GENDER EMPOWERMENT IN PAKISTAN: THE RELIGIOUS ASPECT

Muhammad Farooq

The social status of women, in Pakistan, hinges on the interaction of religion with culture affecting women’s human rights. The Muslim world adopted various cultural patterns and norms; therefore, diversity in social norms and sexual behavioural patterns is enormous.1 Muslim women live under widely different conditions and their rights and obligations change considerably from one part of the Muslim world to another.2 Societal structure, cultural norms, economic and political conditions all play a crucial part in determining what rights are recognized for a Muslim woman in a particular part of the Muslim world. Historically, Islam has demonstrated considerable flexibility in adapting to diverse cultures, an important reason why Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world.3 Many pre-Islamic and traditional patriarchal practices are legitimized in the name of Islam. In India, where Muslim rule lasted for long one thousand years, Muslim community adopted the some aspects of caste system, although it goes against the very principle of Islam, which calls for equality among Muslims of all races and classes.4

Another example of extra-Islamic custom incorporated in Muslim culture was the deprivation of Muslim women of their right of inheritance, particularly land, in contravention to Quranic injunctions.

The use of religion and culture to justify subordination of women is political and both are used to suppress women’s demand for their human rights. The realities of Pakistani women’s lives are: being powerless, segregated, deprived of basic human and religious rights and given forcibly in marriage as children, “bought and sold, beaten and mutilated, even killed with impunity and social approval… dispossessed and disinherited despite legal safeguards,”5 silent and unmentioned. The situation of women as a social group in Pakistan, like any other society, is defined by a complex interaction of economy, political structure, class, region and culture of which religion is only one (but a powerful) element. Religion and religious knowledge are monopolized by Muslim men, “although Islam does not prohibit women from studying and interpreting Islamic texts, throughout the history of the Muslim world men have been the primary interpreters of God’s will, telling women what God in his encompassing wisdom and justice, designed women for.”6

To comprehend women’s status in a Muslim society Islamic tradition is used. This tradition does not derive from a single source. The Quran,7 the Sunnah and Hadith,8

Fiqah (jurisprudence or schools of law) and Sharia9 cumulatively form the Islamic tradition. The interpretation of the Islamic tradition varies from sect to sect to justify restricting the breathing space given to a woman.10 Consequently, it is neither a coherent or consistent body of rules nor one from which universally agreed upon set of rules can be derived.11

The system of “heirarchization of Quranic values” is used to examine the status of women in Islam.12 This method is suggestive of the development in which Quranic values first applied to newly confront social situations in the formative phase of Islam. The Muslim Scholars sorted out two types of value systems viz. socio-economic and ethico-religious in Quranic legislation. In the first hierarchy women are inferior to men, in the

Assistant Professor, Department of Pakistan Studies, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan.

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latter they are fully equals as to the spiritual and moral obligations imposed upon them, in their relation to God and in the compensation prepared for them in the Hereafter.13 The status difference of men and women in the socio-economic sphere belong to the category of social relations (muamlaat), which are subject to change, their moral and religious equality belongs to the category of religious duties towards God (ibadaat), which are immutable.

As far as the creation of man and woman is concerned the Islamic tradition is clear that God created them from one fundamental substance.14 In the area of moral and spiritual rights and obligations (ibadaat), there is complete equality including accountability and responsibility.15 Islam has accorded women civil and property rights including rights of inheritance. Muslim women have been guaranteed complete control over what they earn and possess.16 In addition to these Islam developed some other non-discriminatory rights such as the fact that woman are legal persons and can make independent decisions as regards entering into a contract and the acquisition, disposal and alienation of property. The Quran gives women the right to have full possession and control of their wealth including dower, during marriage and after divorce.17 In the sphere of family laws certain provisions endow women complete equality, for instance, the right to enter marriage of her own will, on attaining adulthood, without an intermediary (wali).18 Islam granted women the rights that are, in real world, denied. To empower women, it is imperative that that they should be entitled to the rights given to them under Islam.

MARITAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN

According to Quranic philosophy there is nothing wrong with sex and its enjoyment if it is used for procreation of humans within the marital framework and not merely for pleasure. Islam encouraged marriage because family life not only ensure survival of the human race but also guarantees social stability. It represents a dignified existence for both man and women. The Quran specifically forbids sexual relations “for fornicating and receiving paramours.”19 It would not only reduce sex to mere physical pleasure but lead to a much greater exploitation of women. The Quran says that husband and wife are each other’s garments.20 Consequently, marriage should not be seen merely as a sexual urge, which brings man and woman together; it has higher end and is a relationship of love and mutual respect.

