|
This being Women’s Month, Muslim women presented
their situation to their sisters at a whole day forum organized by
the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy and the Women and
Gender Institute (WAGI) at the Miriam College on March 19. The forum
focused on the challenges and opportunities for Muslim women under
the UN Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW): The principal supporters were the Asia
Foundation and the Magbassa Kita Foundation Inc. Tattie Licuanan,
president of Miriam College, and Oyie de Dios, staunch defenders of
women’s rights, threw in their support to help their Muslim
sisters find their voices, firm up their resolve, strengthen their
muscles as we collectively fight discrimination as we work on peace
and security issues.
In Mindanao ordinary women have
been a potent force in any social, political, or economic
undertaking. After the 1996 Peace Agreement, Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) women became vocal about their exclusion
from the process. Led by Ruayda Misuari, wife of MNLF Chairman Nur
Misuari, they organized themselves into a Bangsamoro Women
Solidarity Forum and started women’s cooperatives in ARMM.
Several Muslim women’s groups
have engaged the state elites, usually dominated by men wishing to
retain the power that they currently enjoy. A few organizations are
challenging the predominating patriarchal values, which exclude
women from the political and economic systems. Sen. Santanina T.
Rasul (the legislator behind laws such as declaring March 8 as
Women’s Day, the Women in Nation Building and Development Act,
inclusion of a seat for women in the barangay, municipal, city and
provincial legislation), has been motivating and organizing Muslim
women to become peace advocates and human rights monitors since
2001.
Women’s groups in the ARMM have
worked to set up institutions that they believe will cater to their
interest and welfare. During the time of Misuari, Bangsamoro women
lobbied for a legislation creating the Regional Commission on
Bangsamoro Women (RCBW). The first chairman, Tarhata Maglangit,
worked against great obstacles (lack of resources, low priority
given by ARMM to women’s issues). The current chairman, Salama
Ampatuan, is looking for help to address the many obstacles in the
path to women empowerment.
Bangsamoro women are attempting
to be heard today with regards to the current peace process with the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). For instance, why are there
still no women on the board of the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA),
the organization which the MILF and government have set up to lead
in development efforts when a peace agreement is finally signed?
As Muslim women work for peace
and development, they face obstacles from within their own
communities. There has been much research conducted by Muslim
religious scholars to show that Islam has been the first religion to
accept the equality between men and women. Sura 49, Verse 13 of the
Holy Koran states: “O mankind! We created you from a single pair
of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that
ye may know each other, not that ye may despise each other.” Thus,
not only are Muslims enjoined to be part of a pluralistic society.
Muslim men and women are recognized as father and mother of all
nations. Muslim men and women are equally recognized as members of
society. Thus, partnership defines the Islamic ideal relationship
between men and women.
In the Islamic World, jurists and
women’s organizations have focused attention on the Sharia. They
are advocating for a more equitable interpretation of the code of
personal laws within the context of Islam. Sisters in Islam
(Malaysia) lead in the advocacy for more gender-fair interpretations
of Sharia, as allowed by Islam. In Indonesia, Dr. Musdah Mulia has
led the research and codification of personal laws, and has provoked
much controversy about the proposal to ban polygamy.
Discourse should be encouraged
among all Muslims in which informed critical reasoning and cultural
mediation can take place. Muslims need to confront the claim by some
ultraconservative and militant Islamist forces that their
interpretation of Islam is “universal” and that theirs is the
only legitimate view for all Muslims at all times.
Women are eager to become active
partners in government efforts to promote and sustain peace. It is
our hope that our legitimate concerns to overcome barriers to the
attainment of social transformation be addressed with more than lip
service.
|
