More than half of humanity comprises the so-called “fairer gender” or the “weaker sex.” As the world celebrated the International Women’s Day on Sunday, attention focused on the place and role of women in the society.
While there has been a host of initiatives to emancipate women and place them at par with their male counterparts, millions of women in various societies around the world — both in the developed and third world countries — continue to live under a life of bondage, subjected to domestic abuse, forced to undergo female genital mutilation in addition to a host of other cruel practices which undermine their dignity.
A prevailing narrative perpetrated mainly by the media portrays the Islamic faith as among the ideologies which oppress women, curtail their freedom and demean their rights.
To many non-Muslims, women in Islam are accorded second class treatment, forced to wear the hijab, live in forced marriages, have weaker prospects to education and are denied their inheritance rights.
From staying at home, polygamy, raising many children, to putting their careers secondary to their families, misconceptions and stereotypes remain prevalent regarding the place of the Muslim woman in the wider society.
Like in Christianity and Judaism, the story of the woman starts with Eve, the first woman who was the wife of Adam, the father of mankind. While she is portrayed as the source of sin in the Judeo-Christian traditions, in Islam both are blamed for disobeying their Creator but they quickly realise their mistakes and both repent and are forgiven. Eve, or Hawa as she is known in the Muslim tradition, was never singled out as the source of sin, and her slate was wiped clean with no one to carry on her burden.
Even after the myriads of empowerment measures to provide equal rights to the girl child, in many societies, the birth of a female is treated with disdain. During pre-Islamic times, this attitude was prevalent and saw daughters being seen as a painful burden and a potential source of shame to the father. To erase this disgrace, many girls were subjected to violent death thorough female infanticide. The Quran abhorred and strongly condemned this practice (Quran 16:59, 43:17, 81:8-9).
To wipe out the traces of this heinous practice in the nascent Muslim society, Prophet Muhammad promised a reward of paradise to those who were blessed with daughters if they would bring them up with love and kindness: “He who is involved in bringing up daughters, and accords benevolent treatment towards them, they will be protection for him against the hell-fire”(Bukhari and Muslim)
Sadly, in the 21st century, the phenomenon of ‘shameful’ daughters is widespread and the lives of millions of female children continue to be lost in countries such as India and China through abortion and infanticide by parents who yearn for a male child.
At the time of marriage, it remains an inalienable right for a woman to given her consent as this is part of the conditions which validates marital relations. A marriage without the consent of the woman does not have legal standing in Islam. In one tradition, Prophet Muhammad gave a woman the right to walk out of a marriage after she complained that her consent was never sought. Parents can only help and advise the daughter about marriage, but they cannot impose or force their will on her.
Perhaps one of the most misplaced notions about Islam is the concept of polygamy. Often times, polygamy is associated with Islam but it should be clear that Islam never introduced the practice. Unrestricted polygamy was prevalent in Biblical times and in many early societies and civilisation. Unlike other cultures and traditions, Islam regulated the practice limiting the number of women one can marry to a maximum of four and this is on condition that they all have to be treated in an equal and just manner. Practised in its true spirit, polygamy has the potential to address the existing social problems in the modern world.
Islam is also accused of promoting domestic abuse through wife beating which, according to critics, is sanctioned by the Quran. The Quran outlines three prolonged approach in reprimanding a recalcitrant wife that culminates in the ‘beating’ of the wife. However, Islamic scholars are clear on the punishment which they stress that it should be a symbolic affair involving the use of a miswak (traditional tooth stick) or handkerchief which should not result in physical harm. True following of the Sunnah, the Prophet’s tradition is to follow his example as he never resorted to that practice and he frowned upon men who abused their wives. He went on to say that the best of you are those who are best to their wives.
The hijab is often displayed as a symbol of oppression towards Muslim women. Through the understanding of Islam, the hijab protects their chastity and leads them to achieve respect through their character rather than their appearance. There is nothing in the hijab that restricts a Muslim woman’s freedom to express her views and opinion, limits her freedom, or impact negatively on her education and a career. The hijab is an act of honour and dignity and a guarantee that a woman will be judged according to her intellect rather than her appearance or sexuality.
It is only in the last century when women in the so-called civilised Western nations were entitled to inheritance rights, but for the last 1,400 years, this has been an incontestable right enjoyed by Muslim women. While there are entitled to half the share of the male, this is not discriminatory but an act of fairness as while a man is obliged to spend his inheritance on his wife, mother, sisters, children, parents and other relatives, a woman does not have an obligation to spend her inheritance on her family.
On education, women just like men, are required to seek knowledge and Prophet Muhammad emphasized on this fact when he said that it is incumbent upon every Muslim, men and women, to seek knowledge and this is not only limited to spiritual knowledge but encompasses all branches of learning.
More than 14 centuries before the West bestowed economical rights to women, Islam recognised the rights of women to possess and to dispose any of her own property in any way she feels fit irrespective of whether she is single or married.
While the International Women’s Day is about honouring and celebrating the achievements of the fairer gender, in Islam, every day is a women’s day as Islam has accorded women their rights and Muslims have been instructed to always honour and treat the ‘fairer gender’ with dignity.
Abu Ayman is the editor of The Friday Bulletin, a weekly publication of Jamia Mosque Committee, Nairobi.