It is generally considered that women are incapable of choosing a life partner, as their mental capacity is inferior to that of man. However, the Quran views the matter differently considers a woman mentally and morally equal to man. Both will be equally rewarded or punished for their good and bad acts.21 The Quran equates both the sexes in terms of moral responsibility. This argument can be extending to the sphere of marriage. Procreation is necessary for human survival, therefore, sexual relations between man and woman are necessary but in legitimate manner. Thus it is considered legitimate activity if it done within the framework of marriage. For that reason, marriage is encouraged in Islam.22 Marriage, in Islam, is a contract between two equal partners. A woman is an equal party in this contract; man enjoys no superiority. The Nikah Kkawan (Qazi or marriage registrar) or anyone else who solemnizes a marriage cannot perform marriage rituals without the consent of women concerned. He must notify the conditions as the

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woman wishes and specify them in the contract, including the amount of mahr (dower) she wishes to have from the husband to be. These conditions are laid down in the presence of the two witnesses who testify before the registrar. If the bridegroom accepts these conditions then registrar solemnizes the marriage. Therefore, without the women’s approval on her conditions a marriage cannot take place. She is clearly an equal partner in contracting a marriage. Marriage is not a sacrament in Islam. Therefore, it is quite possible to dissolve a marriage just as any other contract between two parties can be terminated. Divorce is perfectly legitimate though the holy Prophet (PBUH) discourages it.

Another important issue is the practice of polygamy or more accurately to say polygyny among the Muslims. There is no doubt that the Quran does permit it. One can marry up to four wives but with some conditions. The relevant verse reads as “And if you fear that you cannot do justice to orphans, marry such women as seem good to you, two, or three, or four; but if you fear you will not do justice, then (marry) only one or that which your right hands possess. This is more proper that you may do injustice.”23 This verse unequivocally permits marriage with more than one woman. However it cannot be read in isolation. This has to be read along with the preceding two verses of the same surah (Quranic Chapter) and one must also keep in mind the time of the revelation of the surah. The verse 1 of the surah 4 talks about that men and women are created from the same source (nafsin wahidatin) and hence entitled to equal status. The second verse speaks of doing justice to the orphans, exhorts Muslim to give orphans their property and not to change their good property with bad one. Third verse concerns about polygyny starts with doing justice to the orphans and continues to say that if one cannot do so then marry such women as seem good to you, two, or three, or four. Here what the Quran stresses not on marrying more than one woman but on dispensing justice to the orphans. Therefore, primary concern of the Quran is to do justice to orphan girls on the one hand and interests of the women whom men intend to marry, on the other. These considerations cannot be dropped. It is also necessary for a man to do equal justice to all his wives. If he cannot do so he should marry only one. The focal point is justice. Therefore, polygyny cannot be treated as an imperative but it is a conditional right not an absolute, as has unfortunately happened in a male-dominated society. Another important factor is the time of revelation of these verses. These were verses revealed immediately after the Battle of Uhad. In this battle seventy Muslim were martyred that reduced the number of Muslim males. Many Muslim women were widowed and girls orphaned. In this social context Muslim men were allowed to marry widows and orphan girls up to four, strictly on condition that they did justice to all of them and if they were not able to do so they should marry only one. The Quran did not issue the license to men marry with up to four women but put certain conditions on the practice of polygyny. There is another verse about polygyny in the Quran that states, “And you cannot do justice between wives, even though you wish (it), but be not disinclined (from one) with total disinclination, so that you leave her in suspense. And if you are reconciled and keep your duty, surely Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.”24 Again the Quran tells the Muslims that they cannot do justice, even if they so desire, between wives, so they should refrain from taking more wives than one.

Polygamy means plurality of mates, while polygyny means plurality of wives.

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In nikah, as a contract, both parties, the bride and bridegroom, can stipulate conditions for marriage. It implies that women are free to enter or not to enter a marriage contract. Traditionally, the woman herself is not allowed to negotiate her marriage, this is a social norm not a religious injunction. It can be, in such a case, done through a guardian (wali), normally the father or in his absence grandfather or brother decides a woman’s marital fate, of course with her consent. However, as far as the Quran and shariah are concerned, her right to accept or reject a marriage proposal is unquestionable. Nevertheless, on the issue of the consent of wali, the Muslim scholars lacked consensus. Some Islamic jurists subscribe to the view that in matters of marriage a young unmarried girl is required to appoint wali and in case of widow or divorcee such condition is

1NOTES AND REFERENCES

? I. Nicolaison, “Introduction” in B. Utas, ed., Women in Islamic Societies, Curzon Press, London, 1983. p.2. 2 Ibid.3 For detail discussion see Michael Gilsenan, Recognizing Islam: Religion and Society in the Modern Arab World, Pantheon Books, New York, 1982. 4 Huma Hoodfar “ Muslim Women on the Threshold of the Twenty-First Century,” Dossier 21, September 1998, Women Living Under Muslim Laws, p. 114.5 Government of Pakistan, Report of the Pakistan Commission on the Status of Women, Women Division, Islamabad, 1985. p. 3. 6 Huma Hoodfar, op. cit. 114.7 The book of Revelation believed by Muslim to be the word of God.8 The practice and saying ascribed to Muhammad (PBUH), the Prophet of Islam. 9 Islamic law or the code of life that regulates all aspects of Muslim life.10 Broadly speaking, Muslims are divided into two major sects viz. Sunnis and Shias. The Sunnis are further divided on adopting the four main schools of jurisprudence – Hanfi, Hanbli, Maliki and Sha’fi. The Shia sect can be divided into three sub-sects namely, Athna Asharis, Ismaili and Zaidi. There are divergence of views between these sects and sub-sects within Islam, among the other issues, as regards what rights a Muslim woman possesses. Hence there is no single consensual statement on description of women’s rights in Islam is possible.11 R. Hassan, “An Islamic Perspective,” in J. Becher, ed., Women, Religion and Sexuality, WCC Publication, Geneva, 1990. p. 90. 12 John Esposito, Women in Muslim Family Law, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, 1982. p. 106.13 For instance stated in Quranic Verses 33:35, 9:71, 40:40, 9:72, 48:5, 57:12, 3:195, and others.14 “He created you from one being, then from that (being) He made its mates.” The Quran, verse 39: 6. 15 “For Muslim men and Muslim women, for believing men and believing women, for devout men women, for true men and true women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who gives charity, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage in God’s praise, for them has God prepared forgiveness and great reward.” The Quran, verse, 33: 35. “Whoever doeth right, whether male or female, and is a believed him verily We shall quicken with good life.” The Quran, verse 16: 97.16 The Quran, verses 3: 285, 4: 7 and 32.17 The Quran, verses 4: 7 and 4: 12 as regards inheritance and bequeathal rights of women and verses 4: 4, 4: 24, 4: 20, 4: 21 and 2: 229 for full possession and control over their wealth.18 However, this is a controversial right under the Sha’fi Fiqah a woman always needs a guardian even though she has attained puberty.19 The Quran, verse 4: 2520 The Quran, verse 2: 18721 The Quran, verse 33:3522 The Quran, verse 4: 2523 The Quran, verse 4: 324 The Quran verse 4: 129

