Oppression and Inequality For Women

Oppression and Inequality For Women There is a saying that “Women rights are Human rights”. Now the question here is why there is a need to say that are women not human? Does we have to say it just to show that women should be treated as humans or is because do they not look like human? Gender issues starts from the very beginning of our civilization there were always these questions about women rights “Do they really deserve such rights? ” and these question were always answered every time they were raised by showing the acts and proving that they are worthy of these rights our history is full of such acts of equality. But it is a really sad perception that we have not learned from our history. In most part of our world women are looked at as less worth than man. Despite great strides made by the international women’s rights movement over many years, women and girls around the world are still married as children or trafficked into forced labor and sex slavery. They are refused access to education and political participation, and some are trapped in conflicts where rape is perpetrated as a weapon of war. Around the world, deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth are needlessly high, and women are prevented from making deeply personal choices in their private lives. Gender inequality remains a major barrier to human development. Girls and women have made major strides since 1990, but they have not yet gained gender equity. The disadvantages facing women and girls are a major source of inequality. All too often, women and girls are discriminated against in health, education, political representation, labour market. Below are some of the facts and figures which shows the importance of women rights and from what we are deprive by ignoring the rights. These facts and figures are taken from the United Nation “Human Development Report”. Literacy—Women are much less likely than men to be literate. In South Asia, female literacy rates are only around 50% those of males, in Nepal 35%. Sudan 27%. Women make up two-thirds of the world’s illiterates. Higher education—Women in developing countries lag far behind men. In Africa, their enrolment rates for tertiary education are only a third of those of men. Even in industrial countries, women are very poorly represented in scientific and technical study. Employment—In developing countries women have many fewer job opportunities, the employment participation rates of women are on average only 50% those of men (in South Asia 29% and in Arab States only 16%). Wage discrimination is also a feature of industrial countries: in Japan, women receive only 51% of male wages. Women who are not in paid employment are, of course, far from idle. Indeed, they tend to work much longer hours than men. Health—Women tend on average to live longer than men. But in some Asian and North African countries, the discrimination against women through neglect of their health or nutrition is such that they have a shorter life expectancy. Now coming towards the Asian Countries the above figures are growing rapidly. The main cause for that is the less exposure of the people with modern world. In these women are mostly considered only bound to house chores. Gender discrimination in Asia have cost lives. Close to 100 million women in Asia are estimated to be 'missing' because of discriminatory treatment in access to health and nutrition, pure neglect, or pre-birth sex selection Below are some figures that shows the outcomes on negligence of women rights. Social and Religious Aspects Many people have argued that cultural and religious aspects have a great impact on the human rights. In some societies human rights are mapped according to religious rules but in some religious practices are not considered. In Asian countries religious factor is much more considered in which Pakistan seems to be at first on the list. Pakistani women know to expect no special concessions. At any given moment in history, one or another political force, religious edict, or social problem is aiming directly at them, pointing fingers, attaching blame. There are many events in the history of Pakistan in which women rights are neglected because of social and religious influences. Some of them are: 1. Recommended child marriage On March 11th 2014, two days after the celebration of International Women’s Day in the country, Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology (perhaps fearing that women had become empowered by the occasion), decided to deliver some decisive blows. The Chairmen of the CII, Maulana Mohammad Sheerani, declared that children below the age of puberty could be married off and that international conventions prohibiting child marriage were un-Islamic and not applicable to Pakistan. In one statement therefore, Pakistani girls, even babies were left vulnerable to abuse, with their lives and futures now liable to being decided long before they could have any say in the matter. This was not the limit to rage against women, on an earlier day, he had also declared that any law requiring a Pakistani male to obtain permission from his first wife for a subsequent marriage, were also un-Islamic. 2. Ignored a rape victim until she burnt herself alive She was 18 years old and she was a survivor of rape in a country where rape victims can themselves be prosecuted. Over two months earlier, on January 5, 2014, she had lodged an FIR at the police station alleging that the accused Nadir Khan, along with four accomplices had raped her near Bait Mir Hazar Chowk. On March 13, 2014, all five men were set free. On March 14, 2014, five days after International Women’s Day, she set herself on fire outside the police station, which had so callously denied her justice. She died of her burns on the same day. 3. Buried a woman alive Sughra Brohi of village Hakim Khan Marri in Sanghar District had committed the crime of marrying a man of her own choice. The village panchayat met and the elders assured everyone that she would not be killed if she returned home. They lied, as soon as she returned home, she was assaulted by her own family. According to the Sindhi language daily, Kawish, she was buried alive in the graveyard of the Bheel community in the area. The grave was discovered and the news reported this last week. Area police are said to be investigating the case. 4. Women are better at cooking not at Sports In Pakistan men has always been a dominating sports but women were are not mostly regarded as sports person. If the round-up of being buried alive, burned to death, raped and baton charged were not plentiful degradation for Pakistani women to bear in a single week, a public insult by a man crowned the country’s cricket hero. In an interview question, Shahid Afridi was asked about what he thought about the under 19 women’s cricket trials recently held in Karachi. The cricketer now revealed himself to be a male chauvinist; implying that “our women” were better kept in the kitchen, assumedly cooking up meals for their men. If such words come from a person who considered to be a pride of Pakistan then what we can expect from the rest of nation? Women and Religion Oppressed, inferior, and unequal for many people, these are the first words that come to mind when thinking about women in Islam. These stereotypes confuse Islam with cultural practices and fail to recognize that Islam has empowered women with the most progressive