South Asia

Fatwas Against Women in Bangladesh

This publication describes death sentences pronounced against women in order to obstruct women's development and education, those against women journalists, women who have been accused of sex outside marriage and cases of violence against women and situates these in the religious/political context of Bangladesh in the 1990s.

Time to Speak Out: Illegal Abortion and Women’s Reproductive Health in Pakistan

Research & writing on abortion and reproductive health in Pakistan: The International Context: The ICPD of Action and Abortion; Hopes and Realities: a Global Perspective; Reproductive Health and Population Programmes in Pakistan since 1947; Harsh Realities: The why and how of abortion in Pakistan: Scientific Research into Incidence of Abortion.

India: Stand in solidarity with the women of Gujarat on 8th March

As you are probably planning activities around International Women’s Day, 8th March, WLUML strongly urges you to refocus international attention, protests and solidarity on the ongoing genocidal process taking place in the Indian state of Gujarat since late February 2002.

Dossier 22: In Memory of Begum Sufia Kamal, the Unrelenting Voice for Democracy, Secularism and Women’s rights in Bangladesh

• Excerpts from: New York Times, November 28, 1999

Sufia Kamal, Bangladeshi Writer and Women's Rights Advocate, Dies
By Douglas Martin

Sufia Kamal, a Bangladeshi poet, political activist and feminist, died at age 88 on Nov. 20 1999 and was buried [...] with full state honors, the first woman to receive that recognition from Bangladesh. [...] [Thousands] of people paid their respects to Ms. Kamal at her funeral [...] in Dhaka. [...] [Begum Kamal] ...

Dossier 22: Communalisation of Muslims in Sri Lanka - An Historical Perspective

Introduction

The objective of this paper is to provide a historical overview of the processes of communal identity formation in Sri Lanka with special reference to the Muslim community [1]. Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic society in which Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and others have coexisted for centuries. However, in more recent times, ethnic relations on the Island have been consistently strained by the rise of communalist politics which have deepened ethnic and religious divides.

Dossier 22: Pakistan - Attempt to Exploit Religion for Political Gain

“Whereas sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone and the authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised through their chosen representatives within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust; And whereas Islam is the State religion of Pakistan and it is the obligation of the State to enable the Muslims of Pakistan, individually and collectively, to order their lives in accordance with the fundamental principles and basic concepts of Islam set out in the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah;

And whereas in

Dossier 22: Jihad International Inc.

The violence of Islamism has roused anxious concern throughout the world, especially the Muslim world. In the United States, the media and policy makers wage a campaign to demonize Muslims and Islam as a threat to Western interests and civilization itself. This politically motivated propaganda has been aided by the Islamic resistance to Israel's occupation of Lebanon, the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan, along with such incidents as the plot to blow up New York's World Trade Center.

Dossier 22: The Need for Codification and Reform in Muslim Personal Law in India

The question of Muslim personal law has become not only a question of Muslim identity but also a question with deeper political implications. The Muslim leadership doggedly resist any reform in certain aspects of the law particularly pertaining to marriage and divorce and the Hindu communal leadership would not accept anything short of complete abolition of personal law pertaining to Muslims.

Dossier 22: Pakistan: Religious Intolerance Rides Over Freedoms

ISLAMABAD, Nov 10, [1998] (IPS) - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's attempt to Islamise Pakistan has been checkmated by the imposition of Governor's rule in the troubled Pakistani province of Sindh.

The controversial 15th Constitutional Amendment Bill, popularly called the Shariat Bill, has lost even the slimmest chance of ratification in the Senate, but rights activists who are alarmed by the loss of freedom say the reprieve is at best temporary.

Just last Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made the bill the main plank of a public speech in the mountainous nort

Dossier 22: Post Divorce Maintenance for Muslim Women and the Islamist Discourse

Introduction

We live in an era where relativism and humanism affect almost every facet of our lives. Not least among these facets is the discourse of Islam vis a vis women’s human rights. The importance of such factors as relativism, humanism and gender sensitivity has not come about in a vacuum.