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WEBINAR: In Search of an Ethical Framework for Gender Justice in Islam

What are the different approaches to Islamic ethics and how can we build upon them to develop an ethical framework that foregrounds gender justice? In this webinar, Dr. Mariam Al-Attar and Dr. Fatima Seedat will explore different understandings of ‘ethics’ and shed light on the challenges of ethics as a field of study within Islamic intellectual tradition. They will discuss the possible contours of an Islamic ethical framework for reform and its relevance for Muslim gender justice contemporary discourses.

Birthday Throwback: Celebrating Musawah’s Beginnings

To celebrate Musawah’s 12th birthday this year, we are republishing this interview in which Musawah’s Programme Manager Suri Kempe discusses the beginnings of a global movement with the founding members and founding staff: Zainah Anwar, Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Rozana Isa and Jana Rumminger. The piece was originally written by Halima El Joundi for inclusion in Musawah Vision newsletter no. 22 in September 2017. “God cannot be God if God is unjust” Nothing captures Musawah’s ethos like this statement by Zainah Anwar, its co-founder and Executive Director.

WEBINAR: Approaching The Qur’an Through Women’s Experiences

How do we understand the Qur’an’s ethical framework for gender relations through empirical lenses? In what ways have women’s experiences been silenced in the conventional readings of the sacred text, and how can we reclaim these voices in contemporary engagements with the Qur’an? In this webinar, Dr. Nur Rofiah will address these questions and introduce her methodology of reading the Qur’an through women’s experiences with a goal of achieving substantive justice for women. She will shed light on Indonesian Muslim women scholars’ innovative interpretive approaches to the Qur’an and share with us the lessons learnt from the successful marrying of the production of Islamic feminist knowledge and gender-sensitive activism in Indonesia.

WEBINAR: The Prophet and Khadija: Partners in Marriage

What can we learn from the Prophet's marriage with Khadija? How is it different from the marriage model we find today in most Muslim family laws and practices? And how can we reclaim it in the present time as a model for feminist Muslim masculinities? In this webinar, Dr. Ababneh and Dr. Rahemtulla will address these questions and examine the marriage of Prophet Muhammad and Khadija bint Khuwaylid (d. circa 620) to question hegemonic narratives on “ideal” Muslim marriages. They will shed light on how Khadija and Muhammad, as marital partners, had built a harmonious, non-patriarchal relationship based on mutual support, care and respect. Dr. Ababneh and Dr. Rahemtulla will reflect on the implications of their study on today’s Muslim masculinities.

WEBINAR: Qur’anic Ethics on Marriage

What are the Qur'an's teachings on marriage - both as an intimate human relationship and as the most basic social institution? How can we approach the verses on marriage from within the Qur'an's ethical worldview? What are the implications of an ethically-oriented reading of the Qur’an for Muslim gender norms and rights? In this webinar, Asma, Omaima, and Mulki will explore these questions. They propose a new methodology for reading the Qur’anic verses on marriage and its different aspects, shedding light on the neglected link between Qur’anic ethics and Islamic legal tradition. They will also reflect on the importance of Muslim women engaging with the Qur’an and contributing to the science of tafsir.

WEBINAR: Ethics of iḥsan: Beauty and Goodness in the Muslim family

How are iḥsan and its concepts of beauty and goodness reflected in marriage and family matters in the Qur'an? What might the beauty and goodness represented in iḥsan mean in this context? In this webinar, Amira will focus on the function and meaning of iḥsan and its concepts of beauty and goodness in relation to gender, family, and community dynamics. Amira will reflect on how the Qur’anic mandate for iḥsan can play a role in revisiting hierarchical and detrimental gender norms and practices in Muslim contexts. She will open a conversation on the implications of this approach and perspective on multidimensional reform work towards equality and justice in the family.

WEBINAR: ‘Your Wife Enjoys Rights Over You’… or Does She? Marriage and Ḥadīth.

What the Ḥadīth says about Muslim marriages in general and the Prophet’s marriages in particular? In this webinar, Yasmin Amin mines the Hadith corpus for a framework for egalitarian Muslim marriage, using a methodology grounded in the Islamic interpretive tradition. She will focus, in particular, on Prophet's Muhammad's marriages to shed light on practices and teachings that emphasize cooperative spousal roles in the marital home; affirm women's needs and rights in intimate spousal relations; and welcome their presence and role in the public sphere. Yasmin Amin reflects on the lessons learned from this Prophetic model of marital relations for present day Muslim efforts to reform juristic rulings and codified family laws that sanction gender hierarchy and women's subjugation in marriage.

16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, 2020

This 16 Days of Activism, Musawah is focussing on the gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in Muslim contexts.

WEBINAR: Hadith and Family Relations: Towards an Ethics of Reciprocity

How can Hadith be a source of egalitarian ethics? How can we develop and apply an ethical context-sensitive reading of the Hadith tradition that leads to gender-equal relationships? In this webinar titled “ Hadith and Family Relations: Towards an Ethics of Reciprocity,” Dr. Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir will explore these questions and propose a reformist methodology that connects the Hadith tradition to Qur’anic ethics and the overarching higher purposes of Islamic theology.

WEBINAR: Muslim Women Creating New Futures: The Campaign for Justice in Muslim Family Laws

In this webinar, titled "Muslim Women Creating New Futures: The Campaign for Justice in Muslim Family Laws," speakers Zainah Anwar, Marwa Sharafeldin, and Hala Al-Karib, with moderator Salomé Gómez-Upegui, discuss the work of Muslim women activists campaigning for egalitarian reform in Muslim family laws across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

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