A long battle ahead for Indian Muslim Women Feminism and the Growing Gender Jihad Status in Islamic Societies – Past and Present

.On International Women’s Day, women rights activists in Egypt called for a one million women march at Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

I arrived in Tahrir around 2pm local time [12GMT] on Tuesday March 8, but was surprised to see the sheer volume of men who outnumbered the women, as if it was International Men’s Day!

However, as the crowd trickled in, it grew into hundreds but very far from the planned one million!

Ironically, the few women, I came across in the beginning, were oblivious of the fact that it was a women's day march.

Educate a man, you educate a person. Educate a woman and you educate a family. Educate a family and you educate the Ummah.

Lene Espersen is the first woman foreign minister in Danish history. This comes ninety-five years after Danish women's suffrage and eighteen years earlier for 46-year-old Espersen than for Hillary Clinton who holds the same office. If the Social Democrats win the next election, Helle Thorning-Schmidt will be Denmark's first woman Prime Minister.

Gender equality of this caliber underscores the so-called "problem" between Europeans and Muslim immigrants. We believe that western feminism has roots in the French Enlightenment while sharia law is irredeemably misogynistic. We're forgetting history, however. Consider Christianity's burning of women. Between 1480 and 1750, an estimated 75,000-100,000 executions occurred. We forget that the 1793 Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen categorically excluded women -- a decision that sent feminist Olympe de Gouges to the guillotine -- and that this women-hating attitude continued in France for another 151 years until women were officially given the vote in 1944, by which time many of us who supported Hillary Clinton for President were toddlers. Many of us believe it is Islam that prevents women from gender equality while forgetting that Christianity was essentially anti-woman and remained so until the late twentieth century. Early theologians such as Tertullian blamed women for human mortality, a dark idea inherited by St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and eventually Martin Luther and John Calvin. "You are the devil's gateway," Tertullian wrote in the second century, "you were the first deserter of the divine law. You destroyed God's image, man." Just as this idea justified the mistreatment of women for two thousand years in Christendom, tribal interpretations of sharia law are used today to justify the mistreatment of many Muslim women.

Muslim feminism is alive and well, however. Many prefer to call themselves genderjihadists: thousands of Muslim women who love Islam but hate tribal misogyny. They find inspiration in women such as Amina Wadud who broke with tradition and led Friday prayer and Laleh Bakhtiar whose scholarship challenges sexist interpretations of certain verses in the Qur'an that are used to justify the systematic abuse of women.

British journalist Shelina Zahra Janmohamed loves her religion but questioned the rules when they violated her personal integrity. In Love in a Headscarf, she describes how she came to understand that faith and culture are completely separate. She and her friends wanted to be friends with their husbands; more than that, equal partners. Shelina is now a role model and gives workshops in Doha and interviews in Abu Dhabi. She calls Muslims to task for returning to the era of Jahiliyyah -- the Period of Great Ignorance -- that preceded Islam. Power and economics, she says, were the driving forces behind the un-Islamic practices of the Jahiliyyah. "Muslims must learn from their history to understand that these practices are once again with us, and if we are proud that the advent of Islam eradicated them, then we must honour the promise of Islam and eradicate them again today."

Indian-born American Shahnaz Chinoy of the Muslim Women's Fund reminds us that Mohammed ended female infanticide. Launched in Kuala Lumpur in July 2009, the MWF is a financial initiative to empower women educationally and economically. One focus is the eradication of female genital mutilation in Cairo. MWF is a subsidiary of WISE,Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality. As part of their mission statement they declare gender equality to be an intrinsic part of the Islamic faith. "As Muslims, we affirm our conviction that the Muslim woman is worthy of respect and dignity, that as a legal individual, spiritual being, social person, responsible agent, free citizen, and servant of God, she holds fundamentally equal rights to exercise her abilities and talents in all areas of human activity. Furthermore, we insist that these rights are embedded within the Quran.

