CSBR CSBR Activities

Call for Applications: 5th CSBR Sexuality Institute 2012

September 18-23, 2012 | Alexandria, Egypt | Submission Deadline: May 20, 2012.

As the only international network working on sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies, CSBR has succeeded in creating an alternative discourse and progressive spaces in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The CSBR Sexuality Institute brings together leading sexual and reproductive rights activists, academics and researchers. Held previously in in Turkey (2009), Indonesia (2010),  and Malaysia (2008/2011), with participants from 23 countries throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East, the institutes include lectures, group work, round-tables, panels, site visits and film screenings, as well as a methodology to engage participants’ own experiences around sexuality.

Designed as an intensive six-day participatory group training, the Institute will be limited to 20-22 participants. Do you have a minimum of 2 years experience working in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights? Are you committed to undertake efforts to promote sexual and bodily health and rights at national and international level? Do you represent an organization/institution engaged in sexual and reproductive health and rights advocacy, research or fieldwork? Please submit this form online and send a C.V. to coordinator@csbronline.org by May 20 2012.  Continue reading “Call for Applications: 5th CSBR Sexuality Institute 2012” →

CSBR CSBR Activities

Let’s Create the Logo of CSBR!

It is with a lot of excitement that we announce this competition among the coalition’s Member Organizations to design the logo of CSBR. As you know, CSBR is now on Facebook and Twitter, and to strengthen the coalition’s online presence, we need a vibrant logo.

We invite you to disseminate this call widely within your organizations (staff, members, volunteers, supporters) along with the competition guidelines. Submissions will be shortlisted by the CSBR Coordinating Team and sent out to Member Organizations who will then vote for their favorite design.

We look forward to receiving your designs!

Entries will be accepted until March 25th 2012.

CSBR CSBR Activities, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Statements

CSBR Statement on UN Report on Discriminatory Practices & Laws Based on Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity

CSBR Statement on United Nations Report on Discriminatory Laws and Practices and Acts of Violence Against Individuals Based on their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

January 20, 2012
(Beirut, Lebanon)

The Coalition for Sexual and Bodily rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) welcomes the report issued by the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. This report was initiated by a landmark resolution presented by South Africa and supported by many countries in various regions in June 2011.  The resolution expressed grave concerns at acts of violence and discrimination across the world based on sexual orientation and gender identity and requested that the High Commissioner for Human Rights prepare the report.

The report  documents discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, in all regions of the world, and outlines how international human rights law can be used to end violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This report is very important as it is the first of its kind and it documents the abuses faced by individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. These abuses include: killings, torture, rape, criminal sanctions, and other forms of violence and discrimination. The report also highlights the international human rights legal framework as it applies to discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The report emphasis the duty of the State under international law to protect the human rights of all individuals including those who are of non conforming sexualities or gender identities. The report makes some strong recommendations and emphasizes that the Human Rights Council and UN Member States have a duty to address human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Specifically, the report calls on States to:

  • Repeal provisions that criminalize same- ‐sex relations between consenting adults, including the use of the death penalty;
  • Legally recognize the self- ‐identified gender of transgender persons, including in identity documentation;
  • Include sexual orientation and gender identity in non- ‐discrimination legislation, and address related discrimination in employment, access to health care and education;
  • Ensure an equal age of consent for opposite and same sex relations;
  • Ensure accountability for killings and other acts of violence based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression;
  • Provide sensitization and awareness- ‐raising for police and other law enforcement officials;
  • Recognize discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity as valid grounds for asylum seeking;
  • Ensure the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

CSBR strongly endorses the report and calls on all its members and allies to utilize the report as an additional  tool in furthering the struggle for sexual and bodily rights and the recognition of rights for non-conforming sexualities and gender identified individuals.

For more information, contact us at: coordinator@csbronline.org

CSBR CSBR Activities, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, ODOS

One Day, One Struggle around the World!

Today, November 9, 2011 marks the 3rd annual celebration of One Day, One Struggle. This time, every year, CSBR member organizations join forces to campaign locally and globally for sexual and bodily rights. Events will be happening around the world over the coming week, here are some:

MORE UPDATES COMING AS WE RECEIVE THEM!

MALAYSIA

You can also read the statement by Women’s Aid Organization in solidarity with the campaign.

PAKISTAN

Rutgers WPF have launched a survey with special focus to the issues faced by transgenders in Pakistan. Fourth question of the poll refers to the recently released Pakistani famous Movie “BOL” which highlights different Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights issues with the context of Muslim families living in Pakistan.

