From: CIMS Society
Sent: Friday, September 23, 2005 5:51 AM
Subject: The Distorted Image of Muslim Women .
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The Distorted Image of Muslim Women |
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.
