Vol. XLV No. 6, 2007-08-19

IN THIS ISSUE

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COVER STORY

Muslim Women in India

By: AYESHA AMEER

Other Article/s in this Section

• Towards Peace in Human Society

• What Lies Beneath: Indo-Israeli Relations

• Men in Khaki

• Wage a War against Corruption to Restore Peace

• Peer Pressure or Cultural Suicide

• Peril in Pieces: But From Whom?

• Muslims and Terrorism: Buried Truth

• Encounters or the State Sponsored Terrorism

• Why Terrorism Is Not Islamic?

• Towards World Peace Women's Increasing Role in Peace and Disarmament

Women’s liberation and emancipation are popular slogans in the West, but with little credibility plying along. Islam has guaranteed everlasting rights from the very birth of the female up to her death, actually even further. But reality rudely checks in all the noble and high bestowals deemed upon this section of mankind by the religion of creation. We look at Muslim women in India, a nation that has a rich multicultural heritage which has inevitably led to a lot of rewriting and overwriting of women’s rights up to the point that they have been virtually eliminated. Let’s see how.

 

THE BIRTH OF A GIRL & THE SHAME

The female race stands in the line of fire, literally. Shame and humiliation still grip our families when the birth of a girl is announced; faces grow ashen and heads are bowed. Impending worries of dowry and marriage and possible harassment by in-laws begin to cloud the minds of the ignorant, bewildered and over-worked parents. But more shocking is the fact that even educated, well-to-do Muslim families display this gender selectivism. Consequently ‘educated’, ‘refined’ methods like amniocentesis, ultrasound scans and prevention procedures are used to get neatly rid of unwanted burdens. A lot of our Muslims have never even heard the famous Hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be with him) which promises great honour and rewards to a person who does not lament the birth of a girl child. And we’re naïve enough to think that paradise was created for us.

 

FROM EDUCATION TO IGNORANCE

The Prophet’s wife Ayesha was a scholar of indisputable eminence, such that even the great companions like Umar used to go to her to clarify issues. This is an example of what women’s education used to be like in the golden days of Islamic history. But today even in this age of information explosion, there are parents who still think it is quite unnecessary to educate their daughters at all – who think that education must necessarily culminate in employment or else not be considered at all. The number of Indian Muslims who receive higher education is a mere 0.4%, itself a negligible figure, and the female scholar is always in danger of extinction, so to speak. It is true that in South India Muslim women are by far more educated than their northern counterparts, but whether Islamic or secular education, the community still has a long, long way to go before it can make any tangible difference to the situation of the nation.

 

FROM EQUALITY TO GENDER DISCRIMINATION

One of the basic principles of Islam is justice for all humans and equality in the eyes of God. Women are considered no less than men in aspects of religion and are not denigrated anywhere in the Qur’an. In contrast, a chapter in the Qur’an titled "Women" begins thus: "O humanity, fear your Lord who created you from one soul and created its mate from it, and from these two disseminated many men and women." Here, in manifest terms, it is stated that women and men are made from the same soul, and therefore there is no question of inferiority, as the Qur’an again states: "And their Lord answered them: Truly, I will never cause to be lost the work of any of you, be you a male or female, you are members of one another" (3:195)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be with him) himself was an embodiment of affection and welfare for his children, and history has beautifully recorded his relationship with his daughter who was his only child who outlived him, and his dearest. In word and deed, he clearly condemned those who discriminate between male and female children. But this has become almost second nature to Indian society; where we still have Muslim parents who coddle and moon over their sons while daughters are treated like dirt – because they are "a liability not an asset". The son is reassurance for the future – a ‘walking bank’. The metaphors can leave you speechless.

 

MARRIAGE: CHOICES & COERCION

The choice that Islam accords to a girl in terms of her assent to marriage to an individual has been shelved like it never existed. In blatant violation of this divine authorisation, Muslim girls are still forced into marriages with no consideration of their identity or sentiments or preferences whatsoever. In fact, jaws drop when a girl is given a chance to have her say (which happens once in a blue moon). A recent survey states that 75 per cent of married Indian women (Muslims prominently) have relatively less autonomy of decision-making both within and outside the household, depending on their husbands even for resolving minor issues.

