Equality in Muslim family law on the table
Ati Nurbaiti , THE JAKARTA POST , KUALA LUMPUR | Sun, 02/15/2009 11:48 AM | Headlines
Equality is necessary and possible in Muslim families, and not just
so-called modern women demand such equality, women said Saturday at an
international gathering in Kuala Lumpur.
Equality is necessary because "many aspects of current Muslim laws and
practices are unjust", said Zainah Anwar, a leading activist in
Malaysia and former head of the NGO Sisters in Islam, which hosted the
Global Meeting for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family.
Anwar, also the project director for the musawah (equality) meeting,
said equality and justice in the family is made possible by the coming
together of Islamic teachings, a human rights framework and
constitutional guarantees of those human rights.
At a press conference after the event, she said the perception that
such demands for justice are not made by "traditional" women in rural
areas is "a myth". The meeting of some 250 delegates from 47 countries
which opened Friday runs through Tuesday.
"We met with 2,000 women in rural areas and small towns, many of them
single mothers," Anwar said. "It's easier to talk about equality with
traditional women because they knew instantly what we were talking
about."
"They question the idea of the protective husband, he is missing in action, lost in space," she said.
The gathering, Anwar said, was part of an evolving global movement
which aimed to further Islamic principles of equality and justice.
The fact that the international talks could be held in Malaysia - known
as a democracy but often considered "difficult" regarding Islamic
issues, as one local journalist put it - "shows there is space in
Malaysia to talk about Islam" and national policies, Anwar said.
Organizers decided to limit media access to just the opening and
closing plenary sessions, keeping a close hold on the sensitive central
aim of the global event: reform of Muslim family law.
Organizers on Friday launched the publication of Home Truths: A global
report on equality in the Muslim family, documenting experiences from
30 countries including Indonesia. The report also describes
developments in laws and policies in these countries as they relate to
family law and women's rights.
In her keynote speech UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
Yakin Ert*rk said that although she had found "impressive levels" of
equality between men and women, "women continue to be subordinated and
subjected to abuse."
Ert*rk raised concerns over proposed regionally and religiously based
frameworks on human rights, such as the "Islamic alternative" to the
international Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women to be put forward during the upcoming gathering of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference.
While some say such frameworks may be useful in enabling more
enforcement of human rights, Ert*rk said they should be "monitored
closely by women's rights groups so their rights are not subordinated
to the common good".
Ahead of the ASEAN summit later this month, chair of Indonesia's
women's rights body Kamala Chandrakirana said Southeast Asian leaders
should involve the voices of women. She said this would ensure that the
ASEAN Human Rights Charter would "actually provide meaningful change"
for women.
Among the speakers on Saturday was the scholar Amina Wadud, the woman
imam from the United States, who has stirred up controversy for leading
congressional prayers, a role commonly understood to be only filled by
men. She said it was the "duty" of Muslims as responsible "human agents
of Allah" to work toward the route to "partnership" as provided in the
Koran, away from the domination of patriarchy.