Women in Heritage-II

Other Voices

TBy Ahmad Al-Sarraf

he position of the Al-Zaytouna Mosque in Tunisia, which is progovernment, has been angered by attempts to develop laws related to women, because according to its view and according to the concepts of the mosque if such laws are approved, it will lead to the destruction of the constants and distance itself from the basics of religion, especially that the religious texts concerning women are the most ‘sacred’ and will provoke the anger of the mosque when talking about the renewal of religion.

The punishment of stoning, paying Zakat (alms), and cutting hands of a thief have become a thing of the past, yet no one objected, but when the mention of the ‘veil of women’ for example, is made we get angry, disputes arise and we erupt in controversies.

When the Taleban took control of Afghanistan, its rule faced tens of thousands of security and livelihood problems, but they were put aside and all state agencies were concerned with the implementation of the provisions on preventing women from leaving the house and expelling them from all jobs even if they supported a large family.

All girls’ schools were closed and all were required to wear the burqa, (also known as chadri or paranja in Central Asia) — an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions to cover themselves in public — and other inhumane measures.

When the Muslim Brotherhood came to power in Egypt, they were preoccupied with the veil of women and restricting their movement, before looking into Egypt’s bigger problems. The same thing happened in Sudan, Iraq and elsewhere.

Thus, we see that women have become the focus of attention of the Islamists, Salafis, Muslim Brotherhood and all ignorant people particularly those who are unaware of the surroundings.

If we look at countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh, we see that women are often the breadwinners of more than 40% of the households.

However, men deprive women of their rights and even their small share of inheritance, despite the fact that she works for everyone and takes care of their parents in sickness and old age. Then suddenly her brother or uncle appears from nowhere, who they had not seen for decades, and grabs her share of inheritance.

For more than 40 years, the Kuwaiti project has diligently made a fundamental change in the laws on the distribution of inheritance through a passage of a law and one said it represents a deviation from the religion.

Why just thinking about women’s most basic rights has been looked upon as distancing from the constants of religion? And how long should women remain under the male guardianship?

The new inheritance law in Tunisia deserves to be looked into, and Tunisia should champion the liberation of women from the bondage of men. If not, we will be unjust to them, and we will be backward, and we will suffer all the injustice.

Sooner or later, the Tunisian women will have the right to marry the person of their choice. This is a human right that should not be disputed. She also has the right to be equal to man when it comes to inheritance.

Those who oppose the reforms for women are the most unjust to them, and the most motivating to her to work outside her home to earn money for men who look to spent their time in leisure and eat ‘sweet’ without breaking sweat.

Do any of these jealous men ask about the hundreds of thousands of women who have migrated to Arab and Asian countries leaving behind their homeland and families to work in most humiliating conditions to support their families?

Why have they allowed ‘her’ to go abroad and be subjected to humiliation and abuse, and when she returns to her home and family deny her the right to inheritance?

Al-Sarraf

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