Does Islam Oppress the Woman? (Final Part 3)

With regards to other laws and rights that differ between the man and the woman in Islam, they also merit some further discussion and understanding. The process of divorce for the man and woman does differ within Islam, however, the Shariah laws do not leave the woman to fester in an unhappy or violent marriage but rather permit husband or wife to initiate divorce proceedings. Today, many women are forced to remain in miserable marriages not due to Islam but due to traditional Eastern culture and the absence of an Islamic system of governance that secures and guarantees the provision of their Islamic rights. With regards to the dress code for men and women in society, it is one of the laws that contribute to upholding the morals and chastity of society. Dress codes do differ between the sexes but so do the physical attributes of the sexes. In regards to testimony laws, it is true that in some cases two female witnesses are required compared to one male witness. This is not due to Islam viewing the intellect of the woman as being half that of the man as suggested by some in the West but is simply an Islamic law prescribed in the Islamic texts without reason. Indeed, the very fact that a woman is permitted to be a judge and preside over the evidence given by male witnesses in a case or that women have narrated hadiths that have become part of the sunnah and source of legislation for the Muslims, negates this accusation.

One other Islamic law that is often used to label Islam as being discriminatory towards women is that she is not permitted to hold a position of ruling according to the Islamic texts. Those who have failed to study the Islamic texts deeply have claimed that this is because Islam views the intellect of the woman to be less than the man and therefore unable to undertake the task of ruling. Islam has never given such a reason but has simply prohibited this action for the woman. Within Islam ruling is not a position of prestige but of responsibility. A ruler by default does not hold superiority over a mother - both have their duties to fulfil to ensure the society prospers. It is therefore difficult to understand why alleviating the woman from this great burden of responsibility to society and great accountability to the Creator of the act of ruling should be viewed as an injustice rather than a mercy. Furthermore, within Western secular societies, women often had to struggle to enter positions of ruling in order to secure and maintain basic rights of citizenship for the woman through participating in the legislative process of the state. Within Islam however, the ruler does not legislate but simply implements the laws of Islam upon the society. Therefore, since the rights of citizenship in Islam for women are clearly defined within the Islamic texts, the woman does not need to be in a position of ruling to secure her rights but rather have the ability to account the ruler on the implementation of the Islamic laws - this she has through many mechanisms of the state. Hence the idea that women need to fight to enter positions of ruling is actually an indictment on the democratic system - a system where women have been forced to vie for power with men in order to secure or maintain basic rights rather than afforded them naturally by the state.

(1) The detrimental impact of “Gender Equality” on Motherhood and Family Life:

On a historical level, the Western struggle for “Gender Equality” and the rise of feminism placed the public life and the man’s traditional role of being breadwinner above the private life, motherhood and the woman’s traditional role of home-maker. Many feminists argued that female respect and liberty was not compatible with economic dependence upon her husband nor full domestic responsibility and therefore it was not simply a matter of the woman having the right to work but the necessity to work. Christabel Pankhurst, the well known radical feminist and member of the suffragette movement of the early 20^th century said of home-life responsibilities that they were an in intolerable burden on married women, a waste of time and economic energies, and was unpaid and unrecognised. In fact motherhood and domestic life was often seen as a hindrance to the woman’s full engagement in public life and an obstacle to the woman’s ability to compete with the man in education, employment and politics.

Placing the role of breadwinner or pursuing a career up and above the role of home-maker, led to the devaluing of motherhood and has had a detrimental effect on family life. Today, one of the consequences of “Gender Equality” has been the creation of societies where women do not simply have the right to employment but rather are expected to work - even single mothers with sole responsibility for the care and upbringing of their children. With single mothers or both mother and father in two-parent families adopting the shared role as breadwinner, there is a constant struggle to find time for the children or time to make marriages strong. In many cases, this situation has led to the neglect of children within the society, has contributed to the problem of anti-social behaviour amongst the youth and dysfunctional parent-child relationships. The basis of gender equality where one prescribes the same responsibility for the woman as the man in society or looks at what is best for the woman verses what is best for the man can sometimes overlook what is best for a strong marriage, for the children, for family life and for society overall.

