Islam and the Status of Women
Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri
Thursday 1 May 2003
Supported by the Australia Malaysia Foundation Inc
As a founding member of the Sisters in Islam, an Islamic feminist
organisation in Malaysia, Zuriah Aljeffri explains that the true principles
of Islam enshrine equality between men and women and support justice,
equity, freedom and dignity within democratic states.
A renowned Malaysian artist with works exhibited at the Vienna United
Nations Conference on Human Rights, Zuriah has a background in law, public
relations and cultural affairs. She has given papers on ‘Understanding
Islam’ as well as participating in inter-faith dialogue at home and abroad.
Sisters in Islam's:
www.sistersinislam.org.my
Sharifah
Zuriah Aljeffri was born in Kedah Province in North Malaysia where her
father was the first Malay Principal appointed to an English Language
Secondary School. She received a liberal education combining Islamic studies
with Western education at the Father Barre’s Convent School.
From 1965-76 she studied law at the Inner Temple, London, receiving a
Diploma in Public Relations and completed courses in Roman Law,
Constitutional Law and Legal History and Criminal Law. She has a Diploma in
Public Relations from the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia. From
1967-1971 she was the Organising Secretary of the Selangor Consumers
Association and was an advocate for the rights of consumers. From 1971 to
1993 she was the Cultural Affairs Adviser for the US Embassy in Kuala
Lumpur.
Aljeffri is the only Malay artist to have crossed the cultural divide in
Malaysian visual art practice through the study and application of Chinese
brush painting, commencing in 1976 under Master artist Anthony Sum. She has
made a cultural bridge in Malaysian society.
Aljeffri has coordinated international conferences, most recently Islam and
Politics, Deputy Prime Minister’s Department, Kuala Lumpur, (2002); Rights
at Home, International Study of Islam in the Modern World, the Netherlands,
the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) and Sisters in Islam,
(2003).
As a founding member of Sisters in Islam (1988), an Islamic feminist
organisation in Malaysia, Zuriah Aljeffri has served on the National
Executive (1997-1999). Through scholarly application of Islamic text Sisters
in Islam has to some extent been able to create awareness of the true
principles of Islam, principles that enshrine the concept of equality
between men and women, and to strive towards creating a society that upholds
the Islamic principles of equality, justice, freedom and dignity within a
democratic state. In June 2001 Aljeffri was a participant at the
International Human Rights Training Program in Montreal, Canada, organised
by the Canadian Human Rights Foundation. Foundation. She has given a paper
on ‘Understanding Islam’ and ‘The status of Women in Islam’ as well as
participating in inter-faith dialogue at home and abroad.