By Introduction
She harassed my visual senses by dressing ‘provocatively.’ She started it.
She flaunted all her body parts so I couldn’t control myself. She started it.
Since she is dressed that way, she must want to be objectified. She started it.
If she acts like that then she must want it, so I’m going to give it to her. She started it.
How am I supposed to see a woman for more than the sum of her body parts — a full-fledged human being with agency, choice, and humanity, when she does all this? She started it.
Such arguments are constantly put forth to justify male aggression and entitlement to women’s bodies. Society constantly uses this rationale to justify forms of violence that disproportionately impact women. These forms of violence include domestic violence, sexual violence, sexual harassment, and femicide. We continue to perpetuate a culture of victim blaming that places the onus of violence women face on women. As a consequence, we exonerate the perpetrators from facing any accountability for their actions, and our society from taking any responsibility for upholding systems that result in such violence.
“The Hypocrisy of Feminist Outrage,” a blog post published on MuslimMatters, is a take by a Muslim man on street sexual harassment, who argues that women are the ones sexually harassing men by occupying public spaces in “provocative” clothing. This piece is in response to the recent video on street sexual harassment. The author calls all feminists, and by extension the movement, hypocritical. While the entire piece is problematic — and it’s concerning how MuslimMatters, a respected outlet, published it — here we address some of the most problematic points argued by the author. We are also responding because we have seen a dangerous trend of Muslim men speaking on behalf of women and chastising women for violence that is mainly perpetrated by men. This is a dangerous attitude and we are offering an alternative perspective based on our collective work on gender-based violence, our own experiences with forms of violence against women, and the current research on these issues.
The most problematic aspects of the author’s argument include, first, negating a form of systemic violence against women, such as street sexual harassment, which impacts 70-99 percent of women in the world. Second, the author mischaracterizes the demands of one of the most important social movements of our time: feminism. Third, the author centers male opinions and experiences on a form of violence that disproportionately impacts women. He purports to speak as an expert on a form of violence he hasn’t himself faced on a daily basis, and which he benefits from as an extension of his male privilege. Finally, the most dangerous piece of the author’s article is tacit approval of male aggression and violence against women as “deserved,” given that he believes that women are asking for it by their choices of self-expression.
The author treads this dangerous line of condoning the punishment women face socially for lack of compliance with ideals of modesty and respectable womanhood. He fails at examining street sexual harassment as a component of patriarchy — a global system of women’s devaluation. We further elaborate on these points below and hope MuslimMatters and all other institutions in the Muslim community carefully consider the type of messages they are sending about Muslim men, Islam, and the treatment of women by Muslims. We cannot continue to put forth that our religion respects women while perpetuating such sexist and deeply misogynistic attitudes that support perpetrators and negatively impact the quality of life for women and girls.
Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Harassment
The author contends, why don’t we accept that sexual harassment goes both ways? Because the truth is, it doesn’t go both ways. Sexual harassment is a form of sexual violence that disproportionately impacts women for the purpose of restricting women’s access to spaces. Forms of sexual harassment include: sexual and verbal comments; unsolicited and unwanted touching or contact; and staring, jeering, and non-verbal actions such as hand or facial gestures. Sexual harassment occurs in the workplace, educational and community institutions, in the home, and on the streets.
The author mischaracterizes sexual harassment as stemming from women’s dress, but, in fact, research on the causes of sexual harassment has found that there are three driving reasons for sexual harassment of women:
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Harassment for individual male sexual gratification: called predatory harassers;
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Harassment to assert male dominance and power over women: called dominance harassers;
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Harassment to protect male spaces from women: called strategic/territorial harassers.
The literature hasn’t found that the leading reason for sexual harassment is women’s clothing. That is the personal opinion of the author.
Sexual harassment is a form of microaggression that enforces the larger system of patriarchy. Sexual harassment reinforces male entitlement to women’s bodies, robs women of autonomy, and enforces the fear of rape and male aggression against women in the case of rejection. Street sexual harassment continues to negatively impact women and girls’ perception of safety in their own communities. For example, Gallup’s study measured perceptions of safety between men and women within 143 countries. The findings demonstrated that women felt less safe than men in their own communities and neighborhoods at night. The underlying reasons for women feeling less safe than men include the fear of sexual harassment, rape, and murder at the hands of men.
Sexual harassment is also used to restrict women’s access to key spaces they need in order to make their livelihood. Far too many women face sexual harassment in the workplace and are forced to choose between appeasing the sexual demands of their male employers or facing severe retaliation. This reality is further compounded by the level of street sexual harassment women face. Countless women and girls can’t step out of their homes without experiencing sexual harassment on the street or in buses, subways, and other public spaces. Given that women comprise 70 percent of the world’s poor, access to such spaces without the constant fear of male violence can mean being further trapped in a state of persistent poverty.
Rape and Sexual Assault
The author of “The Hypocrisy of Feminist Outrage” also writes, “while women in hijab are, unfortunately, frequent victims of catcalling in Cairo’s busy streets, for example, the undeniable fact remains that the harassment would be much, much worse if these same women were dressed in yoga pants, tank tops, and other common Western styles.” First, we recommend that the author familiarize himself with the level of brutality and forms of violence women face in Muslim-majority countries, including cities like Cairo. This assumption overlooks the facts and the sheer brutality that Muslim women face in Muslim-majority countries, which is compounded by state violence, war, occupations, and civil unrest. Some specific forms of violence that are connected to street sexual harassment in these countries include kidnappings, gang rapes, acid violence, bride kidnappings, torture, extortion, and murder. Second, the author’s point also plays into the dangerous myth that Muslim women who abide by “modest” dress codes don’t really experience sexual violence at the same rate that “less modest” women do.
We wonder how easy it would be for him to inform a gang rape victim, like Mukhtar Mai in Pakistan, that it would have been “much, much worse” if she wasn’t wearing her chador, or rape victims in Darfur that the systematic torture and sexual violence they endured would have been “much, much worse” if they weren’t wearing their veils. Would he like to tell the girls trafficked and forced into marriage by Boko Haram in Nigeria that their hijabs protected them from sexual violence? We wonder how the victims of sexual harassment and rape in Egypt’s Tahrir Square feel about the author’s assertion that street harassment would be far worse when there are cases of women having hundreds of men harass and assault them.
Further, we wonder how the millions of victims of sexual violence, including sexual harassment, feel in the United States after hearing that their own cases are really not that serious due to their own dress choices. One in every five women in the U.S. experiences sexual assault, 44 percent of whom are under the age of eighteen. How deafening and traumatizing does it feel for survivors to hear the same messages being supported over and over again that their dress is the cause of their own victimization? How simplistic is it of us to think that sexual violence, including street sexual harassment, can be prevented by pieces of clothing as if there is a magical guard?
We must move beyond the excuses used to condone sexism. We must understand that perpetrators of sexual violence seek to exact power and control over women, and that what a woman wears is irrelevant. Sexual violence isn’t just a form of violence that occurs at the individual level; it is used at the individual, community, and state level as as a weapon of fear and control. To diminish all forms of sexual violence by making it all about the wardrobe is an insidious lie used to veil [dual usage of the word intended] the root causes.
