Â鶹Éç

Available for over a year

This weekend marked 50 years since the first Pride March. All over the UK, towns and cities celebrated the struggles and achievements of the LGBTQ+ movement, the history of a community for whom the music and colours on the streets reflect the message of both party and protest. Over in America there are protests of a different kind. The Supreme Court’s recent overruling of Roe v. Wade, ends 50 years of federal protections for abortion access; no longer is abortion a constitutional right. While many are celebrating others are sad and angry at how this undermines a woman’s right to make decisions about her body, her health and her life. Human sexuality and reproduction are divisive emotional and sensitive issues. And its only in recent years with the human rights debate that we’ve begun to recognise that equality and inclusion are values which civilised societies shouldn’t only promote but which also require legal protection. Human rights remain contested and we’re still on this journey with no certainty of our destination. While governments often speak about human rights being non- negotiable, many people often remain vulnerable to competing interests and changing attitudes and laws. They face circumstances in which they are made to feel less, disempowered, and for whom their very being comes with stigma and shame - a life of dignity and freedom can seem like a relentless daily struggle. Furthermore, longstanding norms and indeed religious bigotry about how girls and women in particular should behave are little more than ways of controlling a nation’s cultural life. In Afghanistan as girls continue to fight for the right to access education as their Islamic right, the Taliban for their part remain unmoved using their own Islamic views to justify their position. In many countries, a rights based approach isn’t enough; what’s needed is a whole theological critique which challenges power structures built on gender discriminatory policies. For me the central message of the Qur’an is mercy or rahma encapsulated in the multiple divine commands to show compassion because God himself is merciful. `Do not lose hope in my mercy’ is a theme running throughout the Qur’an. It’s consoling but in this life mercy requires action. Empathy towards others is just the first step but what really transforms society is our resolve to speak up for the rights of others. That in the end, with all the moral choices facing us, we recognise that human rights are fragile, even as they are essential to a life of dignity and self-worth.