PERSONAL LAW

Asghar Ali Engineer On Status of Woman in Islam

The primary duty of a conservative Muslim woman, according to the orthodox ulema, is to look after her husband and children. She is not allowed to venture outside her home except with the permission of her husband or father and accompanied by a close male relative.

These are not Koranic requirements. At best, this prescription could have been enforced out of fear if some point of time to protect women from being molested. Thus, it was more a matter of precaution than of principle. On the other hand, the principle is that the Koran equips women with the right to earn If some measure was enforced in view of some immediate situation, it should be revoked as soon as the situation changes. Or, it should be made clear that it is essentially meant for protecting women and may not be insisted upon where no such fear exists. However, social traditions often become a matter of religious belief and soon acquire the status of principle.

This is why the status of women in Islam deteriorated with the passage of time. But what was her status in early Islam, particularly during the Prophet's time and a few decades thereafter? Was she required to observe such restrictions? A close study of the relevant sources do not bear this out. On the other hand, the picture is very different.

In the time of the Prophet, women participated freely in the affairs of war, which is strictly a male-dominated field. Thus we find in Sahih al-Bukhari (an authentic collection of edicts) that Muslim women actively helped the wounded in the battle of Uhud. These women included the Prophet's wives themselves.

According to Ms. Leila Ahmed in Woman and Gender in Islam, veiling was not introduced by the Prophet. It was essentially a non-Arab practice prevalent (in) the Roman and Persian empires. She says: "Veiling was apparently not introduced into Arabia by Muhamad but already existed among some classes, particularly in the towns, though it was probably more prevalent in the countries that the Arabs had contact with, such as Syria and Palestine. In those areas, as in Arabia, it was connected with social status, as was its use among Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Assyrians, all of whom practised veiling to some degrees".

Thus we see that a gradual change came about in the status of Muslim women and then this change was incorporated in subsequent periods into the Shariah laws.

There are also many instances of their taking part in actual fighting or attacking the enemy.

There are some instances from India too where Muslim women belonging to ruling dynasties displayed their skills on the battle-field.

The case of Noorjehan is, of course, well-known. We find in Tuzk-i-Jahangiri a description of her huntingexploits. She used to mount elephants and kill lions.

Chand Khatun's bravery is also well known. She belonged to Ahmadnagar and defended her kingdom as any man would do. She challenged the might of Akbar's army.

Many Muslim women took part in wars and some of them were rulers too. It is not true that they always observed the veil and stayed at home. Right from the Prophet's days, women had been playing an important role in public life.

Tahir Mehmood's Comments

Uncontrolled bigamy and plight of divorced women both of which are repugnant to the letter and spirit of Quranic law have been among serious social problems facing the global Muslim society. Different solutions to these problems have been attempted by the legislature and the judiciary in different countries.

Bigamy has been banned in Turkey and Tunisia and subjected to statutory control in a host of other countries. Pakistan and Bangladesh belong to the latter group of countries. Rabbani has now suggested that Bangladesh should join Turkey and Tunisia by prohibiting bigamy. In India law regards bigamy by a Muslim husband as cruelty to the first wife entitling her to all legal reliefs available to a wife subjected to cruelty.

The way bigamy and unilateral divorce are practised by Muslim men in the subcontinent does seriously conflict with the true Quranic laws. Rabbani's viewpoint reflects sincere judicial concern for this state of affairs. Muslim religious leadership should take note of it.