Noura
Gaballah was elected as the first president of the European Forum
for Muslim Women, the first Muslim women's association in Europe.
Defending
the participation of Muslim women in European political and social
life, the forum "is an initiative to shattering the stereotypes
that are associated with Islam, the hijab, and Muslim women in
general," said Gaballah.
The
conference, which ended on March 5, 2006, chose Gaballah as
president for the next four years. She is one of the pioneers of
Islamic efforts in Europe and France and in the forum she represents
fourteen other European associations for women and more than other
400 women who took part in the conference.
Q:
What have the priorities of the European Forum for Muslim Women been
since its establishment?
A:
Our current priority is to be visible, to get out of our cocoon, and
to work at the heart of women's Islamic efforts so that we can have
dialogue with others and project a positive image of Muslim women.
By doing that, we will be able to change the stereotype of Muslim
women.
Of
course, work carried out by the Muslim community is within the
domain of each country through the local Muslim associations,
however, the forum's role is to speak to "the other." This
"other" is present in the realm of politics and decision
makers.
We
also want to talk to those working in human rights and the media.
However, the mechanisms of our work will be through networking
between the different associations. When we combine our efforts to
communicate with others during the last few decades, we will find
that it is rather feeble. We cannot make a difference if we don't
have a strong network of relationships and this network must have an
association that is specialized in bringing it together and
strengthening it. This is the role that the forum will play during
the next four years until the next conference.
Q:
In reference to networking, especially because Muslim women's hijab
is considered to be a symbol of backwardness, don't you fear that
your words will fall on deaf ears because you are a group of veiled
women who are initiating dialogue with the media and politicians?
A:
This is not generally true. It's true that there are concerns in
France, but this does not exist with the same extent in other
countries. For instance, in Sweden, we have a sister in the forum
who wears the hijab, she is part of the Social Democratic Party and
is also a candidate in the next parliamentarian elections. In Italy,
we also have sisters there who wear the hijab and who have good
relations with politicians. In the United Kingdom, we have a sister
who is a prominent member of the British political party called
Respect. In the Netherlands, which is known to have a large number
of extreme right-wingers, there is a government advisor who wears
the hijab. These are all examples that indicate that the hijab is
only presented in suspicious light in France.
 |
| Our
aim is to focus on the role of Muslim women in the family
and their work in society. |
Q:
The forum plans to be active in Europe and you know the enormous
effect of the French political vision in European decision making.
How are you going to deal with this?
A:
Of course, this is a challenge that we face, and generally, we
understand that Muslim women, in their present form, are not
accepted in society. But when people know that they are not
accepted, they must try to be creative in finding methods that will
allow them to voice their opinion and to present their views.
Confronted by this problem, our only option is to work hard in
changing this image so that we don't remain alienated. If we can't
voice our opinion in France, then we could do that through the
European Union.
For
example, two Italian parliamentarian women asked to meet with a
delegation of the forum. We arranged the meeting and we felt that
this is a positive indicator, because the meeting proved to be
fruitful. The parliamentarians promised to meet with their
counterparts from Europe and to try to hold our next forum within
the halls of the European Union. This is an indicator that when
women try hard, they can reap positive results, despite the
obstacles and difficulties.
Q:
It is evident that the conference's recommendations focused highly
on the issue of the hijab. Some even say that the forum built a
foundation for the defense of the hijab in Europe. What do you think
of that?
A:
No, of course not. The hijab is not our primary issue for the forum.
We've said that our main concern is communicating with the
"other" to present a correct image of the status of women
in Islam. Before we ask for our rights, we must first know ourselves
and our realities and this is our priority because the
"other" fears us and fears the hijab that he considers a
method of submission and a symbol of marginalizing women.
So,
through any relationship that we will have with the
"other," we will make sure to use it to make ourselves
known and to make known our vision of the relationship between women
and men. We believe that they are both placed by God as vicegerents
on earth to build it and to complement one another till we reach to
the happiness of humanity.
Our
aim is to focus on the role of Muslim women in the family and their
work in society. We are against the male-oriented view of society.
Q:
In order to be part of the forum, must Muslim women wear the hijab?
A:
Of course, our forum is open for all women, be they veiled and
unveiled. There are many second and third generation Muslim women in
European countries who are encouraged to be part of the forum. We
are against imposing the hijab, but we are also against prohibiting
it by law or by other means. What we care about is focusing on the
fundamentals and the appearance, even though important, is not a
precondition. Our work tries to differentiate between appearance and
substance. We don't want veiled women whose behavior is far away
from the values that we believe in.
The
forum's goals in this area is to encourage the girls who don't speak
out, especially those who are in the suburbs, to work in women's
activism to defend their rights. Also, we aim to build bridges of
communication with the intellectuals and decision makers.
Q:
What is your criteria for European women's associations that you
cooperate with, especially those that don't share the same
objectives as you?
A:
In the forum, we have many degrees of membership. The first is an
active membership which includes the local organizations such as
those in Italy and France, they have the same goals as we do. One of
our goals, for instance, involves spreading awareness in our society
and educating people about women's roles in the social and political
spheres, even though this may conflict with the vision of some
people who believe that the woman's place is at home.
In
addition to these associations, we have the memberships of the
supporting associations, those women's association need not be
Muslim, but we may share common interests around particular issues.
Q:
Could you give an example of such organizations?
A:
For example, we cooperate with associations that call for the halt
of all forms of violence against women. Also those who call for the
wage equality in the workplace between men and women, the Islamic
spirit calls for justice, thus we have some similar interests with
non-Muslim women's organizations.
Q:
Are you also willing to cooperate with associations such as neither
whores nor submissive that has recently been highlighted in the
French media?
A:
This organization, which claims to defend the rights of young women
in the suburbs, is not legitimate. It's an organization of a group
of women who have given themselves the right to work in women's
activism in France and have received special attention from the
media and extreme secularists. They have received this attention due
to their animosity towards Arab and Islamic values and their
position against the hijab.
The
girls who were expelled from their schools for wearing the hijab
were supported by some non-Muslim and secular organizations, while
this organization stood besides those who called for the ban of the
hijab who was supported by the law.
*
Hadi Yahmed is
IslamOnline.net's Paris correspondent.
