As a part of KARAMAH’s work to address gender justice, the office welcomed a delegation of Middle Eastern government officials, lawyers, researchers, and military officers to discuss effective legal frameworks for combating violence against women and cases of domestic violence within a Muslim context.
On October 31, the Chair and Founder of KARAMAH, Dr. Azizah al-Hibri, along with the Executive Director Aisha Rahman, welcomed the fifteen delegates to the workshop, titled “Preventing and Confronting Domestic Abuse and Violence: A Project for the Near East and North Africa.”
Ms. Rahman spoke to a rapt audience about the reality of domestic violence in the Muslim community, taking them through a series of case studies. Her examples hammered home the aftershock of domestic violence across the Muslim community. Ms. Rahman also stressed the difference between religion and culture, distinctions that are usually overlooked during the cases.
Through demonstration, Ms. Rahman hammered home the issue of working with Imams to encourage their constituents to both marry Islamically and legally. Without the legal agreement, she warned, the rights of the wife are stripped should the marriage sour. The delegates were concerned about why this continued to be an issue, and Ms. Rahman explained that many Imams still remained resistant to realizing the reality of abuse in the community.
Dr. al-Hibri concluded the training by citing the Qur’an and discussing Islamic jurisprudence reiterating Islam’s gender equitable principles. She gave special credence to passages discussing the creation of man and woman—passages which stress equity in humanity.
The speakers and members of the delegation exchanged knowledge and perspectives on the cultural implications of domestic violence and the protections and limitations of DV law. The conversation ended on an optimistic note, with the hope both by KARAMAH and the delegation that with awareness, perhaps the issues would be more constructively approached in the future.
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