Syrian women are welcoming the possibility of becoming muftis, but their "verdicts" will apply only to persons of the same sex, and in a few specific cases. A first step toward an improvement in women's rights, but the country is still far from true equality between the sexes.

Damascus (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Grand mufti Ahmed Badr Hasun, the Muslim spiritual leader of the country, has opened to women the possibility of becoming doctors of Islamic law, and of issuing fatwas. An opportunity greeted favourably by women in the country, who will now have access to legal authorities of the same sex for discussing "particular cases" like "marital relations or problems specific to women".

The female muftis will be appointed to the Iftaa Council, an institution headed by the grand mufti in person, and established to "judge in matters of faith, fatwas, or religious edicts".  It is a revolutionary step for the Muslim world, in which the role of women is often relegated to second place, while their rights are often trampled and their liberties limited by men, whether fathers or husbands.

The permission granted by the highest Syrian religious authority has prompted dozens of women to take part in the courses necessary to become a mufti; the decision is also appreciated by their male colleagues, according to whom in the history of Islam "there have been a large number of female muftis and jurists", without violating the principles of Sharia law.

A 22 year-old student of law at the University of Damascus applauds the decision of the grand mufti, which "pushes forward the rights that Islam accords to women, and elevates them as a result". Civil rights associations are also favourable, and ask moreover for true "equality between men and women", including in roles of religious leadership. "We hope for true equality", emphasizes Bassam al-Qadhi, director of Women's Watch in Syria, "and at the same time we maintain that it is essential that women participate in the interpretation of law and the issuing of fatwas". But Al-Qadhi does not fail to repeat that the proposal, in its formulation, already implies from the beginning "discrimination: the decisions issued by women apply only to members of the same sex, and are valid only for some specific issues, while the edict pronounced by men are valid for both sexes".

• Syria
• Islamic
• Muslim
• women's
• rights