October 2, 2014
The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network) today launched the first issue of its Journal Women in Islam at Panafric Hotel, Nairobi.
The Journal is about disseminating alternative discourses of Islamic interpretation on women and human rights and doing so through an accessible medium which appeals to a broad audience of women and men. It offers alternative discourses and perceptions of Islam and reflections on women’s positions by prominent Islamic thinkers, activists, and young writers from all over the world. The Women in Islam Journal is meant to trigger the curiosity of readers of all genders, ages, and cultures.
Vulnerable state structures of the Horn countries are challenged with poverty, conflict, and polarization which have enabled the rise of militant Islamic ideologies over the past 30 years. Stoning, flogging, rape, arbitrary imprisonment, kidnapping, and denial of women’s human rights have become part of the stories of countless women and girls in the Horn of Africa.
“This publication is an attempt from our side to spread awareness and to regain our hijacked identity, to defend our rights to be women Muslims or not, to be free to think and rethink our religion and spiritualities and to contribute to the evolution of our cultural identity”, said Hala Alkarib SIHA Regional Director.
The journal is available in English and Arabic at Bookstop Ltd Yaya Centre, as well as on Amazon.com. A snippet of the Journal can be viewed here. For more information please contact the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa by e-mail at sihahornofafrica@gmail.com or visit our website at sihanet.org
The Strategic initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) is a coalition of over 80 women’s civil society organisations from across the Horn countries inclusive of Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Somaliland, Eritrea and Uganda. The organisation works on women’s access to justice, promoting and protecting women’s human rights, activating women’s political participation and supporting economic empowerment.
