International Women's Day - Press Release
Brussels, 8 March 2010
On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2010, the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO) celebrates the enormous advances made by women across the world, of all faiths, races, nationalities and backgrounds. Women have made great advances in the field of education, employment, innovation, social rights, political participation and many others.
However, many challenges remain. Muslim women in Europe continue to be seen by many as oppressed, downtrodden victims, with little capacity for independent thinking or action. The image of the subjugated Muslim woman is used to justify discrimination and perpetuate prejudice – on the street, in the workplace, political discourse and even in our legislatures. Laws supposedly aimed at liberating Muslim women only succeed in further demonising them and restricting their right to live and participate as equal European citizens. Meanwhile, the voices of Muslim women themselves are curiously absent from these debates – not for any lack of capable Muslim women, but often because of a lack of willingness to listen.
Regressive laws proposed in some European countries restricting the freedom of Muslim women to choose the way they dress will only be yet another obstacle to their participation. We believe that it is time to stop talking “about” European Muslim women and talk “to” and “with” them. European Muslim women must be allowed to tell their own story, voice their own opinions and make their own choices.
In these current times of widespread ignorance and misunderstanding about the position of women in Islam – both by those within Muslim communities and outside - we wish to highlight and revive an egalitarian spirit of Islam, which emphasises the equal value and dignity of women and men. Indeed, the Muslim world produced a large number of outstanding female scholars and custodians of knowledge as early as the 7th century, on whose work much of the edifice of Islam was built. Indeed, as the Prophet Muhammad said, "Seeking knowledge is mandatory for every Muslim", both women and men.
FEMYSO is working to ensure there is more education and awareness-raising among Muslims themselves to enable European Muslim women to be active and full participants in public, social, economic and political life. We extend out hands to our wider European communities to work together to make this year’s theme “Equal Rights, Equal Participation” more of a reality for all women in Europe.
Contact:
FEMYSO
Rue Archimède 50
1000 Bruxelles
Belgium
tel : +32 2 2806921
fax : +32 2 2806923
“Finding Our Voice: How to Engage with the Media”
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We are very happy to inform you that FEMYSO has launched a new exciting training seminar called “Finding Our Voice: How to Engage with the Media”, which will take place from the 14th to the 19th of April 2010, in La Chaux-de-Fonds,Switzerland. This training course will give participants in-depth training by media experts and professionals from across Europe on how to engage with the mainstream media, empowering you and your organisation to know how to engage effectively with the media, actively confront
media stereotypes, utilise all mainstream media more effectively, and make the voice of Muslim youth heard.
The deadline to apply is Wednesday 10th March 2010. This course is expected to be very popular and since we only have 30 spaces we encourage you to complete and submit your applications as soon as
possible.
If you are interested in applying please fill in the online application form at the following link:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/femyso.org/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dDhSZmF2SFpyWjFYbEE4QkItTm94dXc6MA
There is a small participation fee for the seminar, which is only €40. This fee covers all accommodation and meals.
We look forward to receiving your applications and hope you will join
us to produce the future faces of European Muslim youth.
For any more information please contact mtp@femyso.org , +32 22806922
(Belgium) or +447887853455 (UK).
JUSTICE UNDER FIRE
FEMYSO PR
16/07/2009
Marwa al Sherbini, a pharmacist of Egyptian origin, was brutally stabbed 18 times in a Dresden court room as she gave testimony against a German man who had been accused of a constant stream of hate and xenophobic behaviour towards her and her family that had been going on for some time. Alexander W, Marwa’s 28-year-old neighbour, had been harassing her for months, calling her a “terrorist”, an “Islamist whore” and forcefully removing her headscarf on several occasions. He had been found guilty and fined a mere 700 Euros. During the appeal, his reaction was to pull a knife and to stab her 18 times while her 3-year-old son Mustafa looked on; Marwa died on the spot. Her husband who rushed to save her was both stabbed by the man and shot by the police, who reportedly believed he was the assailant.
Citizenship - A user's guide for European Muslim Youth
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Brussels talks - Ethics in Economics
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TOOL KIT ON INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE IN YOUTH WORK
The Tool Kit is targeting faith-based youth organisations working on local, national, regional or European levels, encouraging them to engage in the promotion of IRD. The Tool Kit also aims to encourage youth platforms such as National Youth Councils, to explore possibilities for IRD within their work. Finally the Tool Kit also aims to provide trainers with practical information on specific considerations they need to make in the organisation of events that involve religiously diverse groups.
The Tool Kit can be used as a reference for activities, as an information background on the specificities of the monotheistic religions, as a tool for learning about the concept of IRD, and as a way of exploring the similarities between the different religions.
What do the chapters include?
The first chapter of this Tool Kit aims to serve as an information point which you may want to refer to as a source of inspiration before developing your own IRD activities. This chapter is mainly gathering theoretical information on IRD, its history and objectives in Europe. It is not intended to replace a more academic research, but will however provide you with useful information on the motives and objectives of IRD and its current state of development. Reading this part, you will also understand how important it is for youth organisations to get involved in developing and improving the current reality of IRD. This chapter also deals with stereotypes and prejudices related to religions, to provide you with ideas on how to deconstruct and overcome those through youth work and non-formal education.
If you and/or the youth organisation you are active in are considering engagement in IRD activities but don’t know how to start such dialogue, the second and third chapters aim to give you hints, tools and examples on how to get started.
Chapter two will give you tips on some preconditions that you and your organisation should usefully keep in mind and implement in order to develop fruitful dialogue activity.
Building upon that, chapter three will gather a comprehensive overview of the tools that have been developed by several youth organisations and international institutions already active in the field of IRD.
The tool Kit is published thanks to the support of the European Youth Forum (YFJ) and is the work of the members of the European Youth Forum's Faith-Based Expert Group (Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe (EYCE), European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS), the International Young Catholic Students – International Movement of Catholic Students European Coordination (JECI-MIEC), Pax Christi International, World Student Christian Federation – Europe (WSCF-E) and FEMYSO). Further contributions to the Tool Kit came from the European Peer Training Organisation (EPTO) and the International Federation of Catholic Parochial Youth Movements (FIMCAP).
FEMYSO training course on "Interreligious Dialogue : Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow, A European Muslim Perspective", from the 4th to the 9th of March 2009 in SpainThe deadline to apply is 24 January 2009. If you are interested to apply contact our office in Brussels (info@femyso.org) |
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 As a part of the Youth Programme of the European Commission, the European Voluntary Service (EVS) programme promotes the mobility of young people through international activities. FEMYSO offers: a fascinating experience and work made of multiple challenges; the opportunity to meet and to know young people from all over Europe; an implication in the heart of the international youth work; an extraordinary opportunity to live for several months in Brussels, the heart of the European Institutions; a unique chance to discover a country of rich historical and cultural heritage, well-known for its mixing of populations, cultures and religions; the possibility to acquire more experience and, thus, to enhance the chances to find a future job; and the possibility to attend language courses. |
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