In the majority of sexual violence cases, which include women, men, children, and elders, the most common response is, “What did the victim do?” The victim blaming begins — and rape culture is perpetuated — by empathizing with the perpetrator(s) and glorifying the actions of public figures. For a clearer understanding of rape culture and bystander culture, we suggest the author check Dr. David Lisak’s model of how bystander culture, sexism, hypermasculinity, denigration of women, and victim blaming provide the environment for rapists to commit such violence. His work is based on some of the first studies done with sex offenders on understanding the root causes of rape. Since the author dismisses female feminists, perhaps he will listen to a male clinical psychologist.
Victim blaming is how society silences the voices of the suffering. Every time a news anchor simpers over the fate of a rapist, a politician asks what the victim was wearing, and an athlete’s violent behavior is glossed over by his exemplary athletic record, society reinforces the invincibility and power of perpetrators. The perpetrator is glorified while the victim is silenced and shamed. This is why the term “secondary victimization” was created; it identifies the ways in which victim-blaming traumatizes victims after the violence they’ve initially experienced. This explains why only 3 percent of all rapists are ever convicted and spend a day in jail in the United States.
Sexual violence, victim blaming, and a culture of impunity cuts across all societies. Sexual violence is a way for fear to reign over people. The shaming of victims reinforces a power structure that allows perpetrators to continue a cycle of violence with little to no fear of recourse. If no one talks about it, victims aren’t taken seriously, and victims are blamed, then it becomes impossible to create change.
Hypocrisy of Male Outrage and Understanding Feminism
The author labeled his piece “The Hypocrisy of Feminist Outrage.” What about “the Hypocrisy of” male outrage? The author makes the assumption that it is women’s dress choices that have resulted in the sexualization of public spaces. He ignores the fact that systems of power (e.g. media, government, the economy) are controlled by men who exploit women’s bodies and profit off dehumanized and hyper-sexualized images of women. Will the author also write a piece on the hypocrisy of men who chastise women for wearing provocative clothing but remain silent when men use the hypersexualized images of women and young girls to sell cars, music videos, or products — a key marker of our capitalist economic system? Will the author hold men accountable for being the major buyers of women and children (male and female) who are sold and trafficked for sex, or is the same logic applicable that it’s the individual’s fault for putting themselves in that situation?
“The Hypocrisy of Feminist Outrage” ignores these issues because it purports that women would be seen as worthy of respect as long as they fit men’s criteria of respectability — a key element of patriarchy. According to the author, all other women aren’t deserving of respect. Such a thought process only reaffirms the need for progressive movements like feminism. The author reduces equality to the right to show skin, but feminists’ demands of equality aren’t as simple as the right to wear certain pieces of clothing. Feminism demands the right for all people to be respected as human beings, and not to be judged or punished for individual choices of self-expression.
Feminism is a word that has spurred controversy since its very inception; a word that has empowered many, yet has somehow caused others to feel marginalized. What is that about? The thing about feminism is that it’s a broad concept — one that encompasses many schools of thought and gives way to even more interpretations. At its core, feminism is the advocacy for social, political and economic equality.
What do we consider social, political, or economic equality for women? What do we mean by ‘equal,’ and ‘equal’ to whom? This is where intersectionality comes in. The struggle for the equality of women is neither holistic nor effective if it does not take into account that all systems of oppression are interconnected. Institutions like racism, xenophobia, ableism, homophobia, and classism all play into sexism. As far as we are concerned, you cannot truly be a feminist if you do not recognize the far-reaching consequences of each of these systems of oppression and how they’re interconnected.
You can’t reasonably be against structures of inequality — structures that perpetuate racism, ableism, class warfare, ethnic bigotry, Islamophobia, and sectarianism (Sunni privilege, for example) — and then fall short of criticizing structures of inequality that perpetuate sexism. Either you’re against structures of inequality, see the logic that all forms of oppression are interconnected, and embrace equality for women as tied to your own liberation, or you aren’t about justice but rather individual liberation.
The author fails to recognize and understand these concepts and specifically how they relate to men dictating what are considered safe spaces for women. He fails to recognize how these intersections impact the lives of women on a daily basis. Even as women seek to take the mantle to speak to their experiences, men have silenced us, refused to listen to us, and have taken the mantle to do the speaking for us.
Stealing Our Narrative
It is common in society to redirect the little attention women’s issues receive by centering the focus on men. When we say “women’s issues,” we are referring to forms of oppression that disproportionately affect women. These include reproductive rights, child care, sexual assault, domestic violence, equal pay, domestic labor, etc. For other forms of violence, such as war and state violence, women’s experiences are virtually erased, men’s experiences are centered as deserving of community-wide attention, and women are asked to wait because it isn’t time to address our concerns. When such issues are discussed, the onus is on women to prove their credibility and legitimacy.
When addressing women’s issues, rather than having women participate in the dialogue and asking women for the solution, men constantly seize the public platform to discuss issues they cannot speak to and issues that do not punitively affect them. As a result, myths and structures that continue to place the onus on women for forms of systemic violence — that they don’t have the power to change — become further entrenched. When women do speak up, articles like “The Hypocrisy of Feminist Outrage” pop up, devaluing the female experience, spinning the female experience as a result of women’s own mistakes, and elevating male privilege.
Objectification of Women and Punishing Freedom of Expression
The author of “The Hypocrisy of Feminist Outrage” asks, “Is it completely outlandish to suggest that the way a woman (or man) dresses has an impact on how others treat her (or him)?” And to him, we answer: That is absolutely an outlandish suggestion. The question we instead need to ask as a society is “Why does a woman’s appearance, or anyone’s appearance, impact the way they are treated by others?” Perhaps the more important question we need to ask is, “Why does the author feel the need to determine hierarchies of respectability for women, based on dress, and then justify maltreatment committed against women, at the hands of men, for not fitting his notions of respectability?” The author fails to ask these difficult questions. He fails to recognize that appearance shouldn’t be the basis for humane treatment. This is a suggestion that our society should be evolving beyond.
Exploiting Islam To Justify Violence Against Women
At what point did we begin interpreting a lack of “modesty” as a license to mistreat our fellow human beings? At what point did we make it okay to take holy scripture and use it as validation for poor behavior? Why do we use religion to justify our own shortcomings? Why are we using our religion to negate and diminish forms of violence against women, when Islam addressed forms of violence against women 1400 years ago? Where did we lose the essence and spirit of Islam as being supportive of women’s empowerment, and instead allow patriarchal and misogynistic interpretations take hold? How long are we going to let Islam be used to justify violence against women and shame victims into silence?
The author does not address these integral issues. Why? Because addressing such issues requires a degree of self-reflection in which most people are unwilling, or unable, to engage. It requires recognizing that the fault exists not within the individual being harassed, but that the fault exists within ourselves, within the harasser, and within society as a whole. It requires an understanding of structure and systematic oppression to which most people, the author included, would rather remain blind.
Islam doesn’t condone violence against women. On the contrary, the issue is in the incorrect interpretations of the Qur’an. Islam is clear on asking men to lower their gaze and protect their modesty:
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that is more purifying for them. Surely Allah is aware of what they do. “ Surat an-Nur 24:30-31
If Islam asks men to lower their gaze in order to respect their own modesty, we can logically infer that sexual harassment isn’t permissible under Islam. If even the male gaze that sexualizes women is seen as problematic within our religion, we highly doubt there is any permissibility for intimidating, objectifying, and harassing women.
