Popular, respected high profile people, especially religious leaders, coming out against the most objectionable provisions can provide a credibility to opposition which women's groups across the globe do not have. In addition, those in charge of the editorial stances of media outlets also can have a profound effect on the direction of public discourse, but sadly, these influences are usually interested in securing status through mirroring the conventional path.
Depending on the cultural climate of the area in which you are organizing, artists, musicians, athletes or others with status may also be good spokespeople, but in an area controlled by fundamentalists, these voices can create a backlash; suggesting that these are secular voices at odds with the fundamental faith. Despite the difficulty in getting religious leaders on board, illustrating at least some diversity of opinion on the consistency of these practices with core Islamic beliefs may open the door to minimizing the most egregious aspects and positioning these practices as debatable, not irrefutable. Best of luck to you in your efforts. Margo Schaefer Womenspace Community Outreach Director [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.enddomesticviolence.com 541.485.8232 Fax: 541.686.6664 ***End-violence is sponsored by UNIFEM and receives generous support from ICAP*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe end-violence OR type: unsubscribe end-violence Archives of previous End-violence messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/end-violence/hypermail/