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relaxed. The other point of view is that the Quran does not instruct that wali or marriage guardian is mandatory. It is a pre-Islamic practice, which was incorporated into Islamic jurisprudence later.25 Islam gave a new outlook and new values to Muslim society, bestowed a new status upon women, it wanted to create a new woman as much as a new man. However, the pagan value system soon robbed woman of her new status and set back her position. Nevertheless, pre-Islamic practice of contracting marriage by her wali on her behalf re-established itself and the woman’s approval was reduced to mere nod or silence. From playing an active role in marriage she came to be relegated to a passive position.

DOWER (MAHR)

It is believed that dower is an advantage given to women within marriage and it is mark of respect or honour Islam has awarded women with. It is also termed as security provision within marriage in favour of women. Dower is a gift made to the bride by the groom on marriage as per the directions in the Quran. The concept of dower has its origin in pre-Islamic customs it was essentially a bride price but Islam elevated it from mere bride-price to being a token of love, truthfulness and sincerity. Mahr or dower money is an essential part of Islamic marriage. Without mahr a nikah cannot be properly solemnized. Dower money must be paid or fixed before the solemnization of a marriage and it is the exclusive preserve of the woman or bride to determine the amount. Mahr belongs to wife alone. No one has claim on it, neither father nor husband. She can spend it the way she likes. Mahr is gift presented as an act of virtue. It is not meant for to show off one’s social and financial status.26 The Quran advises men to give mahr to their would-be wife or wives. The Quran enjoins, “And give women their dowries as a free gift. But if they of themselves be pleased to give you a portion thereof, consume it with enjoyment and pleasure.”27 It should be noticed that mahr is a free gift and wife has the only right on it and the husband can enjoy it with the permission of wife.

The Quran does not specify the amount of mahr. Only woman has the right to determine the amount of mahr as much as she desires. It could be nominal or it could be fairly significant, even “a heap of gold.”28 No ceiling could be fixed for mahr and husband, in any case, could not take back it. Mahr can be taken back only if the wife demands Khula (divorce). However, if divorce takes place before the consummation of the marriage, the husband needs not to pay the entire amount of mahr but only half of it.

On the other hand if mahr has not been fixed in advance or mentioned at the time of marriage mahr-i-mithal (an equivalent amount of mahr) will have to be paid by the husband. In this situation the judge (qazi) can do so in keeping with the woman’s status or in keeping with the mahr given to other women in her family. It is known as mahr-i- mithal. The basic concept behind this is that woman should not suffer and get her due. The Quran specifies mahr as an integral part of the marriage. In case mahr is fixed, then part of it could be paid at the time of nikah, which is, known as mahr-i-mu‘ajjal (immediately paid portion of mahr) and part of it could be paid at a later date or at the time of divorce that is known as mahr-i-muwajjal. Generally at the time of nikah both the 25 Asgar Ali Engineer, The Rights of Women in Islam, Vanguard, Lahore, 1992. pp. 107-109.26 Ibid. p. 111.27 The Quran, verse 4:428 The Quran, verse, 4: 20

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portions of mahr are separately specified. Mahr is also seen as a security against divorce though it is not its most important purpose. Keeping in view the practical experience, the security provision is merely hypothetical as women are seldom able to realize the claim either during continuation of marriage or dissolution of it.

MAINTENANCE RIGHTS OF WIFE

The Quran made obligatory for the husband for the maintenance of his wife whatever her own wealth and income. Wife is not obliged to spend on her husband from her income but she can do so out of her own free will. However, the husband has to bear the entire burden of the maintenance of her wife whatever his means.29 Maintenance includes food, clothing and shelter. The Quran says, “And maintenance and their clothing must be born by the father according to usage (or in a fair manner).”30 In another verse the Quran says, “Lodge them where you live according to your means, and injure them not to straiten them. And if they are pregnant spend on them until they lay down their burden. Then if they suckle for you, give them their recompense and enjoin one another to do good: and if you disagree, another will suckle for you.”31 This verse broadened the concept of the wife’s maintenance. She is also entitled to demand a separate residence to live in and if she demands and he cannot provide a separate house, then he is obliged to provide a separate portion of it with separate access. Even she is not obliged to cook food. Similarly, she should be given sewn clothes or her husband should bear the sewing charges. Maintenance also includes all other things necessary for her comfortable living.