An earlier article published by MuslimGirl described how the hijab can’t be exploited and used as a tool of victim blaming. As the author states,
“I cover from men, but not for men. When I wear my hijab, I don’t do it to control the thoughts of men who see me. I do it for myself.”
According to the Qur’an, Sunnah, and the Maqasid al-Shari’ah, abuse and violence against women are religiously impermissible. If we look at the life of our Prophet (PBUH), he wasn’t abusive or controlling towards women or his family in the household. For example we know from the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):
“None but a noble man treats women in an honorable manner. And none but a dishonorable man treats women disgracefully.” (Hadith Tirmidhi)
Therefore, Islam does offer a positive model of masculinity, and we cannot argue that men can use Islam to justify the abuse and maltreatment of women. For a deeper explanation on correcting the misinterpretations of Verse 4:34 to justify domestic violence, we prefer reading the resources provided by Peaceful Families Project and Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE).
Further, the verse in the Qur’an that we believe provides the strongest call to stand against all forms of injustice, including gender-based violence, comes from Verse 135 of Surat Al Nisa, or “The Verse for Women”:
“O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well acquainted with all that ye do.”
This verse makes it clear that we must stand against injustice in all its forms, including gender-based violence, irrespective of who we have to challenge. It’s clear that Islam not only supports, but also actively demands gender justice.
Conclusion
Overall, the demands of equality aren’t only about dress; they are about asking for a radical transformation of power as distributed by gender. They are about restructuring society to reflect equality across gender — and, when applying intersectionality, across all identities and their expressions. The demands for equality are about asking for an end to the global devaluation and dehumanization of women, which begins the moment the fetus is designated female and lasts throughout a woman’s lifetime. Otherwise, how do we explain that as of 2005, over 160 million women and girls are missing due to infanticide? How do we explain that up to 7 in 10 women will experience gender-based violence over the course of their lifetime? How do we explain that 94 percent of women murdered in America are murdered at the hands of a male they know? These are the questions that the author ignores, and ignoring them is a large part of why these issues exist in the first place.
None of the ideas expressed in “The Hypocrisy of Feminist Outrage” are new. Rather, the author provides the same centuries-old sexist and misogynist arguments that continue to uphold the global structure of patriarchy. The blog post is also laden with the same whining tone that some men have taken towards the progress of women’s rights and feminism. The real question we need to ask is when we are going to move forward and dispel myths so that we can begin the work of radically transforming the current global structure of inequality between men and women in order to create a more humane, just, and equitable world. In this struggle, Muslim men need to take a step back and let Muslim women lead this work from an organic space. Muslim men must allow Muslim women to define their own empowerment and stop dictating to us a male-centric definition. Rather than serving as a barrier to progress, Muslim men need to be allies and use their access and power in Islamic institutions to affirm women’s rights. Otherwise, Muslim men are preventing Muslim women from playing a critical role in shaping this global movement and benefitting from it. Silencing women and the larger movement from taking hold in Muslim communities has deep ramifications for our communities globally, especially when one of the strongest measures for a state’s security is the status of women in that society.
Signed,
Amani Al-Khatahtbeh
Darakshan Raja
Kulsoom K. Ijaz
Naji’a Tameez
+ Anonymous
RSVP to join us on a Google Hangout, open to all, for a live conversation in conjunction with the 16 Days Against Gender Violence campaign. #TAKEBACKTHEMIC
Truly a great article. I really appreciate you referencing your sources. I checked them and they look very solid. Thanks a lot.
Thank you very much Aveen!
Nice avatar pic…now imagine if a Muslim guy had a pic of his six packs showing and pants lowered to his hips…same thing ? Of course not, because as a girl you can do whatever you you want 🙂
Its opinions like yours why Muslim men are seen as sexist and misogynist. That is why this piece is important to address how rampant this type of misogyny is.
No sweetheart it is not people like me that contribute to misogyny (which translates to hatred of women, not critiquing feminism)…rather because of the commonality of throwing misogyny around everything you don’t like, you have diminished the word’s meaning.
If you tell a girl that is running with a scissor to be careful…it’s patriarchy trying to control her isn’t ?
You can spell a word like “misogyny” but don’t get the difference between “your” and “you’re”. -_-
Because a woman’s avatar with a picture of her FACE showing is the same thing as a man showing off his ABS AND CHEST? Idiot. The two are not the same. It’s her FACE not her breasts. And so what if he wants an avatar of his abs.
He the typical type of man who would abuse a woman. As you can see he is starting to do it right here, right now.
So after that long piece, instead of commenting about it you comment about what she is wearing? But I think it’s an interesting pov. Why wouldn’t be ok for a guy’s avatar to be like that? Too indecent? According to whom? Who and how is that decided?
Jekyll, what an idiotic response to a very deep article! Really what you just read went in one eye and out your arse directly without passing through a brain
You have a problem with a woman’s entire head showing?!
her profile picture is literally a picture of her face? there is nothing sexual about it.
Are you patronizing me to think I can’t find her face arousing? If I were to say that men should not find other men alluring, I’m a bigot? But you can maintain that her face is not sexual to someone out there? People may find a leg or an arm alluring, then what?
Thank you for your support!
a really fabulous response that needed to be written
Thank you!
Thank you very much!
“At its core, feminism is the advocacy for social, political and economic equality”
At it’s core religion is a subjugation of individualism and freedom…why don;t you guys just say that as well ?
Feminism is academic hucksterism. Ironically as many women in the West are moving away from this toxic ideology it is picking up speed in the Muslim world.
So one Muslim MAN had the audacity to wrote a a critique and all of the femis went nuts. Why don’t you go read the trash that gets published on the Islamic Monthly, where simps and manginas are abound and numerous ? i.e “every single woman needs a vibrator at home”…imagine if a guy said he deeds a daily dosage of pornography to keep him good. Of course if a woman said pornography was good for her, it would be considered okay (we have a feminist pornstar now, Bella Knox).
Mukthar Mai, Malay a Joya…yes of course White Feminist were all on these women. Ironically of all the Muslim women in Muslim countries that are activists, lecturers, public figures, they never get mentioned, it is only if someone gets raped…tell em this is it only when a Muslim woman gets raped that she becomes anyone of any importance ? What about the women who get raped left and right in this country..where is their voice ?
Feminism is an ideology which has it adherents, and it’s critics. When you debate a Marxist, they don’t start hurdling abuse at you on a personal level, but dare criticize feminism, all of of a sudden you are misogynist, a rape apologist ? What ?????
” In this struggle, Muslim men need to take a step back”…yes why don’t ally yourself with homosexuals ? Let’s not pretend Muslim feminists are not also the leading promoters of gay rights.
Bottom Line: There is not, there will be Gender Equality in Islam as you people see in the West. There are TWO genders with TWO roles in Islam. IF you wish to leave the religion, be it so. In fact I encourage many women and men to just leave Islam all together and enjoy their activism.
