On Thursday, June 18, 2020, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) held a virtual roundtable discussion on "Misogyny: Identity and Power". Zahra Masawi, author and journalist; Kamaluddin Hamed, expert on religious studies; and Roeina Shahabi, journalist, were the speakers of the program. The event was moderated by Farahnaz Frotan, journalist.
Kamaluddin Hamed stated that when it comes to gender identity of women in Islam, the religion should be seen in two images (interpretable text of the Holy Quran and Islam that actually exists in Islamic society). He said that in discussing the class nature of humankind, the Holy Qur'an makes four points that, in the first and most important point, has viewed humankind as a single gender. He went on to say that livelihoods are made up of the four elements of wealth, freedom of action, social relations and ownership, and that in fact these livelihoods automatically create the concepts of superiority and inferiority. He said that obstacles to women's independence should be removed and that the role of women should be increased in the reference institutions that determine executive bodies. He added that despite the changes that have taken place in the field of women's activism, there are also problems that are rooted in women's movements that have kept silence and inaction.
Zahra Mousavi stated that women are in the intertwined structure of unequal distribution of power and based on the division of gender work in the family, the position of women in the home and the obligations of this presence is reflected that they do not play an active role in ownership and economy. She also said that the role of women in religion is a passive role and essentially acknowledges the objectivity of women and there are stories that introduce women as the work ground of men. She said that there was a need for academic institutions, think tanks, media outlets and moderate reformist authorities to correct the patterns of society that men and women are copying their features from them. She said that women's resilience in the long term leads to social backwardness because women are the guardians of traditions and customs, and if this backwardness is halved, half of society will be paralyzed.
Roeina Shahabi said that the first base of the formation of human personality is very important, and that the family, as the first base, forms the theme of a child's personality. She added that when talking about a Muslim woman, the rights, duties and gender identity around her should be examined in the same field, and religion is the main source of formation and development of women's identity and women's participation in power, and in no way can religion be separated from these issues. Shahabi said that women need to be sufficiently aware of Islam and know what Islam says about women's participation in politics. In the current context, she said, the presence of women in politics has been reduced to a symbolic and quantitative presence, and that the issue of women needs to go beyond urban elitist acts and rural women shall enter the scene.