WUNRN
Canadian Council of Muslim Women
Direct Link to Full 198-Page 2013
Report:
Website also offers French
translation of text.
CANADA - VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN -
HEALTH & JUSTICE FOR CANADIAN MUSLIM WOMEN
Violence against women and girls remains
one of the most persistent and devastating assaults on human dignity and
violation of human rights worldwide. According to reports from UN Women, in
some parts of the globe it is estimated that 7 in 10 women will experience
physical abuse, rape or mutilation in their life time.
To address this reality the Canadian
Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) announces our publication entitled “Violence
Against Women: Health and Justice for Canadian Muslim Women.” Written by Pamela
Cross (JD/LLB) and funded by the Status of Women Canada, the publication
focuses on four forms of violence: domestic violence, femicide (honour based
violence), forced marriage and female genital cutting/mutilation (FGM/FGC) and
analyzes the international and Canadian context of these practices.
Since its inception, CCMW has maintained that any form
of violence committed against women in the name of religion or Islam cannot be
tolerated and must be resisted. We are pleased to include in this publication a
foreword by Dr. Asma Barlas (Ithaca College) which outlines the Islamic
perspective on violence against women and the need for a more gender equal,
emancipatory and critical reading of religious texts and practices.
Contents of Publication
·
Foreword: Challenging Violence Against
Muslim Women - Dr. Asma Barlas Introduction
·
Violence Against Women in the Family
·
Femicide
·
Forced Marriage
·
Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation
The four essays found in this book provide the reader with an in depth discussion of the existing legal practices, policy infrastructures and community initiatives to combat these forms of violence and suggestions for steps forward. This publication represents a call to action for policy makers, community leaders, service providers, legal professionals, health care practitioners, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
The publication is the first stage of CCMW’s two year project on VAW and Muslim communities. The second phase will include train the trainer workshops and the development of toolkits for community members and service providers (to be released this December). We encourage you to read our publication and share it with your colleagues, community leaders and family members and help support this project.
About the Publication’s Authors
Asma Barlas is professor of Politics and Director of the Center
for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity, at
Pamela Cross is a feminist lawyer who works in the violence
against women sector. She is well known and respected in legal reform
circles, particularly for her expertise on family law issues as they
relate to violence against women.
Pamela has worked as a researcher,
writer, educator and trainer on the topic of violence against women and
the law for many years. She is a member of the teaching faculty with the
National Judicial Institute, where she plans and delivers
educational programs on violence against women to Canadian judges and has
recently completed the development of violence against women curriculum
for law schools in a project with the Law Commission of Ontario. Pamela
has worked with the Canadian Council of Muslim Women in the past, most
notably as the co-author of “Muslim and Canadian Family Laws: A Comparative
Primer,” as well as delivering workshops on family law to CCMW members.
Pamela’s most recent paper is “It Shouldn’t Be This Hard: a gender-based analysis
of family law, family court and violence against women” and is
available at www.lukesplace.ca.