Islam forbids the one
thing
that modern men and women have excelled in: a laissez-faire society. In
contrast, Islam commends chastity, marriage, reproduction and
upbringing
of children, all of which the "modern, liberated women" has been
encouraged
to abandon, at her peril.Sex, in Islam, is
permitted
only within wedlock, a measure which protects women from being used and
abused. This also puts sex into its proper place in relation to other
human
needs such as social comfort, security and companionship. In Islam, sex
is not the be all and end-all of life, but it is an important
ingredient
for a harmonious, caring and mutually supportive relationship between a
married couple. It is a means of deepening love, affection and
consideration
towards one another.The prominent
feminist philosopher
Simone de Beauvoir considered the roles of wife and mother to be a
hindrance
to women's freedom, and believed that women could only escape the trap
of femininity by assuming the role of a professional career women. But
it turns out that even the career woman cannot escape the cage of
femininity,
indeed she has it much worse because she faces pressure to appear and
act
feminine as well as to succeed in her chosen career.Many feminists seek
to steer
women away from marriage and childbearing, as if women were unable to
find
happiness in these. It is a sign of arrogance on the part of feminists
to make such assumptions. Even worse, they contend that those women who
have found happiness and security in marriage are only fooling
themselves.Although in the
early part
of the twentieth century, feminist efforts focused on the campaign for
women's suffrage and its consequences, a much greater impact on women's
lives came from changes that had less to do directly with the women's
movement,
and everything to do with a loosening of morals and manners. After the
First World War, there was an increase in literature on female
sexuality
and premarital sex, which had an effect on society. Whereas it had
previously
been the males who were immoral, women now- instead of demanding moral
behaviour from the males - began to follow the male lead in immorality,
to the delight of many men. The feminist movement, which supposedly
liberated
women, gave men the greatest pleasure. Not only has feminism allowed
men
to satisfy themselves sexually, but they are now in a position to
demand
that women look the way they want them to, based on the fantasy
pictures
spewed out by the media. The effect of sexual liberation has far from
liberated
women. Rather it has become a snare into which women are led for the
greater
benefit of men's sexual gratification and irresponsibility.Islam, in
contrast, commands
humans to marry, which is first and foremost an act of piety. Marriage
further brings benefits of emotional and sexual gratification, cohesion
between families, and social stability. And among His Signs is this,
that
He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in
tranquillity
with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily
in that are Signs for those who reflect.
[al-Rum
30:21]
It is He Who
created you
from a single person, and made his mate of like nature, in order that
he
might dwell with her (in love)...
[al-A'raf
7189]
And Allah has made
for you
mates (and companions) of your own nature, and made for you, out of
them,
sons and daughters and grandchildren, and provided for you sustenance
of
the best: will they then believe in vain things, and be ungrateful for
Allah's favours?
[al-Nahl
16: 72]
(See
also al'Baqarah
2:187; al-Shura 42:11; al-Nisa '4:1)There are feminists
who advocate
and eagerly anticipate technological advances that will replace the
woman's
role in childbearing. No doubt their wait will be in vain, because even
if such technology were to be developed, it would surely be in the
hands
of men. Instead of becoming liberated, women would be rendered useless
and be placed at the mercy of males.The feminists see
the main
causes of women's oppression as lying in the political and legal
system,
especially English common law which has its roots in Christianity
(religion
in general); marriage, childbearing and the family. Islam's response to
these concerns may be summed up as follows:
1. The
rise of feminism
in the West was due to the high level of social, legal, political and
economic
suppression of women. The first suffragette movement in Britain was
established
to address the political and economic inequality suffered by women,
especially
those who were married. Throughout the twentieth century, women have
fought
in the home, the workplace and the street for equal legal and political
status. Women in Islam, unlike their Western counterparts, did not need
to embark upon any such campaign. Every individual in Islam, male or
female,
is considered to be an independent person who is responsible and
accountable
for his or her own actions and is answerable only to Allah. A Muslim
woman
has equal status in business; if she commits a crime, her punishment is
no more or less than that of a man. If compensation is due to her, she
is dealt with on equal terms with a man in a similar case. Marriage
does
not affect her legal status, her property or earnings, or even her
name.
