Gender inequality is a predicament of all women, especially the Muslim women, but musawah, an Islamic movement, is on the right path of rescuing Muslim women from this bondage via encouraging them to make their own interpretation of the Quran- will the movement succeed in bringing gender equality? The musawah movement was coined with the intention of enlightening Muslim women in order to achieve gender equality. The movement has adopted several, relevant, mechanisms that will aid in the achievement of its goal; for example, providing education programs that are intended to enlighten the Muslim women as well as encouraging the Muslim women to read and interpret the Quran by themselves so as to have a better understanding of the sacred text. It is, therefore, the role of the movement to represent the voices of Muslim women who dynamically labor toward the approval and integration of women’s rights in all fields of the public life. The movement has also been encouraging alertness of existing gender prejudice and the subject of gender equality through encouraging women to read the Quran.
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 (Martin 501). Gender inequality is, more, prevalent in some societies than others. For example, 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. Gender-based violence is, also, a common term in Muslim societies. The movement is working, extremely, hard to reverse these conditions that have been limiting the privileges of Muslim women.
Muslim women are finding comfort to their woes through connecting themselves with this movement which have enabled them to fight for their rights. The movement, on one major Islamic movement, intends to rescue Muslim women from this bondage, gender inequality, through encouraging Muslim women to make their own interpretation of the Quran rather than relying on what is interpreted by the male Muslim. The name of the movement “Musawah,” is an Arabic word meaning equality, and it was initially started by twelve women who came from the following countries; Gambia, Mozambique, Turkey, Pakistan, as well as Egypt. It took the twelve founders a period of two years to launch the global movement. The official launch of the movement took place in 2009 at a convention in Kuala Lumpur, which was attended by over 250 individuals, among them included; activists, legal practitioners, policy makers, and scholars from over 47 nations across the world (Elizabeth 12).
The basis of this movement claims that the Islam religion, as many would like to think, is not discriminating of women, but rather blames the plight of the Muslim women to the wrongful interpretation of the religious text. The movement calls out for women across the world to flee themselves from this patriarchy by making their own interpretation of the Quran and pushing for what they believe in; not just on an individual level, but for reforms in their countries. The movement is aware that the Muslim women have always been playing the blame game and doing nothing in their comfort zone. The movement intention is to bring to a halt these blame games and start acting towards the success of achieving gender equality.
The movement has invested heavily in research of the Islamic religious texts. The movement has experts who compile their research into workshops and books (Elizabeth). The major purpose of the research is to reassure the Muslim women that the Muslim religion does not allow them to be oppressed, thus, achieving their ultimate goal- equality for all. 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, but the movement is trying its level best to make these claims inappropriate and obsolete by understanding the Quran and using it to fight for their rights. These are some of the challenges the Muslim women have been going through on a daily basis; abusive marriages, contraction of HIV/AIDS, and many human injustices- all in the name of “sharia” law (Elizabeth 13). Currently, one can take for granted that the world is more enlightened and more highly developed than ever before, but such hypothesis actually do not apply when living under stringent Islamic Sharia Law; for example, a woman is not expected to drive in Saudi Arabia. For most Muslim women, the “sharia” law is final and it is not subjected to discussion, thus, discouraging women to counter. The wrongful interpretation of the Quran is to blame for the plight of the Muslim woman- is an argument that has been raised by this movement, so as to awaken all Muslim women (Elizabeth 12).
The movement has been 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 movement has a strong respect for the Muslim religion, as well as the woman and, for that reason; it 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. This male dominated task of interpreting the Quran has been targeted by the movement since; they, totally, believe that it is the, only, way to liberation- achieving gender equality (Elizabeth).
The “Musawah” organization is playing an important role with the objective of attaining Muslim women's equality. The movement has been encouraging Muslim women to make their own interpretations of what the Quran requires of them. The traits leading to oppression are all around us, but they vary between cultures, religions, as well as nations. As depicted above, Saudi women are prohibited from driving, but Muslims women from other states can drive- social setting. The movement is ensuring that these diverse situations based on cultures practiced by a particular religion are well handled when enlightening Muslim women through interpreting the Quran, thus, reducing the room for ambiguity and boosting the clarity of the movement objective (Elizabeth 13).
The movement has, also, been reaching the Muslim women through making educational materials, promoting for women’s rights, combating for lawful provisions in conjunction with local non-governmental organizations. The work of this movement relies on two major paraphernalia- global human rights standard, as well as progressive analysis of the Koran. Women, especially Muslim women, should all come together and fight as a unit so as to speed up the process of attaining gender equality.
A study was conducted with the intention of determining the role played by man towards establishing a flourishing environment for women's oppression. The participants of the study were all women, three to be precise, from three primitive tribes; Mundugumor, Arapesh as well as the Tchambuli. The results of the study showed that both Mundugumor and the Arapesh men are dominating over their women, especially 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 (Mead 220). These qualities are as 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 gender roles and the acceptance of these roles of the people as the acceptable norm in the community. The Muslim women can win the fight against gender equality by understanding that the traits that are associated with them are, only, determined by the social background and can be reversed as one move from one tribe to another. The Islamic sacred sources need to be reinterpreted, so as to underpin Muslim women empowerment- an advance methodically incorporated within Islamic feminism that promotes women’s rights within an Islamic scaffold. Normally, Islamic feminism counters domineering Islamist stress of men’s power over women and its help of an Islamic found on the sharia Law, but the movement is working tirelessly to counter these perceptions through investing, heavily, in research.