Rutgers will share the results of the poll on 10th December 2011 on the commemoration of International Human Rights Day.

LEBANON

Nasawiya in Lebanon are organizing around the theme of marital rape, which has recently caused controversy during the campaign to Protect Women from Family Violence. Marital rape is exempted from bring considered criminal in the Lebanese Penal Code and women’s movements are calling for its criminalization.

A conference with interactive theater and public forum will take place on Tuesday, November 15 on the theme of marital rape and you can watch the video prepared by the group, gauging out the public’s reactions to the campaign below (in Arabic):


The Lebanese Society of ObGyn will also be holding a session on sexual pleasure deconstruction from a biomedical perspective on November 17.

PHILIPPINES

In Davao City, PILIPINA Legal Resources Center organized a Human Rights Policy Forum on LGBT Rights with a panel discussion and policy recommendations. The event brought together sociologists, researchers, writers, activists, and city councilors. PILIPINA Legal Resources Center worked to connect the LGBT community with local city legislators, academe, women’s movement, the press in order to intellectually discuss the proposed Anti Discrimination Bill Of Davao City Legislative Council which does not have a section on LGBT rights.

Isabelita Solamo-Antonio writes about the issue in Womenwise: LGBT (Lesbians, Gay, Bi-sexuals & Transgenders) Rights Are Human Rights. Check out the Facebook photo album here!

INDONESIA

Organizations in Indonesia marked ODOS with 2 days of events under the theme “My Body, My Rights : No Health Without Rights.” The occasion brought together several NGOs, academic institutions and AIDS Commission at province level (Government Organization). The Organizations that joined the events are Dipayoni (Lesbian organization), Savy Amira (Women Crisis Center), Bhinneka (Religion and pluralism organization), AIDS Commission (Government organization), and Study Center for Human Rights- Surabaya University, Study center for gender and Health- Psychology Faculty-Surabaya University.

 

CSBR CSBR Activities, Headline, ODOS

One Day, One Struggle 2011

This November 11th marks the 3rd year of the One Day One Struggle (ODOS) campaign. ODOS is an international campaign taking place in 12 countries across the Middle East, North Africa, South and Southeast Asia to promote sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies and across the Arab world. Member organizations of the Coalition of Sexual and Bodily Rights (CSBR) will be carrying out these activities in their prospective countries. Keep an eye out for this year’s activities by the member organizations of CSBR.

CSBR CSBR Activities, News from Member Organizations, ODOS

ODOS 2009 Events

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

On 9 November 2009 the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) organized a historic campaign bringing together a diverse group of nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions and activists across the Middle East, North Africa, South and Southeast Asia. As part of this simultaneous campaign entitled One Day One Struggle, tens of organizations from 11 countries held public demonstrations and meetings to assert that sexual and reproductive rights are universal human rights.

During the 1-Day Campaign that created a milestone event in the history of the sexual and reproductive rights movement, activists held 16 simultaneous yet diverse events, each focusing on the pertinent issue of their respective local and national contexts and all underlining the fact that sexuality is not a private issue but a site of political struggle. The Campaign showed that even if we are in different continents, working on different aspects of the issues related to sexuality, we are united in our quest to realize sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Muslim societies.

Coordinated by Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) – New Ways, the previous international coordination office of the CSBR in 2009, the Campaign was designed to raise public awareness on sexuality and SRHR in the local contexts, and contribute to advocacy efforts on the national levels to counter the rising conservatism, fueled by militarism, increasing inequalities, the politicization of religion and Islamophobia that have strengthened patriarchal and extremist religious ideologies, which use sexuality as a tool of oppression.

A major goal of the Campaign was also to make the struggles of SRHR advocates in Muslim societies visible at the international level. Contrary to the coverage in Western media, the Campaign once again showed that there is not one single definition or description of “Muslim society.” The variety of issues raised during the Campaign portrayed the huge diversity of practices in different Muslim societies. For instance, advocates in Palestine campaigned against a widespread violation of women’s sexual and bodily rights in the Middle East, namely the so-called “honor killings” which is a practice almost unheard of in Southeast Asia. While homosexuality is still a criminal offence in many countries of the Middle East, the LGBT communities in Bangladesh held panels, discussions and culture shows to bring more visibility to their struggles. Providing a glimpse at the courageous work undertaken by SRHR advocates in these societies, the Campaign shed light on the variety of our struggles that depend on the practices within our specific contexts.

As the first such international campaign from our regions, we hope it has also helped show the strength of our solidarity across continents and will set a precedent to increase awareness and understanding of sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies regionally and internationally.

