Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality & Equality Inc.
Promote Muslim women leaders who are on the frontlines advocating for women's rights, religious pluralism, and peacebuilding.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
To protect Muslim women from being misinformed by or outside of their communities by providing cohesive information to about their rights so they can lead lives of choice, dignity, and opportunity.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
30 Rights of Muslim Women
30 Rights of Muslim Women(RMW) toolkit and campaign will empower women and girls to advocate for their own rights and to become effective women’s rights advocates within their communities. The RMW toolkit is designed to:
-Educate young Muslims on how to express their rights within Islam so they can assert their rights and prevent parents to impose outdated and archaic rules on them.
-Bridge intergenerational gaps, enabling a more cohesive and supportive family environment.
-Foster an inclusive and open discussion towards the advancement of Muslim women.
-Enable social justice activists to integrate their core beliefs into their movements.
-Protect harm to women by showcasing that Islam condemns women’s oppression and supports women’s self-determination and agency.
Muslim Women Artists
This innovative new campaign is designed to present the talents & gifts of emerging and established Muslim women artists from around the world. In the process, we will shift negative perceptions, inspire change, and advance a more insightful awareness of the rich diversity of Muslim women's lives.
WISE UP - White Supremacy
In 2020 WISE will spearhead a plan of action centered around an upcoming publication, WISE Up to White Supremacy aimed at “re-educating the public on the subject of White Supremacy and its inflammatory rhetoric targeted at Muslims and other minorities. Past experience shows that law enforcement tactics alone cannot curb the rise of extremists groups including Alt-Right Extremist and White Supremist groups. It is vital to develop community engagement resources aimed at understanding the commonalities shared among all extremist groups, the drivers (psychological, social, political, and ideological) which motivate individuals to join and how the weaponization of religion provides moral justification for acts of violence.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of rallies/events/conferences/lectures held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Other private webinars not made public are not included in the count.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We aim to amplify Muslim women’s voices at all levels of political, economic, religious, social discourse and we implement creative solutions to Muslim women’s rights and persistent societal issues.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
WISE approaches long-term social change holistically by using a four-pronged change theory: Collaboration, Education, Action and Communication.
- Collaboration– Foster a culture of support among Muslim women to create long term strategic goals for women’s empowerment.
Strategy: To convene global conferences that allow Muslim women to strategize around critical issues, formulate global and local coalitions, develop concrete tools for realizing the vision of gender equality, and increase their abilities to empower themselves and set their own development goals. To expand its reach, WISE also partners with other stakeholders ie. human rights organizations, interfaith groups, male scholars, and government entities.
- Education – Empowering Muslim women through the force of knowledge to advance gender justice.
Strategy: WISE Global Muslim women’s Shura Council employs extensive expertise in the Islamic legal traditions to publish position papers on social issues affecting Muslim women.
- Communication – Provide easily accessible and nuanced information about Muslim women, their activism, heritage, and legacy.
Strategy: Highlight Muslim women leaders, past and present, in a way that is markedly absent. This first ever online portal showcases Muslim women who creating positive social change and through education, media, arts, philanthropy, spirituality, health and social services. This institutional online presence of Muslim women is an authoritative clearinghouse on Muslim women’s history, contemporary issues and their advocacy efforts.
- Action – Develop culturally sensitive and innovative approaches to end gender-based discrimination and champion women’s rights.
Strategy: Work in partnership with women at the grassroots level to implement culturally sensitive projects aimed at transforming behaviors and patriarchal attitudes toward women. Build relationships of trust through dialogue and education with faith leaders to promote common values of social justice and gender equality.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
-WISE is composed of Muslim women who are individually and collectively responsible to work towards building a unified change movement for Muslim Women.
- WISE specializes in building effective coalitions to find long-lasting solutions for sustainable social change.
-WISE have 15-year track record, we have collaborated with Muslims and non-Muslims to build bridges and strengthen community relations.
-In 2009, WISE oversaw the formation of a Global Muslim Women’s Shura Council, which united over 40 Muslim women scholars and religious leaders for the purpose of releasing authoritative answers to critical questions and concerns faced by Muslim women the world over.
-WISE is being supported by numerous and generous individuals, charities and private organizations’ that shares the same vision and goals.
-WISE continually seeks different ways to educate and empower women.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
-WISE has launched 9 programs since it’s official organization in the year 2006. These programs seek to empower Muslim women and Youth to cultivate a leadership that is committed to social justice, and which speaks with a credible, humane, and equitable voice in the Muslim community. These programs are the following; Interfaith and Community Engagement, Art Programs, WISE UP- White Supremacy, 30 Rights of Muslim Women, Afghan Women Religious Rights Forum, WISE UP- Knowledge Ends Extremism, Eradicate and Ban FGM- Egypt/Gambia, IMAM Training- Afghanistan and Domestic Violence Campaign.
-WISE gives free education materials on different Muslim Women’s Issues to give representations and confront similar challenges or find common ground in some areas. The lived experiences of Muslim women vary considerably, depending on the socio-historical and political contexts in which they lead their lives. The sensitive issue areas like child and forced marriages, civil and political participation, dress code, gender equality and agency and more are being discussed and is being context from which the readers can learn and be enlightened.
-Global Muslim Women’s Shura Council is a generating space crated for Muslim women in which women can actively dialogue, debate and collaborate on pressing issues of social justice, to articulate an ethical and egalitarian Islam. The Council is providing members of the WISE community, as well as Muslims and non-Muslims worldwide, with comprehensive information and vital analysis from Islamic law and other fields of scholarship, in addition to proposing strategies for affecting positive and sound change.
- WISE’s Shura Council has published position papers on Muslim women’s issues such as female genital mutilation, child marriage, domestic violence, adoption, and women’s leadership.
-Since 2009, WISE has conducted numerous in-person Training.
- Since 2020 WISE began conducting online conversations, titled “Muslim Women: Zoom Into the Quran.” The conversation attracted Muslim Women from the US and around the World.
-WISE has created an online presence for the voices of today’s Muslim women through the profiles of more than 600 Muslim women of the past and present that call attention to the achievements of Muslim women around the world.
-WISE also provides e-learning tools like Zoom sessions that discusses particular subjects in Islam.
-WISE collaborated to different organizations to foster a culture of support among Muslim women to create long term strategic goals for women’s empowerment.
-WISE has developed long-standing relations with international media outlets, providing authoritative information about Muslim women and their ongoing advancement to counter widespread negative public perceptions.
WHAT’S NEXT
Continually support women leaders and young women to become agents and lifelong champions for an egalitarian approach to Islam.
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality & Equality Inc.
Board of directorsas of 02/08/2024
Ms. Maria Abdullah
WISE
Leyla Turkkan
Yasemin Saib
Fazeela Siddiqui
Maria Abdullah
Samina Ali
Mino Akhtar
Latifa Woodhouse
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data