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::April
2008 |
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::Rabiul Awwal
1429 |
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| The
Distorted Image of Muslim Women |
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Since the height of the feminist
movement in the late 70's there has been a magnifying
glass placed over the status of Muslim women. Unfortunately,
the magnifying glass that has been used is an unusual
one. Unusual in the sense that it is very selective about
which items it will magnify; other items it will distort
to such a degree that they will no longer look familiar.
I remember once reading in an "in depth" article
about the lives of Muslim women. This article "explained"
that at any time a man can divorce his wife by simply
stating "I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce
you". This article can lead anyone ignorant of the
Islamic ruling regarding divorce to believe that in less
than five seconds the woman is left with no husband and
is left to care for herself (and possibly children) by
any means necessary. The question that immediately popped
up in my mind was, "Did the author innocently write
that out of sincere ignorance or was it another of the
many attempts to degrade the religion of Islam and its
followers (muslims)?" It may be my own paranoia,
but I tend to believe it was the latter of the two.
The truth of the matter is that Islam has the most humane
and most just system of divorce that exists. Firstly,
many options are taken and tried before coming to the
decision of the divorce. If the man and woman decide that
they can no longer live together successfully as a husband
and wife, the husband (in most cases, not always) pronounces
the divorce by saying "I divorce you". At this
point the waiting period begins. The waiting period lasts
for three menstrual cycles to assure the woman is not
pregnant. This period allows the couple time to think
about what they are doing and if this is what they really
want to do. There are no lawyers involved to antagonise
an already delicate situation.
In the case that it is realised, that the woman is pregnant,
the waiting period lasts the entire time she is pregnant.
During the waiting period (whether the woman is pregnant
or not) the man is obligated to provide food, clothing
and shelter to the woman as he did before the divorce
pronouncement. If the couple carries the divorce through
to the birth of the child and the woman suckles the baby,
the man is obligated to feed and clothe both his ex-wife
for the time the woman suckles (the maximum being two
years). After this weaning, the child will be provided
for by the father until he/she is no longer in need of
support.
It is quite ironic that in such an "advanced society"
as America, there are divorce cases in which women are
being forced to pay alimony to their ex-husbands. Can
this and many other things we know about the American
system of divorce compare to the Islamic system of divorce?
I have also read stories wherein it is stated that women
are forced to marry men without their consent. This in
no way resembles the marriage system in Islam. In Islaam
the woman marries the man of her choice. She may even
marry someone that her mother and/or father objects to.
The point is that it is the woman who makes the final
decision as to whom she will marry. Once the man and the
woman decide that they are interested in one another for
marriage, a dowry is decided upon. A dowry is not a brides
price but, it is a gift from the groom to the bride. They
agree upon a gift that is affordable by the groom. In
the time of the Prophet (sas), often things such as livestock
and money were given. This is a wise decision in the event
that a woman becomes divorced or widowed, she has some
financial security to fall back on even if it is for a
limited amount of time. Once the man and woman are married,
the man is required to clothe, feed, shelter and educate
her (or allow her to be educated) in the same manner as
he does himself.
The last distorted image that I will cover is that of
the Muslim women's dress. The western influenced media
portrays our dress to be outdated and oppressive. Needless
to say however, I differ with these adjectives. Our dress
code does not hinder us from doing anything productive
in our lives. Muslim women maintain a variety of jobs,
non of which are devalued nor hampered due to their dress
code. And as for the timing of muslims women's dress during
these contemporary times, it seems most appropriate due
to decreasing morals in the world today.
For those who say that Islamic dress is outdated, they
speak from great ignorance. The decreasing morality and
trials of this time makes Hijaab even more in need. More
than ever before sex crimes are rampant. Although this
society tells women they can wear what they want to wear,
anytime a rape occurs the woman is the one put on trial
an one of the first questions is, "What were you
wearing?" This concept seems as though it is a set
up directed against the so called contemporary woman.
Also there is a direct correlation between the respect
a man has for a woman and the amount of her body her body
she displays flauntingly.
In conclusion, I hope this article helped to clear up
some distorted/misunderstood aspects of Islam and women.
Women in Islam are respected and held in high regard.
We will never find success and/or solutions to our problems
until we realise that Allaah knows best and that this
disbelieving society will ruin itself. |
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