Thus the demands of the Western women, which have been only partially
won
after much bitter struggle, were handed on a plate, as it were, to the
Muslim women, fourteen hundred years ago.2. Feminist
fears
surrounding marriage, childbearing and family as a means of oppression
have been discussed in the previous chapter. The following points may
be
noted by way of summary:a) Marriage in
Islam is a
means of obtaining contentment, but if a union is not successful, then
the marriage can and should be dissolved. The Qur'an commends marriage
in several places (see al-Nisa '4:1; al-Nur 32-33; al-Rum 30:21). For
a Muslim who has freely accepted Islam and is a sincere believer,
marriage
entails rights and responsibilities, but is not seen as restrictive.
Individuals
who enter wedlock must comply with Qur'anic injunctions; any failure to
do so brings the threat of divine punishment in the Hereafter.
Professor
Lois Lamya' al-Faroqi listed the purpose and benefits of marriage as
follows:!
For an
individual who has freely
submitted to Islam, marriage is an act of piety.
Marriage is a
mechanism for
the moral and mutual benefit of controlling sexual behaviour and
procreation.
Marriage
provides a stable atmosphere
for the rearing of children.
Marriage ensures
crucial economic
benefits for women during their childrearing years.
Marriage
provides emotional
gratification for both men and women.
Marriage acts as
a protection
from sin and as an interdependent institution.
b) In Islam, children
are
seen as a bounty from Allah, and their birth is a joyous occasion.
According
to the sunnah, the newborn infant should be given a good name
on
the seventh day; his or her head should be shaved and the weight of the
hair in gold or silver should be given in charity as a sign of
gratitude
to Allah. It is also recommended to sacrifice a lamb and distribute its
meat among the poor. The Qur'an explicitly states that children should
not be seen as reducing wealth or curtailing one's freedom, and any
acts
such as abortion or infanticide are strongly condemned. (See
al-an
'am
6:140, 150; al-Isra' 17:31).Children are considered to
be
the apple of our eyes. However, the Qur'an also warns against becoming
unduly proud and investing vanity and false hopes of security in one's
children (see Al 'Imran 3:14; al-Anfal 8:28;
al-Tawbah
9:69; al-Kahf 18:46; al-Mu'minun 23:55; Saba' 34:35; al-Hadid 57:20; al
Taghabun 64:15; al-Qalam 68:14)c) According to the
Islamic
view, the family extends beyond the "nuclear" circle of father, mother
and children to include grandparents, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews,
and
all their offspring. Rather than being a burden and crushing a woman's
independence, the extended family should act as a support and means of
building confidence. The Qur'an repeatedly enjoins kind treatment of
kinsfolk
and orphans (see al-Baqarah 2:177; al-Anfal
8:41;
al-Nahl 16:90; al-Isra' 17:26).In the light of Islamic
teaching,
some of the advantages of the extended family may be outlined as
follows:)
Family members
provide
diverse
company and intellectual stimulation, which fosters a broadly based
environment
in which children and adults may grow and develop.
Family members
are there to
provide support, sympathy and advice at times of trouble.
Quarrels may be
quickly resolved
as family members act as mediators and provide counsel.
Parenting
problems are reduced
as different family members assist in childrearing.
The extended
family can assist
in matchmaking, thus eliminating any perceived need for "singles clubs"
or marriage agencies.
Working parents
need not feel
guilty about leaving their children, as they will be cared for by
family
members; this provides ideal support for working women.
Tragedies such
as divorce will
not be quite so devastating because the peer group within the extended
family will cushion the blow somewhat.
Detrimental
behaviour towards
oneself or one's marriage will be less likely because the peer group
within
the extended family will oppose it.
Far from being a
burden to women,
as the feminists fear, the family is in fact a great asset for the
modern
woman.
3. Western women who
see
religion as the cause of their oppression are diametrically opposed to
Muslim women who have seen the teachings of Islam and the way of the
Prophet
as the greatest means of emancipation and attainment of equal status
with
men. Islam has given the Muslim woman a status which is far above that
to which Western women aspire. So Islam has become a haven for today's
educated, thinking women. Muslim women consider their religion to be
their
greatest friend, not the enemy as their counterparts in other societies
see it.At this point, the
practical
situation of some women in Muslim societies today needs to be
addressed.
It is an unfortunate and shameful fact that many rights, which have
been
afforded to Muslim women by Allah, have been denied to them by men.
