Sisters in Solidarity

By Laila Shaheen

Women’s empowerment and the means to achieve it were highlighted between sips of fragrant teas and cucumber sandwiches at the Sisters in Solidarity to Educate, Respond and Serve fourth annual fundraising tea last month at the Dar al Noor mosque in Manassas, Va. More than 80 ladies were in attendance as SISTERS honored the efforts of Karamah, an organization of Muslim Women lawyers dedicated to human rights.

Susan Riker, the development director explained Karamah’s goals.

“The program believes in the empowerment of Muslim women within their own spiritual and cultural contexts. In its judgment, only this approach will enable women to address and successfully eradicate the social ills in their communities,” Riker said. “For this reason, KARAMAH seeks to develop a comprehensive, just, and thoughtful Islamic jurisprudence, which takes into account the current concerns of Muslim women worldwide. To this end, KARAMAH has rooted its work in the best of the classical Islamic jurisprudential tradition.”

Karamah (which means, “dignity”) strives to achieve their goals through education and scholarship, with a focus on Islamic law and leadership development. Members of the group publish research papers, host lecture series and conduct seminars on various issues facing Muslim women globally. They also participate in various human rights and peace initiatives. Recently they hosted a lecture on the impact of Islamic law on global development.

One of their most intense programs is the law and leadership summer program. It is held each year in Washington D.C. and in Brussels. The program brings together more than two dozen participants from across the globe. The program’s goal is “to develop a global network and grassroots movement of Muslim women leaders so that they may share ideas, expertise and knowledge to collectively create beneficial change in their communities and countries. Women leave the workshop equipped with the legal tools they need to articulate their rights within their own religious and cultural contexts, as well as the leadership and conflict resolution skills needed to negotiate change using non-confrontational methods.,” Karamah’s communications officer Jina Hassan explained.

“The days were packed with inspirational lectures and a wealth of information,” said Farhana Shah, who attended the camp in 2006.

Shah was most impressed by the message of the program. “Besides the laws and legalities information, it teaches humility. Unlike western feminists who like to throw a “gotcha” with their facts, Karamah’s leadership program says,’ here is the evidence, but be gentle when using it; you don’t want to demean anyone.’ This is the way of the Quran.”

This was a message repeated by fellow guest speaker and the summer program’s coordinator, lawyer Mais Abousy. She reiterated the importance of remembering who your audience is when discussing Islam and to be sensitive of that in the delivery of your message.

Many of the attendees were not familiar with the group’s work. SISTERS’ member, Laura Brown was impressed by what she heard. “This year’s highlighted cause, Karamah, was an organization with which I had no familiarity, but after hearing about the incredible work that they do, I was motivated to give a donation.”

Afterwards, the guests were encouraged to donate to help sponsor one participant to the summer program which typically costs $2,500-$4000. To date, more than half of the money has been raised. Insha’Allah, if SISTERS can raise enough money, Karamah has agreed to recognize SISTERS by designating a “SISTERS Fellow” for the summer program. Donations will be accepted until the end of May via paypal on SISTERS website, www.sistersinsolidarity.com or can be mailed to SISTERS.

Donations of business attire were also collected during the tea for the non-profit group Dress for Success. The program provides clothing as well as career tools to women transitioning to the workforce. This collection will continue through May 15th.

SISTERS also awarded their annual scholarships to three very deserving students:

• High School Senior winner: Firdoos Mukati from George Mason High School in Falls Church, Va;
• College winner: Sumaya Sahin from Prince Georges Community College, Largo, Md;
• Graduate winner: Tahmina Ahmad from George Washington University.

As in the previous years, this year’s tea was another success of sisterhood. Al l the guests enjoyed it with many remarking how they now look forward to the annual event.

“Everyone was friendly and warm and I was glad to meet so many lovely sisters with whom I may have otherwise not had the privilege to cross paths,” described Cecilia Hanna, who hopes to attend the event next year. “I love the atmosphere of the teas – a beautiful setting where my lovely sisters push me to know more and do more for our community,” added Laura Brown.

Upcoming events for SISTERS include the Spring Garage Sale on May 15, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on June 5 and the Ramadan Soup Swap.

by Laila Shaheen

The following article first appeared in Muslim Link.

Domestic violence is a reality in 10 percent of the homes in the United States regardless of ethnicity, socio-economic status or education. That number includes those living in Muslim homes. Often times, women in abusive relationships who decide to leave will end up homeless. The hard economic crisis that we currently face is another factor in the increasing numbers of homeless women in the US. And again, this includes Muslim women.

On March 14th, Sisters in Solidarity to Educate, Respond & Serve (S.I.S.T.E.R.S) held their 3rd Annual Tea, where they honored one woman who has worked diligently to help alleviate the suffering of Muslim women who find themselves suddenly homeless. Sister Asma Hanif, operates a women’s shelter and clinic, Muslimat Al Nisaa, in the Baltimore area. The shelter offers a safe haven to Muslim women and children. While the concept and dream of opening the shelter was initially that of our late sister, Maryam Funches, Asma has carried on with her dream of her dear friend.