It is obligatory for husband to spend extra, if necessary, to maintain her during pregnancy. Besides this, the husband has to pay remuneration to her wife for suckling the child. If she does not agree either because of inadequate compensation or due to some other reasons, he should employ a wet nurse. The Quran present a novel idea of the payment of recompense to mother for suckling of her own child. In Islamic Shariah maintenance dues are obligatory on the husband and wife has the right to demand it from him. No other revealed book or system of law made provision to this effect. Today feminists are projecting the demand of payment of household work to women by men. Conversely, the Quran projected the ultimate in the concept of maintaining of a wife fourteen centuries before.

DIVORCE

Marriage in Islam is not treated as sacrament rather it is a contract therefore it can be dissolved. Divorce wrecks the relationship between two human beings and hence it should be avoided as far as possible. The stronger party – men, often misuses divorce. In Arab society of pre Islamic days, though women were under the overall authority of men, but they did retain a degree of independence. The concept of marriage was contractual, which Islam retained it. Islam improved the women’s overall status and gave her greater dignity and a sense of freedom possible within that societal framework. Islam permitted

29 The Quran, verse 65: 730 The Quran, verse 2:23331 The Quran, verse 65: 6

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divorce – dissolution of marriage – but at the same time, it described it as most disliked of permissible acts. One thing must be kept in mind that the Quran considered the marriage a string covenant.32 Therefore it should not be taken lightly and should not be dissolved except in extraordinary circumstances. The Quran discourages divorce.33

Husband has the right to revoke marriage by uttering word talaq thrice. Though many jurist called it talaq al bidah (innovative form of divorce) and this form of divorce is not permissible, however, once pronounced thrice in one sitting the divorce would be valid and would result in talaq-i-battah (irrevocable divorce).34 While some considered such divorce have no legal validity and if three divorces pronounced in one sitting they should be treated as one.35 However, talaq-i-battah has become the integral part of Islamic Sharaih among the Sunni Muslims and happened to be common form of divorce and widely practiced throughout Muslim world. Often husbands misused this right to punish their wives for not submitting to their authority. Islam’s basic intention was to introduce a new social contract based on true equality. It not only negated the stratification of society on economic basis but also intended to give a woman equal status. It granted equality to woman not only in marital rights but also in the settlement of divorce, “but the jurists, either enamoured by speculative reason, or dictated by old traditions, or influenced by male domination or swayed by temporary considerations, undermined the woman’s position, enforcing arbitrary rules of divorce which went against her interests.”36 This made woman dependant on the mercy of her husband in the matters of divorce. The Quran not only discourages divorce but also condemns taking back the dower money paid to the wife at the time of marriage. The Quran requires arbitration before a divorce can takes place.37 Instead of appointing arbiters the prevalent practice is that the husband used his discretion in pronouncing dissolve the marriage contract without assigning any cause38 and without the interference of court.39. The woman left with no legal redress against this pronouncement except she can claim deferred amount of mahr. On the other hand, woman has to convince the court of her irretrievable breakdown of the marriage (khula), if she fails to convince the judge of the genuineness of her case, she cannot terminate the marriage tie.

The Quran entitles divorced women to reasonable maintenance by their ex-husbands.40 However, the Quran has not fixed any time limit for maintenance. Neither the amount nor the period has been mentioned. Therefore, Muslim jurists have different

32 The Quran, verse 4: 2133 The Quran verses 4: 19-21, 35 and 33: 37.34 Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik maintained this view. Asgar Ali Engineer, op. cit. pp. 124-25.35 For instance, Imam Ibn Taymiyyah was of this view and showed that this was the position of Imam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal. Ibid.36 Ibid. 126.37 The Quran verse 4: 3538 However, in famous case, Khurshid Bibi vs. Muhammad Amin, the Supreme Court of Pakistan was of the view that Talaq is not an unfettered right of the husband as in the above verse, and provide for the appointment of arbiters to curtail the unbridled exercise of this right. These requirements are hardly effective if the husband is determined to go ahead with the pronouncement of divorce. PLD SC, 1967, p. 97.39 Despite of this privilege accorded to husband in Islamic tradition, in Pakistan, the Muslim Family Law Ordinance, 1961, put certain requirements that have to be undertaken to finalize the divorce.

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opinions on the issue of time period that how longer the ex-husband has to maintain divorced wife.41

Contrary to popular belief, Islam allows woman the right to divorce. A woman can repudiate her marriage under a form of divorce known as Khula (woman’s right to divorce). The Quran enjoins, “Then if you fear that they cannot keep within the limits of Allah, there is no blame on them for what she gives up to become free thereby.”42 Thus wife’s right to khula is absolute and no one can prevent her from exercising it. A wife can initiate and get judicial dissolution of her marriage on account of any physical defect in her husband, of ill treatment and of legal cruelty, like the inability or unwillingness of the husband to consummate the marriage on account of life imprisonment, mutilation or sentence of death. A woman may be entitled to khula if the man becomes unable to fulfill his marital obligations, such as providing shelter and maintenance.

