PROGRESS OF WOMEN:
AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE
Progress and evolution of society depend upon two primary factors: one, proper human relationships, and two, interconnection of rights and duties. Oppression, exploitation, and injustice are detrimental to a progressive society. It then begins to degenerate and tumble headlong towards destruction. In a just and balanced society, both men and women must work together for the betterment and upliftment of society by working in coherence, completing and complementing each other. It is as necessary that all members of society are granted their due share of rights and that their duties are well defined. In a just society, the weaker sections are looked after properly and compassionately while complete care is taken to ensure they are not deprived of their rights or oppressed.
Women have all along belonged to the weaker section of humanity. As such, a society that tries to uplift the status of women and installs them on the pedestal of dignity, looking after their welfare and making provisions for their protection, can be considered a just society. In the 21st century, would it not be worthwhile to examine, in short, whether we have tried to grant women the rights that may lead them to a better future, to a more peaceful, just and dignified coexistence with all human beings?
The modern world may be more concerned about women and make very fair promises to them. It promises them freedom from slavery, from male domination, even from the established institution of marriage, from the boredom of being a housewife to a much more glamorous world. It promises them freedom from the burden of birth pangs and the pains of rearing a family. But instead, what does it have in store? Nothing but exploitation, injustice, oppression, aggression, harassment, neurosis and indignity. In the name of emancipation, women today have to bear with rape, mutilation, abuse, inequality, discrimination and harassment.
Coming nearer home, we find that the apparent glamour of the feminist movement has overawed us. We have our roots in the culture and religion embedded in our soil, but we try to unquestioningly imitate the West in as much of our activities as possible. On the one hand, our women, with their demure and bashful nature, seem to be symbols of virtue; on the other hand, we try to instigate our women to reveal as much of their bodies as possible. Then, when our women are waylaid and their modesty torn, we shed crocodile tears. In the present Indian scenario, with events of female harassment ever on the increase, we have a most pathetic sight. Even our workplaces—not to talk about our homes—are not safe. Even those women holding higher bureaucratic posts are not spared. Laws against sexual harassment and rape are being moulded and remoulded, but the escalation in gender-related crimes keeps rising unabated. Female foeticide is on the increase. Most dowry deaths go unreported. In fact, with the present-day status, who would refuse to accept that women are poised suicidally on the brink of disaster? The facts and figures showing deliberate women's subjugation under the cover of pleasure-making cannot put them to sleep. There is a wave of restlessness to be found everywhere.
Many suggestions have been made in this regard, such as it being felt at certain quarters that women need rights, not power. In other places, education is being re commended for women's overall development. Some suggest political empowerment. Yet some say that women can only be genuinely emancipated by becoming economically independent. Whatever the case, we cannot isolate the various aspects of women's development into different channels and work for any one or the other. We have to devise a comprehensive system that, while recognizing women as respectable human beings, may at the same time lend them confidence, dignity, poise, self-respect, and freedom from exploitation of all kinds. Only then could the human race become more vigorous, of a superior breed, capable of spreading welfare, love, friendship, and goodwill to make this beautiful earth a better place to live.
Till now, a dispassionate study of the position of women in Islam has rarely been made. Orientalists are in the habit of quoting and misquoting, even misinterpreting the Quranic injunctions and the Sunnah, which form the source of the Islamic system. The Muslim society is also, by and large, responsible for stultifying the dynamism of Islam and creating misconceptions because they have lost their capacity to represent Islam in its true spirit. The Muslim culture that we see around us is not truly the Islamic culture that the Prophet of Islam had evolved, but a sad mixture of many cultures, where un-Islamic infiltration has nearly altered the very essence of what should have been the Islamic society. So, while presenting these points regarding the rights of women in Islam, one thing should be clear in our minds: these are purely what should have been in Muslim society and not what exists today.
One significant point that we have to understand about Islam is that it does nowhere raise the question of superiority or inferiority of any sex while talking about men and women. Islam considers each sex unique in its sphere of activity and allows roles to each sex, best suited to them and according to their nature and needs. Men and women in Islam are not antagonists but separate entities created to complement and complete each other. Each sex is given a definite set of goals to be achieved by their own efforts. The unit of society is the family. As such, the family's well-being would mean the well-being of the whole society.
