#ImamsForShe in Tunisia
#ImamsForShe in Tunisia is very much linked to capacity building: how can we train members of civil society to spread #ImamsForShe’s message? For that reason, #ImamsForShe has mainly consisted in workshops -- three to be exact -- which are based on curriculum that MPV has largely written. Up until now, we’ve trained 76 activists.
THIS PROGRAMMING IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH SUPPORT FROM WALLACE GLOBAL FUND
SEMINAR ON “COMMON VALUES”
In 2018, #ImamsForShe organized a leadership seminar for human-rights and activists, the curriculum of which connected Islam to to a Sustainable Development and human rights. This workshop likewise built from the concept of the “Common Values” toolkit to empower civil society actors with language tools with which to defend human rights.
DEVELOPMENT OF “COMMON VALUES” BOOKLET
In 2018, #ImamsForShe organized a convening of human-rights leaders and activists, to test out the “Common Values” curriculum, one that links U.N. Human Rights framework, Islam, and the Sustainable Development Goals through several transformative exercises to empower civil society actors with language tools with which to defend human rights.
WORKSHOP IN MAKHTER
In February 2016, MPV held a two-day training in the rural town of Makhter. The workshop featured three university professors as trainers. The workshop was attended by 28 people, including the Mayor of Makhter, who officiated the opening and attended the two days of training, along with the Directors of the Youth and Cultural Centers, teachers, community leaders, and interested young women and men. The workshop seemed to be a breakthrough for participants, who came to see that the language of religion and human rights are mutually supportive in efforts to promote women’s rights.
LAUNCH OF #IMAMSFORSHE TUNISIA
The #ImamsForShe initiative was launched in Tunis in 2016 in the form of a press conference, which featured a panel discussion by two female scholars of Islam, Iqbal Gharbi and Jinan Limam, iconic Tunisian human rights lawyer Yadh Ben Achour, youth activist Ramy Ben Othman, and MPV’s Ani Zonneveld.
CONVENING
In September 2016, MPV held a convening with 30 imams and scholars of Islam, with three objectives: 1) Sharing of best practices to eradicate all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls and to advance women’s rights through human rights and progressive interpretations of Islamic scripture; 2) strengthening faith-based advocacy strategies to counter extremist narratives that encroach on women’s rights by facilitating greater exchange and collaboration across various prominent faith leaders and Islamic scholars in Tunisia and by leveraging different strategic approaches; 3) Sharing experiences of similar initiatives in the region and the Muslim world. This convening was a fundamental step in establishing MPV’s presence in Tunisia.