[fund] promotion and application of religious laws

Pakistan: Christian & Muslim Leaders Call for a Repeal of Blasphemy Law

Christians, Hindus, Muslims, legal experts, religious scholars and activists for human rights, are all concerned about the abuses perpetrated in the name of the blasphemy law in Pakistan and call for its repeal. A popular front is emerging in the country which promises to bring the battle for the cancellation of the norm that provides for life imprisonment or the death penalty for those who profane the Koran, or defame the name of the prophet Muhammad.

Arab World: Women on the Move: Trends & Countertrends

You can read and download the Political Islam on Line article by Raouf Ebeid here

UPDATE: Indonesia/Aceh: Institute to facilitate amendment of bylaws

The National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) will facilitate a dialogue between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the National Commission for Women's Protection to eliminate 154 bylaws considered to discriminate against women and minorities. Lemhanas governor Muladi told a discussion on the national perspectives of bylaws Thursday that many bylaws violated the Constitution and had created public controversy that could lead to the disintegration of the nation.

الصومال: حركة الشباب الاسلامي تمنع النساء من العمل

اغقت حركة الشباب الاسلامية المتشددة الاثنين ثلاث منظمات نسائية في بلدة هوى التي تسيطر عليها الحركة من اجل منع السيدات من العمل، حسبما ذكرت وكالة رويترز نقلا عن قائد بالحركة. وفي اتصال هاتفي مع الوكالة قال رئيس البلدة معلم داود محمد " لقد قمنا بتلك الخطوة بعد ادراكنا ان النساء يحتاجون الى الاقامة في منازلهم للعناية باطفالهم .... الاسلام لايسمح للنساء بالتوجه الى المكاتب". وتقع بلدة هوى على الحدود الصومالية مع كينيا بالقرب من مدينة ماندرا الكينية.

حملة يقودها التحالف الاقليمي في بلدان عربية لوضع قانون أسرة عربي

يدعو التحالف الإقليمي في كل من الأردن ومصر ولبنان وفلسطين لإجراء تعديلات جذرية على قانون الأحوال الشخصية، تفضي إلى قانون الأسرة العربية ، يحمي حقوق الأطفال والنساء والرجال والأسرة.وتهدف الحملة الإقليمية، التي تنفذ في البلدان الأربعة ويقودها التحالف، إلى تعديل بعض نصوص قوانين الأحوال الشخصية في الدول المشاركة بالتحالف، على أساس أن المساواة حق أساسي لجميع المواطنين والمواطنات على حد سواء، بصرف النظر.

International: Debate on Public Role of Religion and its Gender Implications

This paper authored by Ann Phillips and José Casanova addresses the relationship between religion, politics and gender equality through four aspects: (i) what authority, if any, states can cede to religious communities or groups without beginning to threaten gender equality; (ii) the informal impact of religions on attitudes and lives, beyond any institutionalized power; (iii) the possibilities and limits of internal reform; and (iv) the possibilities and difficulties of alliances between religious and secular groups.

Somalia: Christian Who Refused to Wear Veil is Killed

Three masked members of a militant Islamist group in Somalia last week shot and killed a Somali Christian who declined to wear a veil as prescribed by Muslim custom, according to a Christian source in Somalia. Members of the comparatively “moderate” Suna Waljameca group killed Amina Muse Ali, 45, on Oct. 19 at 9:30 p.m. in her home in Galkayo, in Somalia’s autonomous Puntland region, said the source who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Saudi Arabia: 'My Guardian Knows What's Best For Me' Campaign

Recently, Saudi women activists, led by Saudi Princess Jawaher bint Jalawi, launched a campaign called "My Guardian Knows What's Best For Me," calling for redefining the term "guardian" and for opposing calls by those with liberal views to improve the status of women in Saudi Arabia. Princess Jawaher's campaign is a response to the struggle launched in July 2009 by Saudi women's rights activist Wajeha Al-Huweidar calling for abolishing the mahram ("guardian") law, which requires women to obtain the approval of a male relative for nearly any move they make in their lives.

Les femmes Algeriennes manifestent : 20 ans Barakat !

Pour la première fois, des artistes femmes venues d'Algérie et d'ailleurs chantent ensemble pour dénoncer le code de la famille promulgué en Algérie en 1984 et qui légalise l’infériorisation des femmes.

Asia: ASEAN Progressive Muslim Movement Recommendations

The following, and attached, are recommendations from the Regional Meeting held in Jakarta, 16-17 October 2009. Islam in Southeast Asia has long been recognized as humane, tolerant, diverse, plural, metropolitan, progressive, and empowering of women. It is thus a matter of urgent concern that the rapid growth of Islamic extremism is now changing the landscape in Southeast Asia, with serious consequences for all living in the region, as well as for the rest of the world. Leaders of ASEAN member states are urged to be cognizant of this regressive trend, which will have serious impacts not only on women’s rights, human rights, but also on the stability and development of the region as a whole. The conservative and monolithic values that underlie this trend are intolerant of the diversity that characterizes Southeast Asia. Such extremist attitudes result in acts that marginalize women and also use terrorist tactics to eliminate diversity.