Islam makes the family the fundamental social unit. Family members play specific roles in its welfare and upkeep. The position of women derives from the very premise that the family is the cornerstone of Muslim society. The Islamic system is very sensitive about protecting and safeguarding the family's foundation. Hence, there is a strict prohibition of extramarital relations or indulgence in free sex, as this weakens the base of the family. Under the Islamic system, discrimination on grounds of sex, power or wealth is not allowed. Indeed, the Quran states the origin of mankind very simply by rejecting any distinction or discrimination on account of birth. The Quran explicitly states:
“O Mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from a single soul. He created its mate from it, and from the two of them, countless men and women (throughout the earth) spread.” (4:1)
While conceding equality of the sexes, the Quran categorises men and women according to their deeds in this world. It states that all men and women are answerable equally to God:
“To whoever does good deeds, man or woman, and is a believer, We shall assuredly give a good life; and We will bestow upon them their reward according to the best of their works.” (16:97)
Even while seeking the blessings of God, both men and women are promised full returns of their labour, apart from the excessive bounties showered by Him:
“Men shall be rewarded according to their deeds, and women shall be rewarded according to their deeds. You should rather ask God for His bounty. God has knowledge of all things.” (4:32)
The wisdom of the principles and the laws of nature has been employed in regulating mutual relationships. The Quran states: “We created pairs of all things” (51: 49). This acknowledges men and women as distinctly separate entities yet relates the two mutually, making each the friends and guardians of the other:
“The believers, both men and women, are friends to each other; they enjoin what is good and forbid evil, they attend to their prayers and pay the alms and obey God and His Messenger.” (9:71)
Personal development, intellectual pursuits and knowledge acquisition are human rights that should be conceded to males and females alike, without discrimination. Islam allows for equal opportunities for both sexes in the pursuit of knowledge. Here is nothing of the reaction or hatred that modern society preaches. There is no derision, no underestimation anywhere. Each sex is encouraged to build up their individuality in every way. The Prophet of Islam said:
“It is essential for every Muslim man to acquire knowledge.” (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 229)
The guardians of women are advised not to obstruct their educational pursuits but to encourage and provide them with opportunities. Examples exist of several educated women scholars who contributed to Quranic interpretations, medicine, poetry, and so on during the Prophet's time and after. The wives and daughters of magnates and sovereigns have patronized knowledge and lavish endowments to establish learning and social service institutes. All such actions as going for the construction of society and building up righteousness will not go unrecognized. God says in the Quran:
“Anyone who performs good deeds, whether it be a man or woman, provided that he is a believer, shall enter Paradise. No one shall suffer the least injustice.” (4:124)
Spiritual attainment is not exclusive to men only. Women have as much right over spiritual purification as men. The Quran is very explicit about this.
“Surely, for men and women who have surrendered [to God]— believing men and believing women, obedient men and obedient women, truthful men and truthful women, patient men and patient women, humble men and humble women, charitable men and charitable women, fasting men and fasting women, men and women who guard their chastity, men and women who are ever mindful of God—God is ready with forgiveness and an immense reward.” (33:35)
Islam treats women in four dimensions: as mothers, as daughters, as wives and as separate human beings, and gives them rights accordingly.
Mothers contribute enormously to society. Their love and sacrifice for the offspring cannot possibly be ignored. The Quran recognises the pain and hardship the mother experiences while keeping the human race alive in the following words:
“for his mother bears him, in hardship upon hardship, and his weaning takes two years.” (31:14)
Keeping this noble service in view, the mother is evaluated to the highest pedestal of human glory. "Paradise lies at the feet of Mother," taught the Prophet. Islam makes it compulsory for children to obey their mothers. A mother's interest and welfare must be preferred thrice before a father's. A mother deserves gratitude, respect, love, kindness and obedience.
As daughters, women always belong to the paternal family. Marriage does not break this bond. The Islamic social order makes elaborate arrangements for fair treatment of the daughter. They must receive love and the best maintenance. They have as many rights as the son in educational, physical and mental upliftment. They have their share in the father's property, recognized and granted at every cost. If, by chance, a woman becomes a widow or is divorced, Islamic law reverts her back to the paternal home, where she may be looked after with love and affection. The Prophet said, “Should I not tell you what is the best charity: That you should show kindness to that daughter who (becoming a widow or having been divorced) has been returned to you, and who has no other maintainer or supporter.” (Ibn-e-Majah, Hadith No. 3667)
Islam encourages marriage and prohibits any deviated forms of sexual gratification. Marriage helps men and women develop naturally and head towards development and success through cooperation. Marriage prevents immorality, licentiousness, and irresponsibility. The spouses in the marriage agree to share rights and responsibilities to develop a happy family. In this regard, it is a contract entered upon by both participants who vow to be ruled by the established law of God. The consent of the girl is essential for the completion of the marriage.
Further, the woman receives the mehr or dower in marriage, which is the bride's money, an exclusive right of the bride. This Mehr or dower may be paid immediately after the solemnization of marriage (at the time of nikah) or at any time in life. But if it is not paid during the lifetime, it is considered a debt and, like all other debts, must be paid from the legacy of the deceased even before the distribution of property among the legal heirs. Apart from Mehr, the wife is also entitled to a share of her husband’s property upon his demise.
During the period of the Prophet, the Caliphate, and early Muslim rule, these injunctions were followed. Therefore, women played an indispensable role in the construction of society. They received and imparted education and took an active part in opinion-building and decision-making. They delivered religious discourses, ventured outside their homes to pursue knowledge, and carried on independent trade. But later, as stagnation set in in Muslim society itself, the position of women also gradually deteriorated. Today, Muslim women, like the rest of their counterparts, are in more or less the same deplorable condition, deprived of their rights and opportunities, and kept under difficult conditions.
Hence, to improve the present status of Muslim women and women in general, we have to give them their due share in what is their right. It is indispensable that Muslim organizations, as well as secular organizations, should come forward and make efforts to improve the status of women. They must see that women are not deprived of proper education. They have to see that more and more educational institutions for girls are opened and run efficiently for the benefit of women. A thoroughly planned strategy must be chalked out for vocational professional training of women to make them self-sufficient so they can stand on their feet when any such need arises. More centres should be opened for self-defence, and training and guidance should be provided for girls to equip them with adequate safety methods.
It is generally thought that Muslim women are only duty-bound to their husbands, family and home. They have no other activity outside their home. This is a gross mistake, very much against the spirit of Islam, which does not restrict the women within the four walls of their houses only. They are allowed to venture out of their homes to take part in a positive and constructive contribution to society. In doing so, their main motive should be to obtain the pleasure of God and service to humanity.
