GENDER AND RELIGION: WOMEN AND
ISLAM
The recent events in the Middle East and the war
on terror forced the spotlight on Islam. The
whole world had a sudden interest over this
religion. In the process, it was discovered that
therewere Islamic societies that considered
women as inferior to men.
Their beliefs led them to develop rigid rules that
were oppressive to women. The leaders in these
societies justified their actions on the basis of
religious laws. However, a closer examination of
Islam would lead many followers to believe that
it should not be used to oppress women but to
liberate them.
One way to understand the plight of women is to
view it from the framework of feminism. In
order to be specific, this framework can be
traced back to the feminist movement of the
modern era. It must be pointed out that in the
history of mankind, Muslim women are not the
only group that suffered from inequality and
harsh treatment from a male dominated society.
As a consequence of such a movement, they
were able to develop standards and ideas that
helped to determine if women were treated with
dignity and respect. When the same standards
were used to analyse the plight of women in
Islamic societies, even non-sympathetic
members concluded that religion could not be
used to oppress women.
Even followers of Islam expressed their
misgivings with regards to the religious
justification of such actions. There were those
who asserted that the unfair treatment of women
could be considered as an affront against Islam.
There can be different views but the truth
remains, in many Islamic societies, Muslim
women suffer as a result of oppressive rules.
The Religion
Aside from socio-cultural factors that govern
certain rules of etiquette regarding the behaviour
of women, there is no other force as significant
as religion. This particular assertion is especially
true when it comes to Islamic societies in the
Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. It
is, therefore, important to take a closer look at
Islam.
Islam was established a few centuries after
Christianity, and more than a thousand years
after Judaism. The founder of Islam was called
Mohammed and he used an interesting label to
describe his religious purpose and he said that he
was the last prophet. It is important to examine
Mohammed’s claim because he made a
reference to the other prophets that came before
him. His spiritual lineage can be traced back to
the Christian Bible.
In other words, Mohammed made the claim that
he was connected to Abraham, Moses and Jesus
Christ. For the purpose of this study, it is
critically important to link Islam to Christianity.
There is no need to elaborate on Christianity in
order to determine that it is a religion that
espouses the importance of charity. In that line
of reasoning, Islam must be viewed in a similar
light.
Although Islamic doctrines highlighted the
importance of respect and the need to show
kindness to a fellow human being, their strict
adherence to other tenets of religion forced them
to focus on their devotion to God and not to a
man. The followers of Islam asserted that to be
a Muslim means to submit to God.
It is through this submission that they can be
transformed into a person that is worthy to be
called a Muslim. Thus, even if they are asked to
do a difficult task, they will obey as a way to
demonstrate their devotion to God. A Muslim
must strive hard to learn how to live his/her life
as a form of worship to God.
Part of this worship is the realization that Islam
is a way of life and the actions of each believer
contribute to the creation of a God-fearing
society (Neusner, 2009). It has to be made clear
to every believer that a Muslim should anchor
his/her identity in the context of a community. In
Islam, individualism and liberal minded
thinking is considered taboo (Neusner, 2009).
Everyone must learn to observe the laws of
Islam while they live a life of worship.
It is the strict conformity to rules and the need to
maintain the status quo that could help explain
the paranoid expression of devotion. It has to be
argued that Islam as a religion of peace must be
studied closely with the report that Muslim
women were treated unfairly. It is important to
find out why they subscribed to a belief system
that created a society that oppressed women.
It is interesting to highlight a commentary made
by a historian studying the evolution of modern
day Muslim women and she wrote: “In the
earliest centuries of Islam, women’s position
was not bad at all. Only over the course of
centuries was she increasingly confined to the
house and forced to veil herself … that women
were studiously kept away from life outside the
house often resulted in their being deprived of
their rights, and ideas that were basically
incompatible with Koranic injunctions”
(Schimmel, 1992, p.65).
It is important to emphasise this discovery in
order to raise a point that religious zeal and
culture influenced the reinterpretation of Islamic
laws. In the process, it gave rise to a harsh
system that oppressed women. The radical
departure from a lenient society to a more rigid
adherence to man-made rules can be seen below:
The system of seclusion, nowadays generally
called purdah (from Persian parda, ‘veil’) is
reflected in Muslim architecture: the women’s
quarters form a separate section or are located in
the upper storeys; houses often have an inner
courtyard or small backyard where women can
walk or sit without being observed by non-
family members. Often, a special door allows
female visitors to slip into women’s quarters
without being seen (Schimmel, 1992, p.65).
