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Musawah ('equality'; in
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
: ) is a global
movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
for equality and justice in the Muslim family and family laws, led by ' Islamic feminists' "seeking to reclaim
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
and the
Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing ...
for themselves", applying progressive interpretations of sacred texts usually referred as feminist tafsir. The name "Musawah" comes from an
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
word that translates as "equality". It was founded in 2009.


Context and history

While Islam is supposed to be an egalitarian religion, since traditional Islamic interpretations were made mainly by patriarchal way, traditional interpretations are not only used to sideline women from political competition but also exploit their immense resources and potential to advantage of hierarchical structures benefiting men in power by relegating women to subordinate roles and perpetrating injustices on Muslim Women at home and outside.Abbas,Shemeem Burney. Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws:From Islamic Empires to the Taliban
Spain, University of Texas Press, 2013. Pages 47 to 50]
Women scholars started applying Islamic feminist interpretations since late 19th century. 1990s, triggered by an increase in the movement of women in the fight for women's human rights internationally, such as the World Conference on Women, 1995, World Women's Conference in Beijing in 1995 which gave birth to a commitment to build people through gender equality and the CEDAW ( Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women) which gave birth to a commitment to eliminate discrimination.Hidayatullah pp. 65-100. By late 20th century research in theoretical Islamic feminism developed in to full fledged methodical science of interpretation called feminist tafsir or Hermeneutics of feminism in Islam; to promote the ideas of gender-justice and
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
by reinterpreting to enable true sense of Islamic egalitarian values and subsequently developed in to Muslim women's active movements .Hidayatullah p. 301.Mardinsyah p. 3. Twelve women met in
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as the planning committee in March 2007, from countries around the world:
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medite ...
,
the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
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,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Tu ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malay ...
,
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
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Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-la ...
,
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it s ...
,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...
. Musawah was officially launched in Kuala Lampur in February 2009, at a meeting of 250 Muslim activists, scholars, legal practitioners and policy-makers from 47 countries. Mona Eltahawy, the Egyptian-American journalist and Musawah member, commented on this founding moment: "Panel discussions and dinner talk ..were heated, but not about headscarves or education. We had much heavier issues on our minds — like a woman’s right to initiate divorce, how to protect women against clerics who say Islam gives a husband the right to beat his wife, fighting forced marriage. In other words, wrestling Islam back from the men who use it against us." The discussions were supported in part by research on the impact on the lives of women of islamic family law, disseminated over the preceding decade by Women Living Under Muslim Laws.


Focus

Musawah's advocacy draws from four primary sources: * Islamic teachings; * Universal human rights; * National constitutional guarantees of equality; and * "The lived realities of women and men". The Musawah movement has identified 45 countries that have discriminatory personal laws that work against Muslim women's interest, justice and equality. In practice, this has translated into advocacy around issues such as reforming divorce laws in Muslim countries. Tools used by Musawah to advance this goal have included research into the differences between traditional Muslim family laws and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, publication of books on
Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...
, and toolkits for advocates.


Role and challenges

One of Musawah's co-founders, Malaysian activist Zainah Anwar, offered this perspective on Musawah's role in the broader women's and
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
: "What Musawah brings to the table is a rich and diverse collection of interpretations, juristic opinions and principles that makes it possible to read equality and justice in Islam, and construe these twin values at national and international levels. It is a vital contribution at a time when democracy, human rights and women's rights constitute the modern ethical paradigm of today's world." Challenges in Musawah's work include ongoing debates around the multiple interpretations of the Koran, and the defence of a human rights interpretation from within Islam, rather than a
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
framework.


See also

*
Aurat March The Aurat March ( ur, or , English: Women's March) is an annual socio-political demonstration in Pakistani cities such as Lahore, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta, Karachi, Islamabad and Peshawar to observe International Wome ...
*
Gerwani Gerwani ( id, Gerakan Wanita Indonesia, "Indonesian Women's Movement") was a women's organization founded as Gerwis (, "Movement of Conscious Indonesian Women") in Semarang, Central Java, on 4 June 1950. In 1954, Gerwis as an activist-based mov ...
* Hermeneutics of feminism in Islam * Sisters in Islam


References


External links


Official website

Men in Charge?: Rethinking Authority in Muslim Legal Tradition
(book that grew out of Musawah's research)
Wanted: Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family (Arabic)
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Organizations established in 2009 Feminist organizations Proponents of Islamic feminism