Nurgul Sevinc and Foyasal Khan: On the Ninth Day of Dhul-Hijjah, 10 A.H. (623 A.D.), Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), in his last sermon (Khutbah) in the MountArafat, gave some guidelines to the whole of humanity unequivocally and concisely. One of these was to follow two things: the Qur`an and his path, the Sunnah. He (peace be upon him) assured us that we would never go astray if we follow these. In a word, He directed us to uphold God`s rules above everything. God`s rules are the best rules for each human being because He knows us the best as our Creator. Undoubtedly, He established His rules with wisdom and certainty. Hence, there is no guesswork when it comes to God`s rules. So, societies will have the best chance of surviving if they follow and implement Allah`s rules.

In contrast, now we see that most of the rules in our societies are made up of man covering everything from the ordinary to the most serious. As a result of not paying attention to God`s laws or not integrating God`s rules with society`s rules, our community promotes injustice instead of balanced development. In this short article, we shall specifically focus on how women face many hardships and difficulties under society`s rules made by man instead of God`s rules.   

An example of discrimination against women due to following society`s rules is Dr. Samia Subrina, a Bangladeshi scientist who was enlisted in the Asian Scientist 100 list. In a recent interview, she was asked whether she faces uncomfortable scenarios, societal pressure, and systemic discrimination. She replied, although she has not faced any systemic discrimination on an administrative level, being a female scientist in a traditionally male-dominated field is awkward. She particularly pointed out, "Whenever I won some accolades or got recognition for my contribution, people would tell my parents that they have gotten a son in me. As if I could only become equivalent to men only when I achieved something great." This is only one example of how crooked mindset a social circle can have regarding women-related issues.

Problems Women Face in Different Aspects of Life

For sure, the problems women face are not limited to the above. Women have difficulties in different aspects of life, such as family life and professional life. They have been people who have no rights to receive education, no rights to work, and no rights or significantly fewer rights to participate in decisions (in families, businesses, and the political arena). The situation is challenging in villages / rural areas and the areas that radical Islamic groups control. In these places, the sexual-oriented perspective does not allow women and men to come together for coeducation and subsequently taking part in nation-building together. Again, the same parties, because of the same sexual-oriented perspective, which itself is a sign of an ill-mentality, hide women at homes and allow waste of great talents for the sake of making them to obey their husbands unconditionally and without justification from the light of the Qur`an and Sunnah. Despite overcoming all the barriers, those women who participate in the world of work often end in low positions in return for low wages. However, they perform very high skills in leadership, multi-dimensional tasks, etc.

Other Forms of Discrimination against Women 

Also, women are being exposed to various mobbing, harassment, and violence because they are the less powerful. They are seen as rivals rather than supporters by other women because of their self-confidence and others` jealousy. Furthermore, men, especially those who have low self-confidence, treat women as property that can be bought and sold through forced marriage, child marriage, improper treatment of the labor force, etc. Women face every type of exploitation as they are considered a resource with their bodies, labor, intellect, money they earned, and immense abilities. Women who are invested in multi-dimensional aspects are socially excluded and not supported. Last but not least, they are easily blamed with Zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) when they cooperate and work together with men.

Although they are the ones who deserve to be protected by men around them, such as their fathers, brothers, husbands, etc., they are instead treated as if they had been second-class people and an object that needs to be exploited. The underlying reason for this outcome is not practicing Islam rather practicing society`s rules.

The Dire Consequences of Abusive Society Rules   

While in religion, especially vulnerable groups are protected and privileged, this is precisely opposite in society`s rules since they favor entirely the power and those who are powerful as they are the rule-makers. This immediately makes us remember Jahiliyyah or The Age of Ignorance Period. This dark and ignorant period did not die 14 centuries ago; it is still alive. How much burying girls alive in the grave is brutal and terrible, not giving women`s rights to themselves and not allowing them to live the lives that God has not hindered is this much zulm (injustice). As women are the cornerstones of family lives and professional lives for sure and beautify people`s lives, these are not what they deserve and hence the world.

The Way Forward

Currently, we are in a vicious circle emerging from not investing in women and not giving them the value they deserve. Hence, the outcome is generating mal-functioning communities and societies these women raise. If we do not break this vicious circle, we should not hope for better families, better workplace environments, etc. So, we must green the faded flowers, our women, if we want a positive change and a more livable world.

For this to happen, our mentality must be that women are an Amanah (trust) of God and must be treated accordingly, with love, respect, mercy, goodness, kindness, generosity, etc. We must remember that communities will not rise in a sound and balanced manner when women are degraded and not given the value they deserve. And this, in return, will no doubt affect every member of society.

Authors: Nurgul Sevinc is a Ph.D. Candidate in Islamic Economics and Finance at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Turkey.

Dr. Foyasal Khan is an IIIT Scholar and a Research Fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Islamic Thought.

Disclaimer: This article was first published in the Aequitas Review dated the 4th June 2021.