“The infringement of women’s rights is usually exercised in the name of tradition, religion, social cohesion, morality, or some complex of transcendent values. Anyway, it is justified in the name of culture.” Gender Apartheid, Cultural Relativism, and Women’s Human Rights
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
“The crass infringement of women’s rights we see in the Muslim world has more to do with power, patriarchy, and misuse of religion as political weapon than with religion properly understood as individual faith.” – Gender Apartheid, Cultural Relativism, and Women’s Human Rights
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
“Islam is not the problem. Rather it is the misuse of Islam by interpreting it to fit the needs of the partriarchal order – the powers that be – and the privileges that one gender has held over the other.” – How are women working to eliminate violence against women in Muslim-majority societies?
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
“Religious zeal makes democracy problematic because it turns every attempt at understand and compromise – the hallmarks of democracy – into an evidentiary test of religious righteousness.” – Rights of Passage
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
“Women ought not to be forced to choose between freedom and God.” – Rights of Passage
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
AWID Resource Net / By Rochelle Jones AWID highlights the efforts of Muslim women to eliminate violence against women, as discussed in the recently released report from the International Symposium entitled “Leading to Change: Eliminating Violence Against Women in Muslim Societies.” The Symposium was convened by the Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP) in March 2005.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
In Der Tagesspiegel Women in Iran must be free to choose what to think, what to say, what to do, and, of course, how to relate, or not to relate, to God, writes Mahnaz Afkhami. This cannot be had if government and religion are one.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars “Dialogue Radio” / By George Liston Seay / Listen To affect change, women must take charge of their own destiny. They must reclaim the tenets of their faith. They must also be willing to challenge deeply rooted traditions.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
VOA News / Listen Do culture or religion explain why women have lesser status than men in many Muslim countries? Mahnaz Afkhami said she doesn’t think so. She adds that culture is not fixed and is always evolving.
Monday, April 28, 2003
WAMU American University Radio “The Kojo Nnamdi Show” / By Kojo Nnamdi / Listen As Iraq’s Shiite Muslims emerge from Saddam’s shadow, we go inside neighboring Iran to examine a government they may emulate – one that adds a splash of democracy to a religious theocracy. Afkhami says that in Iran elections include pre-selected candidates, chosen according to values in line with theocratic arrangements.
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Tuesday, December 22, 2009