(WASHINGTON, July 20): This week marks the anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, the first organized meeting in support of women’s rights – it also marks the final week of an extraordinary gathering of Muslim women in the nation’s capitol. Through July 26, KARAMAH is hosting a group of 24 Muslim women leaders in Washington for the 7th Annual Law and Leadership Summer Program (LLSP). The three-week program, bringing together delegates from the U.S. and countries as far away as Canada, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, is designed to equip the women with the legal skills and leadership training needed to create peaceful change in their countries.
The diverse group of women leaders, composed of attorneys, activists, educators and students, are attending lectures by professors at Harvard and Wharton on leadership, conflict resolution, Islamic law and U.S. Constitutional law.
Last week, the delegates met with members of Congress, White House staff, officials from the Department of Justice and Muslims working on the Hill. The participants engaged actively in discussion with members of Congress and other Capitol Hill officials, and they shared their thoughts and ideas for addressing issues from human rights to domestic violence from their own unique perspectives.
Highlights of the program included a meeting on Friday, July 17 with Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn) and Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), and a meeting on Wednesday, July 15 with Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). The members of Congress discussed civic engagement and women’s rights, and they praised KARAMAH for fostering leadership among Muslim women.
“KARAMAH is a wonderful organization, not only built to serve humanity but to nurture future leaders,” said Rep. Carson to the delegates.
Among the speakers at the LLSP program teaching courses in law and leadership were Dr. Leary Davis, Founding Dean of Elon University School of Law; Prof. John Mansfield, Professor Emeritus at Harvard School of Law; Prof. Michael Useem, from the Wharton School; and Prof. A.E. Dick Howard from the University of Virginia School of Law. Dr. Amr Abdullah, Professor and Vice Rector for Academic Affairs at University for Peace in Costa Rica, provided the delegates with effective conflict resolution strategies, while Imam Muhammad Magid of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center in Sterling, Virginia, provided insights into the foundations of Islamic law.
The program was organized by KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights, a charitable, educational organization focusing on the domestic and global issues of human rights for Muslim women. Created in 1993, KARAMAH is committed to the principle that research and education are necessary tools for peaceful social change.