This
is largely due to the fact that many Muslim men have embraced Western
culture,
extracted what suits them, and used this to oppress women. Many girls
are
denied the opportunity of an education and career, their marriage
rights
are ignored, their inheritance dues are consumed and their fate in the
event of a divorce is deplorable. If we are to restore social order -
and
for the Muslim that means Allah's order - then Muslim men, with the aid
of competent, sincere Muslim scholars, need to implement the whole shari'ah
and
apply it equally to both males and females. Modesty and the dress code,
along with a thorough education about all the issues involved, need to
be implemented and applied to both men and women.However, even with the
shortcomings
that exist today, what Islam has to offer women is far better than any
other options open to them. The comments made by Western women who
embrace
Islam are very interesting. A British researcher, Harfiyah Ball,
interviewed
a number of new Muslims and reported the following comments:
" [Before I
accepted
Islam]
I had no feeling of purpose, no sense of direction, proportion,
perspective.
My life was unsettled, no guidance, no certainty, no proper aim,
pointless
and empty".
"Islam has given
me all the
answers to my questions. I am at home with the universe. I am at peace
and content. I have my guiding light to follow Allah. I seek no more
than
to continue to be guided by Allah and to surrender wholly to His will. This
has the effect of ushering one above pomp, idols and intermediaries.
You
only do what pleases Allah and that frees you from worldly demands". (Italics
mine).
"No one seemed
to care about
the family, friends or strangers. Friendship with people was not close.
Emotions were superficial, e.g. relationships with women formed only
between
boyfriends. I felt pressure from society to leave home and live
independently".
"I was lonely".
"My girlfriends were
always
looking for boyfriends; all I wanted was friends".
Although there have been
many
improvements in the situation of Western women and the model of Western
liberated women has been promoted worldwide, many Western women have
expressed
dissatisfaction about attitudes towards women in their own societies.
Women
feel that they are expected to fend for themselves, to compete for
their
survival with men. Their society expects them to be self sufficient as
well as glamorous and domesticated. Many other pressures in Western
society
have seen the feminist bandwagon grind to a halt as women come to
realise
its impracticality and the restrictions it places on women's freedom
and
happiness. Young intellectual women have found that feminism has failed
them, and they are now looking towards more prudent, sustainable
teachings,
such as Islam. In "The new Victorians: a young woman's challenge to the
old feminist order", the author Denfeld states: "Feminism is bogged
down
in an extremist moral and spiritual crusade that has little to do with
women's lives and it has climbed out on an academic limb that is all
but
inaccessible". Her sentiments are not surprising since surveys in the
USA
have shown that whereas in 1986, 56% of American women considered
themselves
to be feminists, by 1992, only 29% described themselves as such.As the feigned concerns
of
the feminist are becoming apparent. The thinking women are waking up
and
searching for a more prudent ethos to conduct their way of life. It is
greatly regrettably that after one hundred years of feminist dictates,
women are as worst off in real terms as a century ago. Poverty is
increasingly
a women's problem. Women are made to fend for themselves and their
families.
In certain areas of Britain a woman heads one in three families’ on her
own (compared with one in two hundred headed by men alone). Although
English
women represent 50% of undergraduates only a negligible few ever reach
the top of their career. Western women suffering from mental illness
and
depression is higher than their male counterparts. The woman in the
west
has been demeaned so much that her body is considered a public object
available
for man's gratification by casually 'watching girl's go by' to sale in
pornography, or as a sensual object for advertisers to use in promoting
merchandise and prostitution. The consequences of all these is that the
woman in the west is portrayed as an object of entertainment, valued
for
her beauty and a work horse stippling the male with sensual
gratification
and the capitalist system with surplus profit. The Western woman has
been
short
changed of her integrity, intellect and personality.If the feminists are
genuinely
interested in the emancipation of women, they need to challenge the
present
Western system by uniting women and men of all races under the umbrella
of a logical and sustainable ideology that can be applied equally
across
the East/West and North/South divides and address the universal human
concerns
of child-care, equal opportunities, pregnancy rights, protection and
education.
One need look no further than the principles and teachings of Islam,
which
offer security, legal and financial freedom, emancipation from sexual
and
physical harassment, and equality of status. Islam has been portrayed
as
a misogynist villain in the West, because it threatens the existing
social
order of bourgeoisie, monetary ideology, sexual deviancy and
oppression.
Islam faces the opposition from parties with vested interests who have
a stake in denying women express their true identity. The greatest
tragedy
of Western women especially those in the feminist movement, is their
lack
of aspiration: they have aspired only to be like men, instead of re
evaluating
and reclaiming what women are best at. Western men and capitalist
society
have devalued the heritage of women. It is up to women to look to the
principles
and way of life that credits them for their being. This can only be
found
in Islam.
