Muslim Feminists denounce discriminatory family laws

The Second International Conference of Islamic Feminism wrapped up Sunday the 5th in Barcelona with attendance topping 400. The Conference focused on problems with the Shari’ah (Islamic Law) and discriminatory family laws enforced in many Muslim countries. It was a demonstration of the will of feminist women and men of Islam to continue their gender jihad, the struggle against patriarchy within Islam.

For three days, we facilitated an intense exchange of ideas between secular and atheists feminists, Muslims and Christians, women and men of diverse backgrounds and nationalities. Some sessions dealt with polygamy, divorce, family planning and abortion, while others addressed the tensions between Islamic Feminism and Islamism, the Quranic hermeneutics from a Feminist perspective, the perspectives of Islamic Feminism in a lay context, and the current situation of the movement for equality in Islam.

They denounced family law which discriminates against women and called out for collaboration between Feminists of different perspectives, a collaboration which now exists in many places around the globe. In words of Margot Badran, “It is not necessary to be a Muslim woman to consider oneself an Islamic Feminist”.

It has been insisted on the need to connect the academic efforts of women theologians with that of activists who work for the improvement of women’s rights at the grass roots level. According to Sheija Amina Teslima al-Yerrahi, “We must rescue Islam, with all the richness of its spiritual legacy, from the control of reactionary clerics”.

In the closing ceremony, the organizers thanked the audience for their participation. “For Muslims, the debate over gender equality and the place of our religion in the modern world is not capricious, but an ethical imperative,” said the Conference director, Abdennur Prado.

The conclusions for the Conference were drawn up by a committee consisting of Shaheen Sardar Ali (Pakistan), Nayereh Tohidi (Iran), Na’eem Jennah (South Africa), Margot Badran (the United States) and Abdennur Prado and Ndeye Andujar representing the organization. At the end of the Conference, the Catalan Islamic Committee announced the creation of an “Observatory of Islam and Gender” in Spain, dedicated to the promotion of Islamic Feminism on the national as well as the international level. One of the numerous objectives of this Observatory will be to give continuity to the Conference of Islamic Feminism.

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Conclusions of the Second International Conference of Islamic Feminism

We denounce the discriminatory family laws that are enforced in many countries with a Muslim majority.

We voice our commitment to continue the gender jihad for the recovery of the equalitarian message of Islam, the freedom of interpretation and conscience.

Islamic Feminism is an integral part of the Global Feminist Movement.

We denounce all forms of violence against women that are justified in the name of Islam, such as honor crimes, domestic violence, mutilation of female genitalia, stoning and other forms of corporal punishment.

We call for the participation of women in all areas of society. Therefore, we are against all those cultural practices which are not truly Islamic and which inhibit this participation.

We announce the creation of the “Observatory of Islam and Gender” in Spain to be headquartered in Barcelona. This Observatory attempts to consolidate the work of the two International Conferences of Islamic Feminism, to serve as a common ground between intellectuals and Feminist organizations in the Islamic world, and to promote Islamic Feminism in Spain. The Observatory will serve the task of giving continuity to the International Conference of Islamic Feminism.