Feminism has got nothing to do with the views expressed here. In the end, feminism is all about protecting women’s rights (but not at the cost of trampling men’s rights) and I am strongly for it. What I am against is buying the secular propaganda where the woman can dress as she please but is said to to have no role towards contributing towards the vileness, moral depravity or negativity of a society. Sadly, Muslims have started to fall for it as well.
It is often that people use words differently, right ? Is your usage of the word feminism that of Andrea Dowerkin, Gloria Steinem or Lacie Green ? Or now is that every time anything of any nature concerning any event that is in regard to women, the only protection agency is under the gauge of Feminism ?
I can very well say that Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is is all about protecting women’s rights ? 😉
Feminism for me means to protect a woman. I would term ALLAH as a feminist since Islam was the first religion that provided shares in a man’s property as a mother, daughter, sister and wife. Woman was supposed to be given mehr when getting married to, a woman couldn’t be divorced without providing for her and so on and so forth. Allah made sure that no woman could be taken advantage of financially. But then Allah also included clear guidelines on how a woman needs to behave and dress. For me, it appears quite strange when Muslims say that a Muslim woman’s attire should be given zero responsibility towards contributing towards the vulgarity of the society. I am not arguing that sexual harassment policies should not exist- they should exist- what I am saying is that attire policies should exist as well. I guess that would be unachievable- but at least on the inside women should accept their responsibilities as well – with what they contribute with their attires.
Did you just refer to God as a feminist ???? What…uggg
I know kinda strange but to think about it- Islam is all about protecting the woman and her rights- Allah is one big woman’s advocate.
Still uggg…pick another word Jeez
Great article, you took it straight to the point. Couldn’t agree more with you girls! Keep up spreading the good word!
*manjina alert*
This is why we need feminism. It advocates for protections for everyone against sexism. Women and their parts are seen as inferior and then when men say something “out of line” they are likened to women so they can be seen as inferior too. Fun fact: Vaginas are actually strong and resilient parts for a number of reasons but I’m sure your comment wasn’t a testament to that.
No, you don’t feminism to fight off every bad thing that can happen to women across the globe.
Manjinas are simp men who go out of the way to support every tacky issue that revolves around feminism. It’s actually a hustle…’want to get a Muslim girl’s attention, play either the pious brother part or go out of the and issue fatwas of how wonderfully you support feminism’.
Its men like you that make me want to run from Islam, Jekyll. Why are you here? Just to troll? Why are you so threatened by feminism and strong intelligent women? What is it about you that makes you feel so insecure when women are speaking up for themselves? Strange little man. Go away.
Woww McMurray go have MacFlurry and calm down. I am not trolling because I am commenting frequently on a post that has relevance. If I was on EverydayFeminism or Jezebel, then I would be trolling.
Typical typical typical feminist tort..’i’m insecure of intelligent women’ or ‘I’m threatened’ ‘I’m a misogynist’ etc etc…try coming up with something new for a change and let’s not mention Miss Tanya, you don’t know diddly squat about me. Maybe I’m mum is a doctor ? Maybe my wife is a scientist ? Maybe my daughter is a lawyer ? No of course that does not count, because if they are not feminist, they cannot be strong independent woman, because only feminism makes strong intelligent women right ? Without it, women are just village idiots, right ? What a despicable idea, right ?Feminism’s inbred misogyny.
And when did I stop women from speaking up for themselves ? Did I tell the authors of this essay they should keep their mouth shut ? Rather, I like her personal blog. Why do you people always come up with irrational, non sequtoir arguments, if one can call them that ?
Lastly, don’t dangle the hysterical sentence of ‘running away from Islam’. Go run as fast as you can! There are two doors generally to a masjid and two doors out. If this religion is not for you, then don’t become a Muslim. Don’t be nonsensical enough to stand on the dais of being a Mulsim or not being a Muslim for someone else’s sake.
Try coming out next time with some reasonable arguments instead of the typical emotional hysterics.
I just came back on actually to edit my response to you here as I thought its a bit rude, but after reading your response, naaah, I’ll keep it there. What you and your ‘Feminism is Evil’ ‘You cant be muslim and feminist’ types conveniently forget is that most attacks on women come from those men who are closest to them and supposed to be protecting them, and the lack of justice from the whole system does nothing to change things. We have a huge problem in the muslim ummah of abuse of women and no one ever wants to discuss that. Yes it is worse than in the general population. When abuse is then being apparently sanctioned by your religion, by your God, it creates an enormous psychic pain in a woman that she may never resolve. So far as emotional hysterics (hysterical emotional women…well reasoned logical man…oh please) this is a hugely emotional issue for me. I have received far more harm and damage at the hands of muslim men than I ever did as a Christian,and met more truly evil men through Islam than I ever came across before I practised Islam, (and far more severely depressed unhappy women) and I am harassed far more in hijab than without it, and 90% of the time by yes, muslim men. Something needs to change.
May I also add that being harassed on social media by muslim men is now a constant problem for all the sisters I know, whether they wear hijab or not. We are constantly having to unfriend and block freaky people or sisters who turn out to be bros, I have never once been sexually harassed online by a non muslim. So there is a big problem there, a problem in thinking.
Perhaps you should get off the internet then. Because of course all men are like that, right ?
Look miss, I know of women who have been horribly wronged by men and have been atrocious relationships, but feminism is the panacea for that ? And what makes Muslim Men more prone to violence then, their religion ? If you believe that nonsense, then why did you not just leave Islam all together ?
You present the typical picture of a women who has been wronged and has decided to turn to feminism for help; no help is there, I’m afraid.
And seriously why did you think that Muslim Men were some sort of Perfection ? Why do so many women who come to Islam, come with this naive idea that somehow magically by being a Muslim all your problems will disappear ?
I am not dismissing your claims of being wronged. And neither am I giving you sordid pity, but my point is that you are using your personal problems to adhere to a pathetic ideology.
Domestic Violence is a problem. Feminism is not the solution.
For what it’s wort, ahki, I hear you. So long as we hold onto Islam, we are good. As soon as we think we need some other ideology, as soon as we think that Islam isn’t enough, we’re lost.
Thank you so much for your encouraging words!
Mukhtar Mai was not attacked because of her clothes or the lack of them. She would have been attacked in any case since her brother was having a relationship with a rich family’s woman and they ordered the attack. Mukhtar Mai is not a good example for this article.
Mukhtar is precisely the good example for this article. Her story is just another example of the truth that men don’t commit sexual violence because of how little or how much a woman wears but to exert power and control over someone. In Mukhtar’s case it was to exert power and control over her directly but to also exert power and control over her brother in revenge and her family more broadly.
No Mai’s case is of uneducated village idiots who keep age old vendettas to hurt someone else’s “thing”, be it a woman or a boy or anything, but you know what thank you for giving a great service to Western Islampahobes. Thanks!
The people who commit these actions are the one’s providing great material for the Western Islamophobes, not the people who speak out against the actions. This is precisely why this piece was written. People said the same thing when Mukhtar Mai went abroad to tell her story and raise awareness about this issue–that she was a traitor and was catering to the West. This victim blaming sputtery has got to stop.
