The Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) is pleased to announce the 2nd CSBR Sexuality Institute 2009 was held between September 11th and 18th 2009 in Istanbul. The Institute brought together leading NGO representatives, researchers, practitioners and policymakers for a holistic interdisciplinary program combining history, theory, research and politics of sexuality with applications of advocacy, and fieldwork. The CSBR Sexuality Institute is designed as a comprehensive curriculum on sexuality in Muslim societies with an in depth discussion on the research on the linkages between sexual and reproductive health and rights.

 

 

“I would summarize the experience I had at the CSBR Institute in one word - that is: LIBERATING. The novelty of this [CSBR’s] discourse in our socio-cultural context is certainly one important aspect, but more importantly, the silence that our society harbors around sexuality has become so “normal” that we often forget how integral it is to our existence and well-being.”  (Mahrukh Mouhiddin, BRAC University, Bangladesh)

 

The realization of sexual and reproductive health and rights is an integral part of gender equality, development and social justice. However, sexuality continues to be a contested site of political power struggles across the globe. Increasing global militarism, conservatism, and nationalism over the last decades provoked a serious backlash on sexual and reproductive health and rights, both at the United Nations level, as well as on national contexts. In Muslim societies, many issues around sexuality remain a taboo, while human rights violations in the domain of sexuality continue to be legitimized through the misuse of religion, tradition, and culture. Given the current polarizations, it is more pertinent than ever to strengthen critical insight, further research, enhance knowledge and capacity on sexual health and rights, and build an inclusive and affirmative discourse on sexuality in Muslim societies. As such, the CSBR Sexuality Institute provides a unique opportunity to create a better understanding of sexuality in Muslim societies and further the efforts to advance sexual, reproductive and bodily health and rights.

 

The first CSBR Sexuality Institute took place on August 16-23, 2008 in Malaysia, bringing together leading sexual rights activists, academics and researchers from 14 countries throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Composed of lectures, discussions, group work, roundtables, panels, site visits and film screenings, the Institute offered a comprehensive overview, while also engaging participants’ own experiences around sexuality.

 

 

“In face of the rise of the so called fundamentalism or hard line Islamic revivalism, the Institute gave me the basic paradigm to see and analyze how we take position in order to challange the repression.” (Dwi Ayu, Komnas Perempuan, Indonesia)

 

The Institute is designed to advance participants’ knowledge, understanding, research and advocacy skills for sexual, reproductive and bodily health and rights, while strengthening their theoretical background and analysis of sexuality in Muslim societies and introducing CSBR’s holistic and affirmative discourse on sexuality. To this end, the aims of the CSBR Sexuality Institute are:

 

 

“At the CSBR Sexuality Institute, in a nutshell I understood that sexuality was about the right to pleasure, right to self determination and right to bodily integrity.” (Sai Jothi, ARROW, Malaysia)

 

Founded in 2001, the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) is an international solidarity network of organizations, and academic institutions working to promote sexual, bodily and reproductive health and rights as human rights in Muslim Societies. CSBR includes members from Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yemen. Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) – New Ways (http://www.wwhr.org/), the co-founder of the Coalition, acts as the international coordination office of CSBR. As the only international network working on sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies, CSBR has played a pivotal role in terms of advocacy, activism and research on sexual and bodily health and rights in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

 

CSBR has succeeded in creating an alternative discourse and progressive spaces around sexuality and sexual rights in Muslim societies. Advocating to eliminate customary practices and discriminatory attitudes related to women’s sexuality, such as honor crimes, sexual violence, marital rape, sexual harassment, discrimination based on sexual orientation, restrictions on women’s mobility, forced/early marriages, CSBR has catalyzed and supported advocacy efforts on national levels, such as supporting campaigns for penal and civil code reform in countries like Turkey, Morocco and Palestine, while also working at international platforms and the UN. CSBR has pioneered the very first international meetings on sexual and reproductive rights in countries such as Lebanon and Tunisia, where previously sexuality was not an issue for discussion, and launched international campaigns and actions on sexual rights and freedoms, human rights violations, reproductive rights, and the right to organize in many countries, including Malaysia, Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, Palestine, and Iran.

More information on CSBR is available at http://www.wwhr.org/csbr.php.

 

“From experience I have learnt that most people who claim to work on sexual rights area often limit their area of focus to the so-called ‘popular areas’ – HIVA/IDS, women’s rights, adolescents’ rights, STIs etc. Rather than adopting this narrow approach to the teaching of sexual rights, the Institute broke new ground by adopting a holistic approach to the teaching of sexual rights.” (Ebenezer Drojaye, University of the Free State, South Africa).

 

The Institute is designed as an intense 6 day participatory training with 20 participants. The language of the Institute was English. Travel and accommodation costs for the participants were covered by the Institute. The faculty consisted of CSBR members with expertise on given topics, and internationally renowned experts in the field of sexuality.

 

Issues addressed included a conceptual and historical framework of sexuality and sexuality research; contemporary discourses and debates around sexuality and sexual rights in Muslim societies; shariah and sexuality; sexual diversities; sexuality and human rights; sexuality education; sexual and reproductive health; HIV/AIDS; youth sexuality; sexual health and rights advocacy. The Institute also incorporated sessions focused on application and experience-sharing including a session on CSBR; roundtables featuring participants’ work on sexuality; and a panel with Turkish activists.