Feminism and Islam

men, still, there are some intellectuals among men who flamboyantly talk about women’s rights in their writings and all that. Before discussing and comparing Feminism, Islam and the rights of women, I would like to discuss Feminism as a theory. Because both Feminists as well as Islam claim about the rights of women. Although it is believed that Feminism started in the1960’s after the women’s movement, but in reality it was not the start of Feminism, rather it was a revival of old traditions which were incorporated in the classic books like Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) and Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own (1929), which discusses the problems and injustice done to women in the male dominant society. Books like these discuss the behavior of men with the oppressed women in a male dominant society. The writers, especially literary giants like, Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray and Helene Cixous, discuss the misrepresentation of women in the text by the male dominant writers. And it is true that women have always been misrepresented in texts and everyday life. In our society too, it is a general perception that woman is a weak creature, so woman is always dependent on man for her basic needs and her survival in the society. It reminds me of a general perception: a sentence in Urdu; “oski shadi nahi hui” (for woman) and “osney shadi nai ki” (for man). Here it is obvious that woman has been represented as a weak creature thatis dependent on man. In the same way, when we translate a sentence of Urdu in English: “Insaan faani hai,” we translate it like “man is mortal.” Why can’t it be “woman is mortal,” because the language has been designed by men and there they are deprived of proper representation in language, whether it’s Urdu or English, and they have been misrepresented, either by not including or portraying them as weak and vulnerable. So, to overcome this problem and give a proper representation in the text as well as equal rights in the society, literary writers and activists try to give a respectable place and equal rights to women. The former write literature and try to give a respectable place in the text and language, while the latter fight for the rights of women through protests and slogans in the favor of the rights of women on the roads. That was a short introduction about Feminism, and now I would like to discuss Islam and the rights of women. As, Feminists talk about the rights of women and, it is believed that Islam was the first religion to give proper rights to women, so it was necessary to give a glimpse of Feminism, because both claim about the rights of women. As Islam is a complete code of life it discusses all the issues under the sun. Islam is a revealed religion so there isn’t any doubt that it can ignore issues like the rights of women. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was very conscious about the rights of women so how can Islam be silent about the rights of women. The best example is the business run by Khadija (R.A) which wasn’t disturbed after her marriage with Prophet (PBUH), and Prophet (PBUH) allowed her business and didn’t interfere. It looks easy to say but it was difficult in that era but still Prophet (PBUH) took no offence and she has always been a benefactor of Islam. Some liberal intellectuals blame Islam that in Islam women do not enjoy equal rights that are enjoyed by men in the Islamic society. They blame Islam that it gives half right in property and a woman’s testimony is considered half; the evidence of two women are equal to that of one man. They are not allowed to work in offices, and education is not appreciated when it comes to women, they are forced to veil thus they do not enjoy their life and their basic needs are denied by men, etc. Let’s first talk about rights of women: People blame Islam for not having equal rights in property, etc. But they forget that it was Islam which discussed the rights of women for the first time. It forbade the burial of young girls, which were considered as a kind of shame for a family. It gave proper rights, whether half or full, in property and inheritance and prohibited the ill treatment done with women. Once we were talking about the value given to the evidence given by a woman. I was also confused that why does Islam consider the testimony of a woman half to that of a man? I asked one of my mentor, Dr. Sibghat Ullah, about it. The answer he gave me was satisfactory; and it wasn’t hard to fathom it after that explanation. He explained it like: ‘Modern medical science has proved that during menses woman becomes fragile and frustrated. But can anyone give me a single report of any court that a judge has ever asked a woman whether she is having menses or not, or her witness has been considered as weak or not accepted on the basis that she has become mentally weak so her testimony can’t be acceptable. Of course not’. When we talk about veil it is also a misconception that women are forced to wear Hijab, rather they choose it. And it is crystal clear that women in countries like France, America and UK protest against banning Hijab in these countries, with different slogans favoring Hijab. Who is making them bound to wear Hijab? The answer is no one, rather they choose it. No doubt there are areas like KPK and Afghanistan where the women are confined to houses and make them bound to veil. It must be kept in mind that culture is the primary thing for any religion. Every religion has been revealed keeping the cultural and social norms of that society, and culture is also dominant than religion. So it is not the religion which has bounded the women of some areas like KPK to veil, etc. Rather it is the culture of those areas which do not let the women choose whatever they want. The conception of Hijab and confinement of women in houses is older than Islam. They have been doing it even before Islam, even when they were Pagan. Feminists are also divided in different factions. Activists thrive to gain rights for the women and they have accomplished it as well. There might be misconception among people that women in the entertainment world enjoy the beauties and luxuries of the rights which have always been demanded by the Feminists, because they are free and can choose whatever they want. But on the other hand some literary Feminists believe it as blow on their faces. They believe that here too, men have hijacked women and use them for their own pleasures in the form of modeling, ramp walk, etc. In USA, in the 1960’s, there has been a moment against it, saying that “cattle parade” is not acceptable. These feminists were of the view that women should not be treated like cattle in the name of modeling, walking on ramp with mini-skirts and bikinis. Because they were of the belief that women are used as a source of entertainment by men in the name of the rights of women. Islam has always appreciated education both for men and women. It doesn’t say, ‘education is obligatory for man only’, rather it says that ‘education is obligatory both for man and woman’. Islam doesn’t prohibit women to work, rather it appreciates it. If it does prohibit, Prophet (PBUH) would have prevented Khadija (R.A) running her own business. No doubt women do not work here in East, especially in Islamic world, and the women in Western world work everywhere, but the reality is they do not do it happily. In Islam it is obligatory for men to provide the needs of her wife, kith and kin to the best of his ability. While in West women work hard to survive because if they do not work it would be impossible to survive in that society. They work willy-nilly. In Islam if any woman wants to work in an office she is free to choose. Islam doesn’t forbid a woman to work or seek education. But when it comes to Islam, it has always protected the rights of women and women have always enjoyed their life under the umbrella of Islamic teachings. Here it would be unfaithful to mention that the rights of women in today’s Islam are not satisfactory. But we can’t blame the teachings of Islam and Prophet (PBUH). No never! It is a particular group of people who do not let them seek education either in the name of Islam or cultural values. For former we can blame the corrupt group of half literate clerics and for the later we can blame the uneducated leaders of a particular area or culture, and thus women are forced to willy-nilly accept the so-called religious norms and cultural customs and values respectively. To suffice it we can say that Islam has given women all the basic rights, some are equal to men’s rights while others are superior to them. No religion, other than Islam, has ever bestowed such luxurious rights to them. Feminist claim that it is their movement that provided women a platform to regain their rights and be equal to men. Although they have done too much of paper work but the reality is they have failed practically. While Islam discusses all the things theoretically and practices them and has been practicing them for fourteen centuries in the right senses, but unfortunately some corrupt authorities have polluted the very essence of the teachings of Islam, and I would not hesitate to blame our clerics for the misrepresentation of Islam which causes a bad effect and worse image of Islam regarding the rights of women.]]>