The public voice of Sisters in Islam

Some 20 years ago, several Muslim women took offence at the injustice to women being perpetrated in the then-new Islamic Family Law.

Together they founded Sisters in Islam(SIS), which today is a civil society organisation registered under the name SIS Forum Malaysia. The group’s mission is “to promote the development of Islam that upholds the principles of justice, equality, freedom and dignity within a democratic nation state”.

From the word go, SIS decided to take the bull by the horns, so to speak, and challenge the Islamic establishment on its own terms.

It chose consciously and conscientiously to work within the Islamic framework, knowing full well that a beneficent (rahman) and merciful (rahim) God could not but be just. It is this unshakeable faith in a loving God that spurred the group to begin its endeavour by returning to the primary sources of Islamic law, namely, the holy Qur’an, and the hadith or traditions of the Prophet Muhammad.

Led by theologian Dr Amina Wadud, who was then teaching at the International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur, the eight founding members – all professional women – delved into the holy text and produced their first two seminal Q&A booklets, on gender equality and domestic violence in Islam.

The launch of these booklets in July 1991 was SIS’ formal introduction to the Malaysian public.

Today, the booklets, as well as other new titles, have been translated into several languages (from English and Bahasa Malaysia) and are used in organisations in many Muslim countries as a tool to raise gender awareness.

In August 1990, the group made its public position clear vis-a-vis Muslim women’s rights. In a letter to the editor published in four Malaysian dailies, it challenged the conservative understanding of polygamy as a God-given right to Muslim men. With this, Sisters in Islam established its name and created its public voice and persona.

SIS’ initial research into the texts – as well as new scholarship in the past 15 years that has unearthed a wealth of diversity within Muslim opinion – shows that a woman’s struggle to lead a life of equal worth and dignity to men is clearly located within Islamic teachings.

It has enabled the group to take the unequivocal position that men and women are equal in Islam; that a Muslim man does not have the right to beat his wife; that polygamy is not an inherent right in Islam but a contract permitted only in the most exceptional circumstances; that one male witness does not equal two female witnesses, and a great deal more.

Research has formed the basis of SIS’ arguments for reform of laws, policies, and statements made in the name of Islam that discriminate against women and violate the ethical teachings of Islam. It has also engaged directly with the government in advocacy work; SIS has submitted several memoranda to the government on issues such as Islamic Family Law, the Shari’ah Criminal Offences Act, moral policing and domestic violence.

That the group’s work has impacted positively in Malaysia is evident in the support from women senators and the public for its 2005/2006 campaign against the government’s amendments to the Islamic Family Laws, which would further discriminate against women.

The amendments included giving men more grounds to divorce their wives, greater freedom to enter into polygamous marriages, and more power to freeze their wives’ assets in order to claim a share of the matrimonial property following a polygamous marriage or divorce.

The success of SIS’s campaign forced the government to order a review of the proposed amendments.

The group involves itself directly with the public through its legal services and public education activities. Here women empower themselves by knowing their rights.

Currently, another undertaking is in the pipeline. Building on a pilot survey in 2005, SIS’ nationwide polygamy research aims to provide a deeper understanding of the way polygamy affects families.

Through questionnaire interviews of husbands, first wives, second wives, and children above 18 from the first or subsequent marriage, SIS hopes to draw out the details of social relationships between polygamous family members, their emotional well-being and financial situation, as well as the legal protection provided for by the authorities.

It is not surprising, therefore, that in just two decades, SIS’ influence has grown globally. While content to advocate for gender equality and justice domestically, an international presence means an ever widening target for the group.

Its radical approach to effect change through a religious framework has grabbed the attention of the outside world. This proved to be SIS’ main contribution to the empowerment of Muslim women and made for its credibility as a serious civil society actor and an agent of change.

The scope of SIS’ work grew further as it adopted the best practices of successful campaigns for reform of laws that discriminate against women carried out by women’s groups in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

Working within a holistic framework that argues for reform from multiple perspectives, these groups put forward positive progressive practices and examples for reform.

Islamic arguments grounded in the realities of modern day life within a democratic background are powerful arguments to lobby for change. And thus a new stage emerges in the struggle for justice and equality as SIS expands its activism at regional and international levels.

In its push for an international movement for equality and justice in the family, which led to the launch of Musawah in February 2009, this group of women, still comparatively small at its core, seeks to share the new-found tools for change with Muslim sisters everywhere.

Today, two decades after its founding, SIS’ key role is to provide input in understanding Islam from a rights-based perspective, advocacy strategies and networking to local and international women’s movements.

It is at the forefront of an emerging women’s pressure group to push for both the reform of how we understand Islam, and to influence laws and policies enacted by Muslim governments or groups within minority Muslim communities.

MILESTONES OVER THE YEARS

·MUSAWAH, a global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family, was initiated in 2007. Musawah is a product of years of research and advocacy as well as regional and international networking efforts on family law issues.

It is a pluralistic and inclusive movement which brings together NGOs, activists, scholars, practitioners, policy-makers and grassroots women and men from around the world who are committed to the promotion of rights within Muslim families, be it from a religious, secular or other perspectives.

In February this year, Musawah held a global meeting in Kuala Lumpur that drew 250 participants from 47 countries. Three publications were launched then – The Musawah Framework for Action; Wanted: Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family; and Home Truths: A Global Report on Equality in the Muslim Family (a set of 30 national profiles on legal systems, political systems and social customs related to family laws in Muslim countries and communities.

·International Workshop on Trends in Family Law Reform in Muslim Countries: Held in March 2006, its most important outcome is the proposal for an international advocacy movement for comprehensive reform of the Muslim Family Law within the framework of justice and equality.

·In 2003, SIS launched Telenisa, a helpline which offers free legal advice on Shari’ah laws and other issues faced by Muslim women. Telenisa deals with more than 600 cases every year on issues of maintenance, divorce, marriage, polygamy, custody, inheritance, violence against women, etc.

·In 2000, SIS started its training on Gender and Shari’ah (for beginners) and Gender, Human Rights and Shari’ah (advanced training). Since then, it has conducted training for grassroots women, Members of Parliament, human rights activists, lawyers, shari’ah consultants and practitioners, journalists, and government officials. Last year, it trained more than 1,000 grassroots women from 10 states, including Sabah and Sarawak, to raise their awareness on issues surrounding Islamic Family Law.

·International networking and consultation: SIS’ efforts to create the public space and voice for ordinary citizens to speak and engage with Islam, and challenge laws, policies and statements made in the name of Islam that discriminate against women and violate guarantees of fundamental liberties in the Constitution and international human rights principles, are a model for many Muslim countries.

·Q&A booklets on equality, domestic violence, family planning, polygamy and hadith on women in marriage. Originally published in English and Bahasa Malaysia, the Equality and Domestic Violence booklets have been translated into Urdu, Bengali, Mandarin, Arabic, Farsi, Pashtu, Hindi, Tamil, Russian and Kyrgyz and are used as training material. These booklets and other titles are on the reading lists of some universities where gender and Islam courses are taught.

- THE STAR