Does Islam Oppress The Woman? (Part 2)

During Jack Straw’s “Veil Fiasco”, when certain politicians and Western media outlets were falling over each other to try and explain that the niqab or face veil was the scourge of British society, Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary at the time, contributing her “two-pence” into the debate commented, “We fought for generations for the equality of women, for women to take their equal place in society.” It is not simply the niqab that is viewed by many in the West as Islam’s betrayal of “Women’s Rights” but also other Islamic laws, duties and rights that differ between the man and woman in society: the khimar(headscarf) and jilbab(outer garment); the testimony, inheritance and divorce laws; polygamy; the prohibition of a woman ruling a state; and the role of the man as the guardian and breadwinner in family life while the woman adopts the role of the home-maker and nurturer of the children, obliged to obey the husband in those issues which are his right. The argument that is often presented is that such laws and duties discriminate against the woman, are patriarchal, make her subservient to the man and give her a status of second-class citizen within society, of less worth than the man. In essence, the claim is that these laws are a betrayal of “Gender Equality” that is seen by many in the West as the path to securing the woman’s status, respect and liberation within society. In this article, we will examine these beliefs regarding “Gender Equality” and challenge the notion that the Islamic laws are oppressive to women simply because they fall short of this standard of “Gender Equality”.

(1) Gender Equality is a construct born out of a Western not Islamic Experience:

The first point of note is that the concept of “Gender Equality” arose from a Western experience in response to certain injustices that women were facing at the time within Western societies. The inability to leave a violent husband, initiate divorce proceedings when facing a miserable marriage, poor access to education and employment, poor working conditions, the lack of property rights in marriage and the absence of any political rights were conditions faced by women within Western societies that triggered the foundation of the first feminist movements. These conditions arose in part from the view of the woman within the society as being lesser than the man in her worth as a human being: spiritually and intellectually. Even those described as the “enlightened thinkers” of Western history such as Voltaire and Rouseau described women as having a lesser ability of rational reasoning than men and therefore unsuitable for public life. They presented this as an argument for why men should become citizens of the society and women restricted to being wives and mothers. Brave women struggled against these oppressive norms and views, some sacrificing their lives in order to eradicate such erroneous perceptions of women and secure basic rights of citizenship. They sought to secure these rights under the banner of “Gender Equality”.

Islam’s View:

In contrast, this “Woman’s struggle” is alien to Islamic history for a number of reasons. Firstly, Islam’s view towards the man and the woman has always been that they are the same in their intellect and worth as human beings since they are created from one soul with no difference in their human attributes. Allah(swt) says,

“Oh mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam) and from him created his wife (Eve), and from them both He created many man and women” [An-Nisa: 1]

“Verily, the Muslims, men and women, the believers men and women, and the men and women who are obedient (to Allah), the men and women who are patient, the men and women who are humble, the men and women who give Sadaqat, and the fasting men and women, and the men and women who guard their chastity, and the men and women who remember Allah much. Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward.” [Al-Ahzab: 35]

Secondly, the Messenger(saw) gave many sayings to elevate the status of the woman within society, breaking the lowly status that she had as a second class citizen, enslaved to men in Arab and many other pre-Islamic societies at that time. He(saw) said, “Whoever has three daughters and shelters them, provides what they need and shows compassion towards them, will certainly deserve Paradise.” A man among the people asked, “And if they are two, O Messenger of Allah?” And he said, “Yes, even if they are two”. He (saw) said “The believer who has the most perfect faith is the one whose behaviour is the best and the best of you are the ones who are best to their women”. He(saw) said, “Paradise lies beneath the feet of the mother”. In his last sermon, he (saw) said, “Fear Allah regarding the woman, they are an amana(trust) in your hands”.It is this view towards the woman and the accountability to the Creator that acts as the primary guard to disrespect, discrimination, and harm of the woman.

Thirdly, the rights of citizenship for the woman such as education, the right to be an employer or employee, the right to own property, lease land, work a business, be a professional, elect the ruler and voice her political views within society, as well initiating divorce and being master to her own wealth are all enshrined within the Islamic texts and were secured from the beginnings of the Islamic civilization. While this July marked the 80th anniversary of the Equal Franchise Act when women in Britain won the same voting rights as men, this December will mark 1430 years since Islam gave women the same voting rights as men. While women in Europe chained themselves to railings and went on hunger strike in order to secure a political voice, Islam obliges the woman to be active politically in society. While married women in many Western societies were finally given the right to manage their bank accounts and all financial affairs independent of their husbands in the 1960’s, women in Islam – married or not - were given full authority over their wealth and property over 1400 years ago.