Christian women were victims of misogyny for centuries and have been liberated for less than a hundred years. History matters and now it is Islam's turn. Perhaps there is no better evidence of this than the recent cooperation of women and girls who protested alongside men and boys for an end to Hosni Mubarak's regime. Instead of sexually harassing them, men supported women as they stood side by side for justice and equality. Most observers believe women's rights will be strengthened as a result of the protests and the possible political and social reforms in Egypt and across the Middle East.

Reform is coming. It's time for smug, condescending Western Christians to recognize this and be there with support.

Educate a man, you educate a person. Educate a woman and you educate a family. Educate a family and you educate the Ummah.

After negotiating through the maddening crowd I finally managed to meet Nehad Abo Alomsan, the organiser of the march.

Nehad, also the chair for Egyptian centre for women's right, explained the concept behind the event, "We marked the celebration to salute all the martyrs, men and women, and to remind the society of the role the women played during the revolution.”

“Women stood shoulder to shoulder by the men, but post-revolution when it came to the decision-making process they were excluded.”

Emphasising the importance of participation of women in any democratic transition, Nehad expressed her disappointment at the lack of female experts in the constitutional committee.

"We just want to draw the attention of the decision makers and appeal to the women that if they keep silent now then they will lose everything. The involvement of women is not a demand it’s a principle,” she said.

"We are reminding the society of the principle of the whole revolution, equality and human dignity."

Another woman activist, Iman, the chairman of the development and enhancement of women, said that she came for several reasons; they as an organisation are trying to lobby for the inclusion of women in the committee for reviewing the new constitution, and in all decision-making process.

"We need to be part of the kitchen of the decision making. We are advocating for the younger people. We would want to adopt 10-15 or more women and groom them to run for parliament but not presidency,” she said.

She explained her position in the same breadth.

"It's not because we don’t think women should be president but we think the society is not ready right now."

Accepting that it was symbolic, Iman said, “We are using this opportunity today to say to the people, ‘remember women are still there, do not forget that women exist’."

Many Egyptian and non-Egyptian men came in big numbers in support of the rally.

And a group of French and Italian expats also turned up in solidarity with the women of Egypt.

"We came here to show solidarity and support women's rights in the world wherever they are. In Tahrir even more because women played a huge role in the revolution like the men," Rafaela from Italy said.

As people trickled in the crowd got bigger. Young men and women standing together were seen busy in their own mini-discussions, agreeing on some, disagreeing on others.

Fascinating debates

Some men were not ready to buy the idea of a woman-only-march. They said the demands of the people should be unified. “Why are we dividing our demands? asked a man.

“When the revolution started we were all the same with the same demands, what changed now,” he asked.

The youth was involved in fascinating debates and I thought this is democracy in the making, people discussing issues. Well that thought didn’t last long as the events unfolded later.

Women of all ilk, young, old, veiled, unveiled, all decked up at the Tahrir Square. As they stood there peacefully with their signs that read: "more rights for women", "Egypt for all Egyptians", a small crowd of men started to gather in front of the women’s rally.

The anti-women’s day crowd grew as did their loud chants that said:"al shab yoreed esqat al madam", "the people demand the removal of the lady/women".

Some of them directed their aggression towards the men who were supporting the women; others just chanted 'illegitimate' while pointing at the pro-women crowd.

For some of the women, things got a bit too tense.

Riham Shebel, a women rights and sexual rights activist, said, "I was mobbed by a group of men. They wanted to know what the protests were for.”

"They thought that it was one of those western influences. I explained what International Women's Day was. But then they started yelling at me that it was one of those sectarian demands. I told them that today’s event was organised in honour of all of the martyrs, women and men, of the Egyptian revolution."

Woman as president

However, as the anti-women day crowd grew, the atmosphere went from celebratory to hostile. Most of the men and some of the women, that joined them later, had a problem with one of the demands that called for a woman to become a president.

Mahmood, a student, said, "We can't have a woman run this country, been there done that! This country was run by Mubarak's wife, and she is the only role model of these women.”

