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HAVE 2 DISHES HERE
1-THE DISTORTED IMAGE OF MUSLIM WOMEN
2-THE VEIL
Since the height of the feminist movement in the late 70's there has been a
magnifying glass placed over the status of Muslim women. Unfortunately, the
magnifying glass that has been used is an unusual one. Unusual in the sense
that it is very selective about which items it will magnify; other items it
will distort to such a degree that they will no longer look familiar. I
remember once reading in an "in depth" article about the lives of Muslim
women. This article "explained" that at any time a man can divorce his wife
by simply stating "I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you". This
article can lead anyone ignorant of the Islamic ruling regarding divorce to
believe that in less than five seconds the woman is left with no husband and
is left to care for herself (and possibly children) by any means necessary.
The question that immediately popped up in my mind was, "Did the author
innocently write that out of sincere ignorance or was it another of the many
attempts to degrade the religion of Islam and its followers (muslims)?" It
may be my own paranoia, but I tend to believe it was the latter of the two.
The truth of the matter is that Islam has the most humane and most just
system of divorce that exists. Firstly, many options are taken and tried
before coming to the decision of the divorce. If the man and woman decide
that they can no longer live together successfully as a husband and wife,
the husband (in most cases, not always) pronounces the divorce by saying "I
divorce you". At this point the waiting period begins. The waiting period
lasts for three menstrual cycles to assure the woman is not pregnant. This
period allows the couple time to think about what they are doing and if this
is what they really want to do. There are no lawyers involved to antagonise
an already delicate situation.
In the case that it is realised, that the woman is pregnant, the waiting
period lasts the entire time she is pregnant. During the waiting period
(whether the woman is pregnant or not) the man is obligated to provide food,
clothing and shelter to the woman as he did before the divorce
pronouncement. If the couple carries the divorce through to the birth of the
child and the woman suckles the baby, the man is obligated to feed and
clothe both his ex-wife for the time the woman suckles (the maximum being
two years). After this weaning, the child will be provided for by the father
until he/she is no longer in need of support.
It is quite ironic that in such an "advanced society" as America, there are
divorce cases in which women are being forced to pay alimony to their
ex-husbands. Can this and many other things we know about the American
system of divorce compare to the Islamic system of divorce?
I have also read stories wherein it is stated that women are forced to marry
men without their consent. This in no way resembles the marriage system in
Islam. In Islaam the woman marries the man of her choice. She may even marry
someone that her mother and/or father objects to. The point is that it is
the woman who makes the final decision as to whom she will marry. Once the
man and the woman decide that they are interested in one another for
marriage, a dowry is decided upon. A dowry is not a brides price but, it is
a gift from the groom to the bride. They agree upon a gift that is
affordable by the groom. In the time of the Prophet (sas), often things such
as livestock and money were given. This is a wise decision in the event that
a woman becomes divorced or widowed, she has some financial security to fall
back on even if it is for a limited amount of time. Once the man and woman
are married, the man is required to clothe, feed, shelter and educate her
(or allow her to be educated) in the same manner as he does himself.
The last distorted image that I will cover is that of the Muslim women's
dress. The western influenced media portrays our dress to be outdated and
oppressive. Needless to say however, I differ with these adjectives. Our
dress code does not hinder us from doing anything productive in our lives.
Muslim women maintain a variety of jobs, non of which are devalued nor
hampered due to their dress code. And as for the timing of muslims women's
dress during these contemporary times, it seems most appropriate due to
decreasing morals in the world today.
For those who say that Islamic dress is outdated, they speak from great
ignorance. The decreasing morality and trials of this time makes Hijaab even
more in need. More than ever before sex crimes are rampant. Although this
society tells women they can wear what they want to wear, anytime a rape
occurs the woman is the one put on trial an one of the first questions is,
"What were you wearing?" This concept seems as though it is a set up
directed against the so called contemporary woman. Also there is a direct
correlation between the respect a man has for a woman and the amount of her
body her body she displays flauntingly.
In conclusion, I hope this article helped to clear up some
distorted/misunderstood aspects of Islam and women. Women in Islam are
respected and held in high regard. We will never find success and/or
solutions to our problems until we realise that Allaah knows best and that
this disbelieving society will ruin itself.
THE VEIL
Finally, let us shed some light on what is considered in the West as the
greatest symbol of women's oppression and servitude, the veil or the head
cover. Is it true that there is no such thing as the veil in the
Judaeo-Christian tradition? Let us set the record straight. According to
Rabbi Dr. Menachem M. Brayer (Professor of Biblical Literature at Yeshiva
University) in his book, The Jewish woman in Rabbinic literature, it was the
custom of Jewish women to go out in public with a head covering which,
sometimes, even covered the whole face leaving one eye free. [76] He quotes
some famous ancient Rabbis saying," It is not like the daughters of Israel
to walk out with heads uncovered" and "Cursed be the man who lets the hair
of his wife be seen....a woman who exposes her hair for self-adornment
brings poverty." Rabbinic law forbids the recitation of blessings or prayers
in the presence of a bareheaded married woman since uncovering the woman's
hair is considered "nudity". [77] Dr. Brayer also mentions that "During the
Tannaitic period the Jewish woman's failure to cover her head was considered
an affront to her modesty. When her head was uncovered she might be fined
four hundred zuzim for this offense." Dr. Brayer also explains that veil of
the Jewish woman was not always considered a sign of modesty. Sometimes, the
veil symbolized a state of distinction and luxury rather than modesty. The
veil personified the dignity and superiority of noble women. It also
represented a woman's inaccessibility as a sanctified possession of her
husband. [78]
The veil signified a woman's self-respect and social status. Women of lower
classes would often wear the veil to give the impression of a higher
standing. The fact that the veil was the sign of nobility was the reason why
prostitutes were not permitted to cover their hair in the old Jewish
society. However, prostitutes often wore a special headscarf in order to
look respectable. [79] Jewish women in Europe continued to wear veils until
the nineteenth century when their lives became more intermingled with the
surrounding secular culture. The external pressures of the European life in
the nineteenth century forced many of them to go out bare-headed. Some
Jewish women found it more convenient to replace their traditional veil with
a wig as another form of hair covering. Today, most pious Jewish women do
not cover their hair except in the synagogue. [80] Some of them, such as the
Hasidic sects, still use the wig. [81]
What about the Christian tradition? It is well known that Catholic Nuns have
been covering their heads for hundreds of years, but that is not all. St.
