A Bright Future for Human Rights

Peace greetings everyone!

This newsletter is late, and for good reason. I just returned from a whirlwind two week trip to Paris, Nairobi and Kampala and there’s lots to share.

In Paris, I was invited to speak at the“Islam XXII Conference: Living Islam in the 21st century - "Islam and Identities: Between Worship and Cultures" and my presentation was titled “Putting the ‘real Islam’ into practice” where I defined the ‘real Islam’ as one that is rooted in human rights. I also sang a song as a manifestation of spirituality and the connection we all have with the Creator in us, and how we can only connect with each other as human beings once we have connected with our own spirit. I am sharing one of those beautiful moments I experienced after presentations, and this time it was with an elderly French lady, Viviane, who came up to share a heartfelt hug with me. Once I get the video of my English presentation, I’ll share it.

From there to Nairobi, where I collected narratives from men of their reflection of intimate experiences with women who have undergone FGM versus with women who have not. My hunch was right, and the results will be shared in due time, and the reflections of these men will be amplified in partnership with the Global Media Campaign to End FGM in Kenya.

Also in Kenya, I am excited about the prospect of rolling out our Progressive Islam Curriculum in three madrassas as a pilot! Find out more about it at our CSW66 panel.

And in Kampala, along with three of the board members of Alliance of Inclusive Muslims (AIM), we had a very pleasant meeting with the Grand Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, the outcome of which included a partnership between the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council and AIM in the implementation of our #ImamsForShe initiative.

This partnership will also include the chairing by the Grand Mufti for the convening of Muftis and Kadhis from ten East African countries as we look to scaling up #ImamsForShe regionally, and potentially impacting 153 million people, especially women and girls, positively. If you are interested in helping us scale up, do reach out to me.

Lastly, it was also wonderful to be able to meet the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Kampala, Dr. Karin Boven (pictured above) as we look for ways to work together.

Onward and upward…

Ani ZonneveldFounder, President