Muslim Women and Leadership project

'Challenging stereotypes, changing perceptions: Muslim sisters doing it for themselves!' - WHAT CAN THE UK LEARN FROM INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA? 

 

Nassara Bostan has just returned from a 10-week Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship (http://www.wcmt.org.uk) to Indonesia and Malaysia.  The aim of her Fellowship was to research how these two progressive majority-Muslim nations have empowered and advanced the role and position of Muslim women in their countries. 

 

In the UK, Nassara was fed up of constantly hearing rhetoric about how Muslim women are ‘oppressed’ and about how being ‘Muslim’ hinders their progress and participation in society.  In fact this couldn’t be further from the truth, as Nassara observed in Malaysia and Indonesia.

 

During her travels Nassara met exciting, energetic Muslim women leaders, activists, feminists and politicians from a wide spectrum of communities, charities and traditions across Malaysia and Indonesia.  These Muslim women and Muslim Women’s organisations worked closely together to build up their very own arsenal of resources including investing in the development of Muslim women role-models, training Muslim women lawyers, encouraging Muslim feminist activism, learning from imaamas (female worship leader), providing public education and training and writing Muslim Women’s literature.  These actions empowered them and gave them the necessary confidence, knowledge, and skills to challenge any inequalities head on and to confidently demand equal rights and equal development opportunities as equal citizens.   

 

Nassara says ‘my report tries to give examples of the encouraging work that is already going on In Malaysia and Indonesia, where Muslim women are finding their voice, supporting each other, improving their skills, starting businesses, and learning to be leaders.  I hope that these inspiring stories and examples will encourage many more people and groups to get involved and many more local authorities to think creatively about how they can support Muslim women here in the UK.’ 

 

We would be very happy to post contributions on Christian Women and Leadership in response to Nassara’s reflections. The Christian Muslim Forum is currently delivering a Women’s Leadership Programme.

 

To view Nassara’s report click here.