What are the next steps to strengthen advocacy and end violence against women?
AS: I think that a really unexplored area is the issue of culture. The women’s movement, in Muslim contexts especially, has been looking at legal reform and family law reform. However, we can only get implementation at this in between level which is culture in both its positive sense of reclaiming and redefining culture and also addressing the misuses to justify violence, violations and exclusion of women. Work has been done on women as bearers of culture but they are not the gatekeepers of culture – the ones who define what the culture is – at the level of women’s bodies and sexuality. They are expected to stand for the group identity. IPS: How would you rate the United Nations on women’s rights? AS: Emphasis always has to be given to local needs and local desires. It could be extremely dangerous if international pressure is put on without really understanding the implications for women on the ground. The United Nations is an important body in terms of standard setting, of holding gov
