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Promoting Equal Rights for Muslim Women: Research-Led Advocacy and Strategic Collaborations

This research project focuses on promoting equal rights for Muslim women through research-led advocacy and strategic collaborations. It explores the issues of property rights, inheritance systems, separation of marital property, and the concept of male superiority in Islamic societies. The project aims to develop interventions and strategies for advancing gender equality and women's empowerment.

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Promoting Equal Rights for Muslim Women: Research-Led Advocacy and Strategic Collaborations

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  1. Research-Led Advocacy and Strategic Collaborations promoting Equal Rights for Muslim WomenSirajSait (LSS)UEL Research Conference26 June 2013

  2. Research Agenda • Secular CEDAW/HR Approaches • Abandoning Field to Fundamentalists • Theological – Faith, Agnostic, Secular • UN – Risks/ Developmental Opportunities • UEL-UN research since 2003 (w H Lim) • UEL lead 55 members incl. WB, civil society, professionals

  3. Continuum of Property Rights • Women own less than 2% land • Ownership, Access and Control of Property • Head of Household –Minorities, WHH, polygamous, displaced • Islamic opportunities, custom

  4. 4 key intervention areas • Unequal inheritance but equal property rights? • Separation of Marital property but increasing joint property regimes? • Patrilineal inheritance systems but Muslim matrilineal communities? • Daraja(superiority) buteconomic hierarchy in new urbanising world?

  5. Problem 1: COMPENSATORY SCHEME • Unequal inheritance share, equal property outcomes? • Estate Planning – Will (1/3rd), gifts (hiba), dower (mahr), maintenance etc. • Post- Inheritance Adjustments – • Waiver – due to fear disowned by the family • Renunciation Tanazul - reform

  6. Compensatory Scheme - Gaps • Methodology: Life course perspectives – Timelines – Inheritance Systems, not rules • Parties: pre marriage, marital, post – parents, siblings, spouse, children, relatives, others • Documents - how to record, quantify, align • Institutions – Judges, Muftis, Mujtahids? • Outcomes – Financial, in kind, religious?

  7. Problem 2: Confronting Islamic Patrilinealism? Is Islam inevitably patrilineal? Islamic Usul al fiqh- jurisprudence (1) Primary heirs – women, and thru women (2) Agnates – no cognates (3) Residuals – Cognates included ***Shia-No difference Agnates/ Cognates

  8. Significance of Matrilineal • descent through the female line, • matrilocalresidence (husband resides at the home of wife after marriage) and • inheritance of property through females, and inheritance by females. Household dynamics – allocation of resources; control over property

  9. Muslim Matrilineal Societies • MinangsIndonesia,Undangs of Malaysia Chams of Vietnam, Cambodia Mappillas of India Moors of Sri LankaTuaregs of Algeria Bobosof Burkina Faso Somaliland Akan of Ghana Serer of Senegal Digos of Kenya Yaos of Tanzania Chewa in Malawi Wangazidja of ComorosBejas of SudanMakhuwa of Mozambique

  10. Matrilineal Systems • Matrilineal systems are not “feminist nirvana” or an assurance for gender equality. • matrilineal, but still patriarchal. • may not necessarily improve women’s property prospects • But generally better access to land and property,  

  11. Problem 3: Separation of Marital Property • Muslim women retain property thru marriage, divorce • Husband earns, acquires property in his own name, • No concept of marital property: women gets nothing

  12. IslamicJoint Property • Independent female property rights • Marriage is not a sacrament • Contract basis, nikanama • Equity of ownership • No jurisprudential obstacles

  13. Joint Marital Property • Turkey • Kazakhstan • Indonesia • Malaysia • Morocco • Tunisia • Iran • Maldives • Tanzania • South Africa

  14. Problem 4: Daraja/Male Superiority • Wadud, Barlas…. Conditional, contingent • Not obedience, passivity – but gendered roles • Economic Management • Reality – Women are heads without Men • Recent reforms – Man is not head of household • Implications for control, management

  15. Law Requires Obedience to Husbands Jordan Lebanon Mali Pakistan Saudi Arabia Sudan Syria West bank/ Gaza Yemen

  16. Women as Head of Household

  17. Gender + HR+ Islamic • Gender Equality Mechanism 2006 • Gender Evaluation Criteria 2009 • Gender Implementation Guide 2010 • Land, Law & Islam 2006 • Accidental Islamic Feminism 2006 • Islamic Gender Tools 2008-2012 World Bank • Ongoing UN Research 2013

  18. Strategy • GLTN positionality – strong network • Al Azhar, Kuwait, Malaysia, Egypt. • Comparative Islamic approaches • Political Support– Cairo 2005, UEL 2007, Malaysia 2009, Cairo 2013 • Membership GLTN Board, UN-Habitat Reform Panel, UN-Habitat Advisory Board, • Country Programmes

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