Seher: a New Dawn Breaks
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Seher: A New Dawn Breaks The Story of IFES’ Muslim Women’s Empowerment Program in India Vasu Mohan and Dr. Suraiya Tabassum Seher: A New Dawn Breaks The Story of IFES’ Muslim Women’s Empowerment Program in India Vasu Mohan Dr. Suraiya Tabassum Seher: A New Dawn Breaks Copyright © 2016 International Foundation for Electoral Systems. All rights reserved. Permission Statement: No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of IFES. Requests for permission should include the following information: • A description of the material for which permission to copy is desired. • The purpose for which the copied material will be used and the manner in which it will be used. • Your name, title, company or organization name, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address and mailing address. Please send all requests for permission to: International Foundation for Electoral Systems 2011 Crystal Drive, 10th Floor Arlington, VA 22202 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 202.350.6701 All photos are property of IFES Muslim Women’s Initiative poster with statement on the Equality of Women and Men in the Holy Qur’an in Urdu, Kannada, Hindi and English. A verse from the Holy Qur’an on the same topic in Arabic is printed within the arch. Muslim Women’s Initiative poster with statement on the Equality of Women and Men in the Consti- tution of India in Urdu, Kannada, Hindi and English. The Preamble of the Constitution of India is printed within the arch. A Word from the Authors | i TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................................iv About the Authors ....................................................................................................................................v A Word from the Authors ..................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction ...........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Muslim Women in India Historical, Political and Socio-Economic Context to and Impact of the Marginalization and Exclusion of Muslim Women in India ..................................................................................................7 Chapter 3: The Muslim Women’s Initiative An Innovative Model for Social, Economic and Political Empowerment ........................................17 Chapter 4: The Change Outcomes of the Muslim Women’s Initiative .................................................................................. 39 Chapter 5: Equal Partners in Democratic Inclusion An Assessment of the Effects of the Muslim Women’s Initiative on Sense of Citizenship (With Sarah Bibler) ...................................................................................................................................................47 Chapter 6: Engaging men and boys as partners ..................................................................................59 Chapter 7: Lessons Learned and Recommendations ..........................................................................65 Chapter 8: Interview 1: Speak Out. Do Not Be Afraid. Zubeida’s Story ............................................75 Chapter 9: Interview 2: Voice of Change Asma’s Story .......................................................................91 Chapter 10: Interview 3: Resolver of Disputes Munni Begum’s Story ............................................. 103 Chapter 11: Interview 4: An Unlikely Candidate Nazni Begum’s Story with cohorts Hasnath Mansur and Farrukh Sultana ............................................................................................................................ 111 Annex 1: A Selection of Verses Pertaining to Women in the Holy Qur’an ................................... 121 Annex 2: Profiles of MWI Partner Organizations and Social Activists ......................................... 140 Annex 3: Content at the Informational Workshops ......................................................................... 144 Annex 4: Further Reading ................................................................................................................... 147 ii | Seher: A New Dawn Breaks FOREWORD Assalamu Alaikkum! I am delighted to introduce this important work authored by Mr. Vasu Mohan and Dr. Suraiya Tabassum. The IFES Muslim Women’s Initiative (MWI) reached over 30,000 women and men in eleven districts of Karnataka and Rajasthan and made a significant contribution to the enhancement of gender equality. This book captures lessons from this important program and interviews with some of the brave women who are torch bearers of change. I have witnessed many projects and programs to support women. MWI is unique in that it draws from the Holy Qur’an and the Indian Constitution to empower women. This thoughtful combination of the sacred and the secular to empower women has had a transformative effect in the whole community. I participated in this program in many places in Rajasthan such as Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Tonk, and Bhilwara and witnessed the impact of MWI on the community. One important thing I observed was that this program focused on Muslim women and also included men, youth and children. The effect of this program has spread exponentially beyond the participants. They have become catalytic agents of change. Even those who initially opposed the program, ultimately realized the truth and began supporting it. With all my confidence, I can say that such a success was achieved due to the guidance of Mr. Vasu Mohan and supervision of Dr. Suraiya Tabassum. They deserve my best compliments. I wish the authors, MWI participants and readers the best in their endeavors to promote equality. May almighty God bless them with great success! K.D. Khan Rajasthan Administrative Service Officer (Retired) Nazim, Khwaja Gharibnawaz Dargah, Ajmer (Retired) Director, Arabic and Persian Research Institute, Government of Rajasthan, Ajmer (Retired) Foreword | iii FOREWORD Assalamu Alaikkum! It is my pleasure to write a foreword to Sehr: A New Dawn Breaks, written by Vasu Mohan and Dr. Suraiya Tabassum and published by IFES. First, I congratulate Dr. Suraiya Tabassum and the IFES team for implementing this unique and successful program. The Muslim Women’s Initiative has been a great source of encouragement and empowerment of Muslim women and men. I was privileged to be involved with the program since its inception and have traveled to several locations to give my input as a senior lawyer specializing in family law. Women who came to the MWI workshops first came without any knowledge. When they got some knowledge they gained confidence. When they gained confidence they wanted to access and assert their rights. They helped each other access these rights through the groups that MWI formed. MWI always saw these women as powerful agents of change. Not victims of oppression. Through MWI they became powerful. Their power came from Justice, the Rule of Law, the Constitution of India, the Holy Qur’an and their mutual support for each other. This was the secret of their success. Through this book, I hope the message of MWI spreads all over India and all over the world. Attorney Neelofar Akhtar Special Invitee, Muslim Personal Law Board of India Senior Advocate, Bombay High Court iv | Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank their families and friends for their encouragement and support and their IFES colleagues for their wise counsel and participation in the production of this book. These are truly our humsafars – our fellow travelers. Specifically, the authors wish to acknowledge Katherine Ellena and Terry Rogers for their support in research and editing this document in its earlier versions, Sarah Bibler and Dr. Meeta Singh for their contribution in post-project interviews and focus group research, Lynn Carter for her support to MWI in its early days as the USAID Agreements Officer’s Technical Representative, and for review of the focus group research and recommendations chapters, Terry Rogers and Tara Sharma for their leadership of the IFES Women’s Legal Rights Initiative of which MWI was a core component, and Rose Marie Berger and Enid Harlow, for their diligent copy editing. The authors owe a debt of gratitude to Margaret Mattinson for her extensive review and editing in the final phases of the book, to Subha Mohan for proofreading, transcribing interviews, printing coordination and planning the release event, to Leena El Ali, Juliette Schmidt and Erica Shein for their review and helpful comments, to Shankar Subramanian for photography, and to Sandy Ngo, Jacqueline Jackson and Melika Atic for the layout. Most importantly, the authors salute the courage of the women and men they had the privilege to work with under the IFES Muslim Women’s Initiative. They are our heroes and this book is all theirs. We are honored to tell this story. With all our love, gratitude and prayers, Vasu Mohan and Suraiya Tabassum About the Authors | v ABOUT THE AUTHORS Vasu Mohan currently serves as IFES’ Regional Director for Asia Pacific. Over the past 17 years he has worked