International Women's Day Reports from Muslim Women

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/8/lifefocus/8169050&sec=lifefocus

Tuesday March 8, 2011
In search of what Islam really says
By ZAINAH ANWAR

The nation’s leading Muslim feminist activist explains what drove her to open the Quran and search for answers to what it means to be Muslim and feminist.

I AM an eternal optimist. I cannot believe that anyone would not want a world where everyone is treated as a human being of equal worth and dignity. I don’t understand why this should be a problem. I don’t understand how anyone can use God to justify injustice and oppression of half of the human race. And yet, religion, be it Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, is often used to justify discrimination against women.

I remember when I first decided to re-read the Quran with feminist lens. I wanted to know if God truly regarded women as inferior to men, if God really said a man had a right to beat his wife, a right to take four wives, a right to demand obedience, a right to force a woman to submit to his sexual commands. I was tired of listening to women complaining to me of their miseries in marriage, and then sighing in helplessness, “but that’s what Islam says”.

I was brought up with an utter faith in a God that is just. Any gender discrimination I suffered was always understood to be due to culture and tradition, never religion. The idea that injustice towards women can be justified in the name of God is an affront to my faith.
The Quran, as the word of God, shows that Islam is a religion that treats both men and women with kindness, love and compassion.

The rise of political Islam in Malaysia in the 1980s where a return to “authentic” Islam means Muslim women must be treated as inferior to men, and demands for equality and justice for women were regarded as alien western values, drove me to open the Quran and to search for answers to what it means to be Muslim and feminist.

For me, this was the most liberating and spiritually uplifting experience. I remember to this day the excitement I felt when I discovered the verse on polygamy ends by saying, “if you fear you cannot do justice, marry only one; that will be best for you to prevent you from doing injustice”.

That was the word of God that spoke to me as a woman who felt the pain of friends whose husbands or fathers took second wives, as a woman who could not understand why polygamy is seen as a man’s right given the destruction it causes to family life.

I brought the Quran to the office to share my excitement with colleagues. One friend, a philanderer, refused to read the verse for himself. He said I was talking rubbish, it was not in the Quran. I shoved the Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation under his nose and asked him to read Surah an-Nisa, verse 3. “Look, look, read it,” I said. He adamantly refused.

I was stunned. My God, your philandering ways as you scout for a second wife cannot be undermined in any way, not even by a verse in the Quran, I thought.

I then brought the Quran to another colleague and told her what the verse said and asked her to read it. I waited in anticipation as she fixed her eyes on Verse 4:3. She pushed the Quran back to me and said she was scared.

“What do you mean you are scared?” I asked.

“It’s so different from what I’ve been told.”

“But this is the Quran,” I said. “Aren’t you interested to know what it says?”

She was not, and she did not want to discuss it any further. And there I was bursting with rage that the phrase marry “two, three or four” is universally known as a man’s right in Islam, while marry “only one” is unheard of.

That was in 1989. I was reading the Quran with seven friends in weekly study sessions, led by the Quranic scholar, Dr Amina Wadud, who was then teaching at the International Islamic University.

The group that met in my house after work every Monday eventually became Sisters in Islam.

Given the example of the responses from my two colleagues, we knew from the start it would be an uphill battle to change mindsets.

But it is the knowledge and the conviction in an Allah who is just, in an Islam that is just and liberating to women that compelled us, with conviction and courage, to stand up and speak out of a different vision and understanding of Islam – one filled with kindness and compassion, with love and mercy.

In those days, we were campaigning for a law that would make domestic violence a crime. But the religious authorities were saying that such a law could not apply to Muslims because in Islam a man had the right to beat his wife.

Women were calling us up about their deadbeat husbands who had not given any maintenance to the children, who had taken second wives and neglected the first family, who had beaten them in the morning and demanded sex in the evening, who had refused to appear in court for divorce and maintenance cases.

Kelantan had been taken over by PAS and its new Mentri Besar was giving interviews that women should stay at home and be good wives and mothers.

How could we just keep quiet and not do anything. But how best to spread this message of equality and justice in Islam? We had no access to mosques and suraus, nor radio and television.

There were just eight of us, all women, all western-educated, and only one could speak Arabic. How do we begin to challenge a 1,400-year-old tradition of misogyny justified in the name of religion?

