Ilkkaracan on women's sexual rights

A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite worrying about the growth of fundamentalism, feminist Pinar Ilkkaracan hopes that human rights violations related to sexuality can be eradicated in Muslim societies and all over the world.

"My hope is that all kinds of human rights violations related to sexuality will be eradicated, ... for gays, lesbians and women in the name of honor... " Ilkkaracan said in an interview with The Jakarta Post on Monday.

At least 22 participants, including Ilkkaracan of Turkey, Amal Abd-el Hadi of Egypt, Asghar Ali Engineer of India, Dina Siddiqi of Bangladesh, Isabelita Solamo Antonio of the Philippines and Zaitun Kasim of Malaysia participated in the International Conference on Sexuality and Human Rights in Muslim Societies in South/Southeast Asia here.

The three-day conference, which was coorganized by local non- governmental organization (NGO) the Women's Health Foundation (YKP), was also attended by Indonesian activists, including Anita Rahman, Ninuk Widyantoro, Farha Ciciek and Dede Oetomo.

Ilkkaracan, whose NGO, Women for Women's Human Rights (WWHR) coorganized the conference that ended on Sunday, expressed concern at the tendency toward conservatism in Muslim society.

She said conservative groups in many Muslim societies were currently constructing concepts related to sexuality, such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and mut'ah (temporary marriage), wherein the groom is asked to pay a dowry with the agreement that the marriage will only last for a certain period, sometimes even as briefly as one night.

"The practices are pre-Islamic traditions. But conservative groups try to Islamicize the practices. The practices were unheard of in Turkey in the past, but currently some groups are preaching about them," Ilkkaracan, who was born in 1961 in Turkey, said.

Female circumcision, which is practiced in many Muslim societies, is considered a form of violence against women as it is believed to prevent women from gaining complete sexual fulfillment.

Temporary marriage also causes losses to women, especially in terms of their rights after divorce.

Ilkkaracan, who has a double masters in psychological counseling and in clinical psychology, and a PhD in psychology from a university in Bonn, Germany, believes that healthy sexuality for both women and men will result in a healthy population.

"If women cannot not have good sexuality, how can men have it?" she said.

She said that cooperation between people of various backgrounds, including progressive ulema who have perspectives on human rights and women's rights, was an important factor in facing growing fundamentalism.

She said joint research among scholars and women activists in Muslim societies, as well as translation of literature in various languages from those societies would also be significant in facing the challenges.

"I see a bright future. I was alone 15 years ago, but now I see many people and friends. It gives a lot of hope," said Ilkkaracan, who founded WWHR upon her return to Turkey in 1993 after being an activist in Germany for years.

Ilkkaracan, who grew up in a middle-class Muslim family, was lucky to receive an education amid the oppression faced by so many women all over the world.

"My family is very supportive. I just received a phone call from my mom, congratulating me because the penal code with the exclusion of the adultery bill, which we have been struggled for, was just passed," she said.

"My mother is proud to have two feminists in the family. My younger sister, a doctoral candidate in the economics department of the New School of Social Research in New York, is also a feminist," she said.

Ilkkaracan has co-authored The Myth of the Warm Home: Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse (1996) and Human Rights and Legal literacy Training Manual (1998) as well as an edited Women and Sexuality in Muslim Societies (2004).

Several Muslim feminists, including Fatima Mernissi, Leila Ahmed, Rais Nur, Nawal El Saadawi, Ayesha M. Imam and Alifa Rifat as well as Ilkkaracan, have contributed their writings on various topics related to sexuality and bodily integrity to the latest book.