http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=3D35597
Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Published On: 2008-05-09
EDITORIAL
Back to the days of Jaheliat
LISTENING to the angry rhetoric of some of the so-called cleric
regarding the National Women Development Policy (NWDP), 2008 one
wonders whether or not we are heading back towards the days of the
Jaheliat. All the arguments put forward against implementation of the
bill, and also the CEDAW in the light of the 1995 Beijing declaration,
actually run counter to the fundamental teachings of Islam --
equality.
Nowhere has the issue of women's rights merited mention more
predominantly and unequivocally than in Islam. "Paradise is at the
feet of mothers." So said the Holy Prophet (PBUH), while speaking on
the manner we should treat our parents. And yet some of us are
unwilling to accord equal rights, nay equal status, to the women in
Bangladesh. It is even more disheartening that it is a section of the
cleric in Bangladesh that has taken the lead in opposing the proposed
women's development policy.
Perhaps no other religion has accorded women as much dignity and
equality as Islam. At a time when the abhorrent female infanticide was
a usual practice, it was Islam that put a stop to it. Women were no
longer regarded as objects to be inherited, and men were enjoined upon
by the Prophet not only to shun the practice of infanticide but also
to give women equal treatment when he said: "Whosoever has a daughter
and he does not bury her alive, does not insult her, and does not
favour his son over her, God will enter him into Paradise," and,
"Whosoever supports two daughters till they mature, he and I will come
in the day of judgment as this (and he pointed with his two fingers
held together)."
Historically speaking, Arabia was not alone in its unjust treatment of
women and in reducing the status of women to that of a secondary
object. According to scholars, in the Indian civilization subjection
of women was the cardinal principal, and according to Manu: "Day and
night must women be held by their protectors in a state of
dependence." And only those women, according to Hindu scripture, whose
mind, speech and body were kept in subjection, could hope to acquire
high renown in this world, and, in the next, the same abode with her
husband. Needless to say, the law of inheritance was agnatic.
And what about the status of women in civilizations whose level of
intellectual eminence and scientific excellence were sought to be
emulated by others? This is what an eminent scholar has to say of the
status of women in Athens and Rome: "Athenian women were always
minors, subject to some male -- to their father, to their brother, or
to some of their male kin. Her consent in marriage was not generally
thought to be necessary and she was obliged to submit to the wishes of
her parents, and receive from them her husband and her lord, even
though he were stranger to her."
A Roman wife was described by an historian as: "A babe, a minor, a
ward, a person incapable of doing or acting anything according to her
own individual taste, a person continually under the tutelage and
guardianship of her husband."
Such was the condition of women in Arabia before the advent of Islam
-- a period better known as Aiam-e-Jaheliat. And Islam changed all
that. A fear that it is shared by most right thinking Muslims in
Bangladesh is that we might very well revert back to the days of
Jaheliat if the views of those that oppose giving equal rights to
women are not appropriately countered, and that should be done through
logic and not rhetoric.
Therefore, let us briefly address a few of the points of the Ulema
committee. Among other things it is the contention of a section of the
Ulema in Bangladesh that:
"A woman cannot enjoy rights equal to a man's because a woman is not
equal to a man by birth ..." Not only is it impossible to establish
equal rights for men and women in the country, but in some cases
giving women equality would deprive them of their rights in many
sectors."
As a lay man I would like to ask these venerated men of religion to
cite one verse from the Quran which supports their contention that a
woman is not equal to man by birth. On the contrary, according to
religious scholars, the Quran unequivocally states the equality of men
and women both in terms of their responsibilities and rights. To be
dissimilar is not to be unequal. Three verses from the Quran make it
clear:
"I shall not lose sight of the labour of any of you who labours in My
way, be it man or woman; each of you is equal to the other (3:195)"
"Every soul will be (held) in pledge for its deeds (74:38)"
"Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily to
him will We give a new life that is good and pure, and We will bestow
on such their reward according to the their actions. (16:97.)"
In fact, in no aspect of human existence -- social, political,
religious and economic, has Islam made any distinction between man and
woman -- from the spiritual to the temporal -- from the right to
owning property, to seeking divorce and participation in politics.
And in Islam no woman can be married against her will. According to
Jamal A. Badawi: =93Ibn Abbas reported that a girl came to the Messenger
of God, Muhammad (P.), and she reported that her father had forced her
to marry without her consent. The Messenger of God gave her the choice
(between accepting the marriage or invalidating it)." (Ibn Hanbal No.
2469). In another version, the girl said: "Actually, I accept this
marriage but I wanted to let women know that parents have no right (to
force a husband on them)" (Ibn Maja, No. 1873).
One also fails to understand how sending women to peace-keeping
missions "would make women insecure and it could tarnish Bangladesh's
image," as per the contention of the Ulemas. Women folk used to be a
part of the Muslim battle train during the days of the Prophet. They
would provide logistic and other support to their men folk during the
course of the battle. And physical participation of women in battle is
not unknown -- a well-known woman warrior during the time of the
Prophet was Khawala the sister of the famous warrior Zarrar-bin-Yusuf.
Those who oppose according women equal opportunities and participation
in wealth, employment, market and business have perhaps forgotten that
Bibi Khadija was one of the successful businesswomen when the Holy
Prophet married her.
Several things must be made clear about the women's bill. It calls for
removing all forms of discrimination against women, and it is for all
the women of Bangladesh not just the Muslim women. Also, the NWDP
reinforces what Islam has provided for in respect of equality of
women. Not implementing it would, in fact, be going against the
teachings of Islam.
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