Bridging Faith and Gender Justice: How the Islam and FoRB Toolkit Supports Women’s Rights

International Womens Day | March 2025

International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate the achievements of women and young women worldwide and a call to accelerate progress towards achieving gender equality. Sustainable peace cannot be achieved without diverse voices in leadership, decision-making, and community-building. This year’s theme, “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment,” emphasizes the need to take action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all and a feminist future where no one is left behind.

Over the last five years, significant progress has been made in gender equality, with key policy developments emerging across several areas. In relation to violence against women:

• 90 percent of States introduced or strengthened laws, while 70 percent acted against technology-facilitated violence.

• 43 percent reported adopting gender-responsive approaches to humanitarian action and crisis response, up from 40 percent in 2019.

• On supporting women’s participation in politics and public life, 38 percent of States reported measures to prevent and investigate cases of violence against women in public life, end impunity, and prosecute and punish perpetrators – more than double the percentage reported in the last review period.

However, one of the most complex and deeply rooted barriers to fully obtaining equality lies at the intersection of gender and faith.  While the status of women in many parts of the world has seen advances in areas previously closed to them, the pervasive issue of violence against women persists. Unfortunately, this form of violence knows no borders, cutting across national, cultural, racial, and religious borders, affecting millions of women globally.

• One in three women, or approximately 736 million, experience physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or non-partner. In conflict-affected areas, women and girls are significantly more vulnerable, with the poverty rate 7.7 times higher than in non-fragile contexts.

• Legal frameworks in many countries still restrict gender equality, and discriminatory laws remain a major obstacle. Legal reforms, such as those addressing domestic violence, have been shown to reduce intimate partner violence. However, marginalized groups, including Indigenous women, women with disabilities, and LGBTIQ+ women, continue to face the most severe challenges.

Learn more in the United Nation Secretary General’s ‘Review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly.’

JISRA’s Strategic Role in Promoting Women’s Rights within Religious Communities

While significant efforts have been made in advancing gender equality, much work remains, especially in addressing deeply ingrained barriers such as gender and faith. There is an urgent need for inclusive, multifaceted approaches to gender equality. Faith-based initiatives and actors have a critical role to play in breaking these barriers.

The Dutch-funded ‘Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action’ (JISRA) has prioritized working alongside faith actors to enable women and young women to have strong voices and exercise leadership, reaffirming women’s rights and gender equality as human rights of equal standing with the right to Freedom of Religion and Belief.

JISRA has actively addressed gender-based violence by examining the role of religion in deterring such violence and reducing extremism and hate speech within religious contexts. They have hosted dialogue sessions focused on Islam and gender-based violence. The first Women of Faith Conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia brought together 25 female religious leaders from 13 African countries. During the conference, extensive discussions took place on critical issues such as female genital mutilation (FGM), gender-based violence, and countering extremism, leading to significant outcomes.

From June 10 to 15, the first edition of the Women of Faith Conference took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This groundbreaking event brought together 25 female religious leaders from 13 African countries with policymakers to work on promoting freedom of religion and belief (FoRB) and strengthening women’s rights. Photo: JISRA.

In addition, the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya, in collaboration with JISRA, has worked with Women of Faith in Kwale, Mombasa, and Nairobi Counties to promote gender-sensitive approaches to identifying, reporting, and monitoring Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). This initiative aims to empower women religious leaders to play a crucial role in addressing and preventing SGBV within their communities.

The Kwale Women of Faith members sat quietly at Nyumba Mbovu Social Hall as they watched the ‘Makovu ya Kura’ feature by Citizen TV. Raw emotion reflected on their faces, the reality of what violence could be and how deeply it can scar both physically and emotionally. The feature was a painful reminder of the violence that happened in Kenya in the 2007/08 General election, how inhumane situations could be and how political triggers can have such a catastrophic effect. It was a reminder of the vulnerability of women and children and the violation of their human rights that they faced and could still face; about the lives that were lost and the destruction and trauma that followed. Photo: Kwale Women of Faith in Community Dialogue.

JISRA’s efforts in empowering women of faith and religious leaders to address gender-based violence and promote gender equality are further supported by tools designed to deepen understanding and foster actionable change. The recently released Islam and Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Toolkit serves as a practical guide for those working to advance religious freedom and human rights. This toolkit is designed for FoRB practitioners, peacebuilders, and policymakers committed to promoting gender equity, mutual respect, and interreligious dialogue. It aims to help them engage in interreligious dialogue more effectively by fostering a better understanding of the intersections between Islam and FoRB.

