Oppression In Islam
Role of Women in Islam
Imagine - you're a Muslim girl. One day, your mother brings you to an aunt's (a doctor) house into the bathroom. There, you are restrained and your genitals are mutilated - all for the sake of honour and because it is "culture".
The above is a true account by Katoucha Niane, an African supermodel who spoke up against the practice, recently found dead in Paris River. It is suspected that she was murdered for leading and participating in a movement to stem female genital mutilation.
In Islam, both genders are considered equal in status before God. However, the 2 still have differing roles while are not unlike that which Christian Egalitarians, or in fact, most other religions believe. Women are expected to stay at home and take care of the family needs, whereas men are seen as the bread-winner of the family. Females have the right to own property (unlike in Christianity of the past) and notably - the property they own before marriage are still theirs and not their spouses after marriage. They are encouraged to work, though under limitations (eg. The work should not interfere with her basic role as the caregiver in the family). Marriage cannot be forced upon any female by Islamic law too. By observation - it can be said that Islam law does not seem to restrict the females too much.
The unfair treatment
However, despite some seemingly commendable practices and beliefs, females are still considered inferior to males. The Qur'an states that "Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other" - thereby granting dominance of males over females. A women's testimony is also not always accepted - this hints that society believes their intelligence to be inferior. Even in the instances where their testimony is accepted, what they say holds less weight for the same reason that they are intellectually less developed. The size of their inheritance must also be less (usually halved) of their male siblings - is this not suggesting that women are less important? It has been argued that the greater share of inheritance is necessary to help the males, for whom the role of supporting their own families financially lie greatly upon, but nevertheless such laws have given men the impression that women are meant to be inferior and they count for less.
Domestic unhappiness
From the above descriptions of a women's role in a family, it might seem that females are subjected to pretty fair and egalitarian treatment. But this is only if we ignore issues of domestic violence, polygamy and the right to divorce. Polyandry is expressively forbidden, but polygamy is allowed. Divorce comes easily when brought up by males - they only have to say "I divorce you" thrice consecutively for it to be effective. On the other hand, the wife needs to go through more procedures when leaving her husband - she needs to go to the Muslim court (with valid reasons such as: domestic violence, sexual dissatisfaction etc) before the divorce is made legal. Nowadays, most nations have banned such practices, but India still permits this. However, such customs are very telling - men are allowed to switch spouses easily, whereas most women have to stay with their husbands.
Child marriages are also a common practice in Islam. In fact, Prophet Muhammed himself married Aisha when she was six and they consummated their marriage when she nine. There is no lawful age for marriage in Islam, but it is generally thought that it should be carried out only after the child is nine or starts menstruating.
4:24 - .... And those of whom ye seek content (by marrying them), give unto them their portions as a duty. And there is no sin for you in what ye do by mutual agreement after the duty (hath been done). Lo! Allah is ever Knower, Wise.
The phrase "mutual agreement" clearly states the need for maturity for both parties to know what they are doing. However, how could a child be able to think maturely and decide whether or not to enter into such an agreement? While the Qu'ran might ask for the female's consent for their hand in marriage, we can see that their intention (which may have been for the betterment of women) has been twisted to suit the lusts of men. Some arguments for this go along the lines that it was to allow the child to have a stable life when she was older, menstruation is a sign of maturity, and it is a "cultural norm". Truth to be told - it might have been a cultural norm in Prophet Muhammed's times, but the damge to girls are still great. Pregnancies at such young ages usually involve complications such as premature or prolonged labour, high blood pressure, giving birth to babies with respiratory or neural defects, stillbirths et cetera. The psychological damage to girls is also not to be neglected. Studies have shown that many are sexually dissatisfied and experience low self-esteem.
Domestic violence is also dominant in Muslim nations. Why this is so can probably be traced to An-Nisa: 34 of the Qu'ran:
34. "Men have authority over women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property (for the support of women). Therefore, the good women are obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded. And (as to) those (women) on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and avoid them in beds and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; verily Allah is Ever-High, Ever-Great."
The quote from the Qu'ran has made it okay for men to "beat them" (their wives). Upon closer inspection of An-Nisa: 34, we can see that it actually meant for men to protect their wives and support them - beating them should only be allowed when their wives have not fulfilled their duties well so when they are obedient , "do not seek a way against them". There are no solid statistics for the number of wife-beating cases in all countries, but as a gauge, 90% of women in Pakistan have been beaten or abused for simple slips like not cooking a satisfactory meal or for not giving birth to a male child.
Rape
There is great confusion it seems as to what is necessary to prove rape. The evidence required is often confused with that required to prove that a female has conducted adultery. To prove the crime of adultery - four witnesses are needed to convict the couple. However, Islam does not require the presence of four witnesses to convict the rapist. Logically speaking - if there are four witnesses present at the scene of the crime, how and why should the crime be allowed to occur? Prophet Muhammed himself once said to a woman who was the victim of rape: "Go away, for Allah has forgiven you.", but to the rapist he said: "Stone him to death." All this was based on the woman's words and accusation.
