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Mr. M.C.Razmin of Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum
invited me to conduct a workshop for his media workers
on Muslim women’s rights from 10th to 14th
January 2012 in Colombo. Among the participants there
were some University students and some media persons and
broadcasters. They had done considerable work on
problems of Muslim personal laws in the field. This
field work which was presented in the workshop indicated
the kind of problems Muslim women faced in Sri Lanka.
In Sri Lanka there are about 7.5% Muslims majority of
whom are Tamil speaking. There are also some Muslims of
Malay origin as well as Muslims of Indian origin. Among
Muslims of Indian origin are mainly traders like Memons,
Khojas and Bohras. These Indian origin Muslims are quite
rich and more organized. Tamil Muslims are followers of
Shafi’I Mazhab in jurisprudence. Bohras and Khojas
follow Isma’ili School whereas Memons are Hanafites.
There is no Muslim personal law board but traditional
law is enforced as in India and the Ulama naturally
oppose any change in the law. There is very poor
awareness even among the educated Muslim women about
their rights and as in India they think Shari’ah laws
are totally divine and immutable. Mr. Razmin, a
post-graduate in Feminism is trying to create awareness
among Muslim women for change. He had been reading my
articles and papers on women’s rights in Islam and hence
invited me to conduct this workshop.
I reached Colombo on 10th early morning
changing my travel schedule as I thought it is more
important than other seminars and workshops. After
January I could go only in April due to several
commitments which were not easily adjustable. I have
three priorities in my life – inter-religious peace and
harmony, social reform and change and women’s rights,
particularly Muslim women’s rights. Thus I gave priority
to the Muslim women’s workshop and reached Colombo on 10th
January morning.
I have been to Colombo several times in the past but
this time I had gone after several years after civil war
was over. However, I did not find much change in Colombo
excerpt that the airport has been expanded to quite a
large one compared to the old airport and that one does
not find many gun wielding soldiers in the city. One
pleasing thing about Colombo is there are no high rise
buildings in the city and no concrete jungle. Colombo
is remarkably clean city as compared to Mumbai.
II
Our workshop began in the office of Sri Lanka
Development Journalist Forum at 11 a.m. with Mr.
Razmin’s teammates. First they presented their field
report which was based on interviews of several women in
Muslim areas in few districts in South Sri Lanka. It
seems polygamy is the main problem Sri Lankan Muslim
women face. Thanks fully there is no problem of triple
divorce as in India though Shafi’u Mzhab also permits
triple divorce in one sitting.
Most of the women have to face the problem of co-wives.
In some cases they abandon first wife and marry another
one and in many cases they marry more than one wife.
They were thus keen to know whether Qur’an permits
polygamy unconditionally as a privilege for men. This is
how it is projected by the Ulama in Sri Lanka. They tell
women that Allah has given this privilege to men to
marry four wives simultaneously.
In order to put the whole thing in perspective I first
began by throwing light on women’s plight in pre-Islamic
Arabia. I told them that situation varied from place to
place. One situation prevailed in Mecca, an urban area
which was also a centre of international finance and
trade and where tribals had formed inter-tribal trade
corporations and were quite prosperous. Another
situation prevailed in Madina, an oasis and primarily an
agricultural area which was quite fertile due to fertile
soil. Madina had Jewish population also who followed
written law of Torah.
Third situation prevailed in desert areas where nomadic
Bedouins lived. Whereas Mecca and Madina were urban
settled areas with considerable population following age
old traditions. Nomads, on the other hand did not live
at one place and their traditions and customs varied
from tribe to tribe. Among Bedouins there were some
tribes where polyandry prevailed and there are instances
of one woman having around 10 husbands. In Mecca there
are, on the other hand, instances of one man having 10
wives. Of course polyandry was more of an exception than
rule among the Bedouins.
The Arab society, like other societies, was fiercely
patriarchal society and one cannot expect patriarchal
societies to empower women. In fact for women
empowerment patriarchal societies are main obstacles. In
Mecca women’s situation was very precarious and in
initial stages women responded to Islamic mission quite
enthusiastically and one of the first respondents was
Prophet’s (PBUH) wives and subsequently also many women
responded before their husbands or sons did.