Another novel concept, which Islam has introduced in the realm of marital right, is talaq-i-tafweez (delegated right to divorce). At the time of marriage husband can delegate his right to divorce to his wife and she can exercise it when any of the condition of the nikah is violated. However, this would not deprive the husband of his own right to divorce his wife under certain circumstances. A woman can include this as a condition of her marital contract (nikah). If a woman has the right to divorce delegated to her either before or after marriage, she can separate herself from her husband by divorcing herself. This divorce would be considered as valid as if the husband himself has given. It should be noted that after having delegated this right to his wife, the husband could not revoke it because after delegation it is the wife who owns this right independently thereafter.

In the socio-economic affairs, it appears, Islam provided corrective protective measures against the practices of discrimination against women, as disadvantage section of society, in pre-Islamic Arabia. For instance, in case of inheritance women get half as compared to men.43 Some scholars see that it does not discriminate against women44 and some argue otherwise and put it as a corrective measure of the Arab norm of total keeping out of women from inheriting property.45 In family laws, at time of marriage contract both man and women are equals. But after contracting marriage, then inequality emerge between two partners, the husband becomes the protector and wife, the protected. For illustration, wife retains the dower, a consideration for the marriage contract, so long as she remains the wife or the husband dissolves the marriage tie by talaq (divorce). But if the wife has the desire to sever the marriage contract then she has to forfeit her right to dower whether it is money or property, and returned it to the husband to “ransom herself from her husband.”46 By taking khula, woman’s right of seeking divorce through court; she has to forego her dower. In regard to dissolution of marriage Muslim woman can achieve some level of equality, but at time of contract not after the marriage. A Muslim women has the right of ‘talaq-i-tafweez,’ delegated right of divorce given to the wife in

40 The Quran, verse 2: 24141 Asgar Ali Engineer, op. cit. pp. 128-132.42 The Quran verse 4: 22943 The Quran, verse 4: 1144 Perveen Shoukat Ali, Human rights in Islam, Aziz Publishers, Lahore, 1980. p.120.45 Shaheen Sardar Ali, “The Constitutional, Legal, Ideological and Customary Status of Rural Women in the NWFP,” in Hasan Mehdi Naqvi and Umme Kalsoom Adeel, Development, Change and Rural Women in Pakistan, Pakistan Academy for Rural Development, Peshawar, 1995. p. 42.46 The Quran, verse 2: 229

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the contract of marriage. Muslim women are allowed to incorporate conditions in the marriage contract for limiting or even prohibiting the husband from dissolution of marriage tie. The laws regulating divorce stipulate a waiting period (iddat) during which the marriage is suspended, but not terminated. The iddat period keeps alive the chances of reconciliation until the period of waiting expires. Iddat is compulsory for women, not for men, whose marriage is dissolved by death or divorce. In this context the Quran stated it as a degree of advantage that man has over a woman,47 but in this context, not in generalized meaning.

The husband, under the mandatory obligation, has to feed and cloth her wife properly.48 However, on the issue of child rearing the Islamic tradition enjoins joint responsibility on both mother and father. While breastfeeding and its duration are recommended, the modalities are to be decided by mutual consultation of mother and father. Mother has the right to refuse her duty or can demand compensation, in kind or cash, from her husband in lieu of feeding the child. If the mother is unable to fulfill her duty, the father is under obligation to make alternate arrangement, like hiring a wet nurse. Where the parents are divorced and the mother has custody, the father is bound to feed, maintain and pay the mother as a wet nurse.

On the subject of custody and guardianship of children, the mother cannot, under traditional Islamic law be recognized as the legal guardian of her own children. In case of divorced parents a mother is entitled, according to Hanafi Sunni school of thought, to hizanat or custody of a boy up to the age of seven and a female child until she attains puberty, while under Shia law a mother is only entitled to custody of her minor children up to the age of two years in case of a male child and seven years in case of female. One does not come across any verse of the Quran establishing the father as the sole legal guardian of his children to the exclusion of mother. However, an extract from the sermon delivered by the Prophet (PBUH) on the occasion of the Last Pilgrimage that “the child belong to him/her on whose bed it is born,” is presented to this effect. In the patriarchal social organization it is the man who has to provide the household effects including the bed on which the child is born. Thus, it has been inferred over centuries that the child belongs to the father. This is also support the principle where the father is made to pay for feeding and rearing the child, even if it is by the child’s own mother. One can conclude from all this that man’s superiority is economic based.

Islamic tradition established, in another sphere, man’s control and authority over the woman and accorded higher status to him. For instance, the testimony of a woman is worth half that of a man in financial transaction reduced to writing:

“And get two witnesses, Out of your own men, And if there are two men, then a man and two women, Such as you choose, For witnesses, So that if one of them errs, The other can remind her.”49

This incapacity is not only confined to commercial transactions reduced to writing, in fact in cases wherever Hadd punishment may be inflicted, the testimony of women and non-Muslim is not accepted. According to law of inheritance, generally

47 “And women shall have rights similar to the rights against them, according to what is equitable; but men have a degree (of advantage) over them.” The Quran, verse 2: 228. 48 For instance as enjoined in The Quran, verse 4: 34.49 The Quran, verse 2: 282.

