental ethics and gender issues. Christoph Dreyer spoke to the centre's deputy director, Jasser Auda

Muslim women attempt to reinterpret the "DNA of Patriarchy" in Koran

Submitted by Musawah on Tue, 07/24/2012 - 11:04
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ISTANBUL (TrustLaw)—When it comes to Islamic law, one short verse in the Koran poses one very big obstacle to advocates for Muslim women’s rights--but they may have found a way around it.

The key is fighting medieval interpretations of the Koran with modern scholarship, according to Dr Ziba Mir-Hosseini, a professor and legal anthropologist on Islamic law at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Narrating the Arab spring from within

Submitted by Musawah on Tue, 07/24/2012 - 10:49
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What are the evolving narratives of the Arab Spring? Hoda Elsadda reports from a conference in Cairo examining the conflicting narratives of and about the Arab revolutions, and the geopolitics of these narratives.

Why women are at the heart of Egypt's political trials and tribulations

Submitted by Musawah on Tue, 07/24/2012 - 10:27
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The Egyptian elections delivered a parliament that has one of the lowest rates of female representation in the world. Yet this is the parliament that expresses the political will of the people of Egypt. It may also be one that ignores the social realities of gender and of women’s political participation, says Hania Sholkamy.

Decoding the 'DNA of Patriarchy' in Muslim Family Laws

Submitted by Musawah on Mon, 07/23/2012 - 11:34
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Why and how did verse 4:34, and not other verses in the Qur’an, become the foundation for the legal construction of marriage? Why are qiwamahand wilayah still the basis of gender relations in the imagination of modern-day jurists and Muslims who resist and denounce equality in marriage as alien to Islam? How can we Muslim women reconstruct the concepts?

Musawah Fact Sheet on Article 16: Algeria and Jordan

Submitted by Musawah on Mon, 06/18/2012 - 16:01
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Musawah Fact Sheet on Article 16: Algeria and Jordan

February 2012 - 51st CEDAW Session, Geneva Switzerland

This Musawah report takes a critical look at the status of marriage and family relations, as encapsulated in Article 16 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (‘CEDAW’ or ‘CEDAW Convention’), in Algeria and Jordan, two of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states reporting before the 51st Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (‘CEDAW Committee’).

Ending Child Marriage: A Guide for Global Policy Action

Submitted by Musawah on Tue, 03/13/2012 - 12:44
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By International Planned Parenthood Federation and the Forum on Marriage and the Rights of Women and Girls (2006)

Spotlight: Bahrain

Submitted by Musawah on Wed, 03/07/2012 - 11:11
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Bahrain does not have a personal status law, though there has been ongoing debates over this issue for decades, and a proposed law was drafted in 2008. In the absence of a personal status law, family matters are regulated by Shari‘ah courts whose judges are appointed by the government. These judges base their judgements on their own jurisprudence or their interpretations of the Islamic Shari‘ah.

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