Find out why Faaria Hussain decided to volunteer for the At Our Mothers' Feet campaign, and what she has planned for International Women's Day

I love my mom unconditionally. Even at the age of 21, where I have moved out to study in a different city I find myself still so dependent on her for certain things. And to be honest, I don't think that will ever change. I think it's fair to say most of us are like this and turn to our mothers in times of hardship and happiness.

A couple of weeks ago I suffered a tragic loss in my family. My aunt passed away just a few weeks after giving birth to a baby girl. Needless to say this has affected our family greatly. I find it impossible to stop thinking about her immediate family that's been left behind. How her two children (newborn and 3 year old son) are going to live without knowing their mother, never experiencing that bond that I cherish so dearly. The relationship between a mother and her children is sacred, and these children have been deprived of this.

Unfortunately, this is not a one off case. I have recently learnt that a staggering 800 women around the world die every day in pregnancy and childbirth, simply because they cannot access basic healthcare or education. That's one woman every 108 seconds. Worst of all 80% of these deaths could be prevented through simple interventions[i].

Those who are not familiar with Islam often hold a misguided perception that women in Islam don't have the same standing as men, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Mothers in particular are of a high status. Islam teaches us to care for both our parents, but extra attention is given to mothers. A man once came to the Prophet and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Who from amongst mankind warrants the best companionship from me?" The Prophet replied: "Your mother." The man asked: "Then who?" So he replied: "Your mother?" The man then asked: "Then who?" So the Prophet replied again "Your mother." The man then asked: "Then who?" So the Prophet replied: "Then your father." (Sahîh Bukhârî 5971 and Sahîh Muslim 7/2). Our mothers' have sacrificed so much to raise us from the day we are born. The pain a mother feels in childbirth is so great that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) stated that a woman who dies in childbirth is considered a martyr who will be granted paradise (Hadith Malik). Even after birth her life is dedicated to ours, her energy is consumed in caring for her child.

There are many facts supporting the importance of the presence of a mother in her child's life. For instance if a woman does not survive delivery, her child is ten times more likely to die before their 2nd birthday[ii]. 99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries[iii], the majority of which could be prevented if these women had access to basic facilities such as a hospital, medication and a trained midwife. Daughters in particular are less likely to attend school if their mother has died, and take on the responsibilities of the mother as they grow older, therefore the cycle of poverty continues. As Dr Mahmoud Fathalla (a medical professor in Cairo) said these 800 mothers are 'not dying because of a disease we cannot treat. They are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their lives are worth saving'.

The issue of maternal health is one that I feel strongly about, that's why I feel honoured to be given the opportunity to work with the charity: MADE in Europe on their 'At Our Mother's Feet' campaign. They also felt this was a great social injustice and so began the campaign two years ago. Over these 2 years we have: delivered awareness-raising workshops to approximately 1000 British Muslims, secured over 500 campaign actions, hosted a maternal health exhibition in the largest mosque in the UK, created a documentary and music video to help raise awareness about maternal health, and secured pledges from 9 Muslim NGOs to increase their work on maternal healthcare. We have created resources such as a Maternal Health Campaign Toolkit for young Muslims, and a training manual for Muslim NGOs looking to expand their maternal health work.

The campaign is almost coming to an end, but this doesn't mean our work is complete. On International Women's Day: 8th March we are planning to hold a stunt called 'In Our Mothers' Footsteps'. We have an opportunity for Muslim's to show how much we care about our sisters and how much we owe our mothers.

Over the past few months, we have been collecting hundreds of 'footprints' from the Muslim community, containing messages about why we, as Muslims, think maternal healthcare is important. On International Women's Day, we're going to march from St. Thomas' Hospital to Parliament to signify the political steps we still need to take to help save mothers' lives. We'll then be delivering the footprints to the Department for International Development, to demonstrate our support for maternal healthcare.

We'd love it if you could join us! We'll be marching at 11am and will finish at 12pm. If you want to come along, then just meet us at the entrance to St. Thomas' Hospital near Waterloo Station.

We are in a very privileged position, with access to some of the world's best healthcare. But we have to remember the majority of the global population are not this fortunate. We have a duty to take a stance on this issue as Prophet Muhammad said: 'If any of you see an evil, then change it with your hand, and if you cannot then change it with your tongue, and if you cannot then hate it in your heart, and that's is the least of faith'.

It's impossible to repay our mothers for all they have done for us; we will be forever in their debt. But as Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said 'Be at your mother's feet, and there is paradise.'

