WOMANHOOD IN ISLAM
Totally Misunderstood
AN anthology of the Quran prepared by English orientalist Edward William Lane (1801-1876) was published in 1843. It carried a foreword by way of introduction to Islamic teaching, which inter alia, stated that “the fatal point in Islam is the degradation of woman.”
This ill-considered observation gained such currency that it was commonly repeated as if it were an established fact. Almost a century and a half has elapsed, but this conviction has only deepened. It has even been quoted as if it were gospel truth by a prominent person in one of the court cases.
This ill-considered observation gained such currency that it was commonly repeated as if it were an established fact. Almost a century and a half has elapsed, but this conviction has only deepened. It has even been quoted as if it were gospel truth by a prominent person in one of the court cases.
Suppose a doctor tells his patient that his eye is a very delicate organ of the body, to be treated gently and with great care, unlike his fingernails, which can be cut and filed if necessary. The doctor’s instruction does not mean that he is degrading the eye vis a vis the nail. He is only pointing out the difference between the nail and the eye.
Islam has never asserted that woman is inferior to man: it has
only made the point that woman is differently constituted.
If all laws in Islam are based on this fundamental reality that men and women are of two different genders, it is because their distinctive differences are established biological facts. This being so, male and female spheres of activity cannot be one and the same, whether in family or in social life. There must necessarily be differences in the kind of work that they do, and also in their places of work.
All scriptures have held the same concept of woman without its ever having been doubted. In modern times it has been challenged by the women’s liberation movement, which holds that men and women are alike in every respect and that both should, therefore, be given equal opportunities.
This movement first reared its head in Britain in the 18th century, later spread across Europe and America. In 1772, the momentum increased with the publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Women, written by Mary Wollstonecraft. The author asserts that women should receive the same treatment as men in education, work opportunities and politics, and the same moral standards should be applied to both genders. Such was the zeal and fervour with which this movement was launched that it spread far and wide. Both men and women participated, and differences between man and woman were brushed aside as being a sign of backwardness. By the beginning of the 20th century, this trend established its hold all over the world, and laws were made or modified accordingly. All doors were to be thrown open to men and women alike.
In practice, however, this experiment has been a failure. Even after a struggle of almost 200 years, women have failed to achieve equal status to that of men. The situation is the same today as it was before the launching of the “ women’s lib “ movement. The only practical result has been that women have become a part of every field and work side by side with men. This has given rise to new problems and society is paying a heavy price for it.
Anyone who studies the islamic concept of woman
hood will know that Islam considers the two genders as
"Equal in respect but different in roles" .
The failure of women’s liberation has led to wide-ranging research being carried out, employing strictly scientific methods. Finally the patent biological differences between men and women have been scientifically proved. These differences have all along been a reason for women’s failure to find an equal place in every department of life. Where philosophers had doubted the religious concept of women erroneously—scientific findings have now reestablished this concept’s veracity.
For instance the following research though specifically related to the medical field is a point which can draw our attention to understanding the facts that the differences between the genders are a part of nature and not a creation of the society. They are real and one cannot just wish them away.
Catherine Woolley is the William Deering Chair in Biological Sciences, professor of neurobiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Women’s Health Research Institute at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
This is what she has to say:
“The importance of studying gender differences in the brain is about making biology and medicine relevant to everyone, to both men and women,” said Catherine S. Woolley, senior author of the study. “It is not Anyone who studies the islamic concept of woman hood will know that Islam considers the two genders as "Equal in respect but different in roles" . Spirit of Islam Issue 38 February 2016 27 about things such as who is better at reading a map or why more men than women choose to enter certain professions.”
Male and female brains operate differently at a molecular level, the research team reports in a new study of a brain function involved in learning and memory, responses to stress etc.
Male and female brains operate differently at a molecular level, the research team reports in a new study of a brain function involved in learning and memory, responses to stress etc.
For 20 years, Woolley actively avoided studying gender differences in the brain until her own data showed her that differences between females and males were real.
“Being a scientist is about changing your mind in the face of new evidence,” Woolley said. “I had to change my mind in the face of this evidence.”
“We are not doing women—and specifically women’s health—any favors by pretending that things are the same if they are not,” Woolley said.
Science has supported the religious concept of man and
woman being different, as being the right one.
Currently a lot of research is focusing on these differences. Science has supported the religious concept of man and woman being different, as being the right one. Still the allegation continues to be made that Islam has ‘degraded’ woman. Anyone who studies the islamic concept of womanhood will know that Islam considers the two genders as “Equal in respect but different in roles”
It is very unfortunate that well read people have said that religious laws pertaining to women were socially reactionary. Such remarks are made so indiscriminately and so frequently that is it time one considers the possible root causes. One of the root causes is that the results of research on the differences between man and woman have remained only an academic finding and need to be transformed into a popular intellectual revolution. The social penetration of these ideas will have to take place on a very large scale. It calls for an intellectual revolution. This is not far fetched since modern science has provided all the arguments in favour. It is only a question of engaging wholeheartedly in the dissemination of those findings.
