We stand in solidarity with the women and girls of Afghanistan, who have faced a devastating and systematic rollback of
Our Statement is also available in Arabic. We at Musawah, a global movement working for equality and justice in the Muslim
We are appalled that 17 Muslim MPs in Sri Lanka opposed progressive reforms to the MMDA presented in the draft Bill put forward by the Ministry of Justice. Their regressive positions on MMDA reforms include rejecting equal divorce procedures, rejecting 18 to be the minimum age of marriage without exception, rejecting equal sharing of matrimonial property, maintaining discrimination between different sects/madhabs, not allowing validity of a bride’s signature in the absence of a male guardian, maintaining the Quazi system as it currently stands, and excluding Muslim women from holding public office under the MMDA.
The Musawah movement and SAHR jointly condemn in the strongest possible terms the Taliban’s decision to ban women and girls from studying at public and private universities in Afghanistan indefinitely, and the order to close schools for girls above the sixth grade.
We at Musawah, a global movement working for equality and justice in the Muslim family, are appalled by the use of Islam to justify the institutionalisation of violence and discrimination against women and the constant policing of their bodies. We find this in total contradiction to the spirit and letter of our faith. Mahsa’s death comes on the heels of intensified repressive state policies that have targeted women’s bodies with impunity.
Our Statement of Solidarity is also available in Arabic: بيان مشترك للتضامن والدعوة للعمل ودعم السودانيين The Musawah
We at the Musawah movement write in a rapidly changing context as the Taliban are on the cusp of seizing the city of Kabul. We stand in solidarity with our sisters, partners and advocates in Afghanistan. We are horrified at the injustices and harm already experienced by the Afghan people, and even more so in the last few weeks. As a Muslim feminist organisation and a leader in the movement for gender justice and equality in the global Muslim community, we know too well the structural and entrenched barriers Afghan women and girls face to live a life free from violence and harm.
On International Day of Families 2021, the Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law calls on UN member States to work with Generation Equality Forum Action Coalitions and civil society to accelerate their efforts to repeal or reform discriminatory family laws as soon as possible, and by no later than 2030. Discriminatory family laws are at the heart of women’s unequal status within the family, and underpin their unequal treatment in society.
Musawah, the global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family, submitted a statement to the 2021 United Nations Economic and Social Council High-level Segment (HLS) on the necessity to reform discriminatory Muslim family laws.
