The Reality Of Feminism In Pakistan- 3 Things To Know And Ponder

‘Feminism’ over the years has become a pseudo-curse word in Pakistani society. The minute a woman wants her basic human rights, the same rights she sees men of her own country enjoy, she is vehemently labeled a feminist. The hatred and disgust with which the word is hurled at her, is enough to silence a good number of such upstarts. But the fact of the matter is, it’s not a curse word. In fact, as far as Feminism in Pakistani society is concerned, there are a few things all of us Pakistani men and women need to know;
1. The Definition:
Feminism is the radical notion that women are people. This radical notion is NOT the brainchild of the west, it is the brainchild of Islam. When Islam opposed female infanticide, when the preaching of Islam was initially funded by the business profits of a woman (Hazrta Khadija RA, the first wife of the Holy Prophet SAW), when Islam defended the right of women in inheritance, when Islam made men responsible for the women they married or had/wanted to have carnal relations with, when Islam made men own the children they sired, when Islam curtailed polygamy, etc, etc it was basically treating women like humans, like people. Bottom line is, people (men and women) who throw the word ‘feminism’ in a woman’s face to the affect of labeling her a kaafir, are ignorant, simply ignorant. I feel sorry for the women who have to put up with them.
2. The West Didn’t Export It To Us:
Contrary to popular belief, the so-called ‘feminist movement’ is not a hand-me-down dress from the west. It is not a ‘yahoodiyoon ki saazish’. It is the weakness of our own society. It is the weakness or lack of faith on our part. There is a reason why armies used to build strong forts in the old days, you can’t enter a city if it is surrounded by unbreakable walls. Our society gives women no such walls. For example;

1. If a guy earns for his family, he is a good son, a good father, a good husband, a good brother. All the praises in the world for him from his parents, siblings, spouse and kids.
2. If a woman bears and brings up children well, that’s her job. She is supposed to do it. Every penny that is spent on her, even the cost of delivering the child is counted and recorded for future reference. In all fairness, this counting is not just the men’s doing, women are equally involved. No body praises her. I mean they will post on blogs and write to newspapers volumes worth of articles about the status of women in Islam and how they respect their women, but then can someone please provide a logical explanation as to why these well-loved and well-respected Paksitani women who are your blood sisters so fed-up of being oppressed. They’re stupid? Your sisters are stupid? Really? Doesn’t say much about you does it?

3. Women Are As Much Responsible For The Uprise As The Men:

It’s easy to think men are solely responsible for the injustice dealt to women, they seem like an obvious target. But the fact is, within the home, when a mother decides to favor her son over her daughter, she is just as bad as the father who favors the sons over the daughter. I remember a Pakistan Studies class in which a teacher narrated that there are families where the sisters will constantly belittle their brothers’ wives so they can eventually control their brothers’ income. Granted that those are some seriously stupid brothers, but the women are guilty of injustice as well. A mother has the power to raise her children with the finest values, so much so that Hazrat Ali RA advised men ‘Don’t look for a wife for yourselves, look for a mother for your children’. And when, knowledgeable of this power, abuse it, it is simply despicable. No woman from the west ever came and taught the Pakistani women that it was the sisters’ JOB to eat only after her brother had eaten, this is our own invention. What’s worse is, when these sisters grow up, they take these very same ‘values’ and put them into bringing up their own children.

A Few Muslim Practices:

Here are a few Islamic Rights conferred to women, as a sample of how our “you feminist” shouting meat-heads wouldn’t survive day if Shariat was ever implemented in this country;

1. In Islam a woman is not bound to adopt her husband’s name or her husband’s family name. She is known by her father’s name and, like all humans, will be raised on the Day of Judgement by her father’s name, not her husbands. Nuff said. (Update: Sahih Hadith mentions that people will be raised on the Day of Judgment by their father’s name.)

2. In Islam, when you bring something to eat home, like customarily fathers bring fruits home, the first fruit is to be offered to the daughters, starting with the youngest.

3. A woman’s property, inherited from her father, or built through business, or given to her as her own possession via gift, is her property. Her husband/father/brother/son has no claim to it in her life. If she gives part or all of it to them, that is charity on her part and she will be rewarded, but it is not their right.

The list is pretty long, in fact books have been written over this subject. Of course, all this being said, the fact that there is plenty wrong and outright vulgar going on in the name feminism can’t be denied. But just as undefended borders are no borders at all, similarly a society eons away from its own value system and in an identity crisis is easy prey. We shouldn’t blame the vultures, we should blame ourselves for feeding them.

What we need as Muslim Pakistanis (men and women alike), is to give our mothers, daughters, sisters and wives the confidence that our religion prescribes, without waiting for them to ask for it, or leaving them no choice but to ask for what is rightly theirs. Only then would there be no semblance of this so-called feminism. We women would simply give a resounding shut-up call to anyone who told us we’re oppressed.