If the author discussed an event that occurred
two hundred years ago, no interest could be
generated from the disclosure. But the
realization that this commentary described a
way of life in the 21stcentury can compel people
to express outrage. For those who support the
feminist movement and fully understand the
struggle of women all over the world, it is not
enough to simply engage in an intellectual
exercise. There is a need to go beyond rhetoric
and liberate women from the bondage of man-
made rules.
Feminism’s Cry for Equality
It is important to elucidate the fact thatthe
feminist movement had provided a platform and
a framework that facilitated the arguments
regarding the rights of women. The purpose for
this preliminary discussion is to demonstrate
that this study is not an attack against the
religion of Islam.
The followers of Islam must realize that the
ideas and concepts that can be found in the
feminist movement are ideas and concepts that
are universally recognized. It is not important to
support every idea and every opinion that came
from the feminist movement. However, it is
imperative to realize that the feminist movement
had opened the eyes of many, especially when it
came to the issue of gender equality.
It has to be pointed out that in the Western world,
the struggle for gender equality was already an
important topic many decades ago. As a result,
Western-style feminism no longer talks about
the rights of women. The discussion has
progressed to the need to demand for equal
treatment in society. In comparison, women in
Islamic states live their lives under the authority
of men.
Even with a sophisticated view with regards to
the rights and position of women in society, the
Western world continues to seek equal treatment
for women. In fact, feminism in the 21st century
ascribed to the idea that it was not enough to
simply desire for equal treatment, they also
wanted society to be sensitive to the unique
attributes of their gender.
They clamoured for the realization of the
principle embedded in the following statement:
“The systematically inferior position of women
inside and outside the household in many
societies points to the necessity of treating
gender as a force of its own in development
analysis” (Sen, 1987, p.123). Women have
special needs that are different from men. The
idea of equality must be crafted to consider that
women are unique and that differences as a
result of gender do not automatically render
them as the weaker sex.
This argument stemmed from the fact that even
if societies and governments recognized the
rights of women, they were still unable to utilize
this hard-earned victory. The reason for the
failure of women to accomplish their goals is
rooted in the argument that they needed the
assistance and protection of men. In many
Islamic societies, this argument was expounded
to develop a belief system wherein women are
subservient to the authority of men.
In many Islamic societies, the rights of Muslim
women are closely intertwined with the need for
protection and guidance from Muslim men.
They have to be protected by a male relative,
such as a father, husband, brother and cousin.
Therefore, they are seen as dependent on the
kindness of their male relatives when it comes to
their needs. Thus, it is easy for men, especially
male relatives, to use this privileged position to
force women to obey their rules and regulations.
In contrast to Western societies, the rights of
women are recognized. In fact, women are not
only given the basic rights such as the right to
express themselves and the right to travel, they
are also given access to the resources of the
state. The progress made in the Western world
provides a stark contrast to the slow progress in
many Islamic states when it comes to the way
their government and societies treat their
women.
Taliban, Parda and Hijab
One of the most powerful symbols of oppression
in many Islamic countries is a belief system
called Parda. It is a set of rules that can be very
difficult for a Western mind to grasp. According
to one commentary the concept of Parda literally
means:
…hiding ones face but in practice, it refers to a
set of rules and regulation that determines
women’s interactions in society. Observing
Parda is an integral part of a Muslim woman’s
life. Those who do not observe Parda
are besharam or shameless.
There are different ways of observing Parda,
depending on the age and social status of
women. Children and elderly women do not
observe Parda but women of marriageable age
are supposed to observe the practice (Cornell,
2007, p.43).
The desire of certain groups of people to practice
their religion in a certain way must be respected
at all times. However, the freedom of religion
does not preclude the right to criticise flaws,
excesses and even contradictions. In the case of
the Parda, the contradiction becomes very
obvious when examined on the basis of religion,
even a religion as strict as Islam.
In every religion around the world, it is a
common belief that each member has the right
to enter his/her respective house of worship. But
with Parda, many Muslim women are prevented
from a deeper walk with their Creator. Consider
the following commentary:
Nonfamily men were excluded from entering the
women’s quarters and married women were
barred from entering the men’s quarters.
Because of this strict Parda, women generally
did not worship in local temples (though they
might occasionally travel veiled and chaperoned
to faraway pilgrimage places or go briefly to a
nearby shrine and worship there with their faces
hidden from public view).
Nor did they participate in religious ceremonies
such as festivals, unless these were celebrated in
the zananas of royalty or the nobility (Harlan,
1992, p.37).
It can be argued that the leaders in Islamic
societies used their religion to oppress women.
These were done in compliance to Parda.
However, a close examination of Parda may lead
to the conclusion that it was used to justify the
paranoia of male relatives when it came to
sexual sins. It was an attempt to totally eliminate
sexual promiscuity in Islamic societies.
