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Women Leading Change Leading Women SPECIAL REPORT SPECIAL SPECIAL REPORT Women Leading Change This collection of essays was developed as part of a project at the Wellesley Centers for Women, “Women’s Leadership Network: Women’s Political, Public, and Economic Participation in the Muslim World.” Introduction by: Rangita de Silva-de Alwis, SJD Director of International Human Rights Policy Programs, Wellesley Centers for Women (2010) . THE NANCY GERTNER HUMAN RIGHTS PAPER COLLECTION On the occasion of the 35th Anniversary of the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) in 2009-2010, WCW was honored to dedicate the Human Rights Paper Series to The Honorable Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, in recognition of her contributions to the Centers’ work and to her tireless commitment to women and the law in the U.S. and around the world. Learn more about the Wellesley Centers for Women project, “Women’s Leadership Network: Women’s Political, Public, and Economic Participation in the Muslim World” at: www.wcwonline.org/muslimworldleaders Women Leading Change A collection of essays from women leaders advancing justice in the Muslim world This collection was developed as part of a project at the Wellesley Centers for Women, “Women’s Leadership Network: Women’s Political, Public, and Economic Participation in the Muslim World.” These analyses* are the work of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College, or other Network members. Introduction by: Rangita de Silva-de Alwis, SJD Director of International Human Rights Policy Programs Wellesley Centers for Women This work was funded with generous support from Lynn Dixon Johnston and Robert F. Johnston. The Wellesley Centers for Women acknowledges the assistance of Stephanie Tung, Wellesley College alumna, and Lara Yeo, Wellesley College student. *These essays have been edited for clarity and formatting. © 2010 Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College Women Leading Change: A collection of essays from women leaders advancing justice in the Muslim world Table of Contents Introduction—Rangita de Silva-de Alwis..............................................................3 Zarizana Abdul Aziz........................................................................................... 22 Islam in Constitutional and Legal Frameworks of Nation States Salma Ali............................................................................................................. 46 Addressing Violence Against Women in Bangladesh Myriam Aucar......................................................................................................60 Women’s Participation in the Public Life of Lebanon Leila Baishina..................................................................................................... 68 Political Role of Women in a Predominantly Muslim World Experience of Kazakhstan Ferdous Ara Begum...........................................................................................78 Ageing and the Discrimination Against Older Women’s Human Rights: An Analysis from the Perspective of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Fatema Khafagy..................................................................................................92 Challenges Facing Arab Women with a Special Focus on Family Laws Moushira Khattab.............................................................................................104 My Journey Continues Siti Musdah Mulia ............................................................................................109 Toward Just Marital Law: Empowering Indonesian Women 2 Introduction Rangita de Silva-de Alwis “The written word is the most powerful tool we have to protect ourselves, both from the tyrants of the day or from our traditions. Whether it is the story teller of the legend of Scheherazade, staving off beheading by spinning a thousand and one tales…. Or lawyers like me, who defend the powerless…women have for centuries relied on words to transform reality.”- - Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Prize Winner Iran Awakening: A Lawyer’s Look at Women’s Human Rights in Iran Claiming Their Rights: Women in Muslim Societies The Women's Leadership Network: Women's Political, Public, & Economic Participation in the Muslim World was founded in the fall of 2009 with the belief that transnational information- sharing networks can help strengthen partnerships between and across disciplines, regions, communities and national boundaries; thereby reinforcing a more dynamic understanding of women’s leadership in the world. One of the unique facets of this Network is the way it strives to create partnerships between and across regions, nationalities and traditional alliances in the Middle East, North Africa, and South and Central Asia. Despite the fact that there is little homogeneity in these countries, all of them are influenced by/ruled by a construction of gender that has been informed by Muslim law. The Network, although facilitated by the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW), was conceived by partners around the world who sought transnational networks to advance their common goals. This transnational Network was created to share information and scholarship as a way to weave together a common platform of action. The working papers in this collection are the contribution of the steering committee members and are emblematic of their work. These papers both join and respond to the call for Islamic feminism as part of a modernist movement bent on contextualizing Islam. The women leaders in this Network are at the forefront of reform across the Muslim world and are mining the egalitarian core of Islamic jurisprudence. Women’s struggle for equality and basic rights has been intensified by the rise of a male- dominated Islam that too often defines women’s empowerment as anti-Islamic or Western cultural imperialism. The women leaders featured in this volume embrace a progressive interpretation of Islam to support women’s rights. These leaders are working both within the tenets of Islam and the universal human rights framework to make changes for women and to broaden the frontiers of economic, political, and educational participation for women. These efforts are critical to bridging the conflict between those championing reform and those seeking to oppress women in the name of religious tradition. The members of our Network are on the frontlines leading reform in their countries and are among the most influential feminist thinkers in the Islamic world. These essays are on-the-ground experiences of women who are 3 driving change and using a modernist interpretation of Islam to promote opportunities for women. These women leaders are catalyzing a women’s empowerment process to change the terms of the religious and political debate and reclaim women’s voices within Islam instead of silencing them. In the last few years we have seen an unprecedented growth in the debates surrounding the role of women in countries with a critical majority of Muslims. This has been defined and marked by the growth of women’s movements at the local level and the emergence of transnational feminist networks working at the regional and global level. Building these connections across and beyond local movements has become a powerful process by which to realize the transformative potential of women’s leadership. These new networks also afford an opportunity to deliberate and strategize anew and the transnational networks help raise these issues beyond the domestic sphere. The Network brings together women from 15 countries where Muslims form a critical majority and Shariah law or Islamic religious tenets inform and animate law and custom. This volume celebrates the work of these women who are at the forefront of change in their countries. At the at the helm of politics, public service, scholarship, business and law in their countries, these women are challenging patriarchal traditions, and claiming the human rights of women. They have redefined some of the most urgent problems of our times and transcended boundaries. They have all left their mark on national laws and policy on issues such as: trafficking in women and children, domestic violence, and children’s rights laws. They have challenged sexual harassment, honor crimes, acid-related crimes, and gender discrimination in all its variant forms both in and outside courts. These women have given voice to gender issues that were silenced and erased from public discussion and thus validated the voices of all. They have put their lives at risk to defend principles of justice and equality. They are re-imagining these laws and religious norms in more egalitarian and democratic ways and have thus pierced the veil of parochial sovereignty in relation to chauvinistic laws that are legitimized in the name of tradition. Some have created important moments of resistance, changed paradigms, created new movements, and catalyzed international norms. They have rewritten the rules in the image of women, men, and children. These essays focus on the often-excluded perspectives of women’s experiences and examine how those experiences can inform change. These essays provide a unique window through which to examine some of the great political changes of our times taking place in countries either governed by Muslim law or with a Muslim majority. The relationship between the historical, the social and political context of these narratives are particularly powerful given their impact on women. While generating
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