Mukhtar Mai did a great thing to talk about it. I would suggest that every rape victim should talk about her ordeal, report it – even if she is Muslim and all her marriage chances go to zero which would probably happen in a Pakistani society. What I don’t like is when women like Kim Kardashian, Rihanna or Miley Cyrus put their butts and nipples everywhere and than ask not to be harassed. Women like these that help towards the sexual objectification of women make it bad for all the rest of us that do not want to be taken as women when working along with men. I want to be considered AJ – the mind and not AJ – the vagina by any man except my husband – sorry to be crude. These women that roam around in their yoga pants with all their butts and pubic areas clearly outlined and their breasts/cleavages showing lose the right to argue why they are treated like meat.
Precisely! The hypocrisy is so absurd! So Kimmy can show off her complete nude butt, and not a scorn came from these feminists ?!
Mai did not go on an international tour of her own great doing. You seem like a smart, what twenty-something; I am quite sure you could see through the red herring of why Mai and Joya were given all this splendid attention across the globe…’white man err woman saving the helpless brown girl from the evil patriarchal brown man’.
I think original article which provoked this rebuttle by few brave girls actually served Westren Islamophobes not the clarification. I heard that until Hazrat Omar’s Era non Muslim women and slave women were used to go outside bare chested and it did provoke any rape by Sahaba.
These are your words:
“We wonder how easy it would be for him to inform a gang rape victim, like Mukhtar Mai in Pakistan, that it would have been “much, much worse” if she wasn’t wearing her chador,”
You imply in this line that the argument that women’s clothing determines whether a man will harrass her or not is irrelevant since Mukhtar Mai got gang-raped even though she was wearing a chador. You thus enforce the rhetoric that wearing a chador or not would not affect the outcome. Now, your example would have been good if Mai was any other lady on the street with a chador that got raped but Mai was not. It was a targeted rape. Your quote was not used to prove that men rape to exert power but to prove that clothes are irrelevant. I pointed out your fallacy.
Excellent analysis.
If you go down a bit:
“Sexual violence isn’t just a form of violence that occurs at the individual level; it is used at the individual, community, and state level as as a weapon of fear and control. To diminish all forms of sexual violence by making it all about the wardrobe is an insidious lie used to veil [dual usage of the word intended] the root causes.”
I get your point but if you were just skimping down the Mai bit, the first thing that would come to mind – what her clothes didn’t have any role. Perhaps, another case would be better to make the irrelevance of clothes point stronger.
In any case, my position is that a woman does have a big role to play in how she gets treated in a society and that role is strongly dependent on what she wears and how she interacts with the opposite gender. This attire and this behavior with the opposite gender is very clearly outlined in the Quran. Islamically speaking, we can not shift the burden completely on a man if the woman has not completely fulfilled her duties and obligations. My opinion is valid on Muslim Girl if not on other secular sites.
An-Nur 24:30
Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do.
An-Nur24:31
And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.
How come you left out all Quranic verses addressed to women that tell women how to dress up, namely the one telling them to cover their chest or not to show their beauty to non-mehrems or to pull their outer coverings around themselves? You did include the one that tell men to lower their gazes. Point being, the well-being of this society or to preserve goodness in it is not just the man’s job. The woman has a big role in it. The biggest fault in your article and the articles like your article is that you place the responsibility of what goes wrong in a society squarely on a man’s shoulder and completely absolve women from it, even though from a Quranic point of view both women and men are held responsible – how women dress and how men react to it.
2015- Women are absolved a priori
Since you have brought Allah into this article and thus from your point of view, you are applying your rhetoric to a Muslim society as well. Let me ask you this question. Would you place any responsibility on a college-aged woman that wears a mini-skirt, gets drunk and enters a fraternity in case someone physically abuses her? Do you think Allah would place any responsibility on her? Now I am not talking about absolving a rapist from any responsibility. I am talking about ethically (and not legally) placing a responbility on the woman as well on how she got treated.
Another example was what a friend of mine told me a while back, that his friend was accused of sexual harassment when he was in Australia for Spring Break.
Now who was the victim ? A 16 year old girl. Horrible right ? Inexcusable right ? Yes, everybody would agree. But here is the rest of the story:
‘A 16 year old American girl went to party by herself to Australia and ended up “staying” over a frat house with almost 50 teenage boys who were all drunk!’…Gee wiz, I wonder what could have had happened ? Of course I utterly condemn her being sexually harassed, but honestly, seriously, is there not a once of responsibility, if not on her, at least on her parents’s part ? Not even a wag of a finger ? Are women considered that helpless and dumb that they are not even allowed to purport even that responsibility ?
Why can’t anyone even dare to say What was a 16 year old girl doing partying with very drunk young men in a frat house by herself, 10,000 miles away!!!
I would call the rapists criminals and I would term the girl as an enabler of their crimes.
It was not rape, but assault as the case went and I do not think you would make many friends calling the girl an enabler.
I am trying to distinguish between who actually does the crime and is legally responsible for it and whose attitude helped the crime.
The above article explains what attitudes helped the crime, the attitudes of male dominance and misogyny.
Oh Vey! Stop the age old dance already.
So WOMAN can never ever ever be responsible for anything bad that happens to them? Ever ?!?!?!
What is wrong with you????? I hope you never have teenagers, especially daughters. You are so completely judgmental and committed to blaming women and girls. Grow up, go out in the world, get some life experience and find your heart. If an abuser abuses he is to blame, no one else. And different cultures have different ideas of what is acceptable behaviour. In your analysis any young woman in a pair of jeans and heels in a pub in the UK is asking for it.
I wouldn’t say they want it. I would say they enable it.
There was a study by a British academician about the consumption of alcohol (by women on a date) increasing the chances of them getting raped. All the so-called feminists (I wouldn’t call them that) pounced on her throat asking why she even placed a shred of accountability or responsibility on a woman. That’s your culture – the western culture where your person is telling you that drinking and dating is not safe for you but for some reason the so-called feminists and their sheeple followers are not interested to learn safety but to continue the blame-game –I was drunk, I was not dressed right, I was among a group of animalistic guys but I am not to blame at all. Sorry, its not about just culture – every culture has some guidelines for what’s safe for women – if these so-called feminists are taking their sheeple down a path that makes it dangerous for them – then these leaders are just dumb.
In the early days of al-Islam up to the time of al-Imam Malik slave women were walking around in al-Madinah bare-breasted. This is well-known and confirmed in many sources.
However, before everyone starts blowing their tops and getting red-faced, perhaps they should know that according to the shari’ah (and this might surprise some of you), the ‘awrah for a slave woman – even a Muslim slave woman – is only from her navel to her knees.
With some minor differences, there is an agreement in the four madhabs that the awrah of a slave woman is like that of a man, from the navel to the knees. A slave woman can thus be in public and expose her breasts. There are also rules in fiqh for what part of a slave woman you are allowed to look at, and if the awrah outside of prayer is the same as that in prayer. However, if we were living in the time of the khalifa of Umar ibn al-Khattab , the sahaba would have walked in the streets and passed slave women with no veil on their head, and their breasts exposed. This is the view of the four madhabs.
And the practice of the slave-women going around bare-breasted, although it was common, was however strongly disapproved of by the ‘ulama. Read this quote from “Kitab al-Jami'” of al-Imam Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani al-Maliki (died 386 AH):
So okay chicks that are half naked are to be treated like slaves. Great idea!
