Resources

9/10/2014

Introducing Religious Fundamentalism
The world is less than 500 days away from the targeted day to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight goals and 18 targets set by the United Nations and governments to tackle some of the worst problems that have impeded developing nations.

26/8/2014
Violence against women, as well as women’s vulnerability to violence, has increased dramatically in the Euro-Mediterranean region from 2011 to early 2014.
 
Violence against women is recognized as a human rights violation and States have committed themselves to preventing and combating all forms of violence against women, and to end impunity for perpetrators.
23/7/2014
War in Syria has killed more than 10,000  children. More than 1 million more have fled the country in fear, while millions more  remain displaced inside the country.This briefing looks at another disturbing but less  publicised impact of the cr
Cover image
17/7/2014

To read Dossier 32-33 please download the free pdf attached or purchase the hard copy

In both Muslim-majority countries and Muslim communities, the last decade has witnessed unprecedented organizing efforts by human rights defenders around sexual and reproductive rights, and produced evidence of ongoing local engagement around sexuality issues.

Yet, sexuality remains a highly contested and tightly patrolled terrain in all societies, and activists from Muslim contexts are also witnessing troubling trends that threaten previous gains, or seem indicative of a worsening climate. Such trends include the curtailing of sexual and reproductive rights and an increased policing of sexuality: there is a tendency to seek to reverse less restrictive policies or legislations; as well as widespread targeting of individuals, or even of entire groups. Those individuals or groups who bear the brunt of the criminalization of sexuality are often those whose personal circumstances, bodies, sexualities or gender appearance are deemed non-normative. Whether they are girls resisting marriage, divorced women, single women, lesbian women, teenagers who have not undergone FGM in contexts where it is the norm, or heterosexual men deemed ‘effeminate’, many face strict penalties.

15/7/2014

Sexual violence is one of the most horrific crimes committed during conflict. No one should have to endure the pain and humiliation of rape and sexual exploitation and violence, and it is particularly deplorable when a child is subjected to this brutality. The prevalence in conflict of sexual violence against children is shocking.

14/7/2014

The findings show that social media includes tools for action and seems more effective when combined with other media:

"Working in collaboration, students from the London School of Economics (LSE) Master of Public Administration (MPA) programme and BBC Media Action examined the value that social media brings to governance programming aimed at influencing engagement and civic participation."

3/7/2014
Executive summary
 
To read the paper in full, please download the pdf
 
This paper is about the struggle to combat gender-based violence in public space in Egypt through the sustained collective action of vigilante groups who organically formed to respond to the increasing encroachment on women in public space from 2011 onwards. The study examines the emergence of a distinct form of collective action (informal youth-led activism aimed at addressing sexual violence in public space) at a very distinct historical juncture in the country’s history: the phase after the ousting of President Mubarak in February 2011 through what became known as the 25th of January Revolution and up to the ousting of President Morsi in what became controversially known as the 30th of June Revolution of 2013.

3/7/2014
Summary
 
To read the full paper, please download the pdf. 
 
This paper examines the nature of the political struggle over the status, role and identity of women in Egypt in between the two revolutions (January 2011 and June 2013). It presents a situational analysis of the various actors, relations and agendas that have both informed the backlash against women’s rights and the mass movements of resistance. It acknowledges that while women’s rights have historically suffered as a consequence of a hostile political will of the ruling authority and parts of political and civil society that are inimical to expanding women’s rights (and sometimes mobilise around revoking what already exists), women’s rights faced new threats after January 2011 because of the political settlement between the Supreme Council for Armed Forces and the Muslim Brotherhood. The threats to women’s rights worsened under President Morsi’s regime and while they were not the prime reason why women mobilised in the largest numbers ever to oust the president in June 2013, encroachments on their freedoms was a catalysing factor.

1/7/2014

The WLUML E-Gazette is a monthly publication sent out to subscribers which aims to shed light upon the activities of the network as well as important news about women in the Muslim world. The contents of the newsletter include the achievements of networkers and ICO members, events and conferences of relevance to the WLUML network, and valuable news pieces. We hope you enjoy this edition of the Gazette!

1/7/2014

The WLUML E-Gazette is a monthly publication sent out to subscribers which aims to shed light upon the activities of the network and share important news about women in the Muslim world. The contents of the newsletter include the achievements of networkers and ICO members, events and conferences of interest to the WLUML network, and relevant news pieces.