Islam, gender and equal rights for women<\/p>\n
Lily Zakiyah Munir, Director Center for Pesantren
\nand Democracy Studies (CePDeS), Jombang, East Java, lilyzm@hotmail.com<\/p>\n
In several conferences on women, the recommendations for
\npromoting gender equality and women's rights almost always
\nmention religion, particularly Islam, as a source of
\ndiscrimination and oppression against women, as if Islam as a
\nreligion hindered the promotion of women's rights.<\/p>\n
This world view may and may not be correct. It is correct if
\nIslam is understood from the attitudes and behavior of many
\nMuslims in Muslim societies which, like many societies in the
\nworld, are patriarchal. It is not correct if Islam is understood
\nas a set of moral teachings and rituals revealed to bring
\nblessings to the whole universe, including women.<\/p>\n
Hence, the issue is Islam versus Muslims. These two phenomena
\nare different, and there is apparently a wide gap between the
\ntwo. However, one may argue that Islamic teachings may only be
\nunderstood not from the discourse, but from the way of life
\nadopted by Muslims. It is, therefore, important that we close the
\ngap by educating the public in general and Muslims in particular
\nabout equality between women and men and of the rights guaranteed
\nby Islam to women.<\/p>\n
There are at least 30 verses in the Koran that support
\nequality between women and men and that refer to women's rights
\nin various aspects of life. Many of these women-friendly Koranic
\nverses are further supported by the Hadith, traditionally
\nattributed to the Prophet Muhammad, which illustrates the
\nProphet's conducive and empowering behavior toward women.<\/p>\n
Among these teachings, to mention only a few, are:<\/p>\n
The creation of human beings. Unlike prevalent dogma, which
\nstates that women were created from men's ribs or that women were
\ncreated later than men, thereby indicating women's possible
\ninferiority with regard to men, the Koran tells us that women and
\nmen were created from a single source\/soul, nafs wahidah. There
\nis no single verse indicating superiority of a certain gender
\nover the other.<\/p>\n
Equal rewards for good and bad deeds. A large number of
\nverses explicitly guarantee equal rewards and punishment to women
\nand men for their good and bad deeds. Islam does not believe in
\n\"inherited sins\" or burdening one's sins on others. The cosmic
\ndrama of Adam and Eva, in which both committed a sin in paradise,
\nended with their being cast out. Both were considered sinful,
\nboth repented and God forgave both. There is no concept of
\nwomen's temptation in the Koran. The temptation came from Satan,
\nnot from a woman.<\/p>\n
Equal rights and obligation for women and men to pursue
\nknowledge. The Koran clearly assigns both women and men to learn
\nand seek knowledge. The Hadith is very clear about it.<\/p>\n
Equal rights and obligation to engage in public activities.
\nBoth men and women, as God's vicegerents, are obliged to do good
\nand prevent bad (amar ma'ruf nahi munkar).<\/p>\n
If Islam has beautifully granted equality between women and
\nmen and has guaranteed a set of women's rights in various aspects
\nof life, then why does women's status in Muslim societies remain
\nlow? Why are Muslim women viewed as secondary and have to abide
\nby men's orders? If Islam teaches that both women and men are
\nobliged to perform amar ma'ruf nahi munkar, then why is there
\nsegregation, under which women are saddled with domestic
\nresponsibilities while men dominate the public domain?<\/p>\n
If Islam brings the spirit of freedom and justice and brings
\nblessings to the whole universe, then why are women given a lot
\nof restrictions that hamper their freedom and advancement? Why is
\njustice more accessible to men than to women? There are lots more
\nsimilar critical questions to raise if we reflect further on
\ngender and women's issues from an Islamic perspective.<\/p>\n
There are several reasons for the gap between Islamic
\nteachings and their manifestation among Muslims.<\/p>\n
First, such liberating and emancipating messages of the Koran
\nare not easy to understand, let alone be internalized and
\npracticed, particularly when one reads the Koran with an already
\ngender-biased mind-set resulting from the patriarchal,
\nideological hegemony prevalent in our culture. An
\nanthropological study of a Koranic verse on marital sexuality
\n(Koran, al-Baqarah 187) shows that gender and sexual equality
\nadvocated by the verse does not capture the attention of many
\nMuslim men and women, who have been shaped into stratified gender
\nrelations. Other studies reveal that patriarchal theological
\nconstructions have been widely socialized among Muslims.<\/p>\n
Second, religious teachers and preachers, through religious
\nlearning forums (majlis ta'lim), electronic and printed media,
\nhardly ever promote these women's rights. The major themes of
\nreligious education and teaching by ustadh and ustadha (male and
\nfemale teachers) are mainly on the superiority of God and the
\n\"superiority\" of men over women, sustaining the already
\nsubjugated position of women.<\/p>\n
Little, if any, attention is given to liberating women and
\nempowering them toward equality with men. This is true, not only
\nwith male, but even female teachers. A popular and influential
\nwoman preacher, who regularly appears on national television and
\nprinted media, preaches about women's obligation to be submissive
\nto their husbands (regardless of what their husbands are like) as
\npart of requirements to become devout muslimahs.<\/p>\n
She advises women to be forbearing of their husbands' ill-
\nconduct and mistreatment of them; nothing does she say about the
\nright of women to be treated fairly and gently, as advocated by
\nthe Prophet Muhammad. If a woman preacher with such considerable
\ninfluence has no empathy or passion for other women or sympathy
\nfor women's suffering, how can we expect her to bring
\nenlightenment to Muslims in general about Islam's noble teachings
\nof gender equality and equity?<\/p>\n
Coinciding with the commemoration of the International Day of
\nHuman Rights, it is timely that Muslims take time to reflect on
\nthese realities. Have we done justice to women? Have we given
\nwomen the rights they are entitled to and are guaranteed by the
\nKoran? In patriarchal Muslim societies, the Koranic spirit of
\ngender and sexual equality is inevitably challenged. The key to
\nits realization lies in the success of educating Muslim men and
\nwomen on the authentic meaning of the Koran and its mission to
\nliberate women and oppressed groups.<\/p>\n
Attempts to socialize women's rights and gender equality in
\nIslam should be enhanced to reconstruct equitable Muslim
\nsocieties idealized by the Koran. Much of the challenge lies in
\nthe hands of men, as they are the holders of power to
\nreinterpret, reconstruct and socialize liberating and
\nemancipating teachings of the Koran.<\/p>",
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