Population Expert Addresses HLS

Nafis Sadik, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund and secretary-general of the 1994 Cairo Conference on population control, addressed an audience of 60 at Harvard Law School yesterday.

During the speech, titled "Women's Reproductive Health and Islamic Law," Sadik said world leaders are shifting their emphasis by "moving away from a narrow demographic approach to more people-oriented [efforts]."

Sadik said leaders are now concentrating on holistic efforts at education and economic empowerment for women rather than simple distribution of contraceptive devices.

Speaking to a crowd composed mostly of professors and graduate students, Sadik cited research to buttress the claims she made during the 30-minute address.

She discussed a number of issues relating to reproductive health, including the spread of HIV and the causes of high maternal mortality, which she described as "largely preventable."

The high-ranking United Nations official listed a litany of considerations in Islamic reproductive policy, including female genital mutilation, Islamic attitudes about abortion and ideal family sizes.

She then outlined strategies to grant women greater power in reproductive decision-making.

Sadik cited the exploitation of women "through misuse and misinterpretation of religion" as a major hindrance in attempts to change attitudes throughout the Muslim world.

She then detailed Islamic practices which tended to raise the status of women during the early stages of the religion's development. But now, she said, leaders are misinterpreting Islamic religious dogma.

"From a scriptural standpoint, there is nothing in the Koran [forbidding] family planning," Sadik said.

"I am the product of the full and correct application of Islam to my own personal situation," Sadik added.

She also discussed her work with Islamic governments' occasionally confusing attitudes about reproductive policy.

Sadik also described some Muslim leaders, especially in Iran, as hypocrites for "[advocating] one interpretation [of the Koran restricting birth control] and [using] birth control themselves."

She attributed the differing attitudes to a changing definition of strong Islamic nations, one which emphasizes education and technological literacy rather then military might.

The speech was sponsored by the Harvard Islamic Law Forum, and members present praised the speaker following her address.

"Sadik is a woman of influence who can actually make changes and implement women's vision," said Nabeela A. Khatak, an organizer of the forum.