​Let Muslim women lead the debate on gender equality

There was one Muslim lady, Shehnaaz Sheikh, who came out and spoke on court for Muslim women’s rights. She is the first woman who went to the Supreme Court. The court asked her how many women are there with you who want their rights. She then started an organisation named Awaz e Niswan. I worked in that organisation for 23 years. Around 5 years ago, we started Bebaak Foundation. I am working with Muslim women for Muslim women fore for two decades now. We are working on communal and sexual issues. At that time All India Muslim Personal Law Board made a lot of chaos. Now, the board says we aren’t ready to bring in changes, be it the triple talaq or any other issue. But, many women are speaking out. The strength is growing day by day. We need jobs, education, security and equal rights which we aren’t getting. We are strong to challenge these religious institutions. Our motive is to remove gender inequality, be it polygamy, triple talaq, or property rights.
—Haseena Khan, Bebaak Foundation

We have to come out in a different way. This is our fight. We will be suppressed in different ways. It is up to us how we take it and come out of it. We have to put our words, speak out and talk more in order to get our rights, which we deserve.
—Yasmin Aga, Aawaz-e-Niswan

"Almost all religions are grounded in patriarchy and Islam is no exception. Across religions, people follow a variety of social norms that often involve repressing, restricting or objectifying women, whether it is triple talaq, kanyadaan, female genital cutting or the range of menstrual taboos we have been brought up with. It goes without saying that there is no place for such discriminatory practices anymore. And in order to rid ourselves of them, we need, more than anything, to work within communities and empower both women and men to create and adopt alternative traditions based on equality."
- Aarefa Johri, journalist and anti-FGC activist