On Friday, March 12, 2009, KARAMAH presented a briefing at the United Nations of its detailed recommendations on the proposed amendment to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), entitled "The Economic Consequences of Marriage and its Dissolution," or "The Concept Note," currently being circulated by the CEDAW Committee at the United Nations. The briefing, which was co-sponsored by Women in Islam, Inc. and facilitated by the Permanent Observer Mission of the OIC, addressed issues related to the rights of Muslim women and Islamic law currently under debate within CEDAW at the United Nations, and initiatives that KARAMAH has taken to address them.

The recommendation by KARAMAH comes in response to a decision by the UN committee overseeing implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), a UN treaty on women's rights adopted in 1979, to address the issue of divorce and its economic consequences for women with a new General Recommendation expected this year.

The purpose of KARAMAH’s newest position paper is to facilitate a thorough critique by Muslim delegations of The Concept Note and significant ways in which it touches on and in some cases contravenes important Islamic jurisprudential principles.

- Read Karamah’s Recommendations to The Concept Note