Shamima Shaikh

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Shamima Shaikh (born September 14, 1960 in Louis Trichardt ; † January 8, 1998 in Johannesburg ) was South Africa's best-known Islamic suffragette and feminist .

Life

Shamima Shaikh was born in Louis Trichardt ( Limpopo Province ). She was the second of the six children of Salahuddin and Mariam Shaikh. Shaikh attended school in Louis Trichardt until the family moved to Pietersburg (now Polokwane ).

After finishing school in 1978, Shaikh studied at the University of Durban-Westville , which was reserved for students of Indian descent according to apartheid policy . In 1984 she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Arabic and psychology.

In 1985 and 1986 she was involved in the Azanian People's Organization (AZAPO) and in 1985 was elected to the Executive Committee of the "Islamic Society" at the University of Durban-Westville.

On September 4, 1985, she was arrested for distributing pamphlets calling for a consumer boycott of white-run businesses in Durban . The boycott was proclaimed by the Federation of South African Trade Unions (Fosatu) (now part of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)), the umbrella organization for trade unions. The action was also supported by the Muslim Students Association of South Africa (MSA), which organized the distribution of this particular leaflet. Shaikh spent the next few hours in a cell at Durban's CR Swart Police Station (now Durban Central Police Station ) with the President of the MSA, Na'eem Jeenah (* 1965). They met here for the first time. They got married two years later.

After graduating from university in 1985, Shaikh taught at Taxila Primary and Secondary School in her hometown. After their marriage, she moved to Johannesburg with her husband . They had two children.

In 1989 Shaikh contacted the Muslim newspaper Al-Qalam , which was published by her husband. She became increasingly involved in the “Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa” (MYM). In 1989 and 1990 she took part in campaigns against the three-chamber parliament , which had existed since 1984 and provided separate elections and parliamentary areas for Indians and colored people , and in the defense campaign for the "Mass Democratic Movement" as part of the MYM .

In 1993, Shaikh was elected regional director of the Transvaal Muslim youth movement , the second woman in such a position. In the same year she came into the public eye with her famous campaign “Women in the Mosque”. During Ramadan that year, Shaikh and other MYM women began encouraging women to participate in the Tarawih prayer at the 23rd Street Mosque in Fietas, Johannesburg. This provoked clashes between her and some members of the mosque committee.

Later that year she also became the first national coordinator of the Muslim Youth Movement Gender Desk, which she resigned in 1996. Under Shaik's leadership, the Gender Desk became the most radical advocate of Muslim women's rights within the Muslim community and the leading organization for the South African expression of Islamic feminism .

In her position as coordinator, Shaikh organized various workshops, seminars and campaigns such as the “Campaign for a Just Muslim Personal Law” and the “Equal Access to Mosques” campaign.

In 1994, in the first democratic elections in South Africa, she called for candidates to be elected from those parties that were involved in the liberation movement. In the same year she helped found the “Muslim Community Broadcasting Trust” and was chairman until her death. She applied for and received a broadcasting license for Johannesburg.

She was also involved in the establishment and management of the Muslim Personal Law Board of South Africa until it was closed by the United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA).

In 1994 she was diagnosed with breast cancer . After therapy, she relapsed in 1996. In the same year she became deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Qalam . Under her editorial management, the newspaper became the flagship of progressive Islam in South Africa.

In April 1997, Shaikh went on her first pilgrimage . Upon her return, she and her husband began to write a book about their pilgrimage experience ("Journey of Discovery: A South African Hajj"). In 1997 the Muslim broadcaster "The Voice" was founded under her leadership.

Shamima Shaikh died on January 8, 1998/9 Ramadan 1418 at her place of residence in Mayfair, a district of Johannesburg.

Works

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Faried Esack: Death of a Muslim Joan of Arc . News from January 16, 1998 on www.mg.co.za (English)
personal data
SURNAME Shaikh, Shamima
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Islamic suffragette and feminist
DATE OF BIRTH September 14, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Louis Trichardt
DATE OF DEATH January 8, 1998
Place of death Johannesburg