THE EVENTS:

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
CSBR CSBR Activities

MY EXPERIENCE OF THE CSBR SEXUALITY INSTITUTE AS A TRAINER

by tan beng hui – Fiesta Feminista, Malaysia

Many years ago, I was quite perplexed when I heard a friend refer to lesbians as lesbian women‘. I remember thinking, ―Strange… if lesbians aren‘t women, what else could they be I was convinced that the use of the word woman‘ was redundant since by definition, lesbians had to be women-loving-women‘.

I since discovered that I had little ability then to think beyond what the dominant discourse on gender told me. After all, the struggle at the time had been about asserting the distinction between biological sex and socially constructed gender. Those challenges aside, some of us now understand how this struggle also inadvertently contributed towards a binary view of gender, one which reduced the meaning of the term to men and women, and in the process, exclude those who may have fitted into both or neither.

Like gender‘, the term sexuality‘ has also had a history of being narrowly grasped by activists of all persuasions. For those dealing with rape, their framework of sexuality was largely confined to keeping women‘s bodies free from violence. On the other hand, those addressing maternal health, abortion, or contraception would rarely adopt a position beyond sexual and reproductive health and rights. At some point – perhaps in the hope of reversing years of silence and discrimination – sexuality was automatically assumed to mean sexual orientation or preference.

The recently concluded 3rd CSBR Sexuality Institute provided 21 activists working in different Muslim contexts with an opportunity to revisit and re-contemplate the concepts of gender and sexuality. Sessions comprising a combination of lectures, small group discussions, role-play, film, and even song and theatre were used to present and explore theory and practice.

One objective was to widen how gender and sexuality were understood. Specifically, thinking outside the box when using labels like man‘, woman‘, gay‘, lesbian‘, bisexual‘, transsexual‘, transgendered‘, intersex‘, etc. As well, having greater clarity in what meanings these terms may hold for different people. Participants were also encouraged to view gender and sexuality holistically – as opposed to treating them discretely with little or no connections.

Being part of this Institute, I found it amazing how much progress has been made in this regard. Just twenty years ago (or less depending on one‘s social, economic or geographic location), the opportunity to learn about such matters – what more being able to sit together in a room of like-minded activists in discussion and debate – would have been unimaginable for the majority. Had it presented itself, I might not have been so quick in concluding like I did, that all lesbians had to be women!

For many reasons ranging from efforts of sexuality advocates locally and globally to the politics of funding, there has been a proliferation of courses within the last decade, leaving those pursuing knowledge relating to gender and sexuality spoilt for choice. The CSBR Sexuality Institute may have been one of many initiatives that emerged out of these developments, but over the last three years, it has also distinguished itself from the others in the following ways.

For one, the Institute has a unique focus on those living in Muslim societies. This is driven by a belief that apart from the difficulties in addressing issues of gender and sexuality, efforts have to be negotiated through an additional layer of challenges that arise out of the politicization of religion: fundamentalism‘ and increasingly, Islamophobia.
At the same time, it isn‘t presumed that these experiences are homogenous. Neither is a blanket solution prescribed for all. The selection of a diverse group of participants – from Asia, the Middle East and Africa, with an assortment of identities and working backgrounds – serves as a reminder that those living in or among Muslim communities may share similar problems but not necessarily the same analytical lens or strategies for confronting these.

Recognizing that non-Muslims too are affected by these same challenges, albeit in differing degrees, the Institute welcomes the possibility of their inclusion, hence consciously extends the frontiers of solidarity building.

Indeed, another distinguishing feature is how the Institute‘s emphasis on promoting scholarship is matched by a desire to strengthen networking. A key consideration is to bring together activists for the purpose of engaging, challenging and learning from each other. This is also why a significant portion of time is dedicated to the sharing of experiences, in particular those relating to strategies for advocacy.

That the Institute has had a positive impact on many who have been through its doors is amply clear from the feedback received. I have been privileged to be a part of its journey so far, and hope to be able to support it for many more years to come. However, its continued success (and existence) lies very much in the hands of the network it serves.
beng hui was a trainer at the CSBR Sexuality Institute in 2009 and 2010. She wishes to thank both the participants who gave so generously of themselves, and her fellow trainers for the many insights she gained.

 

beng hui was a trainer at the CSBR Sexuality Institute in 2009 and 2010. She wishes to thank both the participants who gave so generously of themselves, and her fellow trainers for the many insights she gained.

CSBR CSBR Activities, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Statements

CSBR: What will be the next violation of human rights in Indonesia?

