Legal Action of Wisconsin attorney urges Muslim women, “Know your rights!”

Photo by Sandra Whitehead

Attorney Caitlin Aladham works for Legal Action of Wisconsin through a two-year fellowship program to represent Muslim survivors of domestic violence in family court and provide them with Know-Your-Rights education. 

At the halfway mark of a two-year fellowship to provide family law legal services and education to Milwaukee’s Muslim community, Legal Action of Wisconsin attorney Caitlin H. Aladham is launching presentations to teach Muslims their rights within family law. 

Among her first stops, Aladham presented her talk, Love, Marriage and the Law: Understanding Your Rights at the Muslim Women’s Coalition’s Networking Brunch Friday. Inviting questions from the audience throughout the presentation, she led a lively discussion on family law in Wisconsin, including both legal and Islamic marital rights. 

MWC’s Networking Brunch is held at the Islamic Resource Center, 5235 S. 27th St., Greenfield, on the last Friday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon. It brings experts on wide-ranging topics to speak to an interfaith audience and includes time for food and fellowship.

Serving Muslim Women

Aladham began working with Legal Action of Wisconsin in September 2024, after she was awarded a two-year fellowship with Equal Justice Works, the non-profit organization “creates opportunities for lawyers to transform their passion for equal justice into a lifelong commitment to public service.”

Her fellowship, through the organization’s Design Your Own Fellowship Program, required her to create a project and win approval, then secure a host organization and a sponsor. She came up with the idea for it while studying at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. As president of the Muslim Law Students Association, she spoke often at community events. She was awarded the fellowship when the William Collins Kohler Foundation, a private foundation in Milwaukee, selected her project to fund.

“An imam constantly spoke to me about domestic abuse issues. He wanted to help people but didn’t know what exactly to do,” she said Friday in an interview with Wisconsin Muslim Journal after the MWC Networking Brunch. “Of course, I was still a law student then, but it gave me the idea for this fellowship.”

She saw a similarity in U.S. Muslim communities with accessing the legal system. “Legal services are advertised to everyone but some don’t get it. It doesn’t reach them or they don’t feel it’s accessible to them. They don’t reach out to local legal aides.

“I spoke to professional organizations around the country and they explained, ‘Yes, we know there’s a Muslim community here but we can’t crack them.’”

Aladham put together her proposal and pitched it to potential host organizations around the country, including Legal Action of Wisconsin. 

“My fellowship has three components: direct representation of Muslim women in family court, Know-Your-Rights education and cultural competency training for practitioners,” she explained. “I got seven offers—Kansas City, St. Louis, southern Illinois, Texas, Raleigh, North Carolina, Peoria and here.” 

Choosing Milwaukee

Other organizations seemed indifferent, but “Legal Action of Wisconsin sounded very enthusiastic, very excited. They offered to set me up immediately with Our Peaceful Home, where they had a prior relationship.” OPH is a culturally specific, family strengthening and domestic abuse project of the Muslim Women’s Coalition.

“Legal Action’s ability to offer services was limited because of funding. I knew that with my fellowship, I would have the capacity to increase representation and serve the community,” she said. 

“I realized pretty quickly that the Muslim community here is well set up, well organized and well connected. That’s part of why I chose Milwaukee. I realized the project would have the most success here. 

“I knew I would get referrals right away with the relationship with Our Peaceful Home set up. And they offered to connect me with local mosques and other Muslim advocacy organizations.”

Through Legal Action of Wisconsin, Aladham also receives referrals from Sojourner Family Peace Center and The Women’s Center in Waukesha.

One year into her fellowship, “the aim of getting people legal access has been met,” Aladham said. “Our Peaceful Home helps abused women with restraining orders. They were not always able to get lawyers. Now that I take all their referrals for injunction, the women always have a lawyer for them. Consequently, we are seeing a greater level of success.

“A lawyer is not only useful in helping you make your case but also in knowing the law. That’s something a person can’t really do themselves.

“And I don’t charge anything at all. That has made it easier for some people to be able to afford the divorce process.”

The Muslim Women’s Coalition hosts its monthly Networking Brunch the last Friday of each month to bring people together  for conversation, connections and a Middle Eastern buffet by Taqwa’s restaurant.

Educating the community

The need to educate Muslim women in greater Milwaukee about their legal rights is great, OPH coordinator and advocate Basema Yasin told those gathered at MWC’s Networking Brunch. “Many of our clients are women who married abroad and are unfortunately experiencing difficult situations here. Many of them don’t speak English and they don’t drive. That’s often because of the nature of abuse, which is about power and control. Some have been here for years and they were prevented from learning English and learning how to drive. They’ve been isolated. That’s part of the nature of abuse.

“We are extremely happy to partner up with Legal Action on this fellowship with attorney Caitlin Aladham. She was selected from a national group of applicants. It was very competitive. Having Caitlin here has really been a game changer.” 

In addition to continuing to represent Muslim women in family court, Aladham is now educating the Muslim community on family law rights and is developing cultural competency training for Wisconsin lawyers. 

Aladham’s presentation at the Networking Brunch included some basic lessons in legal terminology and discussions of legal rights, family law issues and the relationship between Islamic and U.S. law.

She plans to offer her presentation to interested groups through the coming year and provide education, particularly to Muslim women. She will also continue to provide legal services through Our Peaceful Home and other organizations in collaboration with Legal Action of Wisconsin, as well as provide cultural competency training for legal professionals.