By Danny Wood
BBC News, Madrid
Organiser Abdennur Prado Pavon says the struggle for gender equality in Islamic countries involves refuting chauvinist interpretations of Muslim teachings. The congress is being held in Spain, organisers say, because they want their message to reach the growing number of Muslim women in Europe.
Around 300 delegates are looking at women’s rights in the Islamic world. Mr Prado, of the Catalan Islamic board, believes a common misconception in the West is that women’s liberation is not possible in Muslim societies. Activists representing the Islamic feminist movement are in Barcelona to counter that view and discuss ways of achieving female equality in an Islamic context.
Among the delegates is the Pakistani feminist Riffat Hassan, regarded as one of the pioneers of Islamic feminist theology. Also here are representatives from the international association, Islamic Feminism. Islamic Feminism argues that the inferior legal and social status of women in Muslim countries is a result of misogynistic distortions of the teachings in the Koran. Organisers say they want more collaboration with western feminists but say non-Muslim feminists need to challenge their anti-Islamic stereotypes.
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What do you think should be done to address misconceptions of women and Islam?
The following comments reflect the balance of views received:
It is a common misconception in Western nations that Islam is an inherently oppressive religion with regards to women, but as the Islamic feminists themselves argue, it is the interpretations and cultural influences of the societies in which the religion spread that allowed for the current status for women in Islamic cultures today. The West is hardly so far advanced from Islam as we would like to believe. We are just less open in our practices than others.
Carolyn Bailey, Gothenburg, Sweden.
The major factor behind discrimination against women in the Muslim world is lack of knowledge about rights and duties as defined in the Holy Quran. We reject and accept whatever we feel like without even bothering to consult the Quran. We Muslims should understand that our religion is not just a few praying rituals but a doctrine defining our behaviours and ways of life. Lack of education and weak financial conditions make men insecure and more liable to turn oppressive, violent and dominant, proving to themselves and others that they are still “Man enough”. Education and good job opportunities is a way to make them realise that there are better ways to prove themselves “Man” rather than beating their wives.” Shaheera Munir , Lahore, Pakistan.
For more comments ,visit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4384512.stm.
