Feminists rely on the Qur’an more than fundamentalists
Kurdishaspect.com - By Ruwayda Mustafah Rabar
Feminism is not a religion, and it does not have a constitution to be upheld. This gives feminist leaders, and feminist movements greater freedom to define what feminism means to them. Perhaps the most important aspect of feminism in it's history is the lack codification as a movement. In United Kingdom, the first recognised feminist movement was initiated in the 19th century by Barbara Bodichon. Barbara, among many other women campaigned for the rights of women in England.
The feminist movement held momentum in the 20th century in England when the first female prime minister (to date) was elected, Margaret Thatcher. During World War I women worked in factories, offices, hospitals and etc. They took up jobs which were previously held by men, but because of the war, there was a demand for workers and because men were no longer available (by large), women worked instead. After the war(s), women were accustomed to working outside of their homes, and perceived themselves, more or less to be on a equal footing with men. This is referred to as the first wave of feminism. Women in the 19th and 20th century fought hard for the rights of women in employment, politics, education, work and so on.
Islamic feminism is often confused to mean ‘moderate or westernised’ readings of the Holy Qur’an. Many Muslim women do not call themselves ‘feminist’ but they are indeed more than ‘feminist’ in their understanding, approach and analysis of the Holy Qur’an. There are no solid or consensual definitions of feminism, and because of this even Muslim feminists disagree about the meaning or definition of Islamic feminism, or the place of feminism within Islam. We can broadly agree, in this article that it refers to the movements which seek to eradicate gender inequality on a political, economic, scriptural and social platform.
Some leaders of feminist movements have made erroneous and misleading statements about the goals of feminism, and feminist attitudes towards sexuality, marriage and equality -- “We can't destroy the inequities between men and women until we destroy marriage.” (Robin Morgan, prominent feminist leader). Comments such as this have mislead many of our highly esteemed and respected scholars to presume that feminists are opposed to marriage which is regarded as a sacred sanctity between men and women in Islam. While the work of feminist scholars and leaders must be recognised, some of their mistakes have been grave.
We need to understand; what do Islamic scholars perceive feminism to be? On what basis do they derive their understanding of feminism? Should they presume that feminism is a threat to our communities on the basis of some erroneous comments made by some feminists about the movement? Consider the following comment by a prominent feminist leader “Since marriage constitutes slavery for women, it is clear that the women's movement must concentrate on attacking this institution. Freedom for women cannot be won without the abolition of marriage.” (Sheila Cronin).
Feminism does not mean men and women are identical to each other. Some argue that feminism is fallacious in nature because it seeks to equalise men and women when they are biologically, psychologically, as well as emotionally different. This perception of equality is false. Equality does not mean being identical to men. There are tasks where women outperform men, and likewise there are tasks where men outperform women. Feminism is understood to mean different things within different social structures. But unfortunately it is still presumed that all feminist movements are alike, and are seeking to eradicate male oppression in a similar way.
Muslim intellectuals and scholars are mistaken in presuming that (A) all feminists are alike (B) feminism has a equivocally solid definition. It is a movement of empowerment and liberation from male-oppression. This is how it has been understood historically, and by contemporary feminists. There are countless feminists that are against Islamic teachings, but that does not necessitate that principles of feminism are incompatible with Islam. Ironically, every Muslim scholar that has spoken about ‘feminism’ has either attempted to refute it by dismissing it’s possible basis from the Holy Qur’an, or s/he has associated feminism with the evils of society e.g. promiscuity, in-cohesive family structures, single mothers and etc. Before letting your judgements on feminism proceed, it is essential that ‘so-called feminists’ understanding of the concept of feminism is understood within its context. Once this is understood we can see why some scholars have been opposed to “feminism” in all of it's forms.
I believe Muslim scholars and Intellectuals are not against feminism per se. They are against radical forms of feminism and feminists that do not recognise the uniqueness of women and men. To assert that there are no differences, does not necessitate equalising these two genders. But to understand the differences and demand equality, is necessitating the equalisation of men and women. But unfortunately time and time again, only certain feminists have been heard. Feminism, as I define it, is a movement to liberate women from male oppression which seeks to limit their freedom, in conscious and activity by using their gender as a pretext of prevention, or by using religion as justification for unjust impositions and limitations on women.
