Name : Syaeri Laelatul Awalia
Class : PBI Morning 3rd Semester
NPM : 0919013631
ARTICLE
Promoting Gender Equality in Muslim Contexts – Women's Voices Must Not Be Silenced
Aquestion that is sometimes posed is
whether women in Muslim contexts are entitled to equal rights. Are their
culture and religion opposed to women having equal rights? To answer this, let
us recognize the fact that nearly all the countries with Muslim majorities are
signatories to international agreements advancing women's rights.
These include the Convention for the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Beijing Declaration
and Platform for Action and other relevant agreements1. Most recently, on the occasion of the International Day for
the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November 2007), the
Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference issued a
statement that said: "The observance of this day serves as a reminder to
the entire international community of the 1999 UN General Assembly resolution
54/134, motivating the need to increase the status of women. Respect and
upholding of women's rights in Islam are enshrined in its most valuable
principles because Islam recognizes the religious, social, economic, legal and
political rights of women. . Unfortunately, a great majority of women in most
societies, in particular in the developing and least developed countries,
continue to face discrimination and suffer social injustice, and violence2."
The public commitments of States with
Muslim majorities explicitly contradict the stereotype of Muslim women as
choiceless, voiceless victims of their culture and religion. Such a stereotype,
which is unfounded, in fact becomes pernicious when it is institutionalized in
policy and law, for example, when women in Muslim minorities are denied equal
rights as citizens, on the grounds of their supposed culture and religion.
The UN Secretary-General's 2006 report,
In-depth study on all forms of violence against women, notes that
"violence against women is not confined to a specific culture, region or
country, or to particular groups of women within a society3". This point was highlighted when the report was
presented to the General Assembly's Third Committee, noting that at least one
in three women is subjected to violence at some point in her lifetime4. Indeed, gender-based violence and discrimination are global
problems, not uniquely Muslim problems.
There is an urgent need to make visible
initiatives for gender equality for women in Muslim contexts, so that their
right to have rights is not discounted, a priori, by fallacious ideas about
their culture and religion. As Chair of its Consortium Advisory Group, I am
proud to introduce the work of the Research Programme Consortium on
"Women's Empowerment in Muslim Contexts" (WEMC). This is a
multi-country initiative focusing on women's empowerment -- indigenous assertions
of and struggles for rights in diverse Muslim contexts -- and upholding women's
rights as an unequivocal principle5. Furthermore, women's assertions of rights are not merely
modern phenomena, but have been well-documented throughout Muslim history6.
Unfortunately, at this historic
juncture, women's right to gender equality is being challenged in both Muslim
and non-Muslim contexts, by the rise of modern extremist political agendas,
commonly called religious "fundamentalisms". Opportunistically using
religion to disguise political agendas, these extremists seek to disempower
women by means of constructing closed constituencies. At the same time,
fundamentalist agendas are reinforcing existing patriarchies that are also
disempowering women. Women who resist these converging impositions are
condemned, ostracized, threatened, abused and dehumanized, with culture and
religion used to excuse the systemic violence inflicted on them.
Therefore, as WEMC and the UN
Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) have pointed out, it is particularly
crucial at this time to reject the use of culture and religion as a means to
legitimize the disempowerment of women. As part of this endeavour, UNIFEM has a
major campaign on "Say No to Violence" and WEMC observed the International
Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, with the theme "No
excuses for violence against women". These campaigns seek to garner public
opinion on strategies for mobilizing the State, society and the international
community to reject cultural justifications for violence against women7.
As noted in the Secretary-General's
In-depth study on all forms of violence against women: "Tension between
cultural relativism and the recognition of women's human rights, including the
right to be free from violence, has been intensified as a result of the current
heightened attention to State security issues. The resort to cultural
relativism has been made worse by the policies adopted since 11 September 2001
by many groups and societies that feel threatened and under siege. This tension
poses a notable challenge in ensuring that violence against women is kept
firmly on the international and national agendas with the priority it requires."
In this context, it is therefore of utmost importance to ensure that women's rights advocates and women asserting their rights are not silenced. Such silencing would make acceptable spurious claims that women's rights and gender equality are alien and illegitimate in Muslim contexts and would condone the use of violence as a mechanism of control over women. It is more important than ever before to amplify women's voices and give support to their national strategies for individual and collective empowerment in ways that would promote democratization from the inside out. This will promote the right to gender equality as the inalienable right of the 600 million women who constitute half of the Muslims in the world.
RESUME
Promoting Gender Equality in Muslim Contexts – Women's Voices Must Not Be Silenced
"Today's commemoration serves as a reminder to
the entire international community of the 1999 UN General Assembly resolution
54/134, which motivated the need to improve the status of women. Respect and
upholding women's rights in Islam are enshrined in its most valuable principles
because Islam recognizes religion. , social, economic, legal and political
rights of women. Unfortunately, most women in most societies, especially in
developing and less developed countries, continue to face discrimination and
suffer social injustice, and violence2. "This is the statement put forward
by the Secretary General of the Organization Islamic Conference. When a
minority of Muslim women are not given the same rights as citizens of the
country based on the culture and religion they consider, this is because
countries with the majority of Muslims are contrary to the stereotype of Muslim
women, so that Muslim women as victims of their culture and religion do not
choose choices and have a voice. .
Violence against women is not limited to certain
regions, cultures, or countries or certain groups in a society. It was noted
that at least one in three women were subjected to violence at some point in
their life. At this historic point, women's right to gender equality is being
challenged in both Muslim and non-Muslim contexts, with the emergence of a
modern extremist political agenda, commonly called religious
"fundamentalism". UNIFEM held a major campaign on "Say No to
Violence" and WEMC commemorated the International Day for the Elimination
of Violence against Women, with the theme "There is no excuse for violence
against women". These campaigns seek to gather public opinion on
strategies to mobilize the state, society and the international community to
reject cultural justifications for violence against women.
It is extremely important to ensure that women and
women's rights defenders who claim their rights are not silenced. Such
silencing would make the falsely accepted claim that women's rights and gender
equality are foreign and illegitimate in a Muslim context and would justify the
use of violence as a control mechanism over women. to strengthen women's voices
and provide support to their national strategies for individual and collective
empowerment in a way that will promote democratization from the inside out.
This will promote the right to gender equality as the inalienable right of the
600 million women who make up half of the world's Muslims.
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