This week’s Peace Links focuses on the Middle East and women’s rights, which took center stage in both print and online media this week.  (They must have read our experts forum on the topic!) Enjoy everyone.

Have you plugged in to this debate over Muslims’ attitudes towards women?  First, Foreign Policy featured this story from Mona Eltahawy, and then Monica Marks’ push-back against it.  And this one from the Guardian. Interesting stuff.
And here’s another piece on women’s rights and the Arab Spring courtesy of PublicService.co.uk.

Dania Shahzad

“To be clear, Islam does not forbid women and men from talking to one another, but asks that they practice modesty and remain within the limits that Sharia has set.”
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Walking down the school hallways as a young Muslim girl I used to see guys and girls holding hands, or a girl standing by her locker crying as her boyfriend talked to her. I would be confronted with questions and statements about dating that took different forms and styles, starting from elementary until I graduated high school. Both guys and …

Dima Ahmad Saleh
Ramallah, Palestine
“However, where there is a requirement of a guardian for a woman to get married, it dissolves her right to choice; it gives the final word to the guardian.”
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Judge: Pardon me, but where is your legal guardian?
Young Woman: I am responsible for myself.
Judge: It is illegal for a virgin to marry without the consent of her guardian.
Young Woman: I am educated! Sensible and mature! I have the right to get married without consent.
Judge decisively: No marriage will take place without the presence of your guardian.
The Islamic jurist …

Samina Sundas
Samina Faheem Sundas is the founder and Executive Director of the American Muslim Voice Foundation. Her focus is on eradicating Islamophobia by fostering friendships among all Americans and walking on the path Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. paved for us. She is an advocate of civic engagement through volunteerism, with a particular interest in empowering young women to become the leaders of tomorrow. She believes that through education and social interaction we can build an inclusive and beloved community where all of us feel safe and at home. Samina …