We hit the brainwave of using the media to write letters to the editor as a strategy to create a public voice and a public presence of a group of women claiming the justice of Islam. And the opportune time came in the case of Aishah Abdul Rauf v Wan Mohd Yusof Wan Othman in 1990, when the Selangor Syariah Appeals Court ruled that the husband did not have the right to take a second wife as he had not fulfilled the four conditions under the Islamic Family Law to ensure that a polygamous marriage would be just and necessary.

As controversy brewed over this progressive judgment, SIS wrote its first letter to the editor to welcome the judgment and shared with the public its view that polygamy was not a right in Islam, but allowed only in exceptional circumstances.

We presented a methodology where a verse should be understood through the context of its revelation, where all the text on a particular subject is looked as a whole to understand the trajectory of the message, and from this more holistic approach in understanding the Quran, values and principles of the message are extracted.

So ground-breaking was the letter that all four mainstream newspapers in English and Bahasa Malaysia published it. The rest as they say is history.

And today, Sisters in Islam leads a global initiative called Musawah, the global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family. It brings together hundreds of activists and scholars in the Muslim world and in minority Muslim contexts to build a public voice of Muslim women and men demanding equality and justice.

We assert that in the 21st century, there cannot be justice without equality. It is as simple and, yes, as joyous as that.

Zainah Anwar now leads Musawah, the global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family. She was the founding executive director of Sisters in Islam (SIS) and a former member of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia. She writes a monthly column

http://www.anera.org/gaza/AbeerAkeelengineerintheGazaoffice.php

Following in my Father's Footsteps

Abeer, engineer in ANERA's Gaza office

by Abeer Akeel
Daughter, Sister, Engineer


“Like mother, like daughter,” is an old Arabic saying that often comes to mind because I consider my mother to be my role model. She and I share the same sense of design and interest in art, though each of us excels in very different fields.

My mother is a technical instructor of clothing designs in one of the UNRWA centers. I am an engineer. I was born in Libya but came back to live in Khan Younis in southern Gaza when I was just four years old.

My father was an engineer before he died in a car accident in Libya. It was because of him that I chose to be an engineer. As the eldest of three, I wanted to follow in his footsteps and I was determined to succeed.

The people of my community always told me engineering was too hard for girls. They preferred their girls to choose less demanding, more traditional careers. But I had a lot of support from my mother who encouraged me to study whatever I wanted.

I studied hard and graduated from high school with high marks - 91%. Thanks to my grades and my family’s support, I went on to study engineering at the Islamic University. Since earning a B.Sc. in Engineering and also completing a Master's in Business Administration, many new doors have opened up for me. I have worked for different consultancy engineering companies and organizations such as Oxfam, in addition to teaching classes at Al-Aqsa University. However, my particular field of interest has always been engineering in the water and sanitation sector.

I have to say that Israel’s 2009 war on Gaza was a very important stage in my life. During that period, most of our hopes and dreams were buried under the rubble of destruction, and the line between life and death was very thin. I saw terrible things which can never be removed from my memory. At the time, I was working with Oxfam and was responsible for providing water tanks to the impoverished areas of Gaza, especially in the north. It was a critical time for Gaza, with entire water network infrastructures totally destroyed in the fighting. I saw how much of an impact we made simply by providing water tanks to the poorest communities, and the work touched my heart.

I spend long hours working in the office and especially in the field but the hours pass quickly because I am passionate about my work. Still, it is challenging in the field when workmen on project sites clearly prefer to receive advice and instructions from a male rather than a female engineer. Faith in my capabilities and determination push me to overcome the challenges of working in a male-dominated profession. In the conservative communities of Gaza, it is hard to change the way people think, but I believe this is slowly happening.

As I learned from my mother, “giving” is the best gift we possess and it can change the way people perceive us. I especially feel this way when I help people get access to clean water. Helping those people gives flavor to my life.

Today, I work as an office engineer in ANERA’s Gaza office, where I focus on projects funded by USAID under the Emergency Water and Sanitation and Other Infrastructure Program (EWAS II). Not only are the EWAS II projects of great importance in serving the community, they also give me the opportunity to do what I am passionate about, expand my experiences and strengthen my character. These experiences have fueled my ambitions and I hope one day to complete a PhD.