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women inherit half of what men inherit. Islamic marriage laws enjoin strict monogamy on women and also confine her a Muslim spouse, while men may marry from among Kitabia women50 and for them polygamy is permitted.51 Traditionally it is accepted that the Quran endows the man both with authority over woman in the family setting, coupled with the obligation to provide for her by way of material support.52

In recent years female scholars and theologians are challenging the male-oriented interpretation of some of these Quranic verses.53 “While Muslims through centuries have interpreted Sura An-Nisa’s verse 34 as giving them (men) unequivocal mastery over women, a linguistically, and philosophically/theologically accurate interpretation of this passage would lead to radically different conclusion.”54 Man is breadwinner only when woman bears children – a very important function for survival of the society – because of this woman should not have the extra obligation of breadwinner.55

The Purdah (Veil)

Gender relations in Pakistan rest on two basic perceptions: that women are subordinate to men, and that a man's honor may be compromised by the actions of the women of his family. Thus, as in other orthodox Muslim societies, women are responsible for maintaining the family honour. To ensure that they do not dishonour their families, society limits women's mobility, places restrictions on their behaviour and activities, and permits them only limited contact with the opposite sex. Space is allocated to and used differently by men and women. For their protection and respectability, women have traditionally been expected to live under the constraints of purdah (purdah is Persian for curtain), most obvious in veiling. By separating women from the activities of men, both physically and symbolically, purdah creates differentiated male and female spheres. Most women spend the major part of their lives physically within their homes and courtyards and go out only for serious and approved reasons. Outside the home, social life generally revolves around the activities of men. In most parts of the country, except perhaps in wealthier parts of major other cities, people consider a woman--and her family--to be shameless if no restrictions are placed on her mobility. Man’s mobility within the houses of others is similarly restricted, although restriction on man’s movements is not as large, and equally binding.

Purdah has physical and moral connotations. In the physical sense it means the covering of the body of a women from top to toe in public, while in the ethical sense it, means segregation and seclusion of women and enforcement of high standards of female modesty. It symbolizes status, dominance and dependence. Conservatives emphasized that purdah signifies division of labour between two sexes, which is, based on biological and psychological differences, while, modernists termed it social and moral strangulation 50 Kitab literally means book. Kitabia means women of the book. Here it implies women professing one of the revealed religions i.e., Christianity and Judaism. The Quran, verse 2: 221 and 5: 5.51 The Quran, verse 4: 352 The Quran, verse 4: 34 and B.F. Stowasser, “Religious Ideology, Women, and Family” in PF Stowasser, ed., The Islamic Impulse, Croom Helm, London, 1987. p 293. 53 Riffat Hassan, “On Human Rights and the Quranic Perspective,” in A. Swidler, ed., Human Rights in Religious Traditions, Pilgrim Press, New York, 1982; and Riffat Hassan “An Islamic Perspective,” in J. Becher, ed., Women, Religion and Sexuality, WCC Publications, Geneva, 1990.54 Riffat Hassan, “An Islamic Perspective,” Ibid. p. 93.55 Ibid.

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of creative abilities of a woman. In the restrictive private world, a woman develops a paralytic sense of resignation and evolves the habits of passivity and escapism. The state of docility becomes her only source of pleasure. Being in purdah she never gets a chance to cross fertilize her thinking with the observation and reflection of people outside her own household. The result is that she developed an inferiority complex.

The purdah system in Pakistan “is related to status, the division of labour, inter-personal dependency, social distance and the maintenance of moral standards as specified by the society.”56 The dominance of man in the internal affairs of the family and its interaction with the outside is still accepted as a natural pattern of male behaviour. Man determines destiny of women. As a result he became the sole provider and protector of women and made her economically and socially dependent on him. Burqa – a portable seclusion – is physical manifestation of purdah that mans concealment of body from top to toe. This is the only mean by which a woman can have some mobility outside the house. In Pakistan all most all Muslim sects and communities (except Ismaili)57 continued to observe purdah.

In the past, Patriarchal societies, normatively, had imposed restrictions on women to protect their chastity, and slowly chastity became identical with purdah (veil) itself. Those women who observed strict purdah were thought to be very virtuous and those who violated it even slightly were termed as immoral. Basically purdah has origin in feudal ethics or morality. Thus, it was a product of feudalistic concept of izzat – honour (inviolability of feminine chastity).58 The notion of honour and its defense by men had itself implicit male superiority. From this, social stereotype had emerged that to protect honour women needed to be protected and man was her protector. This led to segregation of sexes and seclusion of women by means of purdah with a view to protecting them.

