Gender inequality has become a major issue in the society today with countries, governments, organizations, and gender activists, both men and women, joining the fight against gender inequality. Gendering starts early in childhood and is embedded in our institutions and family set ups. Role models in the society treat boys and girls differently from infancy and this becomes the onset of gender inequality which then proceeds on to maturity. Gender inequality is more prevalent in some societies than it is in others. The Muslim community has been on the frontline of gender inequality with most women being subjected to discrimination by their male counterparts. This is portrayed through early marriages and high levels of illiteracy among women as compared to their more literate male counterparts as well as gender-based violence towards women. Muslim women have found solace to their woes through feminist Muslim organizations which have enabled most women to fight for their rights. This is an analysis of one such movements. This paper will discuss various aspects of the movement such as its foundation, strategies and goals of the foundation as well as the movement’s potential for failure or success.
“Musawah,” which is an Arabic word for equality, is an Islamic movement that began with 12 women from countries such as Gambia, Mozambique, Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt among others and took the 12 women founders up to 2 years to launch the global movement. The official launch of the movement took place in 2009 at a convention at Kuala Lumpur, which was attended by over 250 individuals among them activists, legal practitioners, policy makers and scholars from over 47 nations from across the world. The basis of this movement is that the Islam religion, as many would like to think, is not discriminative of women but rather blames the plight of the Muslim women to wrongful interpretation of the religious text. The movement calls out for women from across the world to flee themselves from this patriarchy by making their own interpretation of the Quran and push for what they believe in; not just at an individual level, but for reforms in their countries.
The movement has invested heavily in research of the Islamic religious texts by experts who compile their research into workshops and books . The major purpose of the research is to reassure the Muslim women that the Muslim religion does not allow them to be oppressed. Most Muslim women are oppressed by their husbands and their male counterparts in the belief that it is disobedience to Allah to disobey one’s husband. Most of these women have found themselves in abusive marriages, contraction of HIV/AIDS and many human injustices, all in the name of “sharia” law. For most Muslim women, the “sharia” law is final and not subject to discussion. The wrongful interpretation of the Quran is to blame for the plight of the Muslim woman. This movement uses the strategy of educating women to make their own interpretations of the Quran, and the use of these interpretations in fighting for their human rights in order to achieve gender equality. This movements has a strong respect for the Muslim religion as well as the woman and as such encourages the Muslim women to make their own interpretation of the Quran. Interpretation of the Quran has been the role of men for a very long time, and the women have remained submissive to the Islamic law terrified of going against the wishes of Allah to even fight for basic human rights.
The “Musawah” organization will succeed in attained women equality for the Muslim women by encouraging them to make their own interpretations of what the Quran requires of them. Most traits leading to oppression of women are acquired and not innate. This explains why women inequality varies between cultures, nations and religions. Were it an innate quality gender inequality against women would be experienced by women across the entire globe. In order to understand if these traits had any links to ones gender was conducted on the behavior traits of women and women between three primitive tribes; Mundugumor, Arapesh and the Tchambuli. Results of the study showed that both Mundugumor and the Arapesh men are dominating over their women where there is some sense of equality, while the Tchambuli had a different set up all together. Among the Tchambuli, it is the role of the man to be emotionally attached and to cherish the children, while the woman is considered as the figure of authority . These traits are a result of social conditioning largely defined by culture. A male child born to the Arapesh community and brought up among the Tchambuli, will be dominated by the woman. Masculine and feminine traits are made by the interpretation that the society makes on genders roles and the acceptance of these roles by the people as the norm. The Muslim women can win the fight against gender equality by understanding that the traits that are associated with them are only acquired and can be reversed. By studying the Quran and interpreting it on their own the Muslim women will be able to discover what the Quran really says about their genders instead of following interpretations that are based on patriarchy. By acquisition of new information about the Quran and their human rights, the Muslim will be able to change their beliefs about the Muslim woman.
The organization has less impact on gendering since it is an aspect that is developed in a child through the entire process of gendering. The female anatomy is completely different from the male anatomy. These differences have an impact on the production that can be achieved by these two genders as well as their sexuality. These differences are exhibited in simple behaviors such as the manner in which they walk, sit, gesture, stand and throw among others. Women are more likely to walk in shorter steps as compared to their male counterparts. Male are known to take large spaces in their postures while women tend to sit and stand in closed postures with crossed arms and legs . From an early age in preschool, girls are expected to behave in a certain manner while boys are expected to behave in a completely different manner. A study to identify how gendering is done was conducted at a preschool of mixed population comprising of Asian, Asian American, African American and Latinos with an equal proportion of both girls and boys subjected to female teachers. Results proved that children are equally active but that their behavior is engineered from an early age so as to prepare them for the outside. Girls are encouraged to be more conservative while boys are expected to be more aggressive . The most popular method of gendering is through dress up in which boys are encouraged to mention each color that is not pink as their favorite color. The movement cannot change how most women perceive themselves especially in relation to their male counterparts. These beliefs are acquired over long periods of time and to some extent the Muslim woman will always feel inferior to their male counterpart.