Significantly, a woman running for the president post was something not acceptable to the anti-women crowd.

"If they run the country, then what will happen to us? This is unacceptable," said one man.

But a pro-woman man replied: "Well, then just don't vote for her."

The anti-women’s day crowd started to volley verbal abuse at some of the women for the way they were dressed and how they looked. At that point some of the women started to leave.

However, a majority stayed and there were many men in the women camp who stood as a buffer between the hostile crowd and women, supporting women rights and chanting pro-women slogans.

It was a sad moment to see how a day that was meant to celebrate women all over the world end like this. It was particularly sad to see the faces of some of the women that were visibly shocked at the response and behaviour of the anti-women day protesters.

The event organiser was shocked at the incident.

She said, "I am shocked, I didn’t expect this to happen. But these guys are unaware of our plight and it will take time before the awareness is spread."

For now the wheel of discussion and creating awareness about women issues and their democratic demands have started, but for now, the idea of a woman president seems unlikely... at least for now...

Islam brought about liberation of women from bondage and gave her equal rights and recognized her individuality as a human being. Islam improved the status of women by instituting rights of property ownership, inheritance, education, marriage (as a contract) and divorce.

The women of the Prophet’s time enjoyed the full range of rights and freedoms that Allah and the Prophet allowed them. There were many prominent Muslim women in that generation who were outspoken and contributed to building the Islamic society. Their names have been recorded. Quran is insistent on the full participation of women in society and in the religious practices.

The history of Muslims is rich with women of great achievements in all walks of life from as early as the seventh century. Since the beginning of Islam, Muslim women have made strong contributions in the development of Islamic Societies.

The Qur’an provides clear-cut evidence that woman is completely equated with man in the sight of God in terms of her rights and responsibilities. Few examples of Quranic injunctions for the rights of Woman are as follows:

“Every soul will be (held) in pledge for its deeds” (Qur’an 74:38).

“So their Lord accepted their prayers, (saying): I will not suffer to be lost the work of any of you whether male or female. You proceed one from another” (Qur’an 3: 195).

“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 their actions”. (Qur’an 16:97, see also 4:124).

“When news is brought to one of them, of (the Birth of) a female (child), his face darkens and he is filled with inward grief! With shame does he hide himself from his people because of the bad news he has had! Shall he retain her on (sufferance) and contempt, or bury her in the dust? Ah! What an evil (choice) they decide on?” (Qur’an 16: 58-59).

“O Mankind, keep your duty to your Lord who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate (of same kind) and from them twain has spread a multitude of men and women” (Qur’an 4: 1). A scholar who pondered about this verse states: “It is believed that there is no text, old or new, that deals with the humanity of the woman from all aspects with such amazing brevity, eloquence, depth, and originality as this divine decree.”

It has been rightly claimed by some scholars that any interpretation of the Qur’an that is discriminatory against women is contradictory to core spirit, general principles and ultimate purposes of Islam.

Islam honours women as daughters, and encourages raising them well and educating them. Islam states that raising daughters will bring a great reward. For example, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

“Whoever takes care of two girls until they reach adulthood, he and I will come like this on the Day of Resurrection,” and he held his fingers together. (Muslim)

At another occasion Prophet said;

“None but a noble man treats women in an honourable manner. And none but an ignoble treats women disgracefully”. (At-Tirmidi).

As a result of rather revolutionary laws for women, early Islamic societies saw Muslim women being involved in diverse occupations and economic activities. They were employed in Hospitals as physicians and nurses. They were employed even in Secret Service (as part of Postal Department) during the period of Abbasids and Islamic Spain. In the field of education, they could study, earn Ijazahs (academic degrees), and qualify as scholars and teachers. The women of Islamic Spain, like their counterparts in other Islamic societies, were active participants in political and cultural affairs. They helped shape the cosmopolitan civilization associated with the Muslims.

There are authentic reports that during the Rise of Islam, (7th century to 15th Century AD) Muslim women were active patrons and sponsors of public works. Rich women supported many public fountains, gardens, hospitals, and inns through their own assets and property.

