Ilkkaracan on women's sexual rights<\/p>\n
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite worrying about the growth of fundamentalism, feminist
\nPinar Ilkkaracan hopes that human rights violations related to
\nsexuality can be eradicated in Muslim societies and all over the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
"My hope is that all kinds of human rights violations related
\nto sexuality will be eradicated, ... for gays, lesbians and women
\nin the name of honor... " Ilkkaracan said in an interview with
\nThe Jakarta Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
At least 22 participants, including Ilkkaracan of Turkey, Amal
\nAbd-el Hadi of Egypt, Asghar Ali Engineer of India, Dina Siddiqi
\nof Bangladesh, Isabelita Solamo Antonio of the Philippines and
\nZaitun Kasim of Malaysia participated in the International
\nConference on Sexuality and Human Rights in Muslim Societies in
\nSouth\/Southeast Asia here.<\/p>\n
The three-day conference, which was coorganized by local non-
\ngovernmental organization (NGO) the Women's Health Foundation
\n(YKP), was also attended by Indonesian activists, including Anita
\nRahman, Ninuk Widyantoro, Farha Ciciek and Dede Oetomo.<\/p>\n
Ilkkaracan, whose NGO, Women for Women's Human Rights (WWHR)
\ncoorganized the conference that ended on Sunday, expressed
\nconcern at the tendency toward conservatism in Muslim society.<\/p>\n
She said conservative groups in many Muslim societies were
\ncurrently constructing concepts related to sexuality, such as
\nfemale genital mutilation (FGM) and mut'ah (temporary marriage),
\nwherein the groom is asked to pay a dowry with the agreement that
\nthe marriage will only last for a certain period, sometimes even
\nas briefly as one night.<\/p>\n
"The practices are pre-Islamic traditions. But conservative
\ngroups try to Islamicize the practices. The practices were
\nunheard of in Turkey in the past, but currently some groups are
\npreaching about them," Ilkkaracan, who was born in 1961 in
\nTurkey, said.<\/p>\n
Female circumcision, which is practiced in many Muslim
\nsocieties, is considered a form of violence against women as it
\nis believed to prevent women from gaining complete sexual
\nfulfillment.<\/p>\n
Temporary marriage also causes losses to women, especially in
\nterms of their rights after divorce.<\/p>\n
Ilkkaracan, who has a double masters in psychological
\ncounseling and in clinical psychology, and a PhD in psychology
\nfrom a university in Bonn, Germany, believes that healthy
\nsexuality for both women and men will result in a healthy
\npopulation.<\/p>\n
"If women cannot not have good sexuality, how can men have
\nit?" she said.<\/p>\n
She said that cooperation between people of various
\nbackgrounds, including progressive ulema who have perspectives on
\nhuman rights and women's rights, was an important factor in
\nfacing growing fundamentalism.<\/p>\n
She said joint research among scholars and women activists in
\nMuslim societies, as well as translation of literature in various
\nlanguages from those societies would also be significant in
\nfacing the challenges.<\/p>\n
"I see a bright future. I was alone 15 years ago, but now I
\nsee many people and friends. It gives a lot of hope," said
\nIlkkaracan, who founded WWHR upon her return to Turkey in 1993
\nafter being an activist in Germany for years.<\/p>\n
Ilkkaracan, who grew up in a middle-class Muslim family, was
\nlucky to receive an education amid the oppression faced by so
\nmany women all over the world.<\/p>\n
"My family is very supportive. I just received a phone call
\nfrom my mom, congratulating me because the penal code with the
\nexclusion of the adultery bill, which we have been struggled for,
\nwas just passed," she said.<\/p>\n
"My mother is proud to have two feminists in the family. My
\nyounger sister, a doctoral candidate in the economics department
\nof the New School of Social Research in New York, is also a
\nfeminist," she said.<\/p>\n
Ilkkaracan has co-authored The Myth of the Warm Home: Domestic
\nViolence and Sexual Abuse (1996) and Human Rights and Legal
\nliteracy Training Manual (1998) as well as an edited Women and
\nSexuality in Muslim Societies (2004).<\/p>\n
Several Muslim feminists, including Fatima Mernissi, Leila
\nAhmed, Rais Nur, Nawal El Saadawi, Ayesha M. Imam and Alifa Rifat
\nas well as Ilkkaracan, have contributed their writings on various
\ntopics related to sexuality and bodily integrity to the latest
\nbook.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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