[SwF] Female Hamas MPs to tackle sex discrimination
"Media Watch" <[email protected]> Sun, 19 Feb 2006 10:07:15 +0300
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Female Hamas MPs to tackle sex discrimination
THE GUARDIAN , LONDON=20
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/02/19/2003293706
Ask Huda Naeem how she intends to use her influence as a newly elected MP f=
or Hamas and she ticks off a list of wrongs done to women in the name of re=
ligion.=20
Forced marriage, honor killings, low pay and girls being kept out of school=
are her priorities for change in the Palestinian parliament. That is when =
she is not preparing her 13-year-old son to die in the fight against Israel=
.=20
"A lot of things need to change," she said.=20
"Women in Gaza and the West Bank should be given complete rights. Some wome=
n and girls are made to marry someone they don't want to marry. This is not=
in our religion, it's our tradition. In our religion, a woman has a right =
to choose," Naeem said.=20
`Struggle'=20
"As a woman and an MP, there are areas I want to concentrate on but that do=
es not mean we have forgotten our struggle for our homeland, and preparing =
our children to die when the homeland calls for it," she said.=20
Naeem, a 37-year-old social worker at the Islamic University in Gaza City a=
nd a mother of four, is one of six women elected to parliament on the Hamas=
ticket in the Islamist party's landslide victory last month. They were due=
to be sworn in when the new parliament opened yesterday.=20
Women played a crucial role in getting out the vote for Hamas, knocking on =
doors and often getting a sympathetic hearing. Hamas's strategy to build po=
litical support through its social programmes -- the provision of health cl=
inics, nurseries and food for the poor -- sealed the loyalty of many Palest=
inian women.=20
"Women are closer to the problems of the society," said Naeem.=20
"They are the ones who feel the unemployment. They are the ones who have to=
look after the children when their husbands are in prison. They feel well =
treated by Hamas institutions. Now these women are looking to us, the women=
in parliament, to change other things," she said.=20
Shortly before the election, Hamas launched a women's armed wing and pictur=
ed members brandishing guns and rocket-propelled grenades in its campaign p=
osters. But the women MPs say their priority is reform, not armed struggle.=
=20
Jamila Shanti, a philosophy professor at the Islamic University who headed =
the list of Hamas's women candidates, says the female activists agree on th=
e need to tackle discrimination.=20
"Our first job is to correct this because this is not Islam," she said. "We=
are going to show that women are not secondary, they are equal to men. Dis=
crimination is not from Islam, it is from tradition. It may not be easy. Me=
n may not agree," Shanti said.=20
Attempts in the last parliament to change laws that impose stiff punishment=
s on women who commit adultery while going easy on men and provide relative=
ly light sentences for "honor killings" of women who are deemed to have dis=
graced the family, ran into the sand amid resistance from older secular MPs=
.=20
Islah Jad, a lecturer in women's studies at Birzeit University, says the pa=
rty is at odds with itself over women's rights.=20
"In 1999, they admitted for the first time that women are oppressed and the=
y have a cause," Jad said.=20
"The second step is to attempt to formulate a kind of vision but it's very =
unstable. When family law was discussed they approved some reforms: that th=
e age of marriage was 18 and that a woman can put any condition she wants i=
n the marriage contract," she said.=20
`Shariah' law=20
"But when it came to the penal code and the punishment for adultery, [the l=
ate Hamas spiritual leader] Sheikh Yassin said it was based on Shariah law =
and shouldn't be touched," she said.=20
Many male leaders of Hamas favour the extension of Shariah to cover civil a=
s well as criminal codes.=20
Some have said they want to segregate schools, others favour a ban on the s=
ale of alcohol. They also want to see women dress in accordance with Islam.=
=20
Naeem says changes should come only after Hamas has taken time to explain t=
he benefits of religious law. "Our Shariah is great if it's practised accor=
ding to its values. It's not like they say about only cutting off hands," s=
he said.=20
"It's not going to be forceful but anybody who believes in the religion has=
to be educated in it. At the end, what matters is fighting corruption, not=
what people wear," Naeem said.=20
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<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=5><STRONG>Female Hamas MPs to tackle
sex discrimination</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>THE GUARDIAN , LONDON</FONT> <BR>Sunday, Feb 19,
2006</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><A
href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/02/19/2003293706">http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/02/19/2003293706</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>Ask Huda Naeem how she intends to
use her influence as a newly elected MP for Hamas and she ticks off a list of
wrongs done to women in the name of religion. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>Forced marriage, honor killings, low
pay and girls being kept out of school are her priorities for change in the
Palestinian parliament. That is when she is not preparing her 13-year-old son to
die in the fight against Israel. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><FONT color=#0000ff>"A lot of things
need to change,"</FONT> she said. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><FONT color=#0000ff>"Women in Gaza
and the West Bank should be given complete rights. Some women and girls are made
to marry someone they don't want to marry. This is not in our religion, it's our
tradition. In our religion, a woman has a right to choose,"</FONT> Naeem said.
