Women’s rights in Islam -part 1 Denmark and the rest of the western world has for years talked and heatedly discussed the lack of gender equality in Islam and sometimes even has accused Muslims for being man-chauvinist and oppressive towards their women. There is no doubt that like in many developing countries, the lands in the so-called Islamic world are patriarchal, men dominated and the situation of women has a lot to be desired and is waiting to be uplifted. But the hopeless picture, western media, academia and politicians present is very generalising and often based on prejudices. Recently, I had a unique possibility to witness the diversity, progress and independence of women with Muslim background in Denmark. Here are my sincere and frank observations of the two events, I was invited to. First event took place on Sunday, the 23rd June 2013. It was arranged by a Pakistani TV station, Nissa and Sahara Times magazine, which cater to Pakistani community in Denmark and Europe. The seminar was titled; Femininity and Social norms. Two prominent university lady scholars from Pakistan, Dr. Fatima Hasan and Dr. Huma Bukhari and an Indian renowned scholar and author DR. Satyapal Anand from USA were chief guests along with local dignitaries who presented their views on diverse issues relating to gender equality, women’s rights in Muslim countries and how women can and should take charge of their lives. I was struck at the clarity, forcefulness and the respectful way, the guest speakers from abroad put forth their point of views. They were very clear in their criticism of the domination of men among Muslim communities, the role which women are given and how women must strive to balance the family, work, society and still not loose their identity as women. One special aspect of the debate was that while women speakers talked about the rights they aspire to, they did not only want to be looked as mothers, sisters, daughters and wives but primarily as individual human beings with hopes, needs and desires. They also talked about societal issues, which women can play a very important role to solve in parity with men. Another beautiful point, I noticed was the insistence of women speakers that they do not need permission or goodwill of men to have their rights, because these were natural. Time and again, they emphasised the view that they do not want to involve religion to support their struggle or be a reference point but humanity was the stepping-stone. The second half of the program consisted of another welcome step. This was the presentation of an autobiographical novel written by a Pakistan-Danish author, Tahira Shamim Hussain. The book is called: On the other side of hell and very appropriately deals with the struggle and overcoming of obstacles in the life of a young woman who came to Denmark through marriage. The author has articulated her inner thoughts in a very refreshing, flowing and humanly manner. She has narrated her story of raising 3 children, holding a job, learning the Danish society, put up with the arrogance and chauvinism of her dominating husband while making it through with her dignity and self respect in tact. All in all, a great evening with plenty of food for thought, delicacies from Pakistan and a heart full of joy.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 02:40:40 +0000