rights since the 7th century. In Islam, women are not inferior or unequal to men. This brochure presents the actual teachings of Islam regarding the rights, roles, and responsibilities of women, with a special focus on gender equality in Islam. Islam clearly establishes that men and women are equal, it does recognize that they are not identical. God created men and women with unique physiological and psychological attributes. In Islam, these differences are embraced as vital components to a healthy family and community structure with each individual contributing their own distinctive talents to society. Hence, God’s rules apply to both genders, but in diverse ways. For example, God commanded women to cover certain parts of their body, including their hair, to preserve their modesty. Men are also required to cover parts of their body out of modesty, but not in the same way as women. Therefore, God commanded both men and women to be modest; yet, the manner in which they observe it is different. Similarly, the rights, roles, and responsibilities of women are evenly balanced with those of men but are not necessarily the same. As Islam has granted individual identities to men and women, a constant comparison between the two is futile. Each plays a unique role to mutually uphold social morality and societal balance. The following examples in Islamic history shows that women have been given an open freedom not only in religious roles but also in worldly roles. Education Back in the 7th century, Muhammad (pbuh) declared that the pursuit of knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim – male and female. This declaration was very clear and was largely implemented by Muslims throughout history. One of the most influential scholars of Islam was Muhammad’s wife, Aisha. After his death, men and women would travel to learn from her because she was considered a great scholar of Islam. The recognition of female scholarship and women’s participation in academia has been encouraged and practiced throughout the majority of Islamic history. For instance, al-Qarawiyin Mosque and University, the oldest running university, was funded by a woman, Fatima al-Fihri, in Morocco in 859 C.E. Politics and Social Services Among the early Muslims, women were active participants in the cohesive functioning of the society. Women expressed their opinions freely and their advice was actively sought. Women nursed the wounded during battles, and some even participated on the battlefield. Women traded openly in the marketplace, so much so that the second caliph, Umar, appointed a woman, Shaffa bint Abdullah, as the supervisor of the bazaar. Inheritance Before Islam, women all across the globe were deprived of inheritance and were themselves considered property to be inherited by men. Islam gave women the right to own property and inherit from relatives, which was a revolutionary concept in the seventh century. Whether a woman is a wife, mother, sister, or daughter, she receives a certain share of her deceased relative’s property. This share depends on her degree of relationship to the deceased and the number of heirs. While many societies around the world denied women inheritance, Islam assured women this right, illustrating the universal justice of Islam’s divine law. Many people misunderstand Islam claim that Islam does injustice to women in terms of inheritance. They opine that it is unfair to grant the male a double to that of the female even though they are children of the same parents. But there are other things in which this injustice you see is balanced. Firstly, there was no share in inheritance for daughters and Islam created it. Secondly, women were not earning and contributing to the family wealth and, thirdly, a woman goes to her husband's place and gets a share in her husband's property. Also, her husband gives her mehr at the time of marriage besides being obliged to maintain her. So it is not injustice even if she gets half the share in her father's property. In the encyclopedic work Ikhwanus Safa there is a debate on this issue. The master tells his disciples that Islam has given twice to weaker sections. The disciples ask whether women are among the weaker sections. The master says, yes. The disciples ask why the women are given only one-half in their fathers' property instead of twice as much as the sons are given. The master says they have not understood the Quranic logic of giving half to daughters. In fact the Quran has given the daughters twice that of sons. Bewildered the disciples ask how half can be twice? The master then explains if the father leaves behind 1,000 dirhams, the son will get 500 and the daughter 250. When the son marries, he will give away 250 dirhams by way of mehr and will be left with only 250. But when the daughter marries she will get 250 by way of mehr and will have 250 plus 250, i.e. 500 dirhams, while her brother is left with only 250 dirhams after giving mehr. Thus who gets twice the father's share, the son or the daughter? Obviously, the daughter. Dignity and Protection from Harm Any form of emotional, physical, or psychological abuse is prohibited in Islam and the improper treatment of women is no exception to this rule. Indeed, there is no teaching in Islam, when studied in its complete context, which condones any kind of domestic violence. Islam clearly disallows any form of oppression or abuse, according to Dr. Zainab Alwani, a leading female Muslim scholar. It cannot be stated enough times that anyone who exercises unjust authority in the name of Islam is actually doing so to uphold their own cultural influences or personal interests. All of God’s creation is dignified and protected under Islamic law. Modesty In an environment which constantly emphasizes the physical form through various media, women are constantly faced with an unattainable standard of beauty. Although Muslim women are falsely classified as oppressed based on their modest dress, they are in fact liberated from such objectification by the society around them. This modest appearance, which includes veiling, highlights a woman’s personality and character instead of her physical figure and promotes a deeper appreciation for who she is as a person. In this regard, Muslim women identify with Mary, the mother of Jesus (pbuh), who is known for her piety and modesty. Remedy of Oppression Now Women of our society are the victims of oppression in the name of religion which is being interpreted wrongly. The true understanding of Islam about women is not been delivered in a right way. Our society is using these laws for their gain for example the honor killing incidents are mostly likely to be of religious cause. Such incidents could not happen if people truly understands Islam logic as it is been thoroughly explained in Islam that a woman has the right to accept or reject marriage proposals and her approval is required to complete the marriage contract. She cannot be forced to marry someone against her will and if this occurs for cultural reasons, it is in direct opposition of Islam. By the same principle, women also have the right to seek divorce if they are dissatisfied with their marriage. So the nutshell of this is that it is all about understanding what is better for them not for us. So if we look deep into the rights of women in a rational way and follow the rules of Islam under correct guidance. Then Women oppression will only be remembered as a forgotten history.