“We don’t just provide a home but also services to help [sisters] thrive in this community,” explained Hanif. Hanif spelled out how difficult it is to maintain a facility solely for Muslim women, because doing so prevents them from receiving any government grant money. “It’s a poor business situation because we can only rely on the Muslim community to keep the doors open. But the sisters who come here are in a vulnerable state and see the shelter as a safe place.” During the question and answer portion of the presentation, Hanif was asked if she thought about opening the shelter to non-Muslims as a form of dawah. While she had considered it at one time, she pointed out that for every non-Muslim she accepted in, she would have to turn away a Muslim sister thus forcing her into a non-Muslim shelter system where her needs may not be met.”
Each year, SISTERS honors and highlights the achievement of an organization or a person who is committed to empowering women. Past honorees include Women for Women International, an organization dedicated to helping women in war torn areas rebuild their lives and also, Azizah magazine one of the first magazines focusing on issues that concern Muslim women. This year’s focus centered on domestic violence and homelessness in the Muslim community. This important topic is often times ignored and even down played by community leaders but has recently returned to the forefront of discussion with the horrific death Aasiya Hassan earlier this month by her estranged husband and founder of Bridges TV, Muzzammil Hassan.

As the Tea continued, the issue of domestic violence was further discussed in a presentation by Sister Bonita McGee from the Peaceful Families Project, the only national organization committed to ending domestic violence in Muslim families.

“Abuse is about power and control and the belief that the abuser has a right to do it,” explained McGee, a family therapist who has spent much of her career spreading awareness of domestic violence among Muslim leaders. “It is a pattern of behavior that happens again and again. There is a cycle to it.” She described five types of abuse – the most common being physical and emotional abuse. However, McGee also went into detail on the lesser talked about forms including financial, spiritual and sexual abuse. She explained that Islam vehemently opposes any form of oppression and since domestic violence uses humiliation, cruelty and brutality to keep a person down, it is explicitly deemed unacceptable.

Some of the attendees were shocked by what they learned at the luncheon. “I had never heard of it,” remarked Alexandria resident Halima Maknass, who was attending her first SISTERS event. “I never knew that Muslim women were abused.” Others believed the issue is hidden for specific reasons. “I think [domestic violence] goes unnoticed because women who are victims of abuse are often not given the support and encouragement they need,” said Saman Hussain.
Hanif and McGee are trying to change that.

During the course of the luncheon, while sipping flavorful teas and nibbling finger foods, the attendees raised more than $1,300 thus exceeding the goal which was to provide the shelter with land line phone and internet service for at least one year. “As Sr. Asma pointed out, the shelter depends solely on the support of the Muslim community, and SISTERS wanted to do our part.” said SISTERS Chair, Laurie Jaghlit. The luncheon was also an opportunity to meet new friends, strengthen sisterhood and network with like-minded women. “It was a fabulous lunch and I got a chance to meet more sisters and see what they all do,” stated Sarah Ahmad at the close of the event.

The article that follows is also featured in the Muslim Link.

By Tracey Abdulwahhab

Muslim Link Contributing Writer

A room full of women were brought to tears on Saturday, December 16th at the ADAMS Center in Sterling, Virginia upon hearing the horrific story of Nyria, a woman who survived the brutal war in Rwanda.Nyria’s story, along with the stories of other women survivors of war were read during a fundraiser tea hosted by Sisters in Solidarity to Educate, Respond and Serve (S.I.S.T.E.R.S). The S.I.S.T.E.R.S Tea honored the extraordinary works of Women for Women International, a non profit organization that assists women like Nyria to rebuild their lives and to become active participants and assets to their communities.

Women for Women International currently operates in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sudan. Over 30,000 women access its programs every day, benefiting 5.3 million family and community members. Since its founding in 1993, Women for Women International has distributed more than $28 million in direct aid and micro-credit loans (http://www.womenforwomen.org).Women for Women International recently received the 2006 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Award, an annual award presented to an organization that significantly alleviates human suffering.

The organizers of the event brought sisters together for a social gathering, but more importantly, to raise awareness about social issues that impact women.Virginia McKinney, a guest from Michigan commented, “The tea was an eye-opening experience.Usually you only hear about how men are affected by war; rarely do you hear how war affects women and children.”Sister Laila Shaheen from Lorton, Virginia was impressed by the turn out, saying “It was a great opportunity to see so many sisters here who really care about making a difference in the world.”The donations raised included several one year sponsorships for women to receive training and assistance from Women for Women International programs.

S.I.S.T.E.R.S is a local non-profit, grassroots organization committed to promoting the ties of sisterhood and empowering women through education, outreach and charitable work. S.I.S.T.E.R.S aspires to cooperate with and enhance the efforts of like-minded organizations in order to further contribute to the advancement of women and women’s work.For more information about S.I.S.T.E.R.S events or membership, email sistersinformation@gmail.com.

The first S.I.S.T.E.R.S Tea Party honoring Women and Women’s Organizations will be held December 16, 2006 at the ADAMS Center in Sterling, VA. This tea party will, inshaAllah, highlight the work of Women for Women International.

Women for Women International provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies.