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TRANSNATIONAL ADVOCACY NETWORKS OF MUSLIM WOMEN: ORGANISATION OBJECTIVES & COUNTERMOVEMENTS IN THE NATIONAL & TRANSNATIONAL ARENA

 

INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP - July 20, 2012, Philipps University,

Marburg, Germany

Organisers: Claudia Derichs and Dana Fennert, Institute of Political
Science, Philipps University Marburg

 

Contact: dana.fennert@staff.uni-marburg.de

 

The workshop is connected to a research project that addresses the
emergence and expansion of transnational advocacy networks of Muslim
women. Taking Musawah for Equaltiy in the Family, a transnational
network of Muslim women, as a case in point, the workshop discusses the
dynamic of movement and countermovement formation on the transnational
level. It is expected to enhance the social movement studies which have
until now paid only little attention to the constellation of original
movements and countermovements at the transnational level. Musawah’s
networking activity is oriented towards reforms of Islamic/Muslim family
laws.

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Transnational Advocacy Networks of Muslim Women: Organisation, objectives and countermovements in the national and transnational arena

Funded through Gerda Henkel Foundation (2010-2012), supervised by Prof. Dr. Claudia Derichs and handled by Dana Fennert 

Overview

  • Focus of study: Islamic TANs and their countermovements
  • Case study: the network Musawah
  • Countries examined: Malaysia, Morocco
  • Theoretical background: social movement research (structures of political opportunity, transnational networks etc.)
  • Methods: mostly qualitative, supported by quantiative data

Background, research questions and method

The project examines the relationship of a transnational advocacy network and the potential formation of a transnational countermovement to it, using the case study of the network Musawah for Equality in the Family. Musawah is the name of an organisation of women from various Islamic / Muslim-majority countries. The organisation’s objective is the achievement of (gender) equality in the Muslim family. In the pursuit of this goal, the particular targets of reform are the Muslim Family Laws in the respective countries, which are shari’a-based and whose content varies from one nation-state to another. Musawah came into being through a Malaysian initiative that strives to aggregate reform efforts beyond the nation’s borders. The idea is to cooperate with organisations in other countries, to formulate common strategies, exchange experiences and carry out lobby work. In the research project, Musawah is identified as a transnational advocacy network (TAN) – distinguishing this form of organisation from, for instance, transnational social movements and other formats of transnational cooperation. Musawah’s reform struggle is strongly informed by the successful reform movement of women in Morocco. For the time being, Morocco’s Muslim Family Law, called Moudawana, is the most progressive personal status code in the Muslim world.

Since Musawah enjoys considerable international publicity and receives support from feminist (religious and secular) movements in particular, the formation of a countermovement run by Islamist groups is likely. The relationship between transnational networks and their countermovements is rarely researched. The project wants to fill this gap and

Field work for the project will be conducted in Morocco and Malaysia. Desk work will be conducted mainly in Germany, in correspondence with conference participation and workshop organisation. The core publication will be a PhD thesis on the topic.