Across the world, more and more Muslim women are fighting for gender equality.
Scholars, political figures and activists are scrutinizing verses within the Quran that
concern gender roles in Islam.
Because in many cases, it is scripture that’s formed the basis of laws and customs that
govern gender equality.
Scripture like this which in part reads:
For centuries, Muslim scholars have taken this verse to mean that Muslim men have authority
and guardianship, or ‘Qawama,’ over women.
But according to scholars like Saba Mahmood, this interpretation is one of the key obstacles
holding back gender equality within Islam.
There are other schools of Islamic thought which argue that, in fact, the idea of Qawama
or the idea of guardianship is something that needs to be broadened given that how Islamic
societies have changed, the world has changed.
But today there are many, many examples of how the traditional “guardianship” interpretation
is still the norm in many parts of the Muslim World.
In Saudi Arabia, a woman cannot leave the house unless she is accompanied by a man,
and in Egypt, a man can divorce his spouse without grounds or going to court, but a woman
cannot.
And there are many more examples of rules that are based on the premise that men have
a God-given authority over women.
However, in the fight for gender equality, Islamic feminists aren’t taking that as
a given.
There’s a very strong movement to interpret the prophet’s life through a feminist lens…
Their argument is that we believe in Islam and the truth of Islam, but we also think
that the subordinate status of women in Islam is a function of the way that these scriptures
have been interpreted.
And that’s another important thing to note.
These women are feminists, but they’re also devoted Muslims.
This means that the western concept of secular feminism simply wouldn’t work for their
fight.
For Islamic feminists, their cause is rooted in finding ways to work within their religion....since
in Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran, religion and law are entangled.
Take, for example, Sharia law.
Sharia is a legal framework derived from the Qu’ran and Muhammad's teachings which influences
law throughout the Muslim world.
And it’s often critiqued by those fighting for gender equality.
But, as Saba points out, the fight for women’s rights may still have to include Sharia.
Rather than simply say that Sharia should be abolished, these groups that are trying
to say that Sharia should be reformed.
It must be implemented under a very different kind of interpretive framework than the one
that has been argued for in the past.
And Islamic Feminism is making progress.
In Morocco, a local women's movement helped to reform divorce laws.
Women there can now divorce and they’re also protected from the practice of repudiation,
where a man can renounce his marriage at will.
However, Saba believes that the real key to legal reform in the Islamic world, is not
home-grown movements or even the reinterpretation of the Quran.
It’s women gaining significant political power.
Because without power, there’s no interpretation.
And without interpretation, those verses really are just words on a page.
The battleground for the idea of male and female equality in Islam has to be fought
not only on the principles of what the Quran says or does not say, but who has the political
power to be able to say that their interpretation is right.
Sharia law is practiced in many Muslim countries, watch this video to find out more.
Or watch this one to find out which Muslim countries are the most supportive of Women’s
Rights.
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