I also hope that, through my work, I can educate my community about women’s right to pursue education and work in any field. I strive through my example to send the message that women should go ahead and explore their interests, even the less “traditional” ones.


http://www.anera.org/gaza/AbeerAkeelengineerintheGazaoffice.php

Suleima Radwan
Wife, Mother, Architect

The philosopher Friedrich von Schelling once said, “architecture in general is frozen music.” And music is the medicine of my mind; it feeds my passion. This quote always encourages me to keep going until I fulfill my dreams and goals, despite all the challenges and obstacles.

I was raised in a humble village called Beit Illo in the West Bank. After finishing at a local high school, I attended the University of Jordan to study architecture and graduated in 1992. Many people in my village criticized my choice of study. They were concerned about my ability to work in a male-dominated environment, especially in the field. It’s not common for a Palestinian woman living in a village to go to work with strangers in different cities and towns. But, I didn’t let these criticisms stop me from pursuing my dream job as an architect. After graduation, I started working as an intern. I had to learn how to deal with engineers, workers, contractors, etc., and how to implement my designs on the ground. Studying something in theory is so different from actually practicing it. It was a very steep learning curve for me but I was able to learn quickly and adapt.

I faced even bigger challenges after I got married and had my first baby. Since I worked nine hours a day, I had to seriously adjust my career to accommodate my home life. It’s not fair to study hard for five years and then give up my dream to stay at home. I didn’t give up, especially because through my work I have the opportunity to help my people with my knowledge, ideas and experience. And I don’t believe that being a working mother and wife conflicts with my beliefs and traditions.

After years of hard work, I got a job working as an architect with Ad-Diyar Consultant Company, which ANERA recently contracted to work on projects under the Emergency Water and Sanitation and Other Infrastructure Program (EWAS II), which is funded by USAID. I put all my efforts into planning and drawing professional designs for projects, such as the rehabilitation of Ramallah Hospital and the Jericho City Water Network.

The project I’m currently working on is the rehabilitation of Jericho Government Hospital. Due to my strong professional experience, I play a critical role in coordinating and designing the hospital’s new departments, like the kidney dialysis building. Jericho Hospital is an important destination for many patients seeking treatment and medical testing.

When I see those patients, I feel proud of myself knowing how many will benefit from my work. It’s like leaving my fingerprint there.

Fortunately I have had the opportunity to benefit from working on EWAS II projects. Financially, my salary helps me support my husband and give my children the best education possible. On a personal level, I am gaining so many different skills at work, such as technical knowledge, better communication skills, time management skills, and a general healthy work discipline. At home, I also see positive changes in my personality that are reflected in the way I raise my children. I have a stronger character now, which helps me overcome any criticisms or pressure. I have more confidence in myself too, especially as I continue to expand my knowledge.

As a result of my work and sacrifices, I have noticed that many people look at me differently. They observe the many different roles I play and respect what I do. I have been working as an architect for nearly 19 years now. I finish work feeling tired but fulfilled, and despite my fatigue, it is always a pleasure to go home and play the role of mother to my three children and wife to my husband. It’s exhausting but I love both my family and my work!
_______________________________________________________________________
Hanadi Al-Ayaseh-Darwish
Wife, Mother, Architectural Engineer

I knew what I wanted to study even as a young girl living in Bethlehem. I got accepted to Birzeit University and graduated in 2003 with a B.Sc. in Architectural Engineering. When it comes to education, I was one of the few girls in my year fortunate enough to have a very supportive family. My father works for UNRWA and my mother is a retired school principal, so together they were very invested in educating their children. In fact, they wouldn’t accept anything less than a B.A. and encouraged my siblings and me to pursue higher degrees.

My first job after graduation was at the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation in Bethlehem. I spent five years there and did everything from drawing designs for rehabilitation of historical buildings to drawing up tenders and even negotiating price offers. I even contributed drawings and content to a book on “The History of the Anatreh Quarter in Bethlehem.”

I loved my job and my work colleagues. But, I soon felt an urge to expand my horizons and learn something new related to my work. I decided to go back to school and enrolled in the Masters in International Cooperation and Development (MICAD) Program at Bethlehem University. I really wanted to work for an international NGO and thought the MICAD would help me achieve this. It was the right choice. While studying for the program, I applied for a position with ANERA and got the job of Infrastructure Coordinator!

I was excited to get started because I knew that ANERA and the EWAS II Program (USAID-funded) had a good reputation in the West Bank for a strong work ethic and for helping the neediest communities. I also knew that working for ANERA and USAID would boost my career.

