External Publications
Report from the event "Your Marriage Your Rights"
Introduction
From early on after the inception of Direct Approach it was identified that a key issue facing ME women within the community was Forced Marriage and Honour Based Violence.
It was, however, recognised that this was an exceptionally complex area and any work in the field should be approached with a high level of sensitivity.
Killing in the name of “honour”: The South Asian Community in the Canadian Context
Abstract:
“Honour Killing” is defined as the act of killing a person, usually a female relative (i.e. daughter, wife), who is taught to have brought dishonour to the family by engaging in “unacceptable” sexual behaviours. Studies have shown that those who commit this homicidal act are generally blood related to the victim (i.e. fathers, brothers, cousins, and sometimes other female relatives such as mothers have also been documented as being supporters). Most research and studies on “honour killings” have been conducted in the Middle East and South Asia and just recently in the U.K., Sweden, and Norway. However, little is known about this new social phenomenon in Canada.
Policing Morality: Abuses in the Application of Sharia in Aceh, Indonesia
This documents the experiences of people accused of violating Sharia laws prohibiting "seclusion" and imposing public dress requirements on Muslims. The "seclusion" law makes association by unmarried individuals of the opposite sex a criminal offense in some circumstances.
Guidelines and Activities for a unified approach to sexuality, gender, HIV, and Human Rights Education
It's All One Curriculum, was developed by an international working group comprised of CREA (India), Girl's Power Initiative (Nigeria), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), IPPF/Western Hemisphere Region, International Women's Health Coalition, Mexfam (Mexico), and the Population Council.
Faith-Based Organizations and Service Delivery Some Gender Conundrums
Summary: This paper deals specifically with faith-based organizations (FBOs) delivering services with the aim of contributing to the debates on religious organizations’ engagement with questions of gender. The paper presents no conclusions or generic findings about this heterogeneous group of actors; instead, by flagging a series of conundrums, it questions the ways in which FBOs have been framed as positive agents for the advancement of gender equality.
Source:
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.