OVER 40 ORGANIZATIONS IN 11 COUNTRIES CAMPAIGN FOR
SEXUAL & REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:
ONE DAY ONE STRUGGLE – 09.11.09

On 09/11/2009 hundreds of activists joined forces in their quest to realize sexual and reproductive health and rights in Muslim societies.

Showing the united struggle to assert sexual and reproductive rights as universal human rights, the Campaign addressed a wide array of cutting edge issues, ranging from so-called honor killings to LGBT rights, penal code reform to sexuality in Islam…

16 simultaneous events were held in 11 countries across continents, all underlining the fact that sexuality is not a private issue but a site of political struggle:

Bangladesh:

•  Debating Sexual Rights: Open discussion on promoting sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies
  Organized by: Bandhu Social Welfare Society (BSWS)

• Launch of a pioneering research: Understanding Sexuality and Rights in Dhaka City                                       
  Organized by: Center for Gender, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS at the James P Grant School of Public Health of BRAC University

• Discussing the extent of feminist engagement with religion and the place of sexuality and pleasure in the Quran  
  Organized by: Naripokkho

• A first for the queer members of Bangladeshi society: Jaago (Wake-up)                                                              
  Organized by: Boys of Bangladesh (BoB)

• Being hijra (transgender) in Bangladesh
  Co-organized by: Rangberong & Sachetana Shilpa Shangha

Cyprus:

• Joint effort against sexual violence and homophobia: Mobilizing to reform the Criminal Code
  Co-organized by: Feminist Workshop (FEMA) & Initiative against Homophobia (HOKI)

Egypt:

• Struggling for the right to abortion in cases of rape
  Co-organized by: Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) & New Woman Foundation (NWF)

Indonesia:

• New Aceh law violates Islam and women’s right to bodily autonomy
  Organized by: GAYa NUSANTARA

Lebanon:

• Talking of sexuality in Lebanon: A Sexuality Seminar
  Co-organized by: MEEM & HELEM

Malaysia:

• Penal Code Section 498: Out of Date, Out With It
  Co-organized by: All Women’s Action Society (AWAM) & Empower & Sisters in Islam (SIS) & Women’s Aid Organization (WAO)

Pakistan:

•  Building queer-straight alliances: Bring a Straight Friend Along                                          
  Organized by: Organization for the Protection and Propagation of the Rights of Sexual Minorities (The O)

Palestine:

• My Land, Space, Body and Sexuality-Palestinians in the Shadow of the Wall: A Media Campaign
  Organized by: Muntada (Arab Forum for Sexuality, Education and Health)

• A Campaign against Femicide
  Organized by: Women Against Violence (WAV)

Sudan:

• Voicing the Need and Advocating for Reproductive and Bodily Rights of Sudanese Women
  Organized by: Ahfad University for Women (AUW)

Tunisia:

• Which sexuality education today?
  Organized by: Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates – ATFD)

Turkey:

• Feminists and LGBT Activists Stand Together Against Sexist Courts                              
  Co-organized by: Feminist Collective & LGBT Human Rights Platform
  Initiated by: Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) – New Ways