Women in Muslim Contexts

This site contains a number of useful articles on ongoing constructive debates among Muslims, particularly among intellectuals and reformists.

Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights

Karamah is a US-based Muslim women's NGO committed to supporting human rights worldwide, especially the rights of Muslim women. Their focus is on domestic and global issues of human rights for Muslims and they do research, education, and advocacy work in matters pertaining to Muslim women and human rights in Islam, as well as to civil rights and other related rights under the Constitution of the United States.

Muslim Women's League (MWL)

MWL is a non-profit American Muslim organization working to implement the values of Islam and thereby reclaim the status of women as free, equal and vital contributors to society

Qantara

The project is funded by the German Foreign Office. The Internet portal Qantara represents the concerted effort of the three German institutes (the Federal Center for Political Education, the German Radio and TV Deutsch Welle and the Goethe-Institut) in promoting dialogue with the Islamic world.

Semarak Cerlang Nusa (SCN)

SCN is research /documentation/education and capacity building institute based in Indonesia. The site offers working papers and workshops they have undertaken and are available only in Bahasa.

Shirkat Gah

Shirkat Gah ("place of participation") is a key partner of WEMC and is a research /documentation /advocacy/capacity building institute based in Pakistan. The site offers access to its publications on the status and rights of women in Pakistan and news /updates on women in Muslim contexts in Pakistan and other countries.

Sisters in Islam (SIS)

Sisters in Islam (SIS) is a group of Malaysian Muslim professional women committed to promoting the rights of women within the framework of Islam. Its mission is to promote an awareness of the true principles of Islam, principles that enshrine the concept of equality between women and men, and to strive towards creating a society that upholds the Islamic principles of equality, justice, freedom and dignity within a democratic state. The site contains very useful publications by SIS that examine Muslim women's rights based on the principles of equality, justice and freedom and the Qur'anic texts.

Solidaritas Perempuan (SP)

This website offers news articles, conference reports, community mobilization and research on migration and trafficking; women and food sovereignty; women and natural disasters and conflict – the three focused areas of SP's work. It also features important developments in Indonesia in these three areas that require urgent actions by the public. Available only in Bahasa Indonesia.

The International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM)

The International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM) promotes interdisciplinary research on contemporary social and intellectual trends and movements in Muslim societies and communities. ISIM was established in 1998 and is based in Leiden, The Netherlands.

Women's Learning Partnership (WLP)

WLP is an international network of 18 autonomous and independent partner organizations in the Global South, particularly in Muslim-majority societies. Its primary objectives are to increase the number of women taking on leadership and decision-making roles at family, community, and national levels, and to improve the effectiveness of feminist movements in Muslim-majority societies and, globally, to strengthen the capacity of our partner organizations. WLP designs culturally-adapted leadership training curricula and implements leadership and empowerment programmes for women at the grassroots in 18 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Information about these curricula and programmes can be accessed at this site.

Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)

WLUML is an international network spanning at least 70 countries that provides information, solidarity and support for all women whose lives are shaped, conditioned or governed by laws and customs said to derive from Islam.

Academic and Research Institutes

International and Regional Women's Rights, Human Rights and Development NGOS

The site contains many country and thematic reports on women's human rights and gender-based violence including in Muslim contexts. Under the page on “Stop Violence Against Women Campaign”, there are tools on how to use international human rights law and standards in campaigning against gender-based discrimination and violence.

APWLD is an independent, non-government, non-profit organization. It is committed to enabling women to use law as an instrument of social change for equality, justice and development.

This site is one of the most comprehensive information and resource base on gender equality, women empowerment and development.

ENGENDER is a regional NGO focusing on the environmental, gender and social impact of development in Asia and is engaged in innovative thinking in these areas. Its network includes professionals, development practitioners, academics and activists who share the view that social and gender equity are essential, non-alienable human rights that belong equally to all in society. The site offers a number of articles on alternative development paradigms from a gender perspective.

The Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW) uses international human rights law and norms to promote respect for women's rights throughout the world. This site contacts country and thematic reports, position papers and statements by HRW on human rights violations and concerns committed against women including women in Muslim contexts.

Oxfam GB is a development, relief, and campaigning organization based in Oxford, United Kingdom with presence in all of WEMC's nodal countries. The website has a page dedicated to “gender” and contains a significant volume of publications, paper and information on many aspects of “gender and development” which are relevant to the study of women empowerment.

Siyanda

Siyanda (“we are growing” in isiZulu language) is an on-line database of gender and development materials from around the world. It is also an interactive space where gender practitioners and women's rights advocates can share their experiences and resources. The site is hosted by BRIDGE - the gender and development research and information service located at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) (in the United Kingdom). BRIDGE is one of several knowledge services available from the IDS.

United Nations

This site contains all official UN and government documents relevant to the States' fulfillment of their international obligations to gender equality and non-discrimination of women under the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (Women's Convention). All States and shadow reports to the Treaty body responsible for the Women's Convention (the CEDAW Committee) can be found here.

This site contains all country and thematic reports by the UNSRVAW since the post was created in 1994.

WomenWatch is the central gateway to information and resources on the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women throughout the United Nations system, including the United Nations Secretariat, regional commissions, funds, programmes, specialized agencies and academic and research institutions. The website provides information on the outcomes of, as well as efforts to incorporate gender perspectives into follow-up to global conferences on women.

This site contains all country and thematic reports by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The documents in this site are important resource in the understanding of the intersection between the rights perspective in the exercise of freedom of religion or belief and discrimination of women in Muslim contexts.

UNIFEM is the women's fund at the United Nations. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies to foster women's empowerment and gender equality. The advancement of women's human rights is at the centre of all of its efforts and it focuses its activities on four strategic areas: (1) reducing feminized poverty, (2) ending violence against women, (3) reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls, and (4) achieving gender equality in democratic governance in times of peace as well as war. The site offers many articles, working papers and publications on women's human rights and gender equality.