Another common feature in all three categories mentioned
above was absence of any written law. Every things
depended on oral traditions. Thus Qur’an came as a first
written text containing definite laws in respect of
women. Also I told them, Qur’an gave women equal status
with men and concrete rights in respect of marriage,
divorce, inheritance, property etc. without asking for
it. They did not have to demonstrate or agitate or even
they did not expect it in their dreams and got equal
rights whereas in the West they had to come out on
streets to get those rights. They had to agitate and got
these rights only in early twentieth century. Qur’an
gave them 1400 years ago without asking for it.
For the first time they got written rights in a region
where literacy was as good as non-existent. No doubt
women responded to Islam enthusiastically. I also
explained to them grave misunderstanding about polygamy.
It is not, according to the Qur’an a privilege but
responsibility for men. This verse about polygamy i.e.
verse 4:3 was revealed after 2nd battle the
Prophet (PBUH) had to fight in which 10 per cent of
Muslim men were killed leaving behind widows and
orphans.
The Qur’an asked men to look after these widows and
their property and children and if they cannot marry
these widows up to four but if they fear they cannot do
justice they should better marry one. Thus it is clear
from this verse on polygamy that they cannot marry any
woman they like but only war widows and that too with
stringent condition of justice. It is great
responsibility and not privilege in any case. Muslim men
were also advised to look after widow’s children which
are even greater responsibility but later on this verse
was used by men in a patriarchal society only to marry
more wives and treat it as privilege. It is gross
distortion of the Qur’anic responsibility thrust on men.
And verse 4:129 makes it further clear that even if you
want you cannot do justice with more than one wife and
do not leave first wife hanging in the air. This verse
is more than clear that monogamy is the rule and
polygamy is an exception for exceptional situation to
help needy widows with children who cannot look after
their properties. A great responsibility indeed.
One day i.e. 13th of January was kept for
women working in various NGOs to clear their doubts
about the rights of women in Islam. A woman who was
studying law in the university put a question is it not
duty of Muslim woman to obey her husband and she quoted
a hadith from Bukhari. She was very much insistent that
a Muslim woman must obey her husband and cannot go out
of her house in his absence even if her father is
severely sick or even if he is dead.
I told her there is no such thing in Qur’an and Qur’an
nowhere requires wife to obey her husband but instead
advises both to do anything which mutual consultation.
In fact entire discourse in Qur’an about women is right
based and entire discourse about men is duty based. How
can then wife be made obedient to husband. Both are
independent agents and can act independently as mature
moral agents without being subservient to each other.
I also told her that Qur’an does not even use the words
husband and wife but uses the word zawj and zawjah
or simply zawj which abundantly makes it clear
that both are absolutely equal (zawj means
couple). In Arabic husband was called ba’ul which
was one of the gods of pre-Islamic pantheon and Qur’an
did not want to give husband such a status.
Unfortunately she kept on insisting that hadith cannot
be wrong. I told her hadith cannot be above Qur’an or
contradict Qur’an. Such hadithes were used in a
patriarchal society to make women subordinate to men and
women being ignorant of Qur’an accepted these ahadith
without critically examining them in the light of Qur’an.
Another common abuse of women in Sri Lanka is wife
beating. They maintain Qur’an permits wife beating as
per verses 4:34. I told them in fact this verse was
revealed when a woman complained to the Prophet that her
husband slapped her without any flaw on her part the
Prophet (PBUH) allowed her to retaliate. How can then
Qur’an allow wife to be beaten? The word daraba
is wrongly translated. Qur’an itself uses it in more
than 12 different senses. It can in no way allow wife
beating. Our Ulama also suppress another verse 33:35
which is very important verse about gender equality in
Qur’an.
I
discussed host of other questions including woman as
half witness, her property rights and question of
inheritance. Women were extremely happy as for the first
time someone told them with great emphasis that women
are equal to men and enjoy all those rights which men
do, nay are bit more privileged in some respects.
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