</FONT>
<P><B><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>`Struggle' </FONT>
<P></B><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><FONT color=#0000ff>"As a woman
and an MP, there are areas I want to concentrate on but that does not mean we
have forgotten our struggle for our homeland, and preparing our children to die
when the homeland calls for it,"</FONT> she said. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>Naeem, a 37-year-old social worker at
the Islamic University in Gaza City and a mother of four, is one of six women
elected to parliament on the Hamas ticket in the Islamist party's landslide
victory last month. They were due to be sworn in when the new parliament opened
yesterday. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>Women played a crucial role in
getting out the vote for Hamas, knocking on doors and often getting a
sympathetic hearing. Hamas's strategy to build political support through its
social programmes -- the provision of health clinics, nurseries and food for the
poor -- sealed the loyalty of many Palestinian women. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><FONT color=#0000ff>"Women are closer
to the problems of the society,"</FONT> said Naeem. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><FONT color=#0000ff>"They are the
ones who feel the unemployment. They are the ones who have to look after the
children when their husbands are in prison. They feel well treated by Hamas
institutions. Now these women are looking to us, the women in parliament, to
change other things,"</FONT> she said. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>Shortly before the election, Hamas
launched a women's armed wing and pictured members brandishing guns and
rocket-propelled grenades in its campaign posters. But the women MPs say their
priority is reform, not armed struggle. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>Jamila Shanti, a philosophy professor
at the Islamic University who headed the list of Hamas's women candidates, says
the female activists agree on the need to tackle discrimination. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><FONT color=#0000ff>"Our first job is
to correct this because this is not Islam,"</FONT> she said. <FONT
color=#0000ff>"We are going to show that women are not secondary, they are equal
to men. Discrimination is not from Islam, it is from tradition. It may not be
easy. Men may not agree,"</FONT> Shanti said. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>Attempts in the last parliament to
change laws that impose stiff punishments on women who commit adultery while
going easy on men and provide relatively light sentences for "honor killings" of
women who are deemed to have disgraced the family, ran into the sand amid
resistance from older secular MPs. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>Islah Jad, a lecturer in women's
studies at Birzeit University, says the party is at odds with itself over
women's rights. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><FONT color=#0000ff>"In 1999, they
admitted for the first time that women are oppressed and they have a
cause,"</FONT> Jad said. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><FONT color=#0000ff>"The second step
is to attempt to formulate a kind of vision but it's very unstable. When family
law was discussed they approved some reforms: that the age of marriage was 18
and that a woman can put any condition she wants in the marriage
contract,"</FONT> she said. </FONT>
<P><B><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>`Shariah' law </FONT>
<P></B><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><FONT color=#0000ff>"But when it
came to the penal code and the punishment for adultery, [the late Hamas
spiritual leader] Sheikh Yassin said it was based on Shariah law and shouldn't
be touched,"</FONT> she said. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>Many male leaders of Hamas favour the
extension of <I>Shariah</I> to cover civil as well as criminal codes. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>Some have said they want to segregate
schools, others favour a ban on the sale of alcohol. They also want to see women
dress in accordance with Islam. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>Naeem says changes should come only
after Hamas has taken time to explain the benefits of religious law. <FONT
color=#0000ff>"Our <I>Shariah</I> is great if it's practised according to its
values. It's not like they say about only cutting off hands,"</FONT> she said.
</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana><FONT size=2><FONT color=#000080><FONT color=#0000ff>"It's
not going to be forceful but anybody who believes in the religion has to be
educated in it. At the end, what matters is fighting corruption, not what people
wear,"</FONT> Naeem said. <BR></FONT></FONT></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
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