Job Vacancy- Researcher

Based in: Egypt / Online

Time period: 4 Months

Application Deadline: 30^th of September 2021

ECWR is an independent non-governmental organization dedicated to improving women’s status in Egypt and the Arab region.  Founded in 1996, ECWR works with women and community organizations on activities designed to work on two levels: empowering the individual and strengthening civil society.  Primarily concerned with improving women’s legal and political status, ECWR operates a number of programs ranging from direct legal aid for needy women to trainings, election monitoring and advocacy.  Full information about our programs and activities can be found at www.ecwronline.org

For decades, Egyptian public conversation has been marked by an increase in conservative attitudes to gender roles and women’s rights in the broad population, while it is difficult to mobilize broadly for progressive gender-transformative messages. Conservative attitudes are generally formulated in religious terms and based on pervasive understandings of Islam that emphasize repressive attitudes to women’s empowerment. These attitudes give rise to social control and violence against women.  Conservative attitudes in a language that speaks to the general publication are a prerequisite for transforming gender relations in Egypt. ECWR has been successful in reaching a wide audience (up to 10 million TV viewers and more than 580.000 online followers) with gender-transformative messages that gain support in the public discourse. The organization continues working to counter the increasing conservatism and generate a new generation of proponents for gender equality. In order to reinforce its team of experts, ECWR is looking for a specialized researcher in Islamic discourse and women’s issues to produce a research paper on a number of issues such as:

• Guardianship over self and money
• Independent legal personality for women
• Equality of inheritance
• Equality in decision-making within the family
• Equal responsibility for children
• Shared family responsibilities
• Equal access to public office

• Highlight the emergence of a multiplicity of progressive positions and opinions within Shari‘ah and fiqh which will give the language and conceptual tools to argue for gender equality.
• Uncover enlightened interpretations of sharia’a that defend that equality and justice are central values to the Muslim legal tradition. These findings will later be used to argue that women should be treated as equal to men in Muslim societies.
• Analysing existing religious discourse and re-reading religious events affecting women’s rights with the aim to generate and present progressive human-rights based religious interpretations that serve to inspire more progressive personal status law propositions and equal rights for women.
• Provide reference to models/examples of legislation and laws that contribute to reducing discrimination and affirming equality based on modern and enlightened interpretations of Sharia.

• University degree or related experience with a focus on women’s rights;
• Knowledge of issues related to gender and development and women’s human rights on a global scale and particularly in the MENA region and Egypt, and strong gender analysis skills;
• Experience (paid or voluntary) in activism or programmatic work for gender equality, women’s rights and/or sustainable development.
• Experience with nonprofit organizations, human rights and women’s rights;
• Demonstrated ability to write in a manner that is clear, accessible and engaging;
• Strong knowledge of Islamic law, Quran, Sunn’ah, Hadith and Hadith critism.

Interested candidates should send CV, cover letter and financial and narrative proposal in English by email to ecwr@ecwronline.org with the subject line, “Researcher”