April 18, 2009 • 9 AM to 12:30 PM
Muslim Women, the Veil and Human Rights
Presented by Rafia Zakaria, J.D.
University of Chicago
Pick Hall, Room 218
5828 S. University Ave, Illinois 60637
Additional parking is available in the garage at 55th and Ellis Avenue ($20).
Free with pre-registration; 3 CPDU credits offered
This workshop examined the discourse surrounding the subjugation and liberation of Muslim women. Using the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as examples, the workshop focused on how issues surrounding feminism and human rights are co-opted into political agendas both in local and international contexts. Looking at the controversy of veiling, the workshop showed how the debates surrounding covering and uncovering are interpreted differently according to local political contexts in various parts of the Muslim/Western world (Turkey, France, Central Asia). Finally it posed some questions regarding the efforts of the international human rights community to address some of these issues. Attending teachers were given basic lesson plans (see PDF download below) that use cultural sources to illustrate these themes for use in the classroom.
This event was co-sponsored by the University of Chicago Center for International Studies, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, South Asia and Language Area Center, and Center for Eastern European and Russian/Eurasian Studies.
Rafia Zakaria is an attorney whose work focuses on Muslim Women’s Rights. She is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Theory/Comparative Politics at Indiana University Bloomington. She is the Director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana (MAI) Women's Fund and consults on the Middle East Country Group of Amnesty International USA. Rafia writes a weekly column for the Daily Times, Pakistan.
CIS Global Lessons: Muslim Women, the Veil and Human Rights (PDF)
Lessons for use in the classroom aligned with IL State Standards.