(2) The Dilemmas of “Gender Equality”:

If we examine this concept of “Gender Equality”, the irony is that in itself it is a patriarchal concept for it places the man as the figure head or goal that the woman aspires to reach. Over the generations many Western feminists have accepted that it brings its own set of contradictions and dilemmas. For example, the dilemma of how a woman can call for equality which negates the relevance of gender in public life but at the same time call for pregnancy or maternity rights or flexible working hours based on sex difference. The idea of gender equality that erodes the appreciation of sex differences within the workplace and society, hinders rather than facilitates the securing of such basic rights and lays open the door to discrimination. The call for genderneutral laws that do not recognise the obvious differences between the sexes may actually contribute to injustices against women, with employers expecting the same commitment at work with respect to time and physical activity of women who are pregnant or have young children. In addition, the concept of gender equality that was in theory to produce the “have it all woman” in reality produced the “do it all” woman – who continued to burden the household responsibility but now also had to burden the financial maintenance of the family through struggling to maintain a demanding career. Being “chained to the kitchen sink” became quickly replaced by “being chained to the economic market”.

Moreover, gender discrimination and glass ceilings are very much still alive within Western societies as are domestic violence and abuse of women - two centuries after the call for gender equality arose. This June the government announced its new “Equalities Bill”, dealing with issues such as the gender pay gap and legalising positive discrimination towards women in order to tackle the continuing problem of discrimination against women in the workplace – basic issues of women’s rights that continue to plague the work environment and public life within Western secular societies. Furthermore, a recent Home Office report found that there were over 650,000 reported cases of domestic violence in the UK last year - representing a three-fold increase since the previous year.

What is evident is that simply having equality in roles, responsibilities and rights in marriage and society is not an automatic guarantee for respect, antidiscrimination and protection of women any more than a few differences in roles, responsibilities and rights of men and women in Islam produces oppression, disrespect and harm of women by default. The treatment of women depends on the views and values that are propagated within any society of the worth and honour of the woman. With regards to secular liberal societies, a dichotomy exists between the call for respect and equal worth of the woman and the concept of freedom that can give license for the man to view and treat the woman as he desires.

Islam’s View:

“Gender Equality” is not a concept contained within Islam. Islam does not compare the woman against the man or look at what is best for the woman verses what is best for the man when setting down rights and responsibilities in family life or society. Rather it looks at the needs of the man and woman as human beings and what is best for family life and the community as a whole to achieve harmony. Therefore, in certain areas the rights and rules are the same, for example the rights of citizenship including access to justice, the same punishment for the same crime, the right to vote for the leader of the state and having a political voice in society. In some areas the responsibilities are the same, for example the prayers, the fasting, the Hajj, the paying of the zakat, the carrying of the dawa and accounting the rulers on injustice.

However, in some issues the rights and roles are different between the man and the woman, for example the process of divorce, the dress code, inheritance, the mahr (dowry) given by the bridegroom to bride in marriage, polygamy, the need for 2 female witnesses to provide testimony in certain court cases against one man, custody of the child, and the roles and rights in marriage and family life.

Therefore, in some areas, Allah (swt) has given the man certain rights He (swt) has not afforded to the woman and in other issues He(swt) has given the woman rights He has not afforded to the man. Islam does not see difference as a problem nor as discrimination for it does not view one role or right above another. For example, in family life Islam defines the responsibility of the man as the breadwinner and the woman as the homemaker and the nurturer of the children. Allah (swt) says,

“But the father of the child shall bear the cost of the mother’s food and clothing.” [ABaqara:233].

The Prophet(saw) said, “Each of you is a guardian, and each is responsible for those under his care. A ruler is a guardian; a man is the guardian of his family; a woman is the guardian of her husband’s house and children. For each of you is a guardian and each of you is responsible for those under his care.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

One role is not above another but both are essential for the functioning of a family and the progress of society as a whole. Within Western society, any difference in rights and obligations between men and women in Islam is often defined as a betrayal of equality and therefore unjust and oppressive by default without examining what the body of Islamic laws as a whole seek to achieve within family life or society. For example, Islam has given the position of guardianship and leadership of the family to the man, not because of superiority but for the organization of family life. Indeed, Mary Astell, one of the first English feminists concluded that the wife should obey the husband, not due to superiority but for the organization of
marital life. Within Islam the woman is to be financially supported by the male members of her family, her community, and by the state. Therefore, although the woman is permitted to work, there should be no societal or financial pressures upon her to do so if she chooses not to for the woman cannot compromise her vital role of being a wife and mother and nurturing the thinking and behaviour of the future generations. Her wealth, gained either from work or inheritance is her own to be spent as she wishes with no obligation to finance family needs. The man however is obliged to spend his earnings and any inheritance to not only financially maintain his wife and children but other female relatives if need be. Indeed it is strange argument
that suggests that Islam’s division of responsibilities in family life is unjust to the woman rather than a mercy for her in having removed the burden of financial maintenance of the family from her shoulders. It is an irrational view that seems to be blind to the real injustice placed upon the shoulder of the superwoman who struggles daily to balance the heavy demands of family responsibilities alongside being the breadwinner.

Source: http://www.khilafah.eu/kmag/article/does-islam-oppress-the-woman-part-2