External Publications and Resources
The following is a list of publications and resources that have been created by other groups that we find relevant to the VNC Campaign. If you have a publications you would like to share with us, please write to:
Man Made Codifications of Hudud Law
Sisters in Islam acknowledges that the Qur’an has prescribed punishment for the crimes of theft (sariqah), robbery (hirabah), adultery (zina) and slanderous accusation of zina (qazaf). However, Hudud Allah in the Qur’an is a much broader concept, which is neither confined to punishments nor to a legal framework, but provides a comprehensive set of guidelines on moral, legal and religious themes. “The bounds or limits set by God” (2:229)which should not be transgressed, embody all that God orders or forbids, and are not limited to certain punishments as in the Hudud law. The Qur’an uses the term hudud in relation to fasting, inheritance and family laws, in addition to using the word in its general and wider meaning, which embodies all God’s teachings and laws. Unfortunately, provisions under fiqh (human juristic thought and interpretations) have reduced this broad comprehensive concept to mean quantified, mandatory and invariable punishment. Not only that, the Quranic prescription for four offences has been expanded to six in fiqh formulations (to include apostasy and drinking of intoxicants).
Hudud Laws and Its Implication on Women
On the 24th November 1993, the Kelantan State Assembly passed the State’s Syariah Criminal Code (II) Bill 1993 which sought to introduce the imposition of “hudud” laws into the State of Kelantan. This article does not seek to discuss the validity or otherwise of the provisions of that enactment in relation of the provisions of the Federal Constitution or to discuss the overall provisions of the enactment. Rather, it focuses upon certain of the enactment’s specific provisions which have grave implications for women and discusses these implications in relation to the primary sources of Islamic law.
Islamic Legal Tradition and Feminism: Opening a New Dialogue
(This paper was presented at the IV International Congress on Islamic Feminism in Madrid, 21-24 October 2010)
I am delighted to be here, and I would like to thank the organizers, in particular Abdennur Prado, for inviting me to the Fourth Congress on Islamic Feminism. I am sorry that my co-panelist compatriot, Ms Fariba Alasvand, whose scholarship and writings I have been following from afar for some time, was not able to be here. I am grateful to Mr Joaquin Rodriguez for presenting her paper.
Prostitutes of God
In Prostitutes of God, VBS travels deep into the remote villages and towns of Southern India to uncover an ancient system of religious sex slavery dating back to the 6th century. Although the practice was made illegal more than 20 years ago, we discover there are still more than 23,000 women in the state of Karnataka selling their bodies in the name of the mysterious Hindu Goddess Yellamma. They are known as Devadasis, or ‘servants of God’. From city red light districts to rural mud huts, we meet proud brothel madams, HIV positive teenage prostitutes, and gay men in saris. Our intimate exploration into the life of the Devadasi reveals a pseudo-religious system that exploits poverty-stricken families to fuel modern India’s booming sex trade.
Challenges of Change Symposium Considers Religion, Secularism and Rights
A glance at any day's headlines makes it clear that cultures and religions worldwide are and have always been in constant flux. A day-long WLP symposium September 21 in Washington DC sparked debate, laughter, and cheers as participants vowed new commitment to steering that change toward broader human rights for women.
As If We Weren't Human: Discrimination and Violence against Women with Disabilities in Northern Uganda
(Kampala) - Women with disabilities in northern Uganda experience ongoing discrimination and sexual and gender-based violence, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Many are unable to gain access to basic services, including health care and justice, and they have been largely ignored in post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
The 73-page report, "," describes frequent abuse and discrimination by strangers, neighbors, and even family members against women and girls with disabilities in the north. Women interviewed for the report said they were not able to get basic provisions such as food, clothing, and shelter in camps for displaced persons or in their own communities. One woman with a physical disability who lived in such a camp told Human Rights Watch that people said to her, "You are useless. You are a waste of food. You should just die so that others can eat the food." The research was conducted in six districts of northern Uganda - a region recently emerging from over two decades of brutal conflict between the rebel Lord's Resistance Army and the government.
Looser Rein, Uncertain Gain: A Human Rights Assessment of Five Years of King Abdullah’s Reforms in Saudi Arabia
This 52-page report assesses five years of Saudi reforms under King Abdullah from a human rights perspective. It finds that reform has manifested itself chiefly in greater tolerance for diverse opinions and an expanded public role for women, but that royal initiatives have been largely symbolic, with only modest concrete gains or institutional protection for rights.
Negotiating Gender Justice, Contesting Discrimination: Mapping Strategies that Intersect Culture, Women and Human Rights
This report documents diverse strategies adopted by community groups in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Nepal to negotiate women’s rights in the context of culture, while grounding the strategies in the specific political - historic local and national contexts. It looks at secular strategies along with the more recent responses to fundamentalism, that use cultural identity and religious/ cultural resources. The report provides a rich account initiatives that promote culture as relational, transforming, plural and accommodating of women’s rights, and in doing so, challenges dominant static and fundamentalist assertions of culture. This documentation assumes significance in relation to human rights with the creation of the new mandate of the Independent Expert in the field of Cultural Rights in 2009, in that it gives content to the term cultural diversity and participation and contribution to cultural life, both integral part of Cultural Rights.
Rights in Intimate Relationships: Towards an Inclusive and Just Framework of Women's Rights and the Family
The resource book ‘Rights in Intimate Relationships’ seeks to understand rights in intimate relationships within a framework that recognizes rights for all women regardless of their sexuality, marital status, or legality of relationship. In proposing a framework based on ‘intimate relationships’ it moves beyond the boundaries of the exclusivist, marriage centric framework of conjugality in the law. The resource book examines customary and contemporary non normative initimacies in rural and urban India from a feminist perspective, relies upon constitutional, comparative and human rights law, to explore a transformatory rights agenda in respect of the family.
Orders can be placed with PLD
Feminists on the Frontline: Case Studies of Resisting and Challenging Fundamentalisms
This collection of case studies is a testament to the women and men around the world who have stood up to reject the imposition of norms and values in the name of religion as well as to expose and challenge the privileged position given to religion in public policies. In 2008 AWID launched a call for proposals to document the strategies of women's rights activists confronting religious fundamentalisms. The final 18 case studies presented here are drawn from a wide range of religious and geographical contexts, and cover various fields of activism. We hope that this collection will inspire, inform and encourage discussion and debate. Please visit this page again for updates, as finalized case studies and a brief summary of each case study will be posted on a rolling basis. We will also soon be posting a paper that introduces the trends and themes that are threaded through the various case studies.