Access to Justice for Muslim Women Living in Conflict Affected Area in Southeast Asia

On 2nd-3rd May 2013, The Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN) is going to hold two days workshop in Bali by inviting Muslim women living in conflict affected areas in Southeast Asia. The workshop is aimed to facilitate sharing and learning experience among Muslim women from conflict zone to discuss about access to justice. In answering problem access to justice, the workshop will linkage framework human rights, which instruments of human rights such as Covenant on Elimination all form of discrimination against women (CEDAW) and UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) of framework of Muslim family law. What are the linkages of human rights framework and Muslim family law in the context of conflict? 

I am not going to answer this question this time, but i would like to give my opinion on the linkages of human rights and Muslim family law. Firstly, the linkage between CEDAW and UNSCR. CEDAW has emphasized on elimination of all forms of violence against women, including in the situation of conflict, while UNSCR 1325 on women, peace and security, resolution 1820 and 1888 emphasizes on sexual violence in conflict situation, and resolution 1889 focuses on women in peacebuilding and peacekeeping mission. Though each resolution has different focus, but each of them has strong focus on involving women in conflict transformation, in specific to pay attention to survivor of sexual violence. Therefore CEDAW and UNSCR are strong tool to fulfill access to justice. 

What about Muslim family law? In many context of muslim society, family law is considered the core teaching  on relation between men and women. To deconstruct gender relation in society, we have to deconstruct family law. What does it mean? it is about reinterpretation of islamic teaching on looking at equal relation between women and men in our society. In debating family law, we are questioning concept of witness during marriage, dowry, legal status of marriage, inheritage, the rights to divorce, the rights to child custody, the rights to receive income from ex-husband, etc. Other issues such as public participation among widow and the rights to get job for widow are still debating and somehow hinder muslim women to get access to justice. Is the situation remain similar for muslim women living in conflict affected area? 

The result of 2 days workshop will reveal this issues and see in specific context of Indonesia, Phillipines, Thailand, Cambodia and Burma, the family law hinder or support muslim women to get access to justice in situation of conflict or post conflict area. I would be glad to share to all of you through this blog. *** 

You may contact me to remind me if i am late to upload the result of workshop dwiruby@yahoo.com