During the height of the Danish
cartoon controversy, Canadian media interviewed male Muslim leaders exclusively,
without bothering to seek out leaders among Muslim women. It's a given that
Muslim leaders are men, preferably with beards.
Haideh Moghissi, a sociology professor at York University, says that
rigid, unforgiving and sexist voices are considered valid voices by Western
media. When a Muslim woman speaks out or assumes a leadership role, she's called
militant.
Yet the struggle for sexual equality and leadership among Muslim women is
gaining strength around the world.
Harvard University recently held a seminar titled "Emerging Forms of
Muslim Women's Leadership."
Among the panellists was Sarah Eltantawi, a young Muslim doctoral
candidate at the university and a media commentator on American-Muslim Affairs
and Middle East policy who writes on counterterrorism for Upfront and
The New York Times.
She spoke about the importance of a dialogue of civilizations as someone
who has been part of U.S.-Islam dialogue in Qatar.
The dialogue continued at The Union Theological Seminary at Columbia
University in New York where a diverse panel of Muslim women to spoke about
leadership.
Among them were Aisha al-Adawiya, an African American Muslim who founded
the advocacy organization Women in Islam Inc., and Shqipe Malushi, a Sufi poet
and writer from Kosovo and Nureen Qureshi, a young TV anchor and head hunter for
IT from Mississauga. These women are movers and shakers working at the
grassroots level, creating dialogue and safe spaces for other Muslim women.
They believe that if men won't allow Muslim women their rights, then
Islam will; all they have to do is reclaim what was originally given to them by
the Prophet Muhammad.
This populist women's movement in Islam also has traction in Europe. At
an early celebration of International Women's Day, the International Federation
of Women Against Fundamentalism and for Equality (WAFE ) held a conference in
Paris.
Formed after 9/11, WAFE asserts that fundamentalism in all faiths has
emerged as the biggest challenge for humanity. The battle for sexual equality
and emancipation can't be separated from the fight against extremism, its
members say.
The conference, titled "Women's leadership: Indispensable to the struggle
against fundamentalism," was supported by 15 European organizations.
Discussions ranged from fundamentalism as it exists in many faiths today
to the challenges of female leadership, but the main focus was rise of
fundamentalism in the Muslim world.
The international solidarity network Women Living Under Muslim Laws has
identified anti-female policies as one of the warning signs of rising
fundamentalism.
Whether it's abortion bans in U.S., opposition head scarves in Europe or
forced veiling by the Taliban, whether its limiting women's freedom of movement
or their rights to education and work under dictatorial regimes, the leaders of
these movements are always men, and the victims are always women.
The women, however, are insistent on making their voices heard.
The speakers at the Paris gathering were from a variety of religions and
countries — United States, Canada, Australia, France, Britain, Germany, Belgium,
Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, India and Iraq as well as
representatives of the National Council of the Resistance of Iran — and included
members of parliament from several European countries. They were all of the view
that religious fanatics exist in every faith and that women have been exploited
by religious leaders for centuries.
In her opening remarks, Dame Elizabeth Sydney, chair of the International
Federation Against Fundamentalism and for Equality, said, "Gender equality
brings great many benefits ... it introduces an enormous amount of talent and
energy into society. Under the fundamentalist regime, women are violently
prevented from using their abilities. But the release of 50 per cent of human
talent will raise standards for all of us."
In a video message, Maryam Rajavi of the Iranian Resistance said that
Islamic fundamentalism is the biggest threat to the equality movement and
therefore finding a way to confront the imminent danger of religious fascism
ruling Iran is an urgent imperative.
Asked how to defeat Islamic fundamentalism and misogyny, Rajavi
responded: "You have to eliminate the male-dominated culture as an inhumane
culture, through women leadership. Accordingly, the establishment of democracy
without the active role of women in society's leadership is impossible or at
best retractable."
Adding their insights were Prof. Carole Fontaine of Boston's Andover
Newton Theological School who called "fundamentalist patriarchy" a disease;
Sushma Dilip-Pankule, representative of the International League of Women For
Peace and Freedom in India, who pointed out the major role fundamentalism plays
in female infanticide, dowry deaths, child marriage and sati, all of which
continue despite government restrictions; Anissa Boumedienne, a lawyer, writer,
and wife of the late Algerian President Houari Boumedienne strongly promoted
education for women; Swiss Parliamentary Deputy Salika Wenger, who said that
it's popular for politicians to discuss fundamentalism without doing anything to
fight it; and Hoda Shaker Maarouf Al-Naimi, a professor of political science in
Iraq, who elaborated on "the suffering of Iraqi women in an atmosphere of
fundamentalist domination and in the absence of tolerance for diverse
viewpoints."
Canadian Muslim women's voices were also heard this past weekend at a
conference at Michigan State University titled "Islam and Gender: Social Change
and Cultural Diversity in Muslim Communities."
Among the presenters was Jasmin Zine, an assistant professor of sociology
at Wilfred Laurier University. She spoke about identity issues and the education
of Muslim girls in Canada, both in Islamic and public schools
Western media would do well to keep these women's names on file for the
next time they need a Muslim spokesperson to comment on current events.
Raheel Raza is a media
consultant.