Helping Muslim
Women
By Kaleem Kawaja
Washington, DC
I have no hesitation in saying that presently
women do not receive equal status and equal rights
in Muslim societies, in the US, in Western countries
and in Asian and Middle-Eastern states. Unfortunately
male-dominated Muslim societies everywhere have
not been fair to women, and have not given them
the equal status that Islam gave Muslim women,
and that Prophet Mohammad advocated, 1400 years
ago.
For instance in India, my home country, the Muslim
Personal Law Board has dragged its feet in reforming
the Muslim Personal Law, to give Muslim women
equal rights in matrimonial affairs and property
inheritance. This Board has not yet abolished
the “triple divorce in one sitting”
system that is grossly oppressive towards Muslim
women. The parliamentary legislation called “
Muslim Woman’s Maintenance Act, 1985 ”
that resulted from a Muslim clergy-led movement
nicknamed the Shah Bano affair, is very oppressive
towards Muslim women, and must be abolished.
The situation in the US is much better. The percentage
of Muslim women acquiring professional education
is very high. The number of Muslim women who are
working in various professional positions is very
good. The situation of women in the about 2000
mosques/Islamic centers in the US is also much
better than other countries in Asia and the Middle
East. In most mosques women participate in congregational
prayers, religious lectures, and take part in
the management of affairs of the mosques.
Yet the situation needs considerable improvement.
Many more women should be given better opportunities
to be in the senior ranks of the management of
mosques as well as responsibilities in the decision-making
process. Also the quality of spaces/facilities
in mosques that women use should be improved.
However, the situation of Muslim women who belong
to the blue-collar families is not good. In families
where the head of the family is a blue-collar
worker, e.g. taxi drivers, store clerks, restaurant
workers, construction workers, women are abused
and mistreated, sometimes even subjected to violence
and coercion by their husbands. These women are
not literate, which makes it harder for them to
resist mistreatment.
Unfortunately the Muslim communities in major
cities in the US have not set up any social services
that can help oppressed women in blue-collar families.
There are no shelters for Muslim women; there
are no counselors that Muslim women in distress
can approach for advice. There are no services
to teach basic English language to these women,
or teach them car driving, so that they could
be less dependent on their husbands, thereby improving
their social status and preventing mistreatment.
For the same reasons, these women cannot utilize
local government social services or services offered
by private American groups.
Those who want to help Muslim women should focus
on these areas, where the need is pressing, rather
than trying to change the manner of Muslims’
method of worship, that a few people are trying
to do, by insisting that, in contradiction of
the basic sources of Islam and a 1400 year old
sacred tradition, women be made imams (prayer
leaders) of mixed (men and women) congregational
prayers. The mainstream American Muslim society
considers such radical attempts as an outrageous
violation of the Islamic system, and an attempt
to force Islam to become a mirror image of other
religions.
That is making the task of the mainstream community
reformers, who are trying hard to improve Muslim
women’s social situation, far more difficult,
and is strengthening the obscurantists in the
community.
(The writer is an activist in the Muslim community
in Washington, DC)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
