Women under one God

Born and raised under the influence of a grandfather who lived Islam in its true essence, I am appalled at the way Islam is misinterpreted and misused by a handful of people who claim to be authorities on the Shariat. I saw my grandfather living the Shariat in the way he treated women, be it my grandmother or his daughters or daughters-in-law, my sisters or me. The way he loved and respected everyone had a striking similarity to the stories we had heard about the Prophet’s way of life. It seemed that he was living the Koran, Hadith and Shariat in spirit and in practice.

I now wonder how my grandfather would have reacted to the plight of women such as Shah Bano, Mukhtara Mai in Pakistan, Gudia and Imrana. His first concern would have been to address the pain, humiliation and shock of these women. He would then have wanted to deliver justice to these hapless victims of violence. Koran, Hadith and the Shariat are not ordinary pieces of literature that can be taken and applied literally. To understand them it is not enough to know their meaning word for word. What one requires is purity of thought, as well as an adherence to humanity, justice and equality that are the pillars of Islam. Was it humane for Shah Bano to be deserted by her husband without any support, at the fag-end of her life? What is just for the rapists of Mukhtara Mai to be released from jail? What will happen to Imrana, caught between her estranged husband, her accused father-in-law and a hostile society? What hurts me, as a Muslim and also as a woman, is that unjust and inhumane diktats are passed in the name of Islam and the Shariat.

The idea of four marriages for a man under Islam is routinely maligned and misunderstood without regard for historical context. Nowadays, jihad is the most talked about and most used/ misused aspect of Islam. The misinterpretation of jihad has overtaken everything that Islam stands for. In my opinion, a jihad is needed to clear the disinformation against the very word ‘jihad’ itself!

Looking at the pathetic scenario of women, it would be the greatest service to Islam to propagate the teachings of the Prophet about women, be it the right to property, the right to choose her husband, or indeed any other right. Islam is perhaps the only religion in the world which has made the right to education a duty for all, be it a man or a woman. ‘‘Talebul allima, farizatun alla kulli muslimmena wa mulsima’’ (‘‘It is the duty of every Muslim to get education’’). The Prophet has also emphasised that a husband should treat his wife affectionately and never be rough with her. It is said in Islam that besides God, if a Muslim were to bow before anyone else it would have to be a mother. This speaks volumes about the status of women in Islam. To propagate this aspect of Islam would be the real jihad.

I still firmly believe that the Shariat is the most just law and if immediate steps are not taken to interpret it in its true sense, then Muslims would be allowing others to encroach upon their beliefs.

The writer is President of the PDP