However, it has evolved into an oppressive
system that stifled the freedom of Muslim
women.
These are poorly constructed and obsolete man-
made rules disguised as religion. Their
intentions may be noble but their methods were
not appropriate. A legalistic approach to
morality can never be sustainable. There is no
better example than to study the plight of women
in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The Taliban can be rightfully described as a
fanatical group that prided itself in their ability
to fight. However, a bloody history coupled with
grinding poverty contributed to the fanaticism
that existed in this part of the world. Therefore,
members of the Taliban are not only proud of
their warrior spirits but also their religious zeal.
As a result, women living in Taliban controlled
areas suffered the impact of religious fanaticism.
The Taliban culture can be both fascinating and
revolting at the same time. There are value
systems that the Western mind cannot fully
appreciate. For sure, there are many who
believed in the ideas purported by the Taliban.
But no matter how hard they tried to explain
their position, the whole world questioned the
way they treated their women.
According to a government agency, one of the
strange aspects of their culture can be seen in the
way they stipulated rules regarding the
movement of women in their respective
communities. In the said report, “if a woman is
married she can only leave her house with her
husband” (Dodge, 2003).
If the woman is not yet married, she can only
leave her home if she can secure permission
from her father. Furthermore, apart from the
need to secure permission from the head of the
household, a Taliban woman can only leave the
house if a male relative accompanies her.
It is easy to understand the fact that the Taliban
wanted to build a society governed by the rules
of Islam. One of the most important pillars of
Taliban culture is to create mechanisms that
would make it difficult for a woman to be
tempted and engage in unlawful acts. The
intentions are commendable based on the
realization that promiscuity and sexually
transmitted diseases can inflict economic and
health burdens on a particular society. However,
the rules no longer served women but became a
tool for oppression.
The restrictions imposed on women can easily
create a firestorm in the Western world. But
aside from strict rules restricting the movement
of women in the Taliban, there is another
peculiar rule that added to the burden of women
in Afghanistan. The Muslim women in this
particular society are forced to wear a burqa.
The burqa is a type of clothing that serves as a
covering material that covers the woman from
head to ankle (Gohari, 2000). In many Islamic
societies, women are expected to weal a hijab or
veil to cover their head and their face. But
the burqa goes one step further because it covers
the whole body. In an arid environment, one can
just imagine the difficulty experienced by these
women.
In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, Muslim
women should think many times before they
dare to disobey these rules. These regulations
must be followed because the leaders of the
Taliban will not be merciful towards law-
breakers. Their ruthlessness was demonstrated
in numerous incidents.
For example, in December 1996, “there were
225 women who were rounded up to be
punished for violation of the hijab; the
punishment consisted of being lashed on the
back and the legs” (Gohari, 2000, p.38). If this
is the kind of punishment given to those who
violated a simple dress code, imagine the
backlash for more serious offenses.
The strict adherence to rules made it difficult for
Muslim women in Afghanistan to talk to
strangers in social functions such as funerals and
weddings (Skaine, 2002, p.34). In order to
enforce their laws, the Taliban restricted the
movement of women outside their homes. There
is a need to remind the Taliban that in their strict
observance to the letter of the law, they had
created an oppressive society that trampled on
the rights of women.
Conclusion
The feminist movement has created a significant
degree of awareness regarding women’s rights.
In fact, the women in the Western world no
longer struggle with the idea of inequality.
However, they long for greater goals such as the
need to be respected and appreciated as different
and yet co-equal with men.
The advancements in the Western world when it
comes to women’s rights provide a stark contrast
to the oppression experienced by Muslim
women in many Islamic societies. Muslim
leaders wanted their women to be pure. They
wanted their women to behave in such a way that
their honour could never be compromised. But,
in the process, they not only oppressed women,
they made it difficult for them to worship their
God.
References
Cornell, V. 2007.Voices of Islam: voices of life:
family, home and society. Westport, CT: Praeger
Publishers.
Dodge, C. 2003. The everything under Islam
book: a complete and easy to read guide. MA: F
& W Publications, Inc.
Gohari, M.J. 2000. The Taliban: ascent to
power. New York: Oxford University Press.
Harlan, L. 1992. Religion and Rajput women:
the ethics of protection in contemporary
narratives. CA: University of California Press.
Neusner, J. 2009. World religions in America:
an introduction. KY: Westminster John Knox
Press.
Sen, A. 1987.Gender and cooperative conflicts.
New York: United Nations University Press.
Schimmel, A. 1992. Islam: an introduction.
New York: State University of New York Press.
Skaine, R. 2002. The women of Afghanistan
under the Taliban. North Carolina: McFarland &
Company, Inc.
