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The Panelists during the Conference including Haja Maconi Cissé (in the middle) (Photo: Yacouba Soro/US Embassy)

US Embassy Hosts Conference on Women’s Emancipation Principles in Islam

As part of the celebration of the International Women’s Day, about one hundred women gathered at the American Embassy on March 8 to explore perceptions and realities about Muslim women, their emancipation, and their place in Islam.

Participants -- Muslim and Christian NGO activists and community leaders, students and professionals -- discussed women’s rights from a religious point of view.  The Nouveaux Horizons translation of Asma Hasan’s book “American Muslims” provided a starting and reference point for the group discussion, but the program mainly focused on Ivorian Muslims. 

Panelists, citing Koranic verses, showed how Islam provides an important place for women in the community, and guarantees their rights.  They then discussed how local Islamic leaders often include bits of civil law and traditional customs – that are not found in Koran – in their sermons and religious discussions to emphasize strictures that restrict and/or demean women. 

It was also noted that Muslim women have a lower status than they might otherwise have, due to limited educational opportunities and mass illiteracy.  Everyone understood that education, training, and information are passports to freedom and prosperity.  All agreed to become more aggressive advocates for women in general, and their uneducated sisters in particular.