On August 4th, 2015, LLSP Class of 2015 participants heard from an impressive list of speakers.To start the day, students heard from Dr. Azizah al-Hibri on women’s financial rights in Islam. Dr. al-Hibri clarified the meaning of sadaq, commonly mistranslated as dowry, and the circumstances under which women would and would not be entitled to it upon divorce. Dr. al-Hibri also clarified the differences between talaq, khula’, faskh and judicial divorce. Dr. al-Hibri then discussed the woman’s role in marriage, distinguishing between the duties expected of a wife by society as opposed to the duties expected of a wife by Islam. She said: “when people marry, God puts between them affection, tranquility and mercy. The marital relationship is one of companionship and therefore, the marriage contract cannot be conceived of as an exchange of services.” In the second lecture of the day, Dr. al-Hibri was joined by General David Irvine to talk about the findings of the Constitution Project task force they were part of and which investigated U.S. torture practices. ( Read more) After their lunch break, students returned for a class on Policy Advocacy with Qudsia Raja. Ms. Raja described her work advocating for victims of domestic violence, and discussed with participants their experiences advocating in their home countries for issues they are passionate about. Although Ms. Raja acknowledged that “what works here doesn’t work everywhere else, and vice versa,” she provided students with some basics of policy advocacy. She described the complex process of advocacy and policy change in Washington, DC, from working with constituents to working with the media, coalition building to meeting with members of Congress. Recognizing that this kind of communication can seem a daunting process, she provided students with concrete strategies to build relationships with members of Congress, including “communicate regularly and follow through, share your advocacy stories, understand what motivates your elected official,” among others. After discussing participants’ own experiences with policy advocacy, they shared their appreciation for Ms. Raja and her work. One student remarked: “I appreciate you outlining the steps you need to take before you can influence policy and to build those relationships.” Another said, “I think it’s important what you’re doing, and I can identify with the steps that you follow because globally we take a lot of the same steps, too.” To finish the day, Ms. Aisha Rahman walked students through a case study, encouraging them to spot the issues and to try to devise potential solutions, as though they were working on the case themselves. Students had a busy day today at LLSP, but appreciated the breadth and depth of the courses, and how each of them can apply to their own lives and work back home.
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