SLU event looks at Islam and oppression of women

CANTON — A group of St. Lawrence University students got together Tuesday night to talk about the fight for equal rights for women.

The campus chapter of Amnesty International and the Islamic Culture Club decided to co-host a film screening and panel discussion to commemorate the 100th International Women's Day. They showed a movie about women's rights in Islamic nations and continued with a discussion about it with students, faculty and activists.

"I feel like it's really important, not only women in Islam but I feel like women all over the world are being overlooked," Islamic Culture Club President Safia S. Quadri said.

The club screened the 2009 documentary, "Veiled Voices," about women religious leaders in the Muslim faith. After the screening, a group of faculty, students and staff got together to talk about issues facing women locally and around the world, from the threatened funding cuts to Planned Parenthood to the lives of women living in slums in India, according to sophomore Lukasz W. Niparko, one of the organizers of the Amnesty International panel.

"This year we decided to talk about women because many members of Amnesty International are young girls," said Mr. Niparko, who said he believes that gender should not matter when advocating for women's rights. "There is no oppression that's not your problem. I think every violation of human rights is our problem."

This is the first year the two clubs have collaborated on hosting events around women's rights. Originally, the Islamic Culture Club was hoping to host the "Hijabi Monologues," a series of skits along the lines of the "Vagina Monologues," created to dispel myths about Muslim women who wear the traditional head scarves. It would take too long to organize it for this year, so the club decided to hold a film screening instead, according to club adviser and campus chaplain Kathleen Buckley.

International Women's Day began 100 years ago in Germany amid protests about poor working conditions as the world began to industrialize. The celebration did not catch on around the world until 1977, when the United Nations declared March 8 a day to recognize women's rights and international peace.

Many of the issues feminists have campaigned against for decades are still problems. Women are still paid 17 percent less than men in equivalent positions, and have less employment security than men. As many as six of every 10 women around the world are subjected to physical and/or sexual violence, according to the U.N.

"Sometimes, the most effective and profitable ways of dealing with inequality have to do with our students talking," said Traci Fordham, a professor in the gender and sexuality studies department who holds a Ph.D. in intercultural communications. "It's ultimately a way to understand that patriarchy is a pretty persistent and transcultural social arrangement."