It seems that there isn't any hint of unfair treatment here, and men should in fact be afraid of being wrongly accused. However, rape cases are on the rise in nations like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The phenomenon may seem unexpected, but is understandable once we take into account the gross confusion of Islamic laws there. Notably in Pakistan, rape is confused with adultery. The woman is blamed for "seducing" the rapist. Four witnesses (preferably Muslim males of good character who actually see the act of penetration) are in fact needed to prove the crime of rape. Otherwise, the accused must confess to the crime for it to be valid. Most of the time however, when the four witnesses are not provided, the Pakistani legal system then concludes that sex was consensual and accounted to the crime of zina (sex between 2 parties not married to each other). Women who report the crime of rape thus often bring the punishment upon themselves, especially if they have reached puberty (therefore considered discerning adults) and hence subject to prosecution for zina. The punishment involves stoning to death or lashing. Yet on the other hand, if they are silent about the rape but become pregnant - their silence will be taken as a proof of guilt and they are persecuted anyway.
The life of Zafran Bibi is an example of such unjust treatment. Ms. Zafran was a Pakistani peasant who was raped by at least one of her brother-in-laws. Complaints to her in-laws made no headway, but when she became pregnant though her husband was in prison, her complaints surfaced to the community. Instead of punishment being dealt on the rapists, Ms. Zafran was convicted on zina, and was sentenced to death by stoning. Her brother-in-law walked away scot-free, because there weren't 4 male witnesses present at the crime scene.
Honour Killings
Aqsa Parvez (16) was just like any normal teenager - wanted to be popular, have fun and be accepted. She was rather rebellious, but she did not realise that her rebellion would lead to her death. Aqsa ran away from home but when she returned to pick up some clothes, she was strangled by her father to death. It is argued whether her death was indeed brought about by her refusal to wear a hajib (head scarf), when her older sister also did not wear it. Aqsa Parvez lived in Mississauga, Ontario.
In another similar murder to preserve the family's "honour", Amina Said, 18, and her sister Sarah, 17, were killed by their abusive father Yaser Said. He had threatened to kill them after the discovery that they had boyfriends. Their mother knew that he would carry out his threat and fled with them, which he did after learning of their plan and had tracked them down. They were shot in Texas on New Year's Day 2008.
While honour killings are not part of the Islamic teachings, it is commonplace in Muslim societies. The Qu'ran in fact dictates that killing one innocent human being is tantamount to killing the entire human race. Arguably part of culture and not religion - we however cannot neglect the fact that Islam regards women to be inferior. There are also very strict guidelines regarding how the 2 genders ought to distance themselves. While this is of course not morally wrong in any way, it helps the propagators "justify" their acts of terror. This hence in a way condones and promotes the act of honour killing by suggesting that females are belongings and property of males. Women can be killed by their family members (usually younger brothers so that they would be consider minors and hence receive a lighter sentence if there is any sentence at all) or relatives when they do anything that threatens the family honour, be it pre-marital sex, marrying someone their family disapproves of, or even when they are victims of rape. Horrifically, such honour killings sometimes take place in front of the tribe or their neighbours - where the family thus declared that they have hence restored in the family. Honour killings occur in Great Britain, Brazil, Ecuador, Eygpt, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda and Afghanistan. It is estimated that as many as 1261 women were murdered in 2006 in Pakistan - in the name of "honour".
An alternative to honour killing would be honour suicide. The 'tainted' girls are pressured into suicide by their families and relatives through threats or torture such that nobody else in the family would have to suffer legal prosecution if they are discovered at all. This is especially so in recent times, for which laws have changed to deal greater punishment to men involved in or carrying out honour killings. Otherwise, the family may commit the killing and thereafter pass off the incidence as suicide. The local police would be reluctant to investigate further due to their own beliefs that after all - it was for "honour". The Muslim females living in more conservative communities have accepted their fates. They understand that even if they are the victims of rape and incest, they will need to be punished to protect their families from the "torment" that society presents to them. Clearly, this will lead to a vicious cycle, where females are so submissive that they do not dare speak up against the practice, and males will hence abuse their authority over females to force them into further submission.
Genital Mutilation
Genital mutilation involves partial or total removal of the female genitalia. It is practiced heavily in Africa, Indonesia and some parts of the Middle East like Saudi Arabia. It is not expressively stated in the Qu'ran that female circumcision is required, but it is not forbidden either. Prophet Muhammed himself once said to a woman who performed female circumcision: "Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband." The message is clear that he does not object to the practice, but understands that restrain must be practiced and ultimately, the circumcised woman must not be hurt too badly. While the practice predates Islam and Christianity, it is more prevalent in Muslim communities. There are four types of genital mutilation - removal or splitting of the clitoris, removal of the clitoris and all or part of the labia, sewing the labia together while leaving a small hole for urine and menstrual fluids, and the last of which include ripping or tearing of the vagina, introduction of herbs into the vagina which cause bleeding and swelling, a symbolic pricking of the clitoris with needles or burning and scarring the genitals. The purpose of genital mutilation is, yet again, as a defense against the sully of family honour. Genital mutilation is said to maintain virginity and prevent promiscuity. A more far-fetched reason for female circumcision is that it is said to enhance fertility. Studies have shown that the opposite is true: the more extensive the mutilation - the greater the risk of infertility due to infection, inflammation, scarring or by physical alterations. At the same time, women who have undergone female genital mutilation are likely to undergo birth complications which could lead to the death of their child.
In places where female circumcision is seen to help uphold family honour and is a respected practice however, females do not seem to experience a great loss of sexual pleasure. This could be accounted to the fact that sexual pleasure is also due to mind-set and psychological response. However, there still are females who thus suffer from sexual dysfunction.