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Facing Fundamentalisms

April-May 2011Newsletter

 

 

Updates, Analysis and Resources from AWID's Strategic Initiative

Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms  

  

 

 

As the world waits to see the outcome of the uprisings in the region, in which way will the influence of fundamentalist and extremist groups play out in the new MENA? Will the unity shown during the revolutions spill over to a national cohesion that resists sectarianism? How far will inequality and injustice prevail in the new structures that emerge, if/when they do?

 

For more on this, please see the spotlight below. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARTIVISM

D.U.C.K.: Designers United for a Cause, Karachi

Last month we asked for examples of "artivism" in resistance to religious fundamentalisms. One great example we received was about D.U.C.K. in Karachi, Pakistan. Their Facebook page has many inspiring examples.

 

Lines of Resistance: Prison Art from the Middle East 

 Lines of Resistance is a mixed media work produced by former political prisoners from the Middle East, notably Iran, as well as artists standing in solidarity with them. The exhibition is an instance of visualizing atrocities committed by states in the region including Israel. These works were exhibited at Beit Zatoun in Toronto, Canada, and can be seen at Memories, Memoirs, and the Arts.  

 

We welcome more submissions; please write us at cf@awid.org.

 

 

COMING SOON 

In the next editions of Facing Fundamentalisms, we hope to bring you some highlights of the work being done on religious fundamentalisms by different organizations. For now we are looking to highlight work being done in the Middle East and North Africa region. If you have a suggestion for an initiative to highlight in the next newsletter, please write to us at cf@awid.org.

 

 

WHO WE ARE

AWID's Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms Initiative is an advocacy-research project that seeks to strengthen the responses of women's rights activists to the rise of religious fundamentalisms across regions and religions. It hopes to foster a deeper understanding of the way fundamentalist movements work, grow and undermine women's rights, and to contribute to strategic thinking, dialogue and advocacy.   

 

Learn more about the Initiative and view our online publications. 

Many are available in Spanish and French.


To share your thoughts and feedback on the research,
write to us at

cf@awid.org.

 

 

 

FACING FUNDAMENTALISMS NEWSLETTER

We hope you find the Facing Fundamentalisms newsletter useful. Please keep forwarding to your contacts so we can share the analysis and experiences of women's rights activists resisting fundamentalisms as widely as possible. 

 

Don't forget to send any feedback you would like to share to cf@awid.org.

 

Visit our website to sign up online or if you

 experience problems, subscribe or unsubscribe by writing to cf@awid.org.

 

 

 

 

Join us!

 

Join us at the 2012 AWID International Forum "Transforming Economic Power to Advance Women's Rights and Justice"

 

Contribute to shaping the conversation - and the strategies - at the 2012 AWID Forum by submitting a proposal to organize a session.

 

Deadline for Proposals: 

27 May 2011

 

For more information about the AWID Forum click here.

 

If you have any questions, email forum12@awid.org.

 

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Take advantage of reduced membership rates?  

 Resources & Analysis  

 

Towards a Future Without Fundamentalisms Report Launch

A summary of the presentations and discussions of the panel session "Towards a Future Without Fundamentalisms" held in New York at the 55th CSW is now available. Panellists from Catolicas por el derecho a decidir-Mexico, Women Living Under Muslim Laws, and Soulforce shared their experiences and strategies from a range of contexts. 

 

Cultures, Traditions and Violence Against Women: Human Rights Challenges

This presentation by Farida Shaheed, Independent Expert in the field of cultural rights, entitled "Cultures, Traditions and Violence Against Women: Human Rights Challenges" was given during the 16th session of the Human Rights Council, in a panel on Cultures, Traditions and VAW: Human Rights Challenges.  

 

Feminist Review Examines Religion and Spirituality

For the first time in its history, Feminist Review is focusing on religion and spirituality in an edition edited by Lyn Thomas and Avtar Brah, and including discussions on how secularization is being re-thought from the perspective of gender.

 

Jewish. Orthodox. Feminist. Israeli.

Orthodox Jewish feminists may seem to outsiders to be a contradiction in terms. But as Cassandra Balchin discovers while talking with Israeli Orthodox Jewish feminist Dr. Debbie Weissman, Jewish politics in Israel is anything but straightforward. For the full article please click here.

 

The New Family Code Of Mali And Why Its Promulgation Has Been Delayed

The Personal Status and Family Code of Mali was adopted in 2009 by the National Assembly, but promulgation by the President of Mali has been delayed due to the mobilization of Muslim religious organizations opposed to it. AWID interviewed Djingarey Ibrahim Maiga, of Femmes et Droits Humains, and Yaba Tamboura, of Collectif des Femmes du Mali (COFEM) on the status of the law.