All through the period of Islamic rise of Medieval Period it was impossible for anyone to  justify any mistreatment of woman by any ruling embodied in the Islamic  Law, nor could anyone dare to cancel, reduce, or distort the clear-cut  legal rights of women given in Shariah.  As a matter of fact the reputation, purity and maternal role of Muslim women were objects of admiration by observers from the West.   Female religious scholars were relatively common in Muslim Societies. Mohammad Akram Nadwi has compiled biographies of 8,000 female jurists during Islamic Rise. and orientalist Ignaz Goldziher estimated that 15 percent of medieval hadith scholars were women. Women were important Transmitters of Hadith compiled by Sahih Sitthah (Six Collections of Prophetic Traditions).

Many western scholars have appreciated Islamic recognition of fundamental rights of women. For instance, Annemarie Schimmel states that “compared to the pre-Islamic position of women, Islamic legislation meant an enormous progress; the woman had the right to administer the wealth she had brought into the family or had earned by her own work.”  Similarly, William Montgomery Watt states that “ Muhammad, in the historical context of his time, can be seen as a figure that promoted women’s rights and improved things considerably”. Watt further explains: “At the time Islam began, the conditions of women were terrible - they had no right to own property, were supposed to be the property of the man, and if the man died everything went to his sons. Muhammad, however, by instituting rights of property ownership, inheritance, education and divorce, gave women basic safeguards.”

After fifteenth century AD things started changing against  the interest of women. Harsh restrictions on women and general violation of human rights began. Culture and patriarchal constraints played instrumental roles in restricting Muslim women’s educational and economic participation. This was the period of Decline (Fall) of the Islamic World. The situation has gone so bad that many people believe that Muslim women are oppressed in Islamic Societies. They are denied education and other basic rights. These are not baseless accusations. But one must understand that these oppressive practices do not come from Islam. These are part of local cultural traditions in various countries. Western observers portray Islam as uniquely patriarchal and incompatible with women’s equality. Two rather unfortunate examples of deprivation of Muslim women from her Islamic Rights, after the fall of Islamic Societies, are with regard to their Education and inheritance in properties. As against the high women literacy during the Rise, (as high as hundred percent in highly developed cities of Baghdad and Cordova), it was deplorable during the Fall. An Indian survey in 1921 showed that only four out of every 1,000 Muslim females were literate. This situation was more or less the same throughout the Islamic World. The reason was the general edict that Muslim girls need not learn the writing as reading was enough for them. In even 21st century women education finds low priority in the Islamic world and the gap between male-female literacy is sometime as high 40%. For Instance, according to the Adult Literacy Rates and Illiterate Population by Country and by Gender report (of September 2006) by UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), Egypt’s adult literacy rate for males is 83% whereas that of females is 59.4%. The male adult literacy rate for Morocco is 65.7% and that of females is only 39.6%. Pakistan, another Muslim country’s literacy rate is 63% for males and a 36% for females. Similar is the case of Yemen (male literacy rate 73.1 percent, female 34.7 percent, difference 38.4 percent) and Afghanistan (male 43.1, female 12.6, difference 30.5), In Muslim Countries like Chad, Niger,  Benin, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Malawi, the male-female gap is between 20 and 30 percent. This gap in the Western World is between 0 to 3%.(Pl see Tables Below) In a report published (UNESC) in 2002, the illiteracy figures among Muslim women (throughout Islamic World) was found to be as high as 90 percent.

Denial of inheritance to women was another distressing example of unIslamic attitude during the Fall. A glaring denial of property  to her was quietly accepted in Indiawhen legislations were passed (20th Century) that Women (Muslims or non-Muslims) had no rights in agricultural land and the properties of Taluqdars (Big Landlords) Similar situations existed then throughout the Islamic world.

