1025 F Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20004
featuring
Farahnaz Ispahani
Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow
with comments by
Nina Shea
The Hudson Institute
moderated by
Sally Blair
International Forum for Democratic Studies
Twitter: Follow @ThinkDemocracy and use #NEDEvents to join the conversation.
About the Event
Since 2014, ISIS and affiliated extremist groups such as Boko Haram have gained significant ground in Muslim-majority countries with the goal of establishing an Islamic State governed by Shari’a. These groups have rejected all democratic principles and ideals, including equal rights for women. Women are already poorly represented in both civic and political life, often subject to medieval interpretations of the Quran and Hadith. ISIS and other extremist groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda aim to widen this gender gap, and they are effectively subverting recent gains and turning the Muslim women’s rights agenda on its head. Yet these movements continue to attract support from an increasing number of Muslim women, including those based in the West. In her presentation, Farahnaz Ispahani will analyze how ISIS has managed to gain influence among Muslim women, assess the implications for women’s participation in all aspects of life, and offer recommendations for creating a counter-narrative to combat the appeal of religious extremism. Her presentation will be followed by comments from Nina Shea.
About the Speakers
Ms. Farahnaz Ispahani has been a leading voice for women and religious minorities in Pakistan for the past twenty five years, first as a journalist, then as a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly, and most recently as a scholar based in the United States. An advocate of Pakistan’s return to democracy during the military regime of Pervez Musharraf, she served as a spokesperson and international media coordinator for the Pakistan People’s Party, working alongside the late Benazir Bhutto. During her tenure in parliament (2008–2012), she was a member of the Human Rights Committee and the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus. In 2012, she was listed among Foreign Policy magazine’s Top 100 Global Thinkers, as well as Newsweek Pakistan’s Top 100 Women Who Matter. During her fellowship, Ms. Ispahani is exploring women’s political participation in the Muslim world—both their progress toward gender equality under democratic systems and the troubling rise of women as agents of extremist propaganda within the world of the Islamic State. Ms. Nina Shea is the director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom.
Twitter: Follow @ThinkDemocracy and use #NEDEvents to join the conversation.
All cameras and media must register with NED public affairs.
Please email press@ned.org to register as a member of the press.
