Women's rights
R S Bhatti
The teachings of different religions about women's rights cannot be compared because the rights that Islam is giving to women are not mentioned in the teachings of any other religion. That is why generally people object to the rights given to women in Islam but do not mention the rights given to women in any other religion.
It was a less than two hundred years ago from today, when women's rights movements in the UK rose to prominence and women protested for their rights, made arrests - and by then, women had gained the rights that the Western nations today proudly offers in comparison to Islam
Whereas Islam gave basic human rights to women almost 1,500 years ago without any revolutionary movement, without any protests and without any verbal demands - and perhaps the most important thing in these two comparisons is that all these rights are happily accepted. Given and in all these scenarios, the aspect of love and respect by the religion of Islam is predominant, which is certainly the most important thing for a human being.
We can win cases with arguments but we cannot win hearts - forcibly taken away rights (in which the aspect of deprivation or excess cannot be ignored) cannot guarantee the peace and tranquility of society. Probably this is the reason behind the fact that although women seem to have won this war for rights to some extent but yet the exploitation of women in society did not end. -perhaps these deprived rights may have promoted the attitude in Western society for men to deviate from domestic responsibilities- perhaps these rights may have encouraged unmarried relationships and hollowed out the family system in society and created an atmosphere of restlessness, misbehavior and mistrust.
In England, until 1882, after marriage, a woman's personal property transferred to her husband - even if a female author had copyright, they also transferred to her husband after marriage - A married woman could not write a will or a draft without her husband's consent - a woman's could get a share of the property only if there were no male heirs left
Islam declares that a woman have right to use her own property.
In Surah An-Nisa ', verse 33, Allah says:
Translation: Men shall have a share of that which they have earned, and women a share of that which they have earned.
Inheritance
Islam gave the woman a share in the property of the parents, as well as in the property of the husband, and also imposed a dowry on the husband at the time of marriage, which is said to be according to the status of the husband and to pay it has been asked to pay it happily it's Surah An-Nisa verse no. 5
Translation: And give the women their dowries willingly
In the Qur'an, Allah Almighty has stated some basic principles regarding the distribution of inheritance. Surah An-Nisa ',verse no.12
Translation: Allah commands you concerning your children: a male shall have as much as the share of two females.
In this verse, Allah Almighty gave daughter half share in the property of the parents as compared to the son and this is one of those Islamic teaching which is generally objected to by the opponents of Islam and they forget that the same daughter has also been given a share of the husband's property and also given dowry from husband according to the status of the husband. In addition, there are many wisdoms in this teaching, such as the fact that in Islam women are not being burdened with financial responsibilities and household expenses have been made the responsibility of men so the share of men has been kept higher- but despite of all this, what surprises us the most is when we see that this objection to Islam is being raised by those people who even do not give share to the children in the property of the parents and in case of death of one of the spouses all the property is transferred to the other and no share is given either to the son or to the daughter, even today the same rules apply in the UK unless the property exceeds a certain value, in which case the children gets some share of the property.
Half testimony
Another major objection to Islam is related to half of a woman's testimony and this objection is taken from Surah Al-Baqarah verse 283 - this verse is about transactional matters and is a detailed verse in which The following words have appeared
Translation: And if two men be not available, then a man and two women, of such as like as witnesses, so that if either of two women should err in memory, then one may remain the other
The words in this verse, i.e., if two men are not available, then one man and two women should testify, have been taken to mean that it is necessary in Islam to have two women testify against one man, in every case. If there are testimony of two men contrary to the testimony of four women. it is totally wrong - and this not mentioned anywhere in the entire Qur'an, in contrary in Surah Al-Noor where the testimony is mentioned both men and women are commanded to testify by swearing by Allah four times, and it is not said that a man should testify four times and a woman should testify eight times.
As far as the verse under discussion is concerned, considering its context, it is clear that this instruction is specifically related to financial matters while it is not mentioned anywhere in other testimonies - for example, if someone is murdered and there's only one woman as a witness, it's not mention that to find another woman to complete her testimony, but as far as the financial matters are concerned, it is the everyday practice, that if a woman is doing this alone, she is more likely to be deceived - we are not talking about women financially savvy nor about highly educated women. This has been said about an ordinary housewife and it is true. By the way, only one woman has won the Nobel Prize in Mathematics (Field Medal) since 1936; so far.
Then, considering the same verse, it becomes clear that the testimony belongs to one woman, but if she forgets, let the other woman remember, and thats because women are more likely to make financial mistakes.
The right of divorce
Divorce was almost impossible for women in England, with the ptactice/custom of selling the wife as an alternative - for the first time in 1857 (after enduring extreme opposition from the Church) divorce was made possible for ordinary women. Before that divorce was not a legal issue and the church looked after it - while Islam gave women the right to divorce and 'khula' fifteen centuries ago, but with one difference, that is, even in this case, do not forget the kindness
Translation: Such divorce may be pronounced twice; then, either retain them in a becoming manner or send them away with kindness
Al-Baqarah 230
In the case of a divorce, if the child is younger than two years of age, not only the child's expenses but also the child's mother's expenses will be borne by the child's father for two years - And when it comes to the child, it is said to take care of the feelings of both the mother and the father.
Reward for deeds:
Islam not only teaches equality in outward, material rights, but also makes no distinction between men and women in the rewards of deeds, as Allah says in verse 196 of Surah Al-Imran:
Translation: So their Lord answered their prayer, saying, 'I will allow not the work of any worker from among you, whether male or female, to be lost.
And in the same way Surah An-Nahl verse no 98
Translation: Whos acts righteously, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely grant him a pure life;
The rights and responsibilities given to women and men in Islam are the same - both are burdened as per their abilities. Those who are constantly engaged in objecting to the teachings of Islam and considering these teachings as restrictions on women; they forget that Islam does not impose women with economic responsibilities and men are responsible for supporting their family and children. This is because Allah Almighty has placed on women the most important responsibilities of childbirth and upbringing. If women join the race to carry the economic burden, then the health, training, education, ethics of the next generation are all at stake.
Putting the financial responsibility on women along with the training and upbringing of children is an injustice to women and the irony is that in the modern world all this is being done in the name of women's rights, equality. Isn't it so that these excuses are made in the name of liberalism and sells these goods wrapped in beautiful slogans of progressives, innovators and liberalists - while the system that God has created for humans is in accordance with man's nature and convenience.
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