Religious teachings benefit men, Muslim scholar says
Religious teachings benefit men, Muslim scholar says
JAKARTA (JP): Religion should become the starting point in the
attempt to eliminate violence against women. Every approach that
excludes religion was most likely to fail or be counterproductive
as Indonesians and their religions were inseparable, a Muslim
scholar said.
Nasaruddin Umar, a post-graduate professor and deputy rector
of the Syarif Hidayatullah state-owned Institute of Islamic
Studies here, said on Wednesday that religious teachings -- as
most teachers had interpreted them from the various holy
scriptures -- in patriarchal societies tended to benefit men.
"They have also been used to legitimize violence against
women," he told a seminar titled Religion and Violence held by
the Women's Solidarity Union.
Nasaruddin cited the 34th verse of the An-Nisa in the Holy
Koran, which states, more or less, that a man may beat his wife,
if necessary, if the wife disobeyed him.
"The Arabic word idlribuhunna is translated by the Ministry of
Religious Affairs as 'beat them', while it actually has many
meanings," he said.
The word, he added, could mean to have sexual intercourse, to
break up (a fight), to mix or to interfere, to explain or to keep
a distance.
"It is possible that other words are more appropriate.
Besides, as no religion condones oppression or duress against
women, and since marriage is aimed at creating peace and
affection, physical abuse is very much out of place," Nasaruddin
said.
Violence against women, he added, was not only physical, but
also included psychological, sexual, economic, and socio-cultural
violence.
"Every form uses religion as the source of its legitimation,"
Nasaruddin said.
Such violence, he said, was very difficult to detect as it
mostly took the form of domestic violence.
Recent statistics from Indonesia's Family Planning
Coordinating Board (BKKBN) showed that at least 23 million
Indonesian women had experienced violence, many in their homes.
The Rifka Annisa Women's Crisis Center in Yogyakarta reported
that it handled at least 360 cases of violence against women
every year in that city alone.
Therefore, Nasaruddin said, as Indonesians have a strong
belief in their religions, violence against women could only be
overcome if religion was included in the solution.
Similar with Nasaruddin, Judith G Lim, secretary general of
the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) said that
patriarchal interpretations could also be found in Christian
teachings.
"In the history of religious teaching, why was Eve described
as a tramp ? This has positioned women as second class citizens
and women's rights in the priesthood have been taken over," she
said.
"While Jesus Christ himself was against any violence and
against patriarchal practices," she added. (hdn)