Since working at ANERA on the EWAS II Program, I have fulfilled many of my ambitions. I have learned the ins and outs of working for an international NGO and donor. I have been exposed to a larger geographical area well beyond the Bethlehem Governorate. Some people thought this would be an obstacle, but to me it was an opportunity. I now have experience working all over the Hebron and Bethlehem Governorates – roughly a third of the West Bank!

I have to admit that it was difficult when I first started visiting the work sites as a young graduate. I would get questioning looks from workmen wondering why a young woman in a safety hat was talking to them about detailed technical issues. But I ignored their looks and instead focused on learning how to approach the workers and engineers, how to talk to them and gain their respect.

Yes, I am a woman, but I am also an engineer and I understand my work very well! With time, workers could see that I had the capabilities and experience to do my job well. I remember once when my area manager told me he had heard one workman whisper to another that, “Engineer Hanadi is kind on the outside but tough on the inside!”

And, I didn’t even let my pregnancy stop me from going to work and going on site visits. On the contrary, I was determined not to let it become a weakness and wouldn’t give anybody the satisfaction of thinking so. Women all over the world have enough obstacles to face in their careers without succumbing to the belief that once they become pregnant, their careers are over. It was physically tiring, but something inside me pushed me on. When workmen saw me pregnant on sites, I had to be very strong and show that I was still a functioning human being who could think and respond logically!

I am blessed that I have a very supportive husband who helped me while I was getting my MICAD and during my pregnancies. He had no problem helping with the children, the cleaning, etc., while I was studying for exams or was simply too tired to function.

But most important, I have persevered through my own sheer will. My education and work experiences have strengthened my character and heightened my self-confidence, and I will certainly pass on these life lessons to my own children.

If any woman looks to me as an example and pursues what is deemed an unusual career for a female, I will be very pleased!
_______________________________________________________________________
Maha Abu Akar
Preschool Teacher

I have to admit that it is a challenge being a preschool teacher because it’s a neglected and often misunderstood sector. I was taught at college that early childhood education was the most important stage of a child’s life, but after I finished college and started working, I discovered a harsh reality.

Many people think preschool is silly and a waste of time and money. Many parents refuse to send their children to preschool thinking that they could play at home instead and it’s safer. But playing at home is different from playing at a preschool, the games there are supervised and intentional, not haphazard. Preschool games can teach kids many important things like proper social behavior and time management.

I never went to preschool, because my parents also thought it was a waste of money and we were poor. From my window, I would watch the kids going to preschool and I wanted to go with them so badly. I believe I would have been a different person had I gone to preschool.

I’ve been a teacher for nine years but I don’t remember ever wanting to be one when I was a child. Maybe it was the environment in the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem where I grew up. I think the physical and emotional confinement of the refugee camp seeped inside of me and conquered my mind. Women were seen as best suited to be teachers and I never questioned it or gave it much thought.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t horrible living in the camp. There was a warm family atmosphere that I still miss. Relationships inside the camp were genuine and strong. Still, it wasn’t easy being a little girl there. Girls were supposed to stay at home to help their mothers and were prohibited from running around the alleyways of the camp to play with the neighbors’ kids.

The camp restricted my freedom and nurtured a deep shyness and lack of self-esteem in me. The shyness followed me like my own shadow.

You can imagine my excitement when I was old enough to go to school. But the curriculum was boring. We learned everything by memorization. Nothing was child-centered or child-driven.

I was terribly shy and found it hard to make friends. As I matured, I wanted to break free from my shyness but it wasn’t until I finished grade school that I began to gain self confidence. I enrolled at Al-Tireh College and was finally on my own. The two years I spent there were the best years of my life! There were only a few academic programs and I ended up in Childhood Education.

I remember when I had to lead a class of 25 preschoolers for the first time. My classmates and instructor observed me while I tried to teach the children a poem about winter. I was so nervous but I got good feedback and it gave me confidence and a determination to do better.

I always try to be innovative and I make sure to incorporate our Palestinian heritage to instill a sense of pride in the children. We learn poems and songs and sometimes they wear traditional Palestinian clothes for special occasions.

I have also gained a lot from training sessions organized by ANERA as part of their Early Childhood Development program that is helping us better prepare lesson plans focused on child participation. I could see the positive impact of giving children activities that stirred their imagination and of making the classroom a bright and inviting place for learning.

Do you know the happiest moments for me now? When parents praise me and my way of teaching and see all the love I have towards their children. That is my true reward.