You took her very valid point and completely inverted it for your own ignorant purposes. She is saying that the sahaba walked by nearly naked slaves regularly and did not sexually harass or assault them. They did not need to approve of the dress-practice to still treat those slaves with more humanity than the street harassment we are talking about today.
So those slaves were treated better than some dumb broads walking around half naked being cat called at ? Your view is myopic…refracted by your adherence to the ideology of feminism.
And so along with being labeled a misogynist, now everybody who dares give a refutation of feminism is de facto ignorant too ?
Jekyll. All your comments on this thread are hilarious. Just wanted you to know. XD I’ve never seen you so peessed!
Hi Jekyll, I’m really curious to know what your story is. All that “passion” must come from some unfortunate life event(s). I want you to know that you don’t have to be a product of your unfortunate circumstances. That you can be a more rational, kind-hearted and more civil human being.
Actually it doesn’t really. Terribly sorry to disappoint you but I wasn’t not hurt (lol as feminist tend to be) or dumped nor anything.
So please keep your condescending and patronizing attitude to your law classes.
Not too long ago I could have cared less for feminism and to be honest I don’t, from a non-Islamic point of view. I don’t care if people are engaging in intercourse in public or they are they passing put in public. I am no salafi or some sufi saint or dawhee or anything.
I am defending my religion especially when to comes to liberal encroachment i.e. “homosexuality is okay” or “Islamic feminism can defend Muslim women” or “the concept of halaal banking”.
I used to be a decent liberal until I saw the absurd duplicity of liberal pluralism and the complete sheer emotional mud slinging when it comes to even offering a critique of an ideology such as feminism.
Anyway someone whom I respect and care for very much has said to be politely to leave this issue and blog and I will do so, so you may carry on as you wish. It’s painfully obvious giving a rational discourse of such ideologies is not going to work here.
So again “sister”, keep your pithy diagnosis that something must have happened to be in order to show some passion for my religion to yourself (as I said before if Islam is not concerned I would have cared less what is going on anymore; not here to change people’s views nor influence them to think my way).
I am quite sure I have not distressed you too much, but if I have, don’t worry, I am leaving (to go listen to Chap Tilak :).
I am rational person and so are you. It is this modernistic disease of feminism and etc that is an irrational belief and the discourse on this blog only redoubled my point. Muslims are very lost when it comes to Islam, especially political and social Islam, that they often need to hang too whatever the zeitgeist offers. Just pray that your grandchildren still have an option of what “Allah” is.
Saalaam Alikium
P.S. Just like you would not like to be called a whore or a slut, it is not nice to call people “rape apologists” and “rapists” either. Relay this information to your mum too.
Best of luck in law school.
Stop lying, Jekyll. We know you were jilted Havisham style by your orthodox, descendent of the Lost Tribes Jewess bride.
Point is that even if women are not dressing modestly , the men have no right to disrespect them or rape them.
I love you Momma.
Relax lady, nobody said otherwise.
Men have NO right to ever rape anyone – EVER. Even a husband has NO right to rape his wife. It’s NOT about who has a right to rape who. It’s about: Does a woman have a responsibility to towards contributing towards sexual harassment and the rape culture – I say YES in case of women who do try to dress sexy and thus contribute towards sexual objectification of women. Of course, rape and sexual harassment doesn’t always happens towards women who dress or act sexy. It can happen to anyone but even the Quran tells you pull your outer coverings around yourself to AVOID molestation. I did an article here:
https://aayjay.wordpress.com/2014/11/03/quranic-verse-of-the-day-bring-your-outer-garment-over-yourself-when-stepping-out/
The point is that if we try to talk in terms of Islam and Quran – would Allah blame a woman who didn’t follow the guidelines set out for her – I would say definitely. The women who would say NO on this a cherry-picking out of Quran what suits them and shifting all the blame to men.
It’s not the word molest. It’s the word tease I think was used or cat calling in modern dictionary.
33:59, quran.com, Translation: Yusuf Ali
O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاء الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ ذَلِكَ أَدْنَى أَن يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا {59
033:059 Khan
:
O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e.screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
033:059 Maulana
:
O Prophet, tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of believers to let down upon them their over-garments. This is more proper, so that they may be known, and not be given trouble. And Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.
033:059 Pickthal
:
O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad). That will be better, so that they may be recognised and not annoyed. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.
033:059 Rashad
:
O prophet, tell your wives, your daughters, and the wives of the believers that they shall lengthen their garments. Thus, they will be recognized (as righteous women) and avoid being insulted. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
033:059 Sarwar
:
Prophet, tell your wives, daughters, and the wives of the believers to cover their bosoms and breasts. This will make them distinguishable from others and protect them from being annoyed. God is All-forgiving and All-merciful.
033:059 Shakir
:
O Prophet! say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers that they let down upon them their over-garments; this will be more proper, that they may be known, and thus they will not be given trouble; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
033:059 Sherali
:
O Prophet ! tell thy wives and thy daughters, and the women of the believers, that they should pull down upon them of their outer cloaks from their heads over their faces. That is more likely that they may thus be recognized and not molested. And ALLAH is Most Forgiving, Merciful.
033:059 Yusufali
:
O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Most translation is annoyed or troubled.
(I guess Veena Malik was illiterate in all these translations)
Jekyll every translation is different and coming to the subject. Allah orders women and men both to be modest, but s/he did not allow or ordered men or women to tease, trouble or molest others if they fail to comply. Slave girls were not under this order but it did not mean that Men are allowed to molest them. It’s betweennwomen and Allah .
You asked why I used the word molested and I explained why – meaning that I didn’t create it out of thin air. Providing all these translations was an overkill.
Quran puts the onus on the molested child? And Islamic men want westerners to trust them and not treat them as suspect? Sorry, that’s just illogical and no one is going to tolerate that kind of sick crap. I’m done trying to understand this abusive religion and culture.
When I was a school girl in Pakistan I start doing niqab at age 13. I was a very thin innocent looking young girl with no prominent” curves” and I came across like a school girl even after my Medschool. The reason I start covering is people like Jeykyl, because they think of a female as peice of meat(chick) but I realised no matter how much I am covered I can’t stop those piercings eyes and dirty looks.
People like these make me noxious whose brains are between their legs.
Madame I am assuming your older than me, so I will address you as aunty…but what a pathetic disgusting low life despicable comment on your part, aunty gee. Shame on you. Even your daughter did not turn such ad homien attacks.
You don’t know anything about me nor have met me, yet you have decided to label as a ‘predator’.
I’m somebody’s son too, perhaps you should talk to your son or husband.
Shame on you entirely madame, that me giving a rebuttal against feminism, i.e. Islamic Feminism has allowed to you to reach the disgusting and vile statement of labeling me a ‘harasser’ or that my brains is between my legs.
