Blasphemy vs the State: Dissenting Women

At least 89 countries have laws against blasphemy. Blasphemy laws are a powerful instrument of state repression, not least directed at women. How does the relationship between religious dissent and state power function, and how can a form of resistance be found in blasphemy?

Ibtissame Lachgar is serving a prison sentence in Morocco because she wore a T-shirt in London bearing the slogan ‘Allah is a Lesbian.’ The Nigerian singer Yahaya Sharif-Aminu faces the death penalty for expressing criticism of religion in song lyrics. In Poland, three LGBTI activists were prosecuted for distributing posters depicting Mary with a rainbow-colored halo.

To varying degrees, governments use blasphemy legislation to oppress their citizens. Together with humanitarian activists who have risked their lives in rejecting state-enforced oppression, we will discuss how this relationship takes shape in practice. And we’ll explore how, from a feminist perspective, blasphemy can be a form of resistance.

Speakers: Speakers: Yasmin Rehman, Human rights activist, writer and researcher; Maryam Namazie, Award winning Iranian-born campaigner and writer living in the UK; Nazmiye Oral, Actress, playwright, director and writer and FarAvaz, Berlin-based Iranian singer, performer and activist.

Programme editor: Senna Felius

Moderator: Bahram Sadeghi

Supported by: Vfonds