On the behalf of the Islamic Relief team, we celebrate the empowerment of women in Australia and all around the globe through our offices, projects and supporters

International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated around the world on the 8th of March and is a day to reflect on how far we have come and how far we still have to go to truly achieve gender justice. 

With your support, we’ve been able to;

• Deliver over 8 workshops for women in the Sydney community on domestic violence during our Advocate project.

• Educate 307 women in Central Lombok, Indonesia, how to weave.

• Train 90 women in Kenya in natural resource management and how to manage their own businesses.

• In safe-spaces for Syrian refugees in Jordan, we educate women on how to protect themselves and how to deal with abuse and domestic violence.

Our Declaration on Gender Justice

At Islamic Relief we take steps to ensuring that women are part of the dynamics of our work that is so critical to the survival of those most disadvantaged.

This year is particularly significant as Islamic relief with the in co-operation with other organisations has developed an Islamic Declaration on Gender Justice. The fight towards gender justice is one of IR’s main priorities. The Muslim faith calls on us to “stand firmly for justice” (4:135), inspiring us to work towards a better future for women and girls.

The declaration speaks out to all in achieving gender justice Declaration, empowerment of communities, both men and women, to come together to challenge gender injustice. The declaration aims to challenge some of the entrenched social norms that exist as barriers.

Our messaging in the declaration includes empowering women and girls with education and livelihoods; improving protection in humanitarian/conflict situations; as well as trying to end harmful cultural and social practices like gender=based violence and FGM. Secondly, the declaration recognises In IRAQ The stress and chaos of the crisis, coupled with entrenched vulnerabilities, have left women and girls extremely vulnerable to violence, abuse and exploitation. we support centers for women and young girls to rebuild their lives that lead to creation of pathways for rescue and further support them with skills and training they need to start new lives.

The balance for better is shown through the work supported by our micro-finance initiatives by providing loans to individual women and women-led groups across the world from West Africa to Bangladesh manifested through our projects as well as our partner office projects worldwide. Women start all kinds of businesses – from women=led farming initiatives in Kenya, to small businesses in Bangladesh – these tools are helping to change societies from the bottom up.

We hope that our declaration can make a difference to women around the world the world. We need your support in championing the first ever Islamic global call to action against gender injustice. Your support is vital in standing up and speaking out alongside many of the marginalised voices. Days like IWD are a time to celebrate the gains that have been made and to measure how far we have come, but also to see that there are many more steps to take and to rededicate to the struggle ahead.