Jakarta – Women from four Asian countries have gathered to discuss women's issues and gender empowerment from an Islamic perspective.
The symposium – attended by delegates from China, Indonesia, India and Pakistan – is being held by the Women's Empowerment in Muslim Contexts (WEMC) research consortium in Jakarta from April 28 to May 2.
WEMC director Vivienne Wee said she hoped the conclusions from the symposium would be used to mobilize support among policy and decision makers for initiatives that could change disempowering policies and practices.
"Women in the world today face different challenges and exploitation. They also have initiative and solidarity," Wee said. "This event will support their initiatives to fight against any power that marginalizes them."
On the first day of the symposium, the delegates explained the problems women in their countries were currently facing.
An Indonesian delegate said the country's female migrant workers still faced many problems, including debt bondage, in which workers suffer illegal salary deductions to pay off a debt claimed by the recruitment agency.
Speaking in the forum was chairwoman of the Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Hong Kong, Eni Lestari. "The law for female workers is still very discriminatory. Through this event, we are urging the government to tackle the problem immediately," Eni said.
Chinese delegate Shui Jingjun spoke about how Muslim women, who are a minority in her country, struggled to get the same rights and amenities as other citizens.
Farida Shaheed, a delegate from Pakistan, spoke about citizenship rights and poverty in her country. The representatives from Iran, Shadi Sadr and Mahboebeh Abbasgholizadeh, said women in their country were promoting an anti-stoning campaign and were struggling to win political rights.
WEMC is a research program consortium that first came together in 2005 through the partnership of universities, research institutions and NGOs from several countries.
WEMC explores women's diverse strategies for empowerment in the four countries, as well as two cross-border populations (Afghan refugees and returnees, and Indonesian migrant women workers).
The conclusions of the symposium will be announced on May 2. (trw)