Pretensions read an article today about a group called Femin-ijtihad, a UK-based group of law students who have started an intiative for Muslim women's rights. Their aim is to prepare a guidebook in Dari, the native Afghan language that will interpret Islamic Law in a gender-neutral fashion. The group is headed by Singaporean Muslim Natasha Latiff, who is currently a student at Warwick University in the UK.

According to Natasha, "Firstly, the Quranic text can be interpreted to oppress. But it can also be interpreted to empower. Take for instance the Quranic phrase ‘Men are the maintainers and protectors of women’. Does this confer upon men a responsibility or a right? Secondly, a word carries no meaning without its context. For instance, the Quranic provision permitting men up to four wives was revealed after a war which left many women widowed. In the absence of a welfare State, men were permitted to marry up to four widows (not any women, but widows) to shelter and care for them. And thirdly, no one holds a monopoly over Quranic interpretations. It is very much Her religion as it His’. "

Despite the improvements in the lives of women in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001 (some two million women can now attend school eg), many Afghan women still lead lives of quiet desperation. In fact the number of female suicides in the country is on the increase, with many women and girls burning themselves to death to escape forced marriages, slavery, physical, sexual or psychological abuse. For more information on the plight of Aghan women, please visit the RAWA site.

Natasha travelled to Afghanistan in 2007, initially to teach English in Kabul. During her time there, she became aware of the plight of Afghan women and visited refugee camps on internally displaced children. She also interned with the International Development Law Organisation and spoke to local lawyers about the Islamic laws on rape. At that point it occured to her, "What if I could compile all the different scholarly interpretations of women rights in Islam into an easy-to-read, conversational medium in the Afghan language which would appeal to both literate and illiterate Afghans? Could this medium conform to the Afghan literary traditions and linguistic conventions? Could this medium (book, leaflet) then be assimilated into the training and campaigning programs of existing Women and Human Rights Organisations in Afghanistan?". And that is exactly what she and her fellow Femi-ijtihad members set out to do.

P understands that the group has a UK and a more recently formed US chapter. Natasha has just set up the Singaporean chapter in June this year. P salutes Natasha as an extraordinary woman and the group for what it intends to do. Femin-ijtihad have a Youtube presence and you can view its video here.