Koran not root of sexism in Islam

JAKARTA (JP): Islam does not discriminate against women but its adherents may be guilty of discrimination due to a misinterpretation of the religion, Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher says.

As a consequence, the religious principles don't need to be discarded, but the erroneous interpretation of its adherents must be corrected, Tarmizi said on Saturday at a seminar on gender in Islam.

Tarmizi acknowledged that women have been left behind or even completely out in many aspects of life compared to men.

In countries where illiteracy, poverty and health problems still prevail, women always stand as the majority, he said. This inclination is also found in Moslem countries.

He argued however that Islam cannot be blamed for this because the religion recognizes gender equality.

The seminar, organized by GUPPI, an Islamic education organization, picked up the theme of discrimination against women that was widely discussed at last week's Second Asia Pacific Ministerial Meeting on Women in Development.

GUPPI chairman Jusuf Talib in his address challenged his audience to find Islamic teachings on women to correct the disparity between concept and reality.

Differences in viewing women in Islamic societies are influenced by culture as well as religion, he said.

"There are cultural differences in Moslem societies which in turn influence their understanding of the Holy Koran's messages about women," Jusuf said, adding "But if we see the essence of Islamic teaching in the Koran, we can find that Islam totally recognizes equality between male and female before God."

The seminar which was attended by dozens of participants who were predominantly women featured three female main speakers: Yulfita Rahardjo, Huzaemah T. and Aida Vitayala Sjafri Hubeis, a demographic expert.

Huzaemah agrees that Islam does not recognize discrimination. Instead, Islam in fact pioneered liberating women from men's suppression, which prevailed before Islam came into existence in the sixth century.

Huzaemah said that Islam stipulates the rights of women on issues such as marriage, divorce and education.

On inheritance, where Islamic principles say that women only get half of men's rights, she contended that this is based on the differences of responsibility between men and women.

She added, however, the teaching on inheritance is actually flexible. It can be based on a deliberation among the inheritors.

Stereotypes

Yulfita Rahardjo of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), listed a number of gender stereotypes all of which put women as men's subordinates.

When a female baby is born, its parents treat her differently from a male baby. As she grows, her toys will be different from boys'. When she enters school, she will absorb knowledge which is loaded with gender stereotypes.

"Just look at student books whose pictures feature, for instance, a mother who is cooking or sweeping the floor and a father who is going to the office or sitting reading a newspaper," she said.

Aida Vitayala, who lecturers at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, said that the gender discrepancies in Islamic societies have their origins in the traditional Islamic rules or Fikh, which are full of contradictions in dealing with women.

Aida proposed that women find a new religious interpretation for their life.

She said women have fallen victim to development because of limited access to education, economic resources and culture.

As a result, a number of discriminative practices have become accepted phenomena, such as wage discrimination and career advancement. (11)