One of its key focuses is addressing SGBV through the lens of Islamic teachings. By drawing on Quranic verses, Hadith, and the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) final sermon, the toolkit guides faith communities on how to actively uphold women’s rights, emphasizing their foundation in Islamic teachings. It encourages reflection on core Islamic principles that promote dignity, justice, and equality, reinforcing the deep connection between faith and human rights.

Islam’s Stance on Gender-Based Violence

Amidst the work still needed, significant progress has been made in advancing gender equality.  It is crucial to highlight that Islam unequivocally condemns all forms of violence against women. From the earliest days of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) actively worked to reform patriarchal pre-Islamic traditions, ensuring that women had the right to education, leadership, and dignity. His efforts and teachings serve as a reminder that faith can be a powerful force for justice and equality.

Yet, harmful practices persist, often misattributed to religion. Misinterpretations of religious texts have contributed to gender inequality, fueling injustices such as child marriage, domestic violence, and restrictions on women’s autonomy. However, Islamic teachings, when properly understood, reject these forms of oppression.

Three key theological principles reinforce this stance:

• Rape is a crime, not the victim’s fault. Islam views rape as a violent crime against the victim, society, and God. Victim-blaming directly contradicts Islamic teachings, which place full responsibility on the perpetrator. In fact, rape falls under  hirāba–a crime of “waging war against society”– so serious and repugnant that perpetrators are “not to be given quarter or sanctuary anywhere” (Abou El Fahl, The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists, 242).

• Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has no basis in Islam. Despite persistent misconceptions, FGM is a cultural practice, not a religious one.  The Holy Quran is void of any reference to FGM, there is no Ijma’ (scholarly consensus) or consensus on a specific legal ruling, and no valid Qiyas (legal analogy) justifies it. As for the Sunnah (traditions), there is doubt to the authenticity of the Hadith attributed to the Prophet (PBUH) in this concern (Selim Al-Awa, FGM In the Context of Islam, 2). Education and community engagement are critical to dispelling these myths and ensuring this practice is eradicated.

• Misinterpretations of religious texts contribute to gender inequality. Many harmful traditions such as child marriage and domestic violence, stem from cultural norms rather than authentic Islamic law and teachings. By returning to core Islamic values of justice, mercy, and dignity, faith communities can challenge these practices and affirm women’s rights as fundamental to Islamic teachings.

Using Islamic Theology to End Gender-Based Violence

The Prophet’s Farewell sermon emphasized 5 principles for Freedom of Religion or Belief:

1. Honor the life, dignity, and property of others: The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم equated the sanctity of life and humankind with this sacred month, emphasizing the importance of humanity and the value of respecting one another’s rights in Islam. In a religiously diverse society, reverence and respect are due to all, valuing people’s rights, recognizing sacredness of lives.

2. All human beings are equal, free from injustice and oppression: Throughout the sermon, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم emphasized the importance of rights for all humankind. Humans are judged solely based on their righteousness, irrespective of religion, gender, race, color or socioeconomic status.

3. Recognize the rights of women: The Prophet in his mission reformed several pre-Islamic patriarchal practices that allowed women to have a voice and present grievances allowing them to play a significant role in the development of Islam. In the farewell sermon, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم emphasizes that men and women are partners and are meant to complement one another. It means that they each have rights and responsibilities over each other and have a responsibility of creating a harmonious environment free of any form of violation. The sermon emphasizes that women are not the property of men, and their rights are given by God and cannot be taken away.

4. Practice the true teachings of Islam: The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in the sermon reminded Muslims that there are two primary sources to guide the lives of Muslims – the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

While the toolkit can serve as a guide, our actions remain our responsibility. As we mark International Women’s Day, let’s commit to more than conversations. Let’s take greater steps to ensure that gender equality and freedom of religion or belief go hand in hand so that every woman, in every faith community, can live with dignity, security, and opportunity.

About the JISRA Project

The Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action (JISRA) is a partnership of 50 civil society organizations based in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda (with supporting lobby and advocacy in Europe and the USA). This international, inter religious partnership is implementing a five-year program (2021-2025) in partnership with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to further peaceful and just societies where all enjoy Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB).

The program is coordinated by four international consortium partners: Mensen met een Missie Tearfund UK, Tearfund the Netherlands, Faith to Action Network, Search for Common Ground, and the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.