How Does a Bird Fly?
I feel like a bird with clipped wings, unable to fly, unable to do what I want, or need to be doing. I’m curtailing my movement, my natural tendencies of hugging people in greetings, a self-censorship that tests my personal discipline. So what is a free bird like me to do?
Channel it into work!
In Los Angeles at my home office, I have been recalibrating my energy, my priorities, and work timelines and outputs to make this forced grounding as productive as possible. Instead of slowing down, my team and I have been doubling down our efforts.
On March 25, I participated in the digital launching of the Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law. It was a rich presentation by several experts, representatives of global organizations and UN Women. I highly recommend you watch it here.
Our MPV-USA national retreat had to be cancelled and instead a virtual conference has been organized for May 2. Our conference on Freedom of Religion and Belief and Gender in Kenya was forced to be postponed. Instead, we have moved up our production of an inclusive curriculum for children in Burundi, the production of a women’s rights toolkit in Kenya, and we are laying the groundwork on research of apostasy and blasphemy cases in Muslim countries.
There is more good news! The transcript Professor Adis Duderija (Griffith University, Australia) and I wrote have been accepted by the publisher and our contribution titled "Transnational Progressive Islam" will be published in a few months.
MPV’s work has also been referenced and recognized in a few notable publications, notably “In Religious Freedom Under Scrutiny” by Heiner Bielefeldt and Michael Wiener.
At the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights, Professor Karima Bennoune, reported on the work of cultural rights defenders – human rights defenders who defend cultural rights in accordance with international standards with recommendations on how to protect and support them. The section of her report entitled “Gender and Inclusion in Cultural Life” references MPV’s work in promoting women in religious leadership. Click here to read the full report.
Despite COVID-19 there is a lot of good going on in this world. Humanity will rise to the occasion because it is a matter of survival if we don’t. So we will.
So how does a bird fly? By pushing against a strong branch. So fly I will.
Onward and upward…
Ani Zonneveld
President, Founder | Muslims for Progressive Values
Editor’s Note: This Message was originally published in the April 2020 issue of the MPV Monthly Newsletter. You may subscribe to the newsletter by clicking on the tab at the bottom-right corner of this page!