Challenging unfair readings of the Qur’an is a task upon Muslim men and women because this text has been used in many societies to limit and restrict the freedom of women. This is no longer a task for women to perform. Together, men and women have to come to a better understanding of what Islam says about women. Double standards within families, and unfair impositions upon women, which continue to this very day, must end both in the east and west. Our struggle is not just limited to eradicating gender inequality. There are canons of literature, which misrepresent the position of women in Islam, and equally that of men as dictatorships upon their female counter-parts. To illustrate by way of example;
Many Muslims have argued that the best and most respectable place for a woman is her home because she is a woman. The reasoning stems from a verse in the Holy Qur’an, which says ‘…stay in your homes…’ (Qur’an 33:33). But this verse, as indicated 3 verses earlier refers to the wives of the Prophet (Peace be upon him); ‘O wives of the Prophet (Qur’an 33:30). The verse further proceeds to single them out by saying ‘O wives of the Prophet, you are not like anyone among women’ (Qur’an 33:32). After which general commands are given equally to both men and women ‘…The Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so – for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward’. (Qur’an 33:35). As we can see, the Quran explicitly equalises the position of men and women in their actions, while the verse used to signify gender inequality is only applicable to the wives of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) primarily because they were the guardians of knowledge, the teachers of the disciplines. Their reputation was not only necessary to preserve but also essential for the message of Islam to spread. Of course this does not mean that women who choose to be stay-at-home mothers are making a mistake, or that following the footsteps of the wives of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) is not to be held in high esteem. On the contrary, what we should understand is that the wives were singled out for certain things which Muslim women are told not to follow; for example they were not permitted to re-marry after the Prophet's (Peace be upon him) death, while this is not the case for other women.
However, it should not be understood from the above that the wives of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) were prisons in their homes. On the contrary, they were active women within their society. The verse signifies the importance of safe-guarding one's home, and not abandoning it. We can see from the activities of the wives of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) that they understood this verse to mean, women should not disregard their homes, and likewise men should not disregard the sanctity of their homes. The wives of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) assisted the disciples in warfare, educated them about Islamic principles, went to pilgrimage, attended the Muslim community centre (Mosque) and so on.
The above is one of the many examples where dual interpretations of a particular verse are available. Simplistic interpretations of the Holy Qur’an should be challenged, in particular when it relates to women. I think the common usage of ‘position of women’ is irritating to begin with, as it implies that there must be a particular, well-defined role and position for women. Which as a result means that women are confined to one field or way of conduct. The cultural impositions that women are innocent virgins behind a veil, waiting to be emancipated by a male figure is not only false, but almost archaic.
Should Muslim women use the term ‘feminist’?
For a long time the term ‘feminism’ did not coincide with me easily. Feminists came across as aggressive, man-hating monsters. But the more I read into feminism, the more I realised that it is defined in different ways, by different people. Feminism as a concept has a ‘vague’ definition, some might say. But it does not have a solid consensual definition that everyone agrees with. Why is this? Women from different parts of the world have been oppressed and suppressed in different ways, and because of this, it is reasonable that they would each reach a different definition of feminism.
Muslim women are increasingly uncomfortable with blindly accepting interpretations of the Holy Qur’an from the 8, 9, 10th century. For decades men have taken the mighty position of interpreting Islamic concepts, as a result, their prejudices and patriarchal settings have affected, as well as influenced what they believe the ‘role’ of women should be. They have become obsessed with attempting to define what a woman should be like, how she should act, and what she should do. This is a wrong approach in understanding what it means to be a woman, and how a woman should be, a woman. There is more to being a woman that being a mother and wife. A woman is not a ‘reproductive-machine’. Her role is not limited to giving birth and being a mother. In fact, I will use religious text as a basis for my argument here. When God created men and women to ‘dwell in tranquillity and find love’ in one another; to have affection and mercy between one another (Qur’an 30:21), he did not create men and women with the primary purpose of being a ‘husband’ or ‘wife’. He created human beings with the sole purpose of his glorification (Qur’an 51:56).
What I am trying to say is that there are several feminist movements, and all of them have to be understood in their own context. As a Muslim woman, I strongly believe in the Holy Qur'an and prophetic precedent, but I avidly deny prejudiced interpretations of these sources of knowledge. Primarily because female scholarship in the last decade has been limited, and it seems they have been intimidated to follow the scholarly precedents for the sake of maintaining similar thought. Feminism for many women is not a man-hating concept, nor is it one that seeks to undermine family cohesion, or sabotage the male-figure. But it's a concept that seeks to equalise the position of women without asserting that our differences both biologically and emotionally amount to different treatment. There are rules which regulate the dress code of women in Islam, equally there are rules which regulate the dress code for men in Islam. So while certain aspects of our lives are conducted differently, it is still done equally in principle.
Feminists have desired to breakaway from religion because they have seen it manipulated by men to oppress women. But Muslim feminists do not want to breakaway from their religion, nor do they want to distort it. They want to come to the objective meaning of Islam which was to honour men and women, and not degrade women. As a religion, Islam seeks to establish a system of justice both in the private and public sphere. But like any other religion or way of life, it can be distorted and misconstrued to be a religion against equality (or even equity) and male-female relations.
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November 26, 2010
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