Studying the Quran and interpreting it on their own, the Muslim women will be able to discover what the Quran really says about their gender instead of following interpretations that are based on patriarchy. Acquisition of new information about the Quran and their human rights, Muslim will be able to change their beliefs about the Muslim woman (Elizabeth). Change cannot happen by doing nothing, but acts followed by attempts must occur, first, for change to happen.
Gender inequality is a process that starts when one is small and young; for example, 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 their behavior is engineered from an early age so as to prepare them for the outside world. Girls are encouraged to be more conservative while boys are expected to be more aggressive (Martin 497).
What if the system is improved, whereby, both girls and boys are supposed to be 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. 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 is aware of these concepts and it has been applying the relevant strategy to reverse and improve these techniques use to raise children- once you set your focus right, you can achieve anything. The movement has been conducting, numerous, studies with the intention of coming up with the appropriate strategy of handling this issue- gender disparity. In order for a doctor to carry out treatment, he or she must start by encouraging the patients so as to get familiar with the symptoms. The same case applies in this movement, whereby, the movement has been conducting numerous studies with the objective of coming up with the ultimate formulae that is intended to liberate the Muslim women from this bondage- gender inequality (Elizabeth 13).
The movement has come up with strategies that will aid Muslim women in achieving gender equality; for example, the movement has been convincing the Muslim woman to grow out of the feminine traits that are products of the society so as to discover their true self. Gender inequality is 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, we shall be falling victim of gender disparity and the rift between women and men will continue to grow, but studying the Quran keenly will help Muslim women to come up with a unique perception that will automatically change the already exiting perceptions.
Durkheim claims that women were tasked with lighter chores; for example, women were expected to perform cleaning chores- division of labor (Durkheim 81-84). In order to survive, individuals needed to come up with specialized 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 a 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 movement has played a significant role in changing the lives of Muslim women positively.
The organization has, also, been 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 people are still committing themselves into marriage. The divorce cases have not succeeded in encouraging people against marriage or in 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. The fear depicted by Muslim women could be the reason as to why they are willing to stick in cruel relations- fear of rejection by both the husband and the society.
The family serves various functions in the society; for example, social, religious as well as economic functions (Parsons 8). Most marriages are grounded on religious grounds and individuals rely heavily on the guidance of religions on how an ideal marriage, husband, and the 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 husband demands.
In the Muslim world, views relating to the role of women and their place are as conflicting as their frames of appearance and indication. Gender 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. Expert awareness and elucidation of the Islamic holy sources as well as specialized education and teaching on Islamic topics have shaped a solid foundation for the challenge and dispute of major uniqueness and hierarchies, and for the endorsement of a modern thought of Muslim women’s empowerment. The movement has successfully included strategies of reading and rereading the Quran and reinterpreting Islamic resources to maintain their thoughts of fairness and gender equality. The movement is comprised of people from all walk of life, therefore, it profits from a great international system and information exchange. This fact has helped the movement to come up with relevant strategies as well as creating awareness across the world.
Urbanization and capitalism have caused the purpose of marriage to change. Marriages are characterized with fewer 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 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 (Chodorow 8). In the past, Muslim women were mainly linked with the role of child nurturing, but, currently, this role has become outdated. The movement has been pushing for equal participation when it comes to child nurturing, thus, delivering Muslim women from the muscles of men.
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 (Parsons 25). Most men are still reluctant to participate in child rearing 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.
The battle against gender inequality for Muslim Women is far from over, but not without hope due to the good work being done by this movement. The Muslim woman faces the male supremacy more than any other woman in the society today, but actions have been implemented in order to get rid of this issue totally. The journey depicted by this movement has not been easy due to a number of reasons; for example, 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. The key to this issue is 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 they are creations of their own. They have the power and the right to fight for what they believe to be right. This organization is achieving this by giving power and voice to the Muslim woman through imparting in them the knowledge to interpret their faith (Elizabeth 13). This movement has enabled many Muslim women to clearly understand and interpret the Quran, thus, becoming more aware of what is expected of them.
In conclusion, the movement is playing a significant role by dedicating its objective and desire to the endorsement and promotion of women’s rights, through encouraging Muslim women to make their own interpretation of the Quran. At the same time, the movement has to steer changed alliances on regional, local, nationwide, as well as global levels in its endeavor to build a concrete basis of facts, argumentation, as well as dexterity in order to enhance their political power and social influence. This movement has been representing the voices of Muslim women who vigorously toil toward the endorsement and incorporation of women’s privileges into all spheres of community life. The main objective of this movement is to endorse gender compassion and encourage alertness of existing gender prejudice as well as on thoughts of gender equality and communal fairness though reading the Quran. The movement is driven by women, thus, increasing its efficiency- the presence of men as leaders would hamper the performance of the movement (Elizabeth 13). The majority of the Muslim women has benefited from this movement; for example, the majority of the Muslim women have become literate, as a result of the numerous educational programs provided by this movement.
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.
