Posted by Acia Riz
We, the undersigned, believe that the oppression of women is a grave offense against all of humanity and that such offense is an
impediment to social and moral progress throughout the world.
We therefore cannot ignore the oppression of women by orthodox and fundamentalist religions. We cannot deny history, which
shows that these religions were devised and enforced by men who claimed divine justification for the subordination of women
to men. We cannot forget that the three Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with the Old Testament, New
Testament, and the Koran as their respective holy texts, consider women inferior in every way to men: physically, morally, and
intellectually.
We also note that, whereas women in the Christian West and Israel have ameliorated their lot considerably through their own
heroic efforts, their sisters in the Islamic world, and even within Islamic communities in the West, have been thwarted in their
valiant attempts to rise above the inferior position imposed upon them by centuries of Islamic custom and law.
We have watched as official Islamization programs in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, the Sudan, and Afghanistan, among others,
have led to serious violations of the human rights of women. Muslim conservatives in all Muslim countries, and even in nominally
secular India, have refused to recognize women as full, equal human beings who deserve the same rights and freedoms as men.
Women in many Islamic societies are expected to marry, obey their husbands, bring up children, stay at home, and avoid
participation in public life. At every stage of their lives, they are denied free choice and the fundamental right of autonomy. They
are forbidden to acquire an education, prevented from getting a job, and thwarted from exploring their full potential as members
of the human community.
We therefore declare that . . .
1. The subordinate place of women in Islamic societies should give way to equality. A woman should have freedom of action,
should be able to travel alone, should be permitted to uncover her face, and should be allowed the same inheritance rights as a
man.
2. She should not be subject to gruesome ritual mutilations of her person.
3. On reaching the legal age, she should be free to marry a man of her own choice without permission from a putative guardian
or parents. She should be free to marry a non-Muslim. She should be free to divorce and be entitled to maintenance in the case
of divorce.
4. She should have equal access to education, equal opportunities for higher education, and be free to choose her subject of
study. She should be free to choose her own job and should be allowed to fully participate in public life-from politics and sports
to the arts and sciences.
5. In Islamic societies, she should enjoy the same human rights as those guaranteed under International Human Rights
legislation.
Islam may not be the sole factor in the repression of women. Local, social, economic, political, and educational forces as well
as the prevalence of pre-Islamic customs must also be taken into consideration. But Islam and the application of the
sharia, Islamic law, remain a major obstacle to the evolution of the position of women.
To achieve these basic human rights for women, we advocate that the question of women's status be removed from the
religious sphere altogether, that governments institute a separation of religion and state, and that authorities enact a uniform civil
code under which all are equal.
In the name of justice, for the sake of human progress, and for the benefit of all the wives, daughters, sisters, and mothers of the
world, we call for all societies to respect the human rights of women.
Reza Afshari, Iran, Political Scientist
Sadik al Azm, Syria, Philosopher
Mahshid Amir-Shahy, Iran, Author, Social Critic, and Founder of the Defense League for Rushdie, France
Masud Ansari, Iran, Physician, Author, United States
Bahram Azad, Iran, Scholar, Physician, United States
Parvin Darabi, Scholar, Homa Darabi Foundation, United States
Khalid Duran, Professor of Political Science, Editor and Founder of TransState Islam, Founder of the Ibn Khaldun Society,
United States
Ranjana Hossain, Executive Director of the Assembly of Free Thinkers, Bangladesh
Mustafa Hussain, Sudan, Advisory Board, Ibn Khaldun Society, United States
Ramine Kamrane, Iran, Political Scientist, France
Ioanna Kucuradi, Philosopher, Turkish Human Rights Commission and Secretary General, International Federation of
Philosophical Societies, Turkey
Luma Musa, Palestine, Communications Researcher, United Kingdom
Taslima Nasrin, Bangladesh, Author, Physician, Social Critic
Hossainur Rahman, India, Social Historian, Columnist, Asiatic Society of Calcutta
Siddigur Rahman, Bangladesh, Former Research Fellow, Islamic Research Institute
Armen Saginian, Iran, Editor, Publisher, United States
Anwar Shaikh, Pakistan, Author, Social Critic, United Kingdom
Ibn Warraq, India, Author, Why I Am Not a Muslim, United States
Identifications include countries of origin and current residence. Affiliations listed for identification only.
|
