Our achievements and history
Over 200 face-to-face programs since August 2015 — and the story of how Ladies as Leaders became Kalima Institute.
Our achievements
Since our founding in August 2015 we have held over 200 face-to-face programs in both Arabic and English, covering a wide range of topics. In 2018 we launched our website as a platform to share Islamic content with Muslims all over the world.
Up until 2020 we were known as Ladies as Leaders. Our main goal was to encourage women in the community to increase their knowledge and to be aware of important issues in society. Above all, nurturing a strong commitment to continuous personal development for the pleasure of Allah (swt) has been our most prized achievement.
By the tawfiq of Allah (swt), we have encouraged Muslim women to:
- Have increased Islamic awareness
- Develop a sense of responsibility in society
- Advance their public-speaking skills through giving talks at our programs
- Share their knowledge — in whatever field or speciality — with members of the community
Our name change
In 2020 we changed the name of the organisation from Ladies as Leaders to Kalima Institute. Our slogan used to be “empowering women with knowledge”. We felt we had — alhamdulillah — achieved those goals, and decided to shift our focus towards comprehensive educational content open to all, men and women alike.
Ladies as Leaders was created to fill a large gap in women’s programs in the community. Since then many new women’s initiatives have been established, and that shortage no longer exists.
Why the terms changed
Terms such as “female empowerment” and “leadership”, associated with our previous name, have been used to represent movements like feminism and are therefore no longer neutral. The ideas promoted through such ideologies do not represent true Islamic values, and some concepts central to feminism contradict Islamic teachings.
It is vital to note that this does not mean Islam denies women their rights or discourages women from holding influential positions. Islam has given all appropriate rights to both men and women in the most just way. To say that Islam needs feminism implies that Islam is deficient — which most Muslims would refute, as we believe it is a complete way of life with the most perfect laws, from our Perfect and Just Creator, Allah (swt).
“Leadership” today has come to mean power, confidence and belief in oneself. The Islamic notion of leadership is responsibility and servanthood: by definition, as Muslims we submit with humility to our Lord. True submission in this day and age is far harder to live out than superficial notions of leadership.
We do not promote these ideas, as they can have damaging effects on society. As a Muslim organisation we believe Islam is all-encompassing, and we reject any external ideology that does not stem from Islamic principles. Changing our name reflects our new goals and prevents misinterpretation of our values and vision.