I can say much much more, but I will hold my tongue as you are an older woman…but really you ONLY proved my point; You criticize feminism and you are labelled a rapist, predator, harasser, etc etc…
Shame on you who refer women as chicks and yes who support the notion that female dress provoke rapes are shameful disgusting people. Why are you are so afraid of feminism if it’s mere equal rights. Women are the same species and are not inferior in any way so why should we settle for less. Male superiority began since the start of Neolithic era when they got trapped in the house to give birth and take care of kids while men are farming but slowly they got upper hand because they were the ” breadwinners ” while in Paleolethic Era they were both bread winners and women were actually superior because they were also giving birth. Islam restore some of those rights and actually it was a step forward towards feminism not backward . People like you actually use it against women.
Shame on you twice Aunty Shaiba for twisting my words to fix your incongruous notion that I think rape is okay. Double shame. Poor, pathetic personal attacks.
I am not threatened by feminism, in fact it was because of anti-feminist women that I came to see feminism as an academic dishonesty and a fraud. Before that, I was lukewarm, as complacent men are these days.
Spare me the archaeological/anthropological lesson. God created men and women differently for different roles, but hey guess what, it’s 2015 and you and the feminist bandwagon know what’s best for us.
Islam restore some of those rights and actually it was a step forward towards feminism not backward
Some ?? Some of the rights ? So I guess even the religion fell short of giving women the utter chaotic freedom that feminism provides right ? Are not Muslim supposed to submit their will to God, or is that you are a Muslim Deist, as most Muslim are there days ?
Here is a hint; If you will resort to Islamic Feminism, make sure it is rooted in Islam, i.e. if you are unsure if Islam gives women complete rights as you have it, then perhaps you aught to re-think your religious affiliation altogether.
You said you are a Pakistani, so when Miss Venna Malik decide to show off her ISI tattoos, it was freedom right ? And only the big bad bearded mullahs were holding her back ?
(Even the likes of Amina Wudud and Leila Ahmed at least purported their views in some sacrosanct, perhaps “desirable” version of Islam).
The way you commet shows your training. I believe Islam is a progressive religion and by restoring those rights it gives us direction towards equality not backwards. So we should move forward towards claiming equal rights not backward andits perfectly Islamic.That’s my problem when women do something like that actress , the Mullas start shaming them. Where were/ are they when Muslim girls were/ are systemically oppressed and deprived of even their ” Islamic Rights” such as education, inheritance and right to choose their own spouse. In my opinion they are hypocrites and only stand up to oppress women.
My training ? What if I became a Muslim yesterday ? Or was not practicing until yesterday ?
I agree with you completely about the hypocrisy of these so called mullahs…religion used to hurt and disfranchise the poor. Complete agreement.
Islam is a progressive religion…so I guess the Prophet lacked something that you now will add ? What was the Last Kuthba concerning “perfecting your religion” ? You should have been there I guess make sure feminism got’s it’s vote in too ?
You also completely exonerated Miss Venna Malik. Ignoring the mullahs, is she responsible for anything at all ? Seriously ANYTHING AT ALL !?!
And again try to see things outside the myopic view of feminism. There are little boys who are being sexually abused by these same mullahs, yet is there anything for them ? Brainwashed into being extremists. Is there anything for them ? Kidnapped and sold into “bacha bazai”. is there anything for them ? Are these not your boys too ? Are they not humans too ? The cycle of violence keeps going on and on and on.
Nobody is denying there is no conflicts or issues to dealt with; but the fraud ideology of feminism is not the solution and neither is this bewildering idea of a “progressive Islam” that probably is a shell of anything Islamic.
jeykyl there was always room for Ijtahad in Islam such as doing or creating some thing which goes along the basic principles of Islam. Omar Bin Khattab started social welfare system on which the social welfare system of Westren countries stands. Also 4 Sunni and Shia Imams differ on so many things. If religion was so set in stone then there would be no Ijtehad or difference of opinions and rules of fiq.
Please stop cherry picking from the past, and further I know what Ijtahad is and you should also know it’s not for any anybody to start interpreting Islam for themselves.
If you are a mechanic, stick to mechanics. if you spent ten years studying engineering stick to engineering, do not at 25 or 30 or 35 start writing a book about Islamic History and theology.
Yes again aunty I agree with you, there is difference of opinion in our theology, but look as what happened to the Christians..they liberalized their religion to a point where everybody thinks they have their own version of the Bible.
Is adultery ever going be sanctioned by an version of Islamic Law ? Yes many Muslims are very much involved in sex and whatnot, but can they ever be considered “Muslims” if they start saying that “Islamically” they are allowed to commit zina ??? Sure go do whatever you like, nobody is coming after you, but what sense is there to start Islam 2.0 ?
There is foundations which YOU must accept in order to be a Muslim…i.e. there is no such thing as atheist Muslims or Muslims who believe God created the world and then went away i.e. Dieism.
Let’s be frank. Most of these independent Ijtahadis are have their own nafsi issues that they want to pass through, i.e. homosexuality and feminism.
When criminals like ISIS use itjhaid to exonerate their crimes, it is disgusting and atrocious, yet when someone want to reinterpret the story of Lut for their reasons…what then ?
I am not defending homosexuals or ISIS here those are different topics. I am not cherry picking . Throughout the Islamic history men cherry picked and even intentionally misinterpret or misconstrued the Hadiths and facts to Oppress women except first few years.Female scholars were scarce 2ndry to the fact that they even strip women the right of education and economic independence . Now when women are coming out of prolonged gender slavery and showing the facts and demand equal rights , guys like you start using religion for the base for oppression while Islam came to liberate women and layed out some fundamental changes on which further progress can be made.
Congratulations sister Aunty..or whatever. Do carry on the flag of progress into the middle of the 21st century.
Nobody is stopping you least of “guys like me who are using religion to oppress you”.
Bye
Men are not equal to women according to the Quran. They have different inheritance – boy gets two shares, girl gets one – they have different clothes requirements – they have different roles in marriage meaning man is responsible for providing (4:34) – different testimony requirements, 2 women vs. one man, etc. to name a few. So please do not use the label of equality between men and women under the label of Islam. You may use the label of justice which is as strong if not greater which makes sure that justice is provided to a mother (example the husband needs to provide a milk mother for a baby if the wife asks), or to provide mehr when the wife asks or other duties and obligations towards women. In fact, there are more obligations towards women including financial as compared to men. In fact, if I were to say, I would say that women have a superior status in Islam which is better than equal. I don’t want to be equal to my husband. I can touch his income when I want. Islamically, he can’t touch mine – in fact in our house, we say his money is our money and my money is my money, Alhumdulillah!
Why are two female witnesses required to have th power of one male?
The two female witnesses issue is taken from this verse [2:282]:
O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a specified term, write it down. And let a scribe write [it] between you in justice. Let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him. So let him write and let the one who has the obligation dictate. And let him fear Allah , his Lord, and not leave anything out of it. But if the one who has the obligation is of limited understanding or weak or unable to dictate himself, then let his guardian dictate in justice. And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses – so that if one of the women errs, then the other can remind her. And let not the witnesses refuse when they are called upon. And do not be [too] weary to write it, whether it is small or large, for its [specified] term. That is more just in the sight of Allah and stronger as evidence and more likely to prevent doubt between you, except when it is an immediate transaction which you conduct among yourselves. For [then] there is no blame upon you if you do not write it. And take witnesses when you conclude a contract. Let no scribe be harmed or any witness. For if you do so, indeed, it is [grave] disobedience in you. And fear Allah . And Allah teaches you. And Allah is Knowing of all things.