The movement will achieve gender equality in convincing the Muslim woman to grow out of the feminine traits that are products of the society and instead discover their true self. Genders are a product of the society and not a reflection of our individual characteristics. Individuals are part of the society and we identify with the society as a result of the association we make with other members of the society. In an attempt to solidify our associations with the rest of the society, functions of individuals within the society have become more defined and as a result the rift between women and men continues to grow. The human anatomy is one of the scales upon which these functions are made. The more functions an organisms an organism can manage, the higher its significance to the ecology and vice versa. For instance men are considered to be stronger as compared to their female counterparts and as a result they are seen as figures of authority in the society. Division of labor in which women were tasked with lighter chores such as cleaning is considered a mere art of survival . In order to survive individuals needed to come up with ore specialize tasks. However recent days have proved that both men and women have equal roles in marriages with husbands and wives showing more dependency towards each other. Women have proved that they can be in position of power and perform duties that were originally believed to be a man’s job. By empowering the Muslim woman not to underestimate their power the organization will succeed in empowering the Muslim woman.
The organization has a potential for success by convincing the Muslim woman that they are not passive objects to their husbands but equal partners in marriage. Both husband and wife play an important role in enhancing each other’s abilities, and the two produce better results if they function as a pair and not as two separate entities. Interactions between males and females have proven that these two genders complement each other and they are continually in need of each other. In recent years the rate of divorce has risen to alarming levels. However more and more people are stilling committing themselves into marriage. The divorce has not succeeded in encouraging people against marriage or at remaining single for the rest of their lives. Family is a unit that is of great significance to the society. Humans have a need to have kinship which gives us a sense of belonging. Most Muslim women are scared of being alone without the comfort of the homes and husbands. Family servers various functions in the society among them social, religious and economic functions . Most marriages are ground on religious grounds and individuals rely heavily on the guidance of religious on how an ideal marriage, husband and wife should behave towards their spouse. Most spouses especially women look for protection of their marriages and families from religious figures such as Allah. The Muslim women need to understand that they both have roles to perform in their marriages and the marriage cannot work with efforts from one spouse. The Quran has roles for both men and women and the Muslim women need to protect themselves from abuse and not submit blindly to their husbands demands.
The organization faces a major challenge since one of the leading and dominant cause of patriarchy is the role child bearing which can only be performed by women. Genders roles have changed with time as a result of urbanization and capitalism causing a shift of balance in gender equality. In the past, the purpose of marriage was for childbearing purposes. The role of the woman was to take care of the children as well as perform household activities, while the man’s role was to provide for his family. Urbanization and capitalism have caused the purpose of marriage to change. Marriage are characterized with less children as compared to the past. Women are engaging themselves in more productive activities such as school and work while most children spend most of their time in school at a very tender age. Most women make an independent livelihood on their own and tend to marry later in life with the rate of divorces arising from these marriages being very high. Despite all these changes, women are still subjected to discrimination in places of labor. Elements of sexism and male supremacy are still prevalent in our current society . The role of child bearing has become a major contributing factor to feminist theories. This role is passed on from mother to daughter from one generation to the next and the men are left with no such responsibility. Child rearing is a role that has remained almost exclusively for women for a long time. Most men are still reluctant to participate in childrearing activities. The society still views child rearing as an activity that is exclusively left for women and as such gender equality will never really be achieved. It discerns women from men and with childbearing comes other responsibilities such as child rearing. The society reveres a woman with children more respect than a barren woman. Most successful women who are performing the roles of their male counterparts are known to be either single or childless. This poses a major challenge since the society regards very highly of children as well as family.
In conclusion, the battle against gender inequality for the Muslim Woman is far from over but not without hope. The Muslim woman faces the male supremacy more than any other woman in the society today. The fact that the male supremacy is embedded in the Muslim religion with the use of misleading interpretation of the Quran to subject the Muslim woman to certain feminine traits, poses a major challenge in the fight against gender equality for the “Musawah” organization. Most Muslim women are brought up believing that they are supposed to be absolutely submissive to their husbands to the point of self-sacrifice. Most of these women are afraid of the wrath of Allah and, as such, cannot speak openly for themselves even though they feel oppressed. By educating the Muslim woman on how to interpret the religious texts for themselves, the Muslim woman will be at a better position to make decisions for themselves without the dominating feelings of fear. The “Musawah” organization is empowering the Muslim women by making them understand that they are not defined by the society but instead they are creations of their own. They have the power and right to fight for what they believe to be right. This organization is achieving this by giving power and voice to the Muslim woman by imparting in them the knowledge to interpret their religious texts.
Works cited
Chodorow, Nancy. The Reproduction of a Mother. London: University of Calofornia Press, 1978. Print.
Durkheim, Emille. "The Division of Labour in Society." Theoritical Traditions in Tthe Social Sciences (1984): 1-412. Print.
Elizabeth, Segran. The Rise of the Islamic Feminists. 23 Decenber 2013. web. 4 April 2016. <http://www.thenation.com/article/rise-islamic-feminists/>.
Martin, Karin A. "Becoming a Gendered Body: A practice of Preschools." American Sociological Review (1998): 494-511. print.
Mead, Margaret. Sex and Temparement in Three Pimitive societies. New York: Morrow, 1963. print.
Parsons, Talcott. The American Family. New York: The Free Press, 1955. Print.