2 April 2010

PRESS RELEASE

What will be the next violation of human rights in Indonesia?

First there was the Aceh Legislative Council that passed the Qanun Jinayat punishing adultery and homosexual conduct with stoning to death and caning. Then there was the
Constitutional Court decision upholding the Anti-Pornograhy law that criminalizes
homosexuality, and leaves room to criminalize sensuality violating especially cultural
minorities’ freedom of expression. Finally there came the mobs attacking the ILGA Asia Conference participants in broad daylight of Surabaya.
On March 23rd the Indonesian police cancelled the regional Asia Conference of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association (ILGA) that was to be held in Surabaya through 26 – 28 March and was to be attended by more than 150 activists representing 100 organizations from 16 Asian countries. It is claimed that the police cancelled the conference due to pressures and threat of attacks from conservative Muslim groups, though in fact the duty of the police was to deter such attacks.
As the inability of a state and its law enforcement units to protect the freedom of expression and association can only reflect institutional discrimination and systematic intimidation against human rights advocates.
On March 26th, these groups did indeed attack the Conference participants in the Oval Hotel where they were trapped, having arrived in Surabaya unaware of the last minute cancelation, and unable to leave the city.
We know that the freedom of association is protected by the law in Indonesia, and we also know that though not required by law, the Organizing Committee had received the permit for the conference and that this permit was withdrawn by the police in Surabaya, which allegedly feared violent attacks by radical Islamic groups.
Yet the same police had no fear dining with the attackers in the lobby of the Oval Hotel, while the mob harassed the Conference participants subjecting them to verbal and physical abuse. The mob also sealed the office of GAYa NUSANTARA, the local organization that hosted the conference. This office is still closed and human rights activists in Surabaya are still under the threat of further attacks.
In a country such as Indonesia that prides itself on its diversity, and is supposed to uphold the universal principles of human rights, these acts of violence and intimidation against human rights activists are simply and completely unacceptable. In a democratizing country such as Indonesia, the duty of the state, its legal instruments and its police is to guarantee the constitutional right of association of the people, and not to deprive them of this right by sheltering pressure groups that wrongfully use the name of Islam to further their political agendas.
As 38 leading non-governmental organizations and academic institutions from 16 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, South and South East Asia, we call upon the
members of the press to spread the news on these outrageous violations of human rights,
so that the authorities take immediate and solid action to guarantee the safety of the Conference organizers and participants who are still in Surabaya, and reopen the doors of GAYa NUSANTARA and safeguard the security of all its members.
Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR)
Coordination Office: Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) – New Ways, TURKEY
AAHUNG, PAKISTAN
Association des Femmes Tunisiennes pour la Recherche et le Développement (AFTURD),
TUNISIA
Ahfad University for Women (AUW), SUDAN
AMARGI, TURKEY
Association Marocaine des Droits des Femmes (AMDF), MOROCCO
Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW), MALAYSIA
Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc (ADFM), MOROCCO
Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates (ATFD), TUNISIA
BRAC University, BANGLADESH
Collectif Maghreb Egalité, ALGERIA
Egyptian Initiative For Personal Rights (EIPR), EGYPT
GAYa NUSANTARA, INDONESIA
HELEM, LEBANON
Indonesian Women Association for Justice (APIK), INDONESIA
Institut Pelangi Perempuan (IPP), INDONESIA
IWRAW-AP, MALAYSIA
Jordanian Women’s Union, JORDAN
LAMBDAISTANBUL LGBTT Association, TURKEY
Lebanese Council to Resist Violence Against Women (LECORVAW), LEBANON
MADA al-CARMEL – Arab Center for Applied Social Research, PALESTINE
Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC), MALAYSIA
Meem, LEBANON
Muntada – Arab Forum for Sexuality, Education and Health, PALESTINE
New Woman Foundation (NWF), EGYPT
Pilipina Legal Resources Center (PLRC), PHILIPPINES
Rassemblement Contre la Hogra et pour les Droits des Algériennes (RACHDA), ALGERIA
RAHIMA, INDONESIA
RESEAU WASSILA, ALGERIA
Sisters Arabic Forum (SAF), YEMEN
Sisters in Islam (SIS), MALAYSIA
Synergie Civique, MOROCCO
VISION, PAKISTAN
Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC), PALESTINE
Women Against Violence (WAV), PALESTINE
Women’s Aid Organization (WAO), MALAYSIA
Women’s Health Foundation, INDONESIA
The Queen Zein Al Sharaf Institute for Development (ZENID), JORDAN