This verse applies to writing down financial transactions only. The reason given is that if one forgets, the other can remind her. I also suspect that in those times, if somebody tried to nullify the transaction based upon, “well a woman wrote it” – that couldn’t happen since there was another woman as well.
Let’s look at another verse related to writing down one’s final wishes before death [5:106]:
O you who have believed, testimony [should be taken] among you when death approaches one of you at the time of bequest – [that of] two just men from among you or two others from outside if you are traveling through the land and the disaster of death should strike you. Detain them after the prayer and let them both swear by Allah if you doubt [their testimony, saying], “We will not exchange our oath for a price, even if he should be a near relative, and we will not withhold the testimony of Allah . Indeed, we would then be of the sinful.
This verse doesn’t specify the sexes of the “two others” so two women would suffice too meaning two men or two women could suffice. Thus, here two women’s testimony is not equal to one man’s.
Also, in some other verses related to punishments for adultery, the sexes of the witnesses have not been expressed. Point being, the two female vs. one male is for the specific issue of financial transactions. Allah knows best why He wanted it that way.
The prehistoric donkey speaks with is brains between his legs. Stop harassing ssijaz.
No mother, it’s not between the legs of a man, but a woman that causes femeinism.
Another example of Victim blaming which made me so sick mentally and physically that I stayed noxious for days. I was interviewing a patient who was also charged with molesting his step daughter at age 7. I knew his history from previous medical recordes but he was insisting on telling the whole story and insisting that the little girl provoked him. I said to him even if so who was the adult in the room.
No matter how much is the women is covered or uncovered or how young or old is she , the misogynist will find the way.
That is so sad.
Fantastic article, you have said what has needed to be said for a long time and put it so well. The only sad thing is that the men who really need to read this probably wont. Thank you for writing this.
I guess men are too busy ogling Kim Kardashian’s new photo shoot that they don’t have time for receiving wisdom from the Oracle of Delphi.
Dude. Get a hobby. Replying to every post on an article about sexual harassment and gender-based violence to mock the readers is beyond pathetic. What do you hope to gain? Do you think we’re going to read your posts and say, “Wow, this random troll is right! Women are literally the cause of everything bad in the world!” No. So shoo. Go update your CV or study for your exams or get rejected by some girl because the grown ups are talking.
Thank you.
First of all I rather think it is complementary that I am answering the comments.
Second, I hope to gain nothing by condoning “gender based violence”, because I condemn it.
Again you seem to have a misguided idea concerning trolls and rebuttals regarding feminism.
Lastly you, as expected, you retorted to the same pathetic jejune peripheral absurdity of thinking I against women because I was rejected by girls.
(You don’t know anything about me, yet have no issue giving fataws concerning my life. Please address the arguments at hand)
No, you misunderstand me. I don’t think you hate women because you have, in the past, been rejected. I think you WILL be rejected again and again BECAUSE you hate women. I hope that clears that up for you 🙂
The blog post is also laden with the same whining tone that some men have taken towards the progress of women’s rights and feminism.
I think many women have taken on a “whining tone” as well. I don’t know where many of the feminists live, but some of them describe the US as if it’s a horrible place for a woman to live. I don’t think so. I live in the US and don’t feel like a victim. I don’t feel “oppressed” by men. Where are all these “misogynists”?
I feel more “oppressed” by feminists who pounce on me whenever I dare to challenge their narrative than I do the so-called “patriarchy.” I can’t think of an ideology more centered on a sense of victimhood than feminism.
Feminism built in misogyny. Without the victimized paradigm, women are a useless and unable to do anything for themselves.
feminism is entirely a jewish construct like marxism and this website seems to have imbibed it indulgently without a filter. no one should justify violence towards women but there is a reason the Quran ordains modest dress and being a homebody as often as possible and no amount of modern Frankfort school inspired jewish shape-shifting discourse can change the Divine’s immutable laws. But the willful attempts are adorable.
Most of what is viewed in our world is via the male gaze. Regardless of politics,
religion, whatever. The male is seen as “normative” and it’s a huge problem. “He” is normative but “She” is not and there are as many women in the world (or more) than men. Things are out of balance and have been for a long time.
And by the way, even though the “brother” religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) will often say that “God” is not male or female, it is usually added that “He” is Spirit.
He? Male gaze again. Male as normative, even in metaphor.
When “God” (a male name) is seen as the Ultimate then we have a real problem. For those who don’t think this is really an issue, have a minister, a rabbi, an imam stand up and speak to a congregation in a mainstream religious setting and refer to “God” as “She”…see how that goes over.
such whore retarted sexist men exist the same way retarded psicopaths like isis exist, lets stop giving them attention.
I wonder sometimes, if suppose I’m at a museum, and there are big pictures of nude ladies in full bloom. Ladies naked with everything big about them, big torso, big breasts, big whatever…. And I’ve to say something about them, if I say,
1) “The picture with nude ladies represent the pride of womanhood, the full blown nudity is displaying the hidden pride of the women who’s just so enamoured by her freedom which she seeks while being naked.”
or if I say,
2) “The ladies in the picture are suffering from some sort of malady showing the swollen bodies due to high blood pressure or something like that deformity/disease.”
Could someone tell me, in that situation which sentence of mine could give me escape from not being anti-feminist, not mocking of womanhood, not being pervert etc….?
No offense because you seem like a smart, articulate girl. Yesterday, I had no opinion about Muslims and Islam, but after reading the Muslim Matters piece, I don’t want Muslims in my country. Muslim men have no right to criticize, harass or complain about the dress and behavior of western women and I am disgusted by the author of that piece.
If that is how Muslim men view us western women when we are dressing in line with what is appropriate to our culture, then Muslim men are a threat and SHOULD be viewed with suspicion and disdain. I’m sorry but you cannot have it both ways. You cannot invade our culture then write articles about how our women deserve to be raped or harassed because of your repressive beliefs. It’s unacceptable.
That MM piece really opened my eyes to how much Islamic men defend rape, so I will no longer defend Muslims as “peaceful” and “harmless”. Your cultures extreme sexism is a danger to western women and should not be tolerated. I apologize to you personally, but that article was just the last straw for me, and I no longer think Muslims belong in western countries.
An excellent analysis on the victimisation of women and the issues related to it. As has been mentioned earlier, it’d be great if there were references to the sources. Overall, it’s a very well written article.
Amazing. What an excellent read, brought me to tears.
How do we explain that 94 percent of women murdered in America are murdered at the hands of a male they know?
My experience and those of my colleagues is that such women ‘choose’ men who commit violence on them. This is now a well established fact. They find it arousing, feel desired and wanted when abused.
This abuse can be verbal, emotional and physical. It is kind of sadomasochistic relationship. Very common. We hear about it when the violence ends in murder. And authorities get involved.
A “Muslim Feminist” is like a “Cannibalistic Vegetarian”.
Islam is 100% anti-female. Islam is 100% misogynistic.
Islam kills women for “dishonoring their families”.
Islam kills women for being rape victims.
Stop kidding yourselves.