Abuse against women is a global phenomenon and one of the greatest social ills of all time. As a result of world wide campaigning in the last two decades various organizations have started to respond to violence against women. Irrespective of all the progress, every year millions of women continue to report physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The overwhelming majority of such “reported” cases are in the West. Two of the defining characteristics of Western societies are “openness” and “law enforcement”. But even with the social openness and law enforcement in the West, only a small percentage of women come forward to report the abuse against them. One can only imagine the bleak reality in third world countries where the concept of law enforcement is non-existent and discussing violence against women is frowned upon as it is regarded as a dishonor to the family and society. As a result we are far from knowing the true extent of violence/abuse against women globally.

At Al-Rawiya Foundation we are dedicated to working towards ending all forms of violence and oppression against women world wide with a special emphasis on Muslim women. There is a tendency in many societies to deny the existence of violence/abuse against women. Discussion of violence and oppression is often censored. When some of the human rights campaigners of such countries openly address domestic violence, extremist elements of the societies often harass and intimidate them. They are constantly faced with character assassination and death threats. 

At Al-Rawiya Foundation we are working towards educating Muslim women and women at large about the effects of violence and abuse. Part of the educational initiatives is to inculcate openness such that discussing and reporting physical, sexual and emotional abuse is viewed as an essential step in the fight against violence and oppression. Educational initiatives also include religious teachings since religious texts are often distorted to justify such transgressions against women. It is our position that there are no religious, social or political justifications of violence and that all women have the right to education, freedom of expression and self-determination. Al-Rawiya toll free domestic abuse recovery hotline 1-877-4-Rawiya is open to all women. We are also dedicated to cooperating with any local and international organizations working to eradicate violence and abuse against women.

“Through life’s rush
never forget compassion”