FEMINISTS
CALL FOR CHANGE IN THE CULTURE OF PATRIARCHY
"In
order to ensure freedom of religion, freedom of lifestyle, and freedom
of choice based on international human rights law, we must fight for
secular, democratic, inclusive societies, where women of all orientations
-- and men for that matter -- can have the right to interpret their
religion, can have the right to claim their religion as they see it.
Otherwise, someone will always be defining religion for us."
These
were the remarks of Yakin Ertürk, United Nations Special Rapporteur
on Violence Against Women, speaking at a symposium on eliminating
violence against women in Muslim societies held on 01 March 2005 in
New York, NY, USA. The symposium was organised by Women's Learning
Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace, an organisation based
in Maryland, USA with networks in many Muslim countries.
The symposium
gathered together Islamic women working within their own societies
marked by the dominance of one religion, as well as those working
withing the United Nations system. All acknowledged however, that
interpretations of that religion varied from country to country, to
the detriment or gain of the women living in these societies. It was
held in time for the review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform
for Action during the 49th session of the Commission of the Status
of Women from 28 February to 11 March 2005.
"The
problem is, yes, we have all these cultural and traditional obstacles,
but there are things that can be done straightaway which aren't being
done, and we have to lobby for that" said Ayesha Imam, Chief
of Culture, Gender and Human Rights Branch, United Nations Population
Fund.
Sakena
Yacoobi, founder and president of Afghan Institute of Learning, stressed
the importance of education in making people informed of their rights
and empowering them to ask for change. "If women always question
and know about our rights, the state has to do something about it."
Noeleen
Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund
for Women said that women should be able to use to their advantage
the
information and communication technologies to build networks and to
create 'communities of change'. She cited how women lobbying for the
passage of
legislation on domestic violence law in Turkey was helped by experience
shared by Malaysian activists on how they had their own domestic violence
law passed.
The speakers
stressed the importance of countering and transforming the culture
of patriarchy, whether in Islam or in any other religion or cultural
tradition.
"Since
the invention of 'gender,' [the analysis of] patriarchy went out of
the window...We lost a great deal of what gender relationships are
all about. We started to talk about 'gender' without knowing what
we were talking about. And now today we are again trying to understand
that unequal relationship: the definition of masculinity and femininities
within a patriarchal ideology which is entrenched in our psyche, in
our consciousness, in our institutions in, our whole world view,"
remarked Ertürk.
Yacoobi,
on being asked about how traditional Islamic law, known commonly as
Sharia, should be interpreted, recommended that women should have
to
find Islamic scholars who can interpret the law in a way that acknowledges
the rights of women.
Nevertheless,
Imam said, "it doesn't matter in whose name injustice is being
done, we have to be able to fight it."
Reported
by Aileen Familara
Isis International-Manila for Asia Pacific Women's Watch
