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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.

WEBINAR: Muslim Family Law Reform: Pathways to Change

How can recent reforms of family laws in Muslim contexts provide ideas and strategies that can be used to advance gender justice? In this webinar, Dr. Jouirou, Professor Welchman and Dr. Sharafeldin will explore ways in which contemporary family laws and legal practices have been reformed in recent years to embrace gender equality. They will share examples of different approaches that reformers have taken around specific issues such as domestic violence, polygyny, and inheritance. They will examine some of the contexts and factors that have enabled change, including the interplay between Muslim legal tradition, human rights, state laws and societal norms, and critically assess strengths, remaining gaps, and possibilities for future reform.

WEBINAR: Indian Muslim Women’s Movement: For Gender Justice and Equal Citizenship

In this webinar, Zakia Soman and Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz, co-founders of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) and co-authors of “Indian Muslim Women’s Movement: For Gender Justice and Equal Citizenship,” will discuss their pioneering activism for equal rights and equal citizenship of Muslim women in India, advocacy strategies, challenges of advocating women’s rights in a Muslim minority context, and linkages with Muslim women’s movements across the globe. Moderated by Alex McCarthy of Musawah, and co-hosted by Harvard Law School’s Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World and Musawah.

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