Press Release: International Campaign To Promote Human Right Across Muslim Societies

Human rights, including sexual and reproductive rights have been under attack in all Muslim societies. Rising conservatism, fueled by militarism, increasing inequalities, the politicization of religion and Islamophobia have strengthened patriarchal and extremist religious ideologies.

For instance, last week a woman in Turkey was asked to get written consent from her rapist in order to have an abortion, while a recent bill passed in the Sudan annulled the prohibition of FGM/C and a new legislation in Indonesia’s Aceh now allows for stoning to death as punishment for adultery, while the bodily and sexual rights of Palestinian women continue to be violated in the shadow of the apartheid wall… These examples remind us again that sexuality is not a private issue but a site of political struggle.

On November 9, 2009, a very diverse group of NGOs will stage bold actions in 11 countries to promote human rights. As part of the historic international campaign “One Day One Struggle” organized by the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR), over 20 organizations will hold simultaneous events and public demonstrations on topics like protesting customary practices such as honor killings and FGM/C, overturning discriminatory and life threatening laws like stoning or lashing of women, and calling for LGBT rights, the right to sexuality education and the right to bodily and sexual integrity of all people.

During the Campaign that promises to be a milestone event in the history of the sexual and reproductive rights movement, hundreds will gather in university campuses in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Lebanon and the Sudan, at press conferences in Cyprus, Egypt and Malaysia, in conference and concert halls in Tunisia and Pakistan and on the streets of Turkey and Palestine, to assert that sexual and reproductive rights are universal human rights based on the inherent freedom, dignity and equality of all human beings.

CSBR is a globally renowned solidarity network of progressive NGOs and premier academic institutions in the Middle East, North Africa, South and Southeast Asia, working to promote sexual and bodily rights as human rights in Muslim societies. www.wwhr.org/csbr.php

To find out more about the Campaign in:

BANGLADESH:

Centre for Gender, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University: sabina [at] bracu [dot] ac [dot] bd; dmsiddiqi [at] yahoo [dot] com
Boys of Bangladesh (BoB): xecon27 [at] yahoo [dot] com
CYPRUS:

Feminist Workshop (FEMA): feministatolye [at] gmail [dot] com
EGYPT:

Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), New Woman Foundation (NWF): eipr [at] eipr [dot] org
INDONESIA:

GAYa NUSANTRA: maria [dot] notes [at] yahoo [dot] com
Puan Amal Hayati Foundation (PUAN): atashabsjah [at] yahoo [dot] com
LEBANON:

Meem: lynn [at] meemgroup [dot] org
Helem: ghassan [at] helem [dot] net
MALAYSIA:

Women’s Aid Organization (WAO), All Women's Action Society (AWAM), Sisters in Islam (SIS), Empower: vizlakumaresan [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk
PAKISTAN:

Vision: ahsan_anwari [at] hotmail [dot] com
Organization for the Protection and Propagation of the Rights of Sexual Minorities (OPPRSM): kylapasha [at] gmail [dot] com
PALESTINE:

Gender Studies Project at MADA Al-Carmel, Arab Center for Applied Social Research: himmat [at] mada-research [dot] org
Muntada, The Arab Forum for Sexuality, Education and Health: safa [dot] tamish [at] gmail [dot] com
Women Against Violence (WAV): aida_touma_slima [at] hotmail [dot] com; wav_org [at] hotmail [dot] com
SUDAN:

Ahfad University for Women: Amani_elkhatim [at] yahoo [dot] com
TUNISIA:

Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates (ATFD): ahlembelhadj [at] gmail [dot] com; childpsy_razi [at] yahoo [dot] fr
TURKEY:

Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) – New Ways: irazca [dot] geray [at] wwhr [dot] org