Burkas. Veils. Stoning. Powerlessness. Weeping mothers of children killed in sectarian violence. These are the images prominent in the U.S. media and that of other Western nations when it comes to Muslim women in the Arab region.
In partnership with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Women’s eNews will produce news that is completely different. In an eight-part series of stories about women and Islam, correspondents in the United States and in the broader Muslim world will report on the strategies adopted by Muslim women to respect their faith and culture, while insisting on the right to participate fully in their societies, to be heard not as Western-style feminists but as women of faith who are equal.
Women are working within Islamic frameworks to pave a clear path for their own spiritual and civic leadership; their scholarship is laying a foundation for understanding women’s equal rights within their religious doctrine.
Many Muslim women are revisiting traditional views and religious beliefs, making them more inclusive and respectful of both sexes. U.S.-based Muslim women are challenging stereotypes and political beliefs that are used to rationalize foreign policy decisions by actively challenging bias; Muslims in the Middle East are strongly pressing their cases for their human rights, while expressing their devotion to their faith and their governments.
By approaching these women with the underlying belief that it is the women themselves who are determining their own futures, Women’s eNews reveals Muslim women as fully fledged architects of their own destinies, taking an active hand in writing their own stories.
Date: 12/04/07 By WeNews Staff
Women’s eNews launched an eight-part series exploring how Muslim women manage customs, religious practices and women’s rights. This series is supported by a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