It is being claimed by some Muslim Scholars of Turkey and Egypt that during the last two decades things have changed in favour of Women with the result that many countries, where Muslims are in majority, like Indonesia, Pakistan,Bangladesh, and Turkey, have been led by women. Nearly one-third of the Parliament of Egypt also consists of women.

Some other Muslim Intellectuals, in recent past, have condemned attitude of Muslim societies for their anti-Islamic treatment of womenfolk. Few examples are stated below:

Mohammed Ali Jinnah: “No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you. We are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have to live”. (March 10, 1944, AMU, Aligarh), “I have always maintained that no nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with the men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men.” (March 25, 1940).

Farkhonda Hassan: “Let us prove that a society which empowers its women is a society sure to succeed.  In many Muslim countries, gender-based discrimination, coupled with social and cultural barriers, limits access and participation of women in higher education. Some people attribute these barriers to the teachings of Islam, but this is false.”

Feroze Bakht Ahmed: “Although there’s a lot of wailing about the veiling of Muslim women, no one is bothered about their pathetic literacy levels despite the fact that Prophet Mohammed stated: “Talabul ilm farizatun ala kulli muslimin wa muslima” (It is compulsory for both men and women to be educated). To say that Muslim women have no rights would be a misnomer as Islam has given sufficient rights to them during the days of the religion’s advent. The problem is that most clerics have misinterpreted Quranic teachings with an anti-women tilt. A hue and cry is raised over issues like talaq (divorce), model nikahnama (marriage document), polygamy, family planning and the purdah (veil) - all issues that have been tirelessly talked over for decades without any consensus. But clerics, scholars or politicians rarely bother to promote education of Muslim girls. Abject illiteracy among Muslim women still lies at the root of the endemic backwardness of the community. More than veils, it is education that will make the Muslim women safer”.

Yahya M. (US): “At the beginning Islam was the most revolutionary liberalization of women’s rights the civilized world has ever seen. But afterwards Muslims became ignorant of this and now Muslim countries are the scene of some of the worst abuses of women’s rights”.

Dr. Hassan Abdalla Al Turabi (Sudan): “Whenever weakness creeps into the faith of Muslim men they tend to treat women oppressively and seek to exploit them. Present Muslim Society has become unduly conservative for fear that freedom of thought would lead astray and divide the community; and that freedom of women would degenerate into licentious promiscuity - so much that the basic religious rights and duties of women have been forsaken and the fundamentals of equality and fairness in the structure of Muslim Society, as enshrined in the Sharia, have been completely overlooked. In the fallen society of Muslims, women have little freedom. All sorts of subterfuges are employed to deny her inheritance. In the domain of public life, she is not allowed to make any original contribution to the promotion of the quality of life. A revolution against the condition of women in the traditional Muslim societies is inevitable. The teachings of their own religion call upon Islamists to be the right-guided leaders for the salvation of men and women”,

Neelofer: “What is certain is that unless societal leaders and modern opinion makers pay some attention to this problem (Women Education) a lot of social frustration and pain is on store for everyone. For, if mothers, daughters, and sisters remain behind, can fathers, sons, and brothers go forward”?

Samana Siddiqi: “Statistics point to the low level of literacy of Muslim women in Muslim countries. This is a shame for the people who claim to follow Islam, a religion which has made it a religious obligation on both sexes to seek knowledge. Women’s literacy, and in turn ignorance of Islam is a danger to Muslim societies and their stability. What kind of quality of life will an illiterate woman have? And what kind of children will she raise”?

Seema Qazi: The acknowledgement of the universality of women’s rights by the international community is relevant to the debate on Islam and women’s rights, particularly with reference to women’s rights in the family.

(The Article is one of the Chapters of recently published Book entitled “MUSLIM SOCIETIES - RISE and FALL authored by Dr. MIH Farooqi & Preface by Saiyid Hamid, Chancellor, Hamdard University, New Delhi)

[Dr. Mohd. Iqtedar Husain Farooqi is Retd. Scientist, NBRI, & Secretary, Sir Syed Scientific Society, Lucknow.