A workshop on the role of women’s Islamic organizations in consciousness-raising and in overcoming all forms of discrimination against women was held in Yog Jakarta, Indonesia, July 1999, and attended by Hoda Elsadda, who participated with a paper entitled “The Politics of Memory: The Challenges Facing Women’s Organizations in the Middle East.” The workshop was also attended by a large number of researchers and activists in women’s organizations from the Arab Region and South East Asia. Participants presented the experiences of several organizations in strengthening awareness of women’s rights and in changing wrong social notions that hinder women’s development in Muslim societies. One advantage of the event was that it encouraged comparative research and approaches among different countries, which directed attention to a common problem faced by Muslim societies. This constitutes the confusion between social practices linked to customs and traditions in each separate country, and the general principles of the Islamic religion. Hence, final recommendations of the workshop included more encouragement of such comparative studies as a means to combat attitudes and ideas opposed to women’s rights.