Women activists intimidated by clerics Syria, Politics, 2/9/2006
ArabicNews.com United Press International reported that Syrian women seeking to improve the rights of women faced intimidation from Muslim religious clerics, after these women tried to distribute a questionnaire survey into views about laws considered unfair to women. United Press International reported on activist woman saying "'The head of our group, Nada al-Ali, was even threatened with death which forced us to stop the questionnaire,' she added. 'She said the questionnaires sought the opinion of both males and females on several issues regarding women, notably a law that gives right to the man to divorce his wife without her knowledge or approval, women's right for financial compensation after divorce based on what the couple earned during the time of their marriage, her right to divorce her husband without his prior approval and the unfair clause in the civic status laws that grants the man the right to take a second wife without informing his first spouse. The questionnaire also included queries about equality between men and women in inheritance, honor crimes in which only men go unpunished and the right of Syrian women married to foreigners to grant their children Syrian citizenship.'" The United Press International report said "Syria's Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Hassoun, the country's highest religious authority, showed moderation in his response, saying he received the women's rights activists and answered their questionnaire in writing. 'Some clerics did not understand or grasp such matters and considered them as violations (of the religious laws). So they were suspicious,' Hassoun told United Press International. 'I wish those clerics did not take such a stance and engaged in dialogue with the activists instead, because Islam stands by women and gave them distinctive rights, but these rights need to be reformulated,' Hassoun said." United Press International reported that "School teacher and women's rights activist Riad Salem stresses that her licensed group, the Association of Social and Civilian Initiative, 'is seeking to eliminate injustices against women which are away from the spirit of Islam, justice or human rights.'.. 'For instance, because of a law that bars women from getting married without a male custodian, a 60-year-old woman had to entrust that mission to her 18-year-old son to be able to marry for a second time.'" United Press International reported that Rania Tlass, president of the National Association for Promoting Women's Role, said "our aim is to develop and support the role of women in the economy and boost their intellectual abilities in order to pave the way for their contribution in decision-making on an equal footing with men." ... She said Law 548 on honor crimes is unfair to women because it gives men the right to kill female relatives if they suspect them of adultery, while women have no right to object or do the same. Our Association is demanding that criminal law be applied in such cases away from emotions and blind anger," Tlass told UPI. She cited a study into the manipulation of Law 548 by a female lawyer, which found a number of cases where the law was used for personal gain, including one case where a brother killed his sister under the pretext of saving the family honor when he really sought her part of their inheritance." United Press International reported "All the women who were imprisoned for belonging to the Communist Action Party and the Muslim Brotherhood Organization in the mid 1980s have been released. But they were subjected to physical torture with the same harshness inflicted on male political prisoners," activist Anwar Bunni told UPI. A female rights activist who requested anonymity said "women were deeply harmed in prisons, but they cannot disclose these facts due to the sensitive situation of women in this country. They were obliged to keep silent." United Press International reported "'She said she was personally targeted and intimidated at all levels, including smearing her reputation in order to destroy her career and social status. She said she was subject to close surveillance and 'my privacy was violated in a terrifying way but I could do nothing about it due to the emergency law in force in Syria which gives security agencies great powers and prerogatives.' The emergency law has been applied since 1963 in view of the persisting state of war with Israel. Syrian President Bashar Assad said recently that the law might be canceled and a new law for political parties enacted." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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