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Gender Equity? 2008
Is gender equity progressing towards a better life for women or is this creating more problems for them and oppressing them in other ways. Contrasted with Islamic teachings.
“We’ve come a long way, baby, from Adam’s rib to womens lib, Or have we?”
There is a book called “Men are from mars and women are from Venus.” It is ancient wisdom that men and women are different but recently, even science is beginning to prove that this is so. Everyone knows that a man and a woman are physically different – both externally and internally.
Apart from these glaring differences there are also differences that we cannot see at all. Scientific studies have discovered that men and women have different hormones. (chemicals found in blood), which determines the physiological and emotional state of each sex.
The male hormone is called testosterone. This hormone is responsible for the man being physically stronger and more hairy. This hormone also has an effect on the way a man thinks and behaves.
He is the one that would make the advances, he is the one that is robust and competitive, he is the dominating one – he is the one that is easily aroused.
The female hormone oestrogen, on the other hand, makes a woman much more softer, gentler, caring, nuturing sensitive, creative and tolerant.
The differences do not end at this point but go even further. The hormones in men are consistent and make them predictable while the hormones in women fluctuate and change according to their menstrual cycle, thus making them unpredictable and inconsistent.
At times, they are very vulnerable (eg. after birth) and need careful caring. At times they are irrational, fiery and hot-tempered (especially during menopause).
Recent medical studies have shown that the most effective medical treatment given for men does not necessarily produce the same results in females.
Scientific studies are also beginning to show that identical genes that are supposed to behave the same, behave differently in males and females.
There is sufficient scientific information to show that men and women are physically and emotionally different. They respond differently to situations and they have different needs.
Islam has always recognized these differences and it treats the men and women differently. – A woman is not allowed into the graveyard because she is too emotional,
She is not allowed to divorce her husband because she is more prone to make an irrational decision during hormonal shifts.
She is asked to dress properly because men are more easily aroused than women. She is not allowed to be in the presence of a “gair mahiram” because just a casual touch, or the clicking of her heels or the sound of her voice can arouse a man.
She cannot take marital vows in public like the man and she cannot take on a priest or a leadership role because these activities expose her to men folk and abuse.
Apart from this: In a relationship with a man, the consequences a woman faces are far greater than the man – she might fall pregnant.
In such a case she bears the brunt of the responsibility of caring and bringing up the child while it is quite possible for the man to get away Scott free, especially in cases where the couple is not married.
The woman may never lead a normal life after such experiences, but it is much easier for the man to move on.
It is for women’s protection and long term happiness and society’s well being that Islam has focused so much special attention on them.
In the past one hundred years there has been extensive canvassing for the equal treatment of men and women and this has resulted in changes in the dress and the role that women play in society.
Even the Muslim community is affected by these changes. It is quite common to see young Muslim women dressed in tight jeans and t-shirts and we quite often hear calls, from even Muslims, for the men and the women to be mixed up in the mosques like the way it is in the churches.
How our mothers and grannies lived their lives is not the same as how our wives and daughters are presently living theirs. If changes continue as they are then future generations will change even more, behaving more and more like the present western type of woman.
With these changes comes a whole host of problems. The “modern liberated” woman of today is facing tremendous problems. Consider the alarming number of rapes (one in every 27 seconds in RSA), HIV aids, sexual harassment in and out of the workplace, women as cheep labour, teenage or illicit pregnancies, divorce rates, suicide rates, child abuse, prostitution.
The question arises: Is this freedom for women? Is this what Muslim women want?
Are women progressing or retrogressing?
Men and women are equal in Islam when it comes to spirituality and status. However Islam prescribes different dress codes and a different modus operandi for the sexes so as to cater for their specialised needs.
A woman can do everything that a man does, perhaps even better, but she needs to do it differently. This is not discrimination. On the contrary, it shows that Islam has an in-depth understanding of just not the sexes only but also their influence and role in society.
One also needs to understand that Islamic teachings are not superficial. Apart from catering for the woman’s physical well-being, it also caters for her spirituality which is totally lacking in the teachings of the “liberated western woman”.
Update: The test of gender equity came in the 2024 Olympic women boxing championship when an Algerian transgender fighter Imane Khelif, who had previously been ruled ineligible for the World Championships over his/her gender, won gold after defeating Italy’s Angela Carini (a biological woman). The Italian forfeited the fight after just 45 seconds, declaring “this is unjust!” and said she had been hit harder than ever before and feared that her nose was broken. Click link below to read full article
https://www.rt.com/news/627575-transgender-athletes-ban-olympics/
An Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi publication. Author: Mohammed Hassan Gaffoor (WhatsApp +27849101486)