During Prophet’s time women used to perform prayers in mosques with their faces uncovered and hands open and interacted with the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions in religious and other matters. Later, when foreign influences, especially of Rome and Persia, appeared on the scene, women came under the increasing restrictions after the accession of Mutawakkil, the ninth Abassid Caliph.59 Purdah in the sense of burqa (veiling) was not enforced since the early period of Abassid. “Reuben Levy quotes Tarabi to show that until the third century of hijra, and even later, women used to pray in mosques along with men. They were not required to veil.”60 Inference can be made that the veil was not in vogue in Muslim society, “much less was it theologically justified.” The Muslim rulers began to maintain large harems, which need to be strictly guarded from outsiders. This tradition was followed by other members of ruling classes and finally adopted by the people in general. Thus, purdah became common. Slowly women were even forbidden from attending mosques for public prayers. This became the part of female morality. 56 Hannah Papanec, “Purdah: Separate Worlds and Symbolic Shelter,” Comparative studies in Society and History,” Vol. 15, No. 3, January 1973, p. 292, quoted in Parveen Shoukat Ali, Status of Women in the Muslim World, Aziz Publishers, Lahore, 1975. p. 167.57 In 1920s, Sir Agha Khan III, the religious and spiritual head of Ismaili sect abolished purdah among his followers. Hannah Papanec, “Purdah: Separate Worlds and Symbolic Shelter,” Comparative studies in Society and History,” Vol. 15, No. 3, January 1973, p. 292, quoted in Parveen Shoukat Ali, Status of Women in the Muslim World, Aziz Publishers, Lahore, 1975. p. 170.58 Asghar Ali Engineer, op. cit. p. 5.59 Syed Amir Ali, History of Saracenes, National Book Foundation, Islamabad, pp. 199-202. 60 Reuben Levy, Social Structure of Islam, p. 126 c f Asghar Ali Engineer, op. cit. p. 93.

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The Quran enjoins both men and women to dress modestly, and also speaks of covering women's adornments from outsiders of the family that they do not display their sexual charms, but dress in a dignified manner. The Quran specified the limits for Muslim women as follow, “And say to the believing women that they lower their gaze and restrain their sexual passions and do not display their adornment except what appears thereof.”61 The verse imposed certain conditions on women but does not confine them to the four walls of their homes the Quran did not compel them to wear hijab or burqa (veil), as insisted by many ulema (theologians) today. Main restriction, in this verse, imposed on women should not display their adornments and charms, except certain category of men, like “husbands or their fathers, or fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers’ son, or their sisters’ sons, or their women or those whom their right hands possess, or guileless male servants, children who know not women’s nakedness.”62 The Quran restored the individual dignity of women by saving them from becoming the mere object of lust. The right of display of adornment and charms had not denied altogether, for that the Quran specified categories of women and men that a woman can display her charms. Today’s feminists are precisely demanding the restriction on vulgar display of women’s charm in public sphere.

Behind this Quranic command the sole idea is to raise women above their sexuality thus giving them dignity and individuality. At the same time it does not prevent them from displaying their charms before approved persons who appreciate their charms. The Muslim theologians, however, interpreted it differently in their own social context and concluded that women should be veiled and confined to their homes. All four of the major schools of Islamic law developed a code where women were expected to cover their bodies from the ankles to the neck and the arms above the elbow. But the veil itself, particularly a veil which covers the face, is much more controversial.63 The Quran has been very generous to the cause of women. The Quran does not put unnecessary restrictions on women but only advises them to wear dignified dress, to cover their bodies properly and to avoid displaying their charms. However, cultural prejudices in the Indian subcontinent have played a big role in denying them their rightful status. The kind of purdah observed by Muslims in South Asia is one example. They cover not only their entire body but also their faces. These prejudices have roots in the feudal era when the Muslim aristocracy wanted to protect their womenfolk from others, hence kept them under strict seclusion. Ironically, this tradition was given Islamic legitimacy.

Women were thought to be weak and this was a direct outcome of a concept of male superiority that was sociological, not theological. The basic dilemma is that the sociological view often transformed into the theological standpoint. It was defended as much even when the sociological conditions changed. Now, in the world of technology and science women are no longer described as the weaker sex and are treated at par with men. Now the women are moving in the public sphere safely and earning their own livelihood by working outside the home. They no longer depend on male protection (through many people in Pakistan still argue that women need protection) and hence purdah in the conventional sense is no more required.

61 The Quran, 24:3162 Ibid.63 For detailed discussion see Asghar Ali Engineer, op. cit. pp. 82-94.

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The concept of chastity (male’s abode of honour) and the custom of veiling must be differentiated. To argue purdah is no longer needed is not to mean the demolition of the concept of chastity. Chastity is the norm while purdah was a mean to achieve this end. A woman can protect her chastity without observing purdah. However, it does not mean that modesty in dress can be dispensed with. If men use burqa (veiling of body particularly face) to subjugate women, the bikini is also the other way for men to be exploited by women. Both burqa and bikini based on the old-fashioned notion that men are somehow pre-programmed to act immorally in the presence of physically stimulating women and that these impulses of basic instinct are beyond men’s control. Therefore, if men are easily gullible, then naturally women may utilize either the burqa, in order to protect themselves from these overwhelming male instincts or women may choose the bikini, so as to exploit natural male tendency to their own favour.

In most cultures, women are expected to dress carefully, lest they provoke unwanted response from men. Men are supposedly exonerated from blame for their inappropriate behaviour toward women because they are masters – the superior ones. Instead of keeping women in burqa or advising them to wear bikini, men should have to keep their desires under control. The need of the time prescribing a middle way; something in between burqa and bikini that women choose modesty in dress. Male – female relationships can improve only if women are freed from the need to either hide or display their physical traits. Men as a group need to realize that a woman’s dress often symbolizes society’s expectations rather than her personality.