 

New Resource from VNC & APC-WNSP: Strategizing Online Activism Toolkit 

While the Strategizing Online Activism Toolkit has been designed primarily for the local partners and activists of the Violence is Not our Culture campaign, this can be a resource, too, for human rights activists who are keen to develop their online activism and want to know where and how to to start.  

 

For more analysis and resources, click here. 

 

Spotlight - What's Next for Egypt?Spotlight

 

The demands for freedom, equality and justice of the protestors of Tahrir Square gave hope for an alternative vision of society. However, research into religious fundamentalisms clearly shows that they are opportunistic forces that capitalize on political instability and benefit from a lack of viable political options. 

 

Many observers felt that the referendum on the limited constitutional amendments in March underscored the relative organizational strength of the Muslim Brotherhood and remnants of the National Democratic Party and the institutional weakness of progressive forces. They were also a signal that despite the inclusive spirit of revolutionary change, patriarchal forces in society remain firmly entrenched.

 

With that in mind, here are some developments to watch:  

 

1. The lead-up to and outcome of the elections slated for September 2011 in Egypt. To what extent will women and their rights/agendas be integrated into the political process through quotas, political parties, representation, leadership, or otherwise?  What political inroads will the Muslim Brotherhood and/or other regressive forces make either formally or through alliances?

 

2. To what extent will Egypt's new Constitution ensure equal protection for women's rights and promote the values of diversity and plurality?   

 

3. The uprisings and demands for change in other countries in the region such as Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and Libya. What will be the impact of violent government crackdowns and interventions by actors such as the USA, Saudi Arabia, Israel and NATO?  In which way will such interventions affect women's rights?  How will the political landscape in the region change as a result?

 

For additional analysis and commentary, please refer to the following:

 

MENA: Promise and Peril: Women and the 'Arab Spring'

 

MENA: Women's Rights Are Human Rights, But Will the Revolution Be Equal? 

 

Egypt: Statement on cancellation of the Women's Quota by the Egyptian Coalition for Civil Education and Women's Participation

 

Egypt: The Real Fight to Come: For Egyptian Activists the Revolution Has Just Begun

 

Egypt: Path to women's equality passes through Constitution

 

Egypt: A Fresh Democratic Wind Blows from Women in Tahrir Square

 

Egypt: Interview with Amal Abdel Hadi, New Woman Foundation, "Previous claims that women's voices should not be heard, all of this has been smashed during the revolution." 

 

Egypt: Two Years of Sectarian Violence: What happened? Where do we begin? An Analytical Study of Jan 2008-Jan 2010

 

Tunisia: Women will not allow their rights to be ignored during the transition 

 

Syria: Watch out compromises against the Syrian Women! The government is ready to sell them cheaply!

 

Chapter 1: The Rise in Religious Fundamentalisms: Understanding the Causes, Towards a Future without Fundamentalisms

 

 

Events & Campaigns

 

Count me in! CREA's conference 

AWID's session "In the Name of Religion: Women on the Margins Resisting Fundamentalism" was held in Katmandu, Nepal on April 17, 2011. This interactive panel looked at both the impact of religious fundamentalisms on marginalized communities across different regions in the world as well as the resistance they have offered in turn. For more details on the CREA conference, click here.

 

Religion, Belief and Women's Human Rights

The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia hosted a policy forum on Religion, Belief, and Women's Human Rights in early April. Click here to read the statement delivered by Ms. Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, delivered at the forum.

 

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO): May 17, 2011

A coalition of groups from Latin America and the Caribbean launched a new campaign called "Cures That Kill" aims at fighting so-called "reparative" therapies, aiming at "curing" sexual and gender diversity. 

Sign the petition and spread the word! 

 

The IDAHO Committee "As I Am" aims to celebrate our individualities and honour the collective spirit that binds us all, connecting us to universal, inalienable and interconnected human rights that all people share. The campaign invites submissions of creative videos, pieces of artwork, or written statements about respecting a person for ALL of who they are. Join the global movement and spread this call for action. Click here for more information on IDAHO campaign activities and events in various countries.  

 

 

Urgent Actions

There are a number of urgent actions and appeals which relate to challenging fundamentalisms - join the resistance and pass them on. Click on the links below to read more...

 

Iran: Urgent Action from The Observatory on the Arbitrary Detention of Maryam Bahreman and Mahbubeh Karami

Egypt: AOHR Statement on Death Threat against Human Rights Defender Nehad Abu al-Komsan, click here for Front Line's urgent action

Malaysia: Petition to shut down "sissy boot camps"

USA: Petition in Support of Fr. Roy Bourgeois

Hungary: TAKE ACTION! Write to Hungarian PM calling for respect for women's sexual and reproductive rights!

USA: I Stand with Planned Parenthood fundraising campaign

Iran: New NGO law would greaten risks for activists 

 

 

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