The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals: Feminism and its Impact on Muslim Women

Abstract

The United Nation’s 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have advanced noticeable change around the world. The principles of the SDGs, on the surface, appear to be noble in their scope and call for the advancement of all global societies toward a higher standard of living for all people worldwide. However, the SDGs inject societal change into the customs and traditions of all nations. They call for the overall, comprehensive application of laws and principles that may not be in concurrence with Islamic standards and principles. There is a noticeable difference in expectations of Muslim women throughout the Muslim-majority nations globally. My research explores at the situation of Muslim women from the end of the previous century and into the era of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and currently that of the SDGs, which replaced and continued the development established under the MDGs. It also attempts to measure, from ground level, how Muslim women in particular have changed in relation to the adoption of the SDGs in 2015 and predict how this change will progress toward the end of the fifteen years granted for realizing the completion of the SDGs, in 2030. By surveying Muslims in various Muslim-majority nations, it becomes evident that overall, most Muslims do not fully comprehend the feminist movement and its principles and therefore lack the required knowledge to apply these standards to their lives without compromising the requirements of Islamic law. Analyzing the history of feminism and its origins, the concept of global governance and the establishment of the League of Nations, the United Nations, their affiliated organizations: The Commission on the Status of Women and UN Women as well as the SDGs in detail and then investigating Islamic literature to ascertain exactly what the requirements are under Islamic law in each of the areas of the seventeen SDGs, I attempted to present a formula for applying the SDGs without compromising adherence to Islamic law. It is my hope that this research is beneficial and opens up further discussion into the topic, ideally before the close of the SDG era.