Purdah is practised in various ways, depending on family tradition, region, class, and rural or urban residence, but nowhere do unrelated men and women mix freely. The most extreme restraints are found in parts of the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan, where women almost never leave their homes except when they marry and almost never meet unrelated men. They may not be allowed contact with male cousins on their mother's side, for these men are not classed as relatives in a strongly patrilineal society. Similarly, they have only very formal relations with those men they are allowed to meet, such as the father-in-law, paternal uncles, and brothers-in-law.

Poor rural women, especially in Punjab and Sindh, where gender relations are generally somewhat more relaxed, have greater mobility because they are responsible for transplanting rice seedlings, weeding crops, raising chickens, selling eggs, picking cotton and the like. When a family becomes more prosperous and begins to aspire to higher status, it commonly requires stricter purdah among its women as a first sign of change in the family status.

Among wealthier Pakistanis, urban or rural residence is less important than family tradition in influencing whether women observe strict purdah and the type of veil they wear. In some areas, women simply observe "eye purdah": they tend not to mix with men, but when they do, they avert their eyes when interacting with them. Bazaars in wealthier areas of Punjabi cities differ from those in poorer areas by having a greater proportion of unveiled women. In cities throughout the North-West Frontier Province, Baluchistan, and the interior of Sindh, bazaars are markedly devoid of women, and when a woman does venture forth, she always wears some sort of veil.

Many Muslim and Islamic revivalist movements believe Islam prescribes the covering of women's faces. Traditional dress codes in fact vary sharply in different Muslim societies. In Iran, the black chador is traditional among wide sectors of society

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but among the Bedouin of the Arabian Peninsula, women wear scarves that cover their hair but leave their faces open - just like most of their men. The same is also true in Muslim areas of Southeast Asia. However, in recent decades, in the backdrop of Western cultural invasion, the veil becomes a key part of the ideology of political Islam used by revivalist Islamists. But it is important to recognize that Islam itself merely prescribes modesty rather than actually forcing the wearing of a particular garment. Some scholars, for example, suggest that as modesty means not drawing unnecessary attention to oneself, a woman wearing baggy jeans, a jumper and an unobtrusive scarf in a Western country could be more in accordance with the spirit of Islamic law than another woman who wore the full costume of an alien culture.

The structure of modern economy has woven women intrinsically in it that now they are playing an increasingly greater role. Women have to take up jobs to ensure a comfortable family life. The Islamic tradition does not prevent women from working. On the contrary, the Quran grants women the right on her earnings. The perspective that women’s sphere of working is limited to the private realm and take care of “home and children is not, strictly speaking, a Quranic view, it is essentially a jurist view.” 64 Islam permits women the right to work and establishes a balance barter-relationships that the man has to maintain his wife and in return the wife has to look after the children. This does not deprive a woman of her right to work outside the home; it only establishes an equation between wife and husband. But the equation is not mandatory. The wife can choose to work and establish a different equation according to which both will share family expense, the upkeep of the house and bringing up the children.

CONCLUSION

Islam provided for equality, justice and harmony between the sexes. It emphasized that the one was complementary to the other and also set the trend to liberate women from centuries old tyrannies. Islam brought equality in religious duties towards Allah among the followers without any discrimination on the basis of sex. Both sexes are equally accountable to Allah for their deeds. Islam made distinction between two sexes on biological ground, not on the basis of gender – socially constructed person. It created a breathing space for women, if analyzed the women’s status in socio – historical perspective. To interpret the Islamic concept of women as degradation of women is to distort the actual issue. Islam has never asserted that woman is inferior to man: it has only the point woman is differently constituted.

With expansion of Islam to the non-Arab diverse cultures, the sinister influences of pre-Islamic and local customs, traditions and exploitive structures crept in Muslim society. These influences negated the liberating impact of Islam and set up the trend of enslavement of women that was alien to Islamic genius. The misinterpretation, intellectual slackness of religious scholars and even out-right fabrications provided rationalization for the status quo and the degradation of women. Under these un-Islamic influences women were steadily lost ground in Muslim society. Consequently, a notion is build up that Islam disempowered the women and excluded them from the society’s social and economic forums. Whilst the opposite is right, Islam empowered women fourteen centuries before, when this was unthinkable for other societies of the world at

64 Ibid. p. 94.

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that time. Women is a legal person, has marital rights, own or inherit property. She has the right to do income-generating work in or outside the house and has complete control over her earnings.

The unjust socio-economic systems deprived women of fundamental human rights. The exploitation and discriminatory practices have nothing to do with Islam, as these are clearly contrary to Quranic injunctions and the spirit of Islam. The prevailing laws and customs keep women deprived and dispossessed of their human rights granted by Islam. So they are literally denied of rights given to them under Islam.

Although Pakistan’s state religion is Islam still status of women is based mostly on local customs. The influence of Quranic precept is greatly masked by centuries old cultural patterns alien to the spirit of Islam. Islam had given women an honoured place and given them fundamental rights in unequivocal terms. However, in practice the Pakistani women are denied due social prestige and economic equality.

To meet the challenges posed by rapidly changing realities there is a need for reconstruction of religious thought by learned Muslim scholars through Ijtehad. Islam is not a static religion, it is for all people and all times and has capacity to solve all problems of the particular time, but it needs a will to apply and reinterpret it according to the spirit of the time. This put heavy burden on religious scholars to interpret or reinterpret the religious thought in order to end the enslavement of women and empower them, at least, according to Islam and need of the time.

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