Women and Horizons - Nisaa Wa Afaq

Nisaa Wa Aafaq (Women and Horizons) is a registered non-profit organization founded in 2002 by a group of Muslim, Christian and Druze women from the Arab community who were distressed by social exclusion and discrimination in a patriarchal society. Nisaa Wa Aafaq is the only feminist organization in Israel working within the context of the Muslim religious establishment to advance women’s rights through analysis of religious texts to reveal liberal and alternative interpretations.

Nisaa Wa Aafaq seeks full rights and equality for Muslim women through:

1. Researching and publishing modern interpretations of religious Islamic texts to educate Muslim women and the public of the rights afforded to women within Islam;
2. Seeking legal reform to the Personal Status Law;
3. Empowering women by sharing the findings of our research on the rights Islamic law grants to women; encouraging women to study and work; supporting business entrepreneurship by women; and advocating for equal education;
4. Engaging in community outreach and stimulating dialogue with discussion and reading groups, and workshops in schools;
5. Developing partnerships and networks with advocates in Israel, the Arab Muslim world and internationally who support gender-equitable principles of Islam.

Nisaa Wa Aafaq has broken the wall of silence in Israel surrounding Islamic family law and specifically the Personal Status Law which governs marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance. Reform of these issues is critical to secure the legal recognition of women’s rights. In extensive consultations with the community and eminent leaders (such as academics, judges and lawyers from the Shari’a Court, Members of the Knesset and religious scholars), Nisaa Wa Aafaq has drafted a reform to the Personal Status Law to be presented to the Knesset and the Shari’a Court during 2014.

Its location in Kfar Qara within the “triangle region” is significant, as women have limited access to transportation.