About the author:
Faaria Hussain is Third Year Geography (BA) student at Kings College London. Passionate about development issues and relieving those in greatest need.
Currently Interning at Made in Europe: http://www.madeineurope.org.uk/campaign/aomf.
Twitter @Faaaaria

For more information on Friday's event, and how you can get involved, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

[i] WHO: http://www.who.int/gho/maternal_health/en/index.html

[ii] WHO: http://www.who.int/pmnch/media/news/2012/20120305_g8_backgroundpolicybrief_mnch.pdf

[iii] WHO: http://www.who.int/gho/maternal_health/en/index.html

As we approach the first international Day of the Girl, it is a sobering statistic that, according to the United Nations Population Fund ( UNFPA ), there will be as many as 50 million child brides aged under 15 by the year 2020. What is even more worrying is the fact that this figure could rise to over 100 million by 2030 if nothing is done to stem the current growth trajectory of child marriage.

As one might imagine, this shocking phenomenon is most prevalent in poorer countries of the world with 46 % of girls in South Asia and 37 % in Sub-Saharan Africa getting married before the age of 18. However, it is also alarmingly high in some countries which are technically in Europe such as Turkey and Georgia.

In a recent interview with the Independent on Sunday, Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the UNFPA, said the "shocking" projections were being released to call the world's attention to the scale of the problem. "We are dealing with the largest generation of young people the world has ever known," he explained. "This is the marrying off of children who don't even understand what it is to be married or to be an adult. Girls are being robbed of their childhood. They have babies before they are ready, and we see intergenerational poverty. We need to stop this vicious cycle."

Through being forced into marriage these young girls also face a number of health problems. Childbirth at such a young age can have huge implications on the health of the mother, and in some cases result in fatality or disability.

•    Every day 800 mothers die unnecessarily during pregnancy or childbirth (2010 estimates).
•    Girls under 15 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women over the age of 20.

The cycle can then reoccur with their children and so the problem continues.

Famine can very often cause a temporary spike in child marriages since a girl's parents will have one less mouth to feed if she is married off and can usually receive some sort of dowry to help feed the rest of the family. Sadly, many young daughters go along with this to spare the anguish of seeing their siblings starving to death.

However, there is no doubt that, even where famine does not exist, child marriage is deeply engrained in local culture in certain countries and the various agencies who are working hard to eliminate the practice are focusing strongly on education. It seems that this is generally recognised as the key to girls remaining unmarried until they reach adulthood.

The UK is playing its part in the crusade against child marriage with the Coalition government adding its support to the international Girls Education Programme to provide education opportunities for up to a million of the World's poorest girls. Pressure from both politicians and charities has also resulted in over 100 countries passing laws to ensure that 18 is the minimum legal age at which girls can marry without consent.

While great strides have already been made, there would appear to be a lot more that needs to be done before the dreadful forecasts of child marriage figures in 2020 can be revised sharply lower.

Live Blog from London as world leaders come together to empower women world wide to better maternal healthcare.

Welcome to our live blog of the Family Planning Summit in London

Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

With the London Summit on Family Planning taking place tomorrow, Umaimah Rahimi finds out why family planning could be live-saving for thousands of women around the world...

Ammalife Trustee and midwife Amie Wilson explains why Traditional Birth Attendants should be given professional training as part of the solution to maternal deaths.

MADE in Europe Project Officer Sadia Kidwai interviewed Shaynul Khan, Assistant Executive Director at East London Mosque & London Muslim Centre, about why he's At Our Mothers' Feet. London Muslim Centre is the first mosque to host the At Our Mothers' Feet exhibtion, which will be up in the foyer until 9 December

Syed Ikhlaas explains why volunteering with At Our Mothers' Feet campaign is his way of showing gratitude to his own mum.

Tamanna Ali considers why MDG 5 - reducing maternal mortality by 75% by 2015 - is still nowhere near being achieved.

Dr Rahmat Mohammad from FORWARD Nigeria explains why a woman's health and wellbeing needs to be taken care of throughout her life, not just when she's pregnant.

Activist Hanna Abdi shares the amazing story of her Somali community in London, who have come together to pool resources to build roads to give women in their home village can have easier access to vital healthcare facilities.

Aishah Iqbal contemplates the huge sacrifices a mother makes for her children and explains why she's at our mothers' feet.

Shaykha Halima Krausen recorded a special khutbah for us, encouraging Muslims to take action to combat the injustice of global maternal deaths.

Yasmin Ahmed, Campaigns Officer at MADE in Europe, explains why she's at our mothers' feet...

Mohammed Shakir from the International HIV Fund argues that more needs to be done to tackle the stigma of HIV, which is increasingly becoming a key factor in causing maternal deaths.

Zimarina Sarwar from Muslim Hands tells us why the charity has decided to launch a fundraising campaign for maternal health projects.