The rights guaranteed in constitutions and laws must apply to the entire population in developing countries – also to women. Our starting point is the legal reality of women. They must be able to actually access their formal rights. Given that in many developing countries, religious or customary law structures determine the legal reality far more often than government structures, we include the former in order to dismantle norms and practices that discriminate against women.

Because greater gender equality cannot be achieved only by empowering women and children, we also contribute to changes in the awareness and behaviour of men. We therefore recruit reform-oriented men in important social positions as active allies.

In Muslim-majority countries, we work with religious authorities and women’s groups alike. Women activists who contest men’s monopoly on the interpretation of Islamic texts have successfully adopted women-friendly methods of Koran exegesis. They are convinced that patriarchal ways of interpreting the Koran have solidified gender hierarchies.

Our areas of activity are:

• Supporting legal reforms
• Promoting awareness of legal rights
• Improving women’s access to justice
• Promoting women’s political participation and leadership
• Combating gender-based violence
• Strengthening the commitment of men and boys to gender equality
• Strengthening women’s rights in Islamic contexts.