On March 1st, KARAMAH hosted a panel discussion at the United Nations Church Center to coincide with the 56th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations. This event, co-sponsored by Women in Islam Inc., explored how Islamic economic models have empowered Muslim women to lead efforts for development and the elimination of poverty and hunger. In addition to providing examples of how Muslim women leaders and Muslim women’s organizations throughout history have served their communities, panelists also alluded to the idea that similar models could be used successfully in modern contexts to help women lead the fight against poverty and hunger.
This event is the latest in KARAMAH’s efforts to work towards a greater understanding of Islamic perspectives on Muslim women’s rights at the United Nations. In late 2011, KARAMAH received Special Consultative Status with the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Since that time, KARAMAH has planned efforts to raise awareness about women’s rights and Islam among the diplomatic and civil society communities at the United Nations.
During Thursday’s event, KARAMAH and Women in Islam, Inc. provided a platform to two experts on women’s rights and Islam. The first panelist was Engy Abdelkader, current Vice President of KARAMAH, Legal Fellow with the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, and a prominent American Muslim female attorney. Ms. Abdelkader emphasized the significance of women’s access to education to facilitate financial empowerment and referenced the Prophet Muhammad’s positive position on women’s intellectual and professional pursuits during the advent of Islam. Throughout her speech, Ms. Abdelkader spoke about Islam’s tradition of succesful women community leaders, presenting examples from early Islamic history and modern Muslim communities. Among the examples given by Ms. Abdelkader were Aisha bint Abubakr, a female intellectual who was considered superior in knowledge to her male contemporaries in the areas of Islamic law, poetry, history and medicine. Given Aisha’s position as the beloved wife of the Prophet Muhammad and the daughter of the first Muslim Caliph, Aisha presents a viable model for Muslim women challenging the minority extremist view that Islam prohibits women’s education, and thus limits their financial capabilities. Ms. Abdelkader also explained how such models can be incorporated into workshops on Quranic interpretation relating to women which are occurring on the ground in the Muslim world (e.g. Afghanistan) to support more egalitarian approaches. She also highlighted KARAMAH’s contributions to this area through its annual Law & Leadership Program.
The second panelist was Abed Awad, an attorney, community leader, and widely respected expert on Islamic Law and laws of Arab countries. During his speech, Mr. Awad raised awareness about aspects of Islamic jurisprudence that can be used to empower women economically and socially, helping them to be the driving force behind sustainable economic growth in their communities. In particular, Mr. Awad focused on practices that were common in Islamic communities through the 17th centuries, including the creation of guilds and endowments. With regards to guilds, Mr. Awad described the creation of union-like associations, often led by women, that provided resources to support profitable businesses while also providing mechanisms to distribute wealth among all guild members. With regards to endowments, Mr. Awad pointed out the prevalence of waqfs – Islamic endowments – being established by Muslim women, with 40% of all endowments in 16th century Aleppo being created by women. Both of these practices, in addition to other examples given by Mr. Awad, demonstrated how Islamic economic models provided women with the ability to lead economic development, and the possibility that these models could assist women in leading economic development in modern societies as well.
Following the speeches from Ms. Abdelkader and Mr. Awad was a robust question and answer session where event attendees, from around the world, were eager to discuss how these ideas can be, and are being, implemented in their communities.
KARAMAH is pleased with the reception from all event attendees, and is excited to continue educating leaders and actors at the United Nations about the Islamic perspectives on women’s rights. For more information about KARAMAH’s scholarship and the issues discussed at this event, visit KARAMAH’s “Articles” section on its website at www.karamah.org/resources/articles.
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