This devaluing of motherhood has led to a situation where a pregnant woman or one with young children is often seen as a burden to a company rather than as an asset to society. A 2005 survey of 98 companies by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation found that ¾ of companies would rather break the law than employ a pregnant woman or one of child-bearing age - a fact well-known by many women who would rather delay having children or remain childless rather than face this “fertility penalty” on their earnings or career.

Islam’s View

In contrast to many secular societies where motherhood has been devalued, where many stay-at-home mothers feel undervalued in society and many working mothers face discrimination for having children - due partly to the fall-out from the concept of gender equality - Islam seeks to build a mindset within public life, the workplace and society as a whole of the great status that motherhood has in life. “Paradise lies beneath the feet of the mother” is a well known saying of the Messenger(saw). A man at the time of the Prophet(saw) came to him and said “I have carried my mother single handed around the Kaba 7 times, does this repay the kindness she showed me as a child?” The Prophet replied “It does not even repay one contraction of the womb”. It was narrated that on one occasion a woman called Salamah said to the Prophet (saw), “O Messenger of Allah, you brought tidings to men but not to women.” He said, “Did your women friends put you up to asking me this question?” She said, “Yes, they did.” He (saw) said, “Does it not please any of you that if she is pregnant by her husband and he is satisfied with her that she receives the reward of one who fasts and prays for the sake of Allah? And when the labour pains come none in heaven or earth knows what is concealed in her womb to soothe her. And when she delivers, not a mouthful of milk flows from her and not an instance of child’s suck, but that she receives, for every mouthful and every suck, the reward of one good deed. And if she is kept awake by the child at night, she receives the reward of one who frees seventy slaves for the sake of Allah.” (Tabarani).

All of these sayings of the Prophet(saw) and a multitude more gave great status to the role of mother and home-maker within Islam and consequently the Muslim woman who embraces these responsibilities should not feel devalued compared to the man who has been given the role of breadwinner. This does not mean that the mother cannot work or does not have an active public life but rather that Islam states that whatever responsibility the woman adopts in life, she must never compromise this vital role. A poet once said, “The mother is a school: if you prepare her properly, you will prepare an entire people of good character; The mother is the first teacher, foremost among them, and the best of teachers.” This is very much the understanding that Islam has - that the mother lies at the heart of the family and therefore is pivotal for society. One impact of this view is that even in the workplace, the understanding, value and flexibility for family responsibilities should be a common appreciation amongst employers rather than one that has to be forced upon them by the hand of the law. In summary, Islam does not view the role of being a mother or domestic responsibilities as an obstacle to public life but rather essential roles that strengthens the family unit and therefore provide a strong backbone to a society.

Conclusion

The perception of Islam being oppressive towards women has arisen in part due to some of its laws being at odds with the idea of “Gender Equality”. However, the concept of gender equality is a concept that was born from a Western historical experience and has been shown to be flawed both from an intellectual basis and with regards to its impact upon society. In addition, this view of Islam is often based upon examining individual Shariah laws in isolation of what values the body of Islamic laws as a whole seek to achieve for family life and society overall. In Islam, the roles and rights of men and women in Islam are not prescribed based upon gender equality. They are complementary rather than competitive and based upon what is best for a community rather than the narrow outlook of a male verses female perspective. It believes strongly in cooperation rather than in gender battles where men and women envy one another’s rights, responsibilities and positions in society. Allah(swt) says,

“And wish not for the things in which Allah has made some of you to excel others. For men there is allotted from what they have earned (and likewise) from women there is allotted for what they have earned” [An-Nisa:32]

This view towards men and women can be beautifully illustrated by an analogy presented in Surah Al-Yasin where Allah(swt) says,

“And it behoves not the sun to overtake the moon nor can the night outstrip the day; each swims along in its own orbit.” [Al-Yasin: 40]

Surely, the debate that needs to be had is not simply whether Islam is oppressive to women but rather what type of value system and laws can truly guarantee harmony in the relations between men and women in society, a strong family structure and a status of respect that every woman deserves. The Muslim community’s strength of argument in this debate depends upon presenting the unique and beautiful Islamic model for the roles and rights of men and women in society in its pure and unadulterated form without succumbing to pressures to reform the Islamic laws in order to conform to flawed Western secular ideas such as “Gender Equality”.

Source: http://www.khilafah.eu/kmag/article/does-islam-oppress-the-woman-final-part-3