Paul in the New Testament made some very interesting statements about the
veil:
"Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the
head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays
or prophesies with his head covered dishonours his head. And every woman who
prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head - it is just
as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she
should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have
her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not
to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is
the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man;
neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and
because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her
head" (I Corinthians 11:3-10).
St. Paul's rationale for veiling women is that the veil represents a sign of
the authority of the man, who is the image and glory of God, over the woman
who was created from and for man. St. Tertullian in his famous treatise 'On
The Veiling Of Virgins' wrote, "Young women, you wear your veils out on the
streets, so you should wear them in the church, you wear them when you are
among strangers, then wear them among your brothers..." Among the Canon laws
of the Catholic church today, there is a law that requires women to cover
their heads in church. [82] Some Christian denominations, such as the Amish
and the Mennonites for example, keep their women veiled to the present day.
The reason for the veil, as offered by their Church leaders, is that "The
head covering is a symbol of woman's subjection to the man and to God",
which is the same logic introduced by St. Paul in the New Testament. [83]
From all the above evidence, it is obvious that Islam did not invent the
head cover. However, Islam did endorse it. The Quran urges the believing men
and women to lower their gaze and guard their modesty and then urges the
believing women to extend their head covers to cover the neck and the bosom:
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their
modesty......And say to the believing women that they should lower their
gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and
ornaments except what ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their
veils over their bosoms...." (24:30,31).
The Quran is quite clear that the veil is essential for modesty, but why is
modesty important? The Quran is still clear:
"O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they
should cast their outer garments over their bodies (when abroad) so that
they should be known and not molested" (33:59).
This is the whole point, modesty is prescribed to protect women from
molestation or simply, modesty is protection. Thus, the only purpose of the
veil in Islam is protection. The Islamic veil, unlike the veil of the
Christian tradition, is not a sign of man's authority over woman nor is it a
sign of woman's subjection to man. The Islamic veil, unlike the veil in the
Jewish tradition, is not a sign of luxury and distinction of some noble
married women. The Islamic veil is only a sign of modesty with the purpose
of protecting women, all women. The Islamic philosophy is that it is always
better to be safe than sorry. In fact, the Quran is so concerned with
protecting women's bodies and women's reputation that a man who dares to
falsely accuse a woman of unchastity will be severely punished:
"And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four
witnesses (to support their allegations)- Flog them with eighty stripes; and
reject their evidence ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors"
(24:4)
Compare this strict Quranic attitude with the extremely lax punishment for
rape in the Bible:
" If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and
rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty
shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can
never divorce her as long as he lives" (Deut. 22:28-30)
One must ask a simple question here, who is really punished? The man who
only paid a fine for rape, or the girl who is forced to marry the man who
raped her and live with him until he dies? Another question that also should
be asked is this: which is more protective of women, the Quranic strict
attitude or the Biblical lax attitude?
Some people, especially in the West, would tend to ridicule the whole
argument of modesty for protection. Their argument is that the best
protection is the spread of education, civilised behaviour, and self
restraint. We would say: fine but not enough. If 'civilization' is enough
protection, then why is it that women in North America dare not walk alone
in a dark street - or even across an empty parking lot ? If Education is the
solution, then why is it that a respected university like Queen's has a
'walk home service' mainly for female students on campus? If self restraint
is the answer, then why are cases of sexual harassment in the workplace
reported on the news media every day? A sample of those accused of sexual
harassment, in the last few years, includes: Navy officers, Managers,
University professors, Senators, Supreme Court Justices, and the President
of the United States! I could not believe my eyes when I read the following
statistics, written in a pamphlet issued by the Dean of Women's office at
Queen's University:
In Canada, a woman is sexually assaulted every 6 minutes,
1 in 3 women in Canada will be sexually assaulted at some time in their
lives,
1 in 4 women are at the risk of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime,
1 in 8 women will be sexually assaulted while attending college or
university, and
A study found 60% of Canadian university-aged males said they would commit
sexual assault if they were certain they wouldn't get caught.
Something is fundamentally wrong in the society we live in. A radical change
in the society's life style and culture is absolutely necessary. A culture
of modesty is badly needed, modesty in dress, in speech, and in manners of
both men and women. Otherwise, the grim statistics will grow even worse day
after day and, unfortunately, women alone will be paying the price.
Actually, we all suffer but as K. Gibran has said, "...for the person who
receives the blows is not like the one who counts them." [84] Therefore, a
society like France which expels young women from schools because of their
modest dress is, in the end, simply harming itself.
It is one of the great ironies of our world today that the very same
headscarf revered as a sign of 'holiness' when worn for the purpose of
showing the authority of man by Catholic Nuns, is reviled as a sign of
'oppression' when worn for the purpose of protection by Muslim women.
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