here to view the meeting program.
The meeting entitled “Gender, Sexuality and Law Reform in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia” took place between March 31st and April 3rd 2005 in Istanbul. Inspired by our success with the recent Campaign for the Reform of the Turkish Penal Code from a Gender Perspective, which resulted in over 30 amendments towards safeguarding sexual rights and freedoms, we aimed to share our experience with other NGOs working on law reform and provide a space for dialogue and exchange of strategies and challenges.
Organized by WWHR-New Ways, the meeting brought together 38 participants from Algeria, Bangladesh, , Egypt, England, Indonesia, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen to explore recent law reforms and advocacy initiatives in the region on gender and sexuality. Prominent NGO representatives, UN and international organization officials discussed issues of civil and penal code reforms, gender, sexuality and sexual rights in the region and national and international mechanisms of advocacy.
The 4 day meeting consisted of an analysis of the socio political context and the implications to the national, regional and international climate for law reform; successful law reforms and campaigns from Morocco, Indonesia and Turkey, ongoing reform initiatives in Palestine, Malaysia, and Jordan; challenges and strategies for advocacy; utilizing the United Nations for national advocacy; as well as thematic sessions on sexual rights, sexual orientation, sexuality and penal codes, reproductive health and rights.
The meeting revealed the need for further law reform in the region, be it in civil codes, penal codes, personal status laws in order to promote women’s human rights, gender equality and sexual rights. Also visible were numerous determined efforts in different countries advocating for reform of penal codes, of women’s status in the family, domestic violence laws, laws on violence against women, honor crimes, rape etc., reproductive health and abortion laws, provisions criminalizing sexual orientation.
