Fourteen hundred years ago
Islam gave women rights; rights that could not have been imagined by European
counterparts.
Bold words! Words that have been spoken repeatedly, especially in the last two or three decades by Muslim converts, and Islamic writers, academics and educators across the globe. Women’s rights, responsibilities, and choices have been the subject of books, articles, essays, and lectures. Sadly however, convincing the world that Muslim women are not oppressed by Islam is a message that is just not getting through. Media headlines scream oppression and the words Muslim, women, and oppression seem to have become inextricably linked.
Bold words! Words that have been spoken repeatedly, especially in the last two or three decades by Muslim converts, and Islamic writers, academics and educators across the globe. Women’s rights, responsibilities, and choices have been the subject of books, articles, essays, and lectures. Sadly however, convincing the world that Muslim women are not oppressed by Islam is a message that is just not getting through. Media headlines scream oppression and the words Muslim, women, and oppression seem to have become inextricably linked.
No matter what Muslim women
do or say to try to convince the world otherwise, words like hijab, burka,
polygamy, and Sharia seem to do little but convince people that Islam oppresses
women. Even educated, articulate women fulfilling the modest conditions
of hijab can do little to dispel the myths. Women who conduct themselves
with decorum and grace and function effortlessly in the modern world have their
achievements and successes celebrated. However, if a woman wears a scarf,
covers her hair or puts her religion above worldly pursuits she is immediately
labelled oppressed. One wonders if this is the case for women of other
religious persuasions. Are modest religious women of all faiths labelled
oppressed? Alternatively, is it just Islam?
The most visible sign of a
Muslim woman’s faith is the headscarf or hijab; it is also the garment that
leads people to believe that Islam oppresses women. Although Islamic
scholars unanimously agree that modest dress and head coverings are obligatory
in Islam, for the majority of Muslim women around the world, to cover, or not
to cover, is a freely made choice. The women who chose to wear hijab view
it as a right not a burden and many describe wearing hijab as liberation from
the need to conform to unrealistic stereotypes and images dictated by the
media.
What exactly do Muslim women
themselves say about whether or not they are oppressed? In 2005, a World
Gallup Poll[1]
entitled, What women Want: Listening to the voices of Muslim Woman,
revealed that the majority of women polled, in predominantly Muslim countries
resented lack of unity among Muslim nations, violent extremism, and political
and economic corruption. The headscarf or hijab, or any garment covering
the face and body, often depicted as a tool of oppression was not even
mentioned.
The report concluded that
“...most women in the Muslim world are well aware that they have the same
capabilities and deserve the same fundamental rights as men. Majorities
of females in each of the eight countries surveyed said they believe women are
able to make their own voting decisions, to work at any job for which they are
qualified, and even to serve in the highest levels of government.”
The advent of Islam raised
the level of women, they were no longer chattels being passed from father to
husband. They became equal to men, with rights and responsibilities that
take into account the nature of humankind. Unfortunately across the
globe, Muslim women are victims of cultural aberrations that have no place in
Islam. Powerful individuals and groups claim to be Muslim yet fail to
practice the true principles of Islam. Whenever the media reveals
unconscionable stories about honour killings, genital mutilation, forced
marriage, the punishment of rape victims, women being confined to their homes
or women being denied education they are revealing a tale of men and women who
are ignorant about the true status of women in Islam.
“O you who believe!
You are forbidden to inherit women against their will, and you should not treat
them with harshness, that you may take away part of the bridal money you
have given them... they. And live with them honourably. If you
dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing and God brings a great deal of
good through.” (Quran 4:19)
The religion of Islam
demands that women be treated with respect, honour, and justice. It
condemns oppression of any kind. In Islam women, like men, are commanded to
believe in God and to worship Him. Women are equal to men in terms of
reward in the Hereafter.
“And whoever does righteous good deeds,
male or female, and is a true believer in the Oneness of God, such will enter
paradise; and not the least injustice, even to the size of a speck on the back
of a date stone, will be done to them.” (Quran 4:124)
Women in Islam have the
right to own property, to control their own money to buy and sell, and to give
gifts and charity. It is not permissible for anyone to take a woman’s
wealth without her consent. Islam gave women formal rights of inheritance
and pioneered the relatively new western concept of a pre nuptial agreement.
Women in Islam have the right to an education; seeking and acquiring
knowledge is an obligation on all Muslims, male or female.
Muslim women have the right
to accept or refuse marriage proposals as they see fit, and married women are
completely free from the obligation of supporting and maintaining the
family. Working married women are free to contribute to the household
expenses, or not, as they see fit. Women have the right to seek divorce
if it becomes necessary.
Prophet Muhammad said, “A
matron should not be given in marriage except after consulting her; and a
virgin should not be given in marriage except after her permission.” The
people asked, “O God’s messenger! How can we know her permission?”
He said, “Her silence (indicates her permission).”[2]
A women was given by her
father gave her in marriage when she was a matron and she disliked that
marriage. So she went to God’s Messenger and he declared that marriage
invalid.[3]
The religion of Islam
declares that women are worthy human beings deserving of respect, and the right
to be free from oppression. Women have the right to a decent life,
without facing aggression or abuse of any kind. They have the right to
pursue a life that is pleasing to them with in Islamic boundaries. Nobody
has the right to force women to be less then they want to be. The true
teachings of Islam, declare that women should be held in a position of high
regard.
Sadly, it is true that some
Muslim women are oppressed, but across the globe, some women are treated badly
by some men, of all religious persuasions and ethnicities. It is possible
to say that such and such a government oppresses women, or that Muslim men in
such and such a country think it is acceptable to beat women, however, it
is not correct to say that Islam oppresses women. If women were given
their God given rights, as set out in the religion of Islam, the global
oppression of women could be trampled into oblivion.
Prophet Muhammad said, “None
but a noble man treats women in an honourable manner. And none but an
ignoble treats women disgracefully.”[4]
Footnotes:
[1] The Gallup Princeton , USA
Source this Article : www.islamreligion.com