The Supreme Council of