Zeina Anwar
In her usual calm and kind demeanor, Zeina Anwar, former Executive Director of Sisters in Islam (SIS), speaks to the Arab Feminisms conference saying that the work at SIS was born out of a firm belief that God is just. “We, in South East Asia, don’t have a problem identifying as Muslim and feminist, Muslim and gay, Muslim and having fun,” she said. “We grew tired of men of the patriarchy telling us – in the name of God – what to wear, what to drink, how to be good Muslim women, wives, mothers, and daughters.” That is why they founded Sisters in Islam, focusing on research, interpretation, discussion, and lobbying. Of course, that made them highly unpopular with the extremist and fundamentalist Islamist organizations.
Anwar believes that we cannot, as feminists, ignore religion as it becomes stronger and stronger in the lives of people everyday. She also called on bigger cooperation between Arab activism and feminism from around the world. “85% of Muslims don’t live in the Arab world,” she said.
Earlier this year, Sisters in Islam created Musawah, a global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family, calling for equality, non-discrimination, justice and dignity as the basis of all human relations; full and equal citizenship for every individual; and marriage and family relations based on principles of equality and justice, with men and women sharing equal rights and responsibilities.
Check out the fantastic Musawah promotional video here:
#1 by Feminist on October 8, 2009 - 12:10 am
“We will build a public space for ourselves… and make the use of islam by men to justify the oppression of women unacceptable… We study the Koran for ourselves, and challenge those who claim to have the authority over religion. They claim we have no right nor the authority to speak of islam… we are confusing people, and we are talking against the teachings of islam, and we need to be sent to some safe rehabilitation center. “..”20 years ago we decided enough is enough”..
GOOOO Zeina Anwar