On April 23, KARAMAH Executive Director Aisha Rahman spoke at the 2016 Legislative Evening at the Islamic Society of Baltimore. The outreach event was intended to create a space of dialogue and communication between local lawmakers and legislators throughout the state of Maryland.
Ms. Rahman focused her speech on her own personal journey to her current work promoting gender equity from an Islamic framework at KARAMAH. She reinforced the need for Muslim communities to strengthen their understanding and relationship with Islam. KARAMAH believes that through proper knowledge and education of Islam, society can be reminded of its obligation to promote justice and equity. Islam, she mentioned, is also self-reflective and encourages all people to stand up for truth by eradicating patriarchy, xenophobia, racism, and other injustices.
Both the speeches of Ms. Rahman and Dr. Chaudhry, as well as those of two student speakers, were met with enthusiasm by the legislators as well as the overall Muslim community at the event. Three points struck Ms. Rahman at the conclusion of the event, which have highlighted her commitment to the task of connecting the work of KARAMAH with greater communities.
The first is a subtle shift on the part of Muslim men, many of whom approached Ms. Rahman after her speech to thank her for her remarks. This highlights the need for Muslim communities to be more proactive in involving outspoken Muslim women leaders in their programming. KARAMAH fiercely advocates for Muslim women to claim their rightful place as empowered community leaders in all facets of society. Prioritizing the integration of Muslim women in spaces of leadership will be in accordance with the Islamic precedent for gender equity and justice in all spheres of life.
The second was a reflection on the current state of affairs for Muslim families throughout the country. KARAMAH is an organization heavily active in furthering civil rights issues on a national and global level. What is always striking for Ms. Rahman is an almost inevitable influx of people seeking help or advice with particular personal issues involving domestic violence and sexual assault every time she mentions them in a speech, as she did in this case. We must be reflexive in evaluating the current state of the Muslim family, keeping in mind that Islam was revealed during a time of widespread ignorance when women were not given their due rights. Of the earliest actions of the Prophet Muhammad (s) into his prophethood were actions supporting the family system and the strong women in his community. At a time in which the Muslim ummah is struggling with widespread issues of domestic violence and sexual assault, we must change the narrative and be proactive in eradicating these social ills from our society.
The event concluded with a member of the Muslim community attempting to lighten the tone of the event by remarking on how Muslim women, his wife in particular, are difficult to deal with because they are so empowered by their religion. Ms. Rahman has, more than once, noticed attempts at humor by Muslim men in an effort to bring a lighthearted tone to issues of women’s rights or the need to address violence against women. Such jokes or attempt at humor are truly a disservice to the faith, not only in invalidating the work of KARAMAH and others addressing such challenging issues within the Muslim community, but to the very real challenges women face every day within family contexts. It is extremely important not to trivialize such matters but to voice support and commitment to helping stand for justice in all contexts, gender included.
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