In our struggle against women’s human rights violations in the private field, especially against violence against women, we frequently have to confront the mechanisms of patriarchal control over women’s sexuality. These collective mechanisms play a crucial and defining role in the propagation, legitimization and reproduction of gender discrimination and inequality in numerous fields, including the public one. Laws, traditions, customs, religion, social value systems, violence and pressure are but a few of these mechanisms. With their rules conveniently presented as uncontestable taboos, they legitimize human rights violations and act as some of the most powerful tools for the control of women’s sexuality.

Women for Women’s Human Rights-New Ways has always ascribed great importance to the issues of women’s sexual rights, reproductive rights, and a woman’s right to complete control over her body. Lately, we have given priority to these issues in our international, regional and national efforts.

At the international level, we uphold the necessity of including sexual rights as a distinct category within the framework of human rights. We hold that women’s sexual rights, although they may at certain points overlap with or be linked to reproductive rights and rights to bodily health, must be dealt with as a separate and distinct category.

Our work at regional and national levels confirms that while Islam has been employed as a very powerful tool of control over women’s sexuality, as have all other monotheistic religions, the sexual oppression of women in our region is not the result of an Islamic vision of sexuality, but of a combination of political, social and economic inequalities throughout the ages. In our societies, one of the most powerful tools of patriarchy is to silence women by placing sexuality in the private and personal realm and declaring it an untouchable, taboo area of religion.

In our work in the Middle East-North Africa-Mediterranean region, we aim to establish a regional solidarity and support network, thus creating favorable basis for stimulating women’s collective mind and power against these mechanisms of control and oppression.

Related documents:

Women and Sexuality in Muslim Societies