"An American judge once commented on the rights of Muslim women saying: A Muslim girl may marry ten times, but her individuality is not absorbed by that of her various husbands. She is a solar planet with a name and legal personality of her own." But the Indian scenario sadly projects a completely reversed picture. Islam also does not imply that a woman is made entirely for the pleasure of her husband but refers to spouses as equal partners, protecting and beautifying one another: "They are your garments and you are their garments…" (2:187).

Today, Western media often convey the idea that Muslim women are completely submissive to their husbands, but in fact, even the wives of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be with them all) used to argue with him if they didn’t get their way – they were far from the submissive, meek stereotypes of Muslim women today.

 

DOWRY DEATHS

Pooja Chauhan was recently glorified by mainstream media for adopting an unusual form of protest – but whether it is taking to the streets in undergarments or burning in muted misery, the protest against dowry harassment continues to be sidelined as the custom spreads even more fanatically across the social fabric of the country. One out of every six dowry deaths and bride-burning happens in a Muslim family. Every father laments the burdensome worries of gifting his daughter a hefty dowry, but the same father does not hesitate to wheedle an equally enormous amount from his son’s prospective bride. My suggestion to the Muslim community is – if each one of you thinks that the practice of dowry is unstoppable and there’s nothing you can do about this vicious circle, gift your daughter a burial shroud as part of her marriage trousseau. It may just be handy.

 

ECONOMIC SLAVERY? DOWER & INHERITANCE

In an Islamic marriage, rather than paying the husband a dowry, the wife receives a substantial gift from him – the Mahr – which then remains under her control, not his or her family’s, even if she is later divorced. Islam also clearly spells out the rules for distribution of inheritance among the male and female heirs of a deceased person. But with the widespread prevalence of the dowry practice, Muslim daughters have long been left out of the distribution, at best getting a token bequeathed to them. The straightforward control of women by the male members of the household has also led to a state where women hardly get to know what they receive as Mahr (and whether they are even receiving it or it goes into the pocket of the hard-pressed parent) – a gift and a right mandated for them by Allah Himself.

 

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: BEATING YOUR WIFE

The incidence of domestic violence, which is widely recognised to be increasing in India, cuts across caste, class and community. Survey findings report that over 18 per cent of reported violence (which may, of course, be different from the actual incidence of violence) is among Muslim women who come third in the national scenario, after scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Instances of physical abuse, depicting a deeply ingrained male-dominance which stands unwarranted in Islam, are rampant in Indian Muslim society. Complaints are hardly ever addressed and plaintiffs are expected to ‘grin and bear it’ according to the time-honoured attitude.

 

DIVORCE: EASY, EASIER

The infamous triple talaq and a misrepresentation of polygamy due to lack of awareness of the responsibilities of the polygamous male, have served a deadly blow under the belt to the Muslim familial system in India. That women are deserted by their husbands under the pretext of a polygamous marriage, is a painful reality; and abandoned children present living testimony of the father’s thoughtless sense of responsibility. Coupled with near-total ignorance of their own rights, divorce is an imminent dread especially for women living in poor socio-economic conditions with husbands who fare terribly on education attainment levels.

 

WE NEED TO CHANGE

Women in the West are turning to Islam increasingly – three out of every four converts are females – but the question is why would they ever do so if Islam denies women their basic rights? The overwhelming reason is that this religion has a more progressive take on gender than any other. And this is a fact that the educated people of the world are realising and opening their eyes to. But sadly anything that happens in the Muslim world is usually blamed on Islam; since the blind assumption is that Muslim behaviour is always determined by religious belief and thus Muslim women are backward and do not enjoy rights like other women because of Islamic teachings. The fact is, all Muslims do not behave according to what their theologians say or even according to the teachings of Islam. Social customs, traditions, social milieu and modern world-view exert their own influences which are difficult to ignore. But it is a matter of pity mixed with horror that within our great country, the combined light of the glorious Islamic past and the revolutionary present can hold no candle to the ignorance of these wretched mortals to move them out of their apathy to the plight they have reduced one half of humanity to. Unless Muslims improve the conditions of the institution of the family in accordance with the true teachings of Islam, it is impossible for the Ummah to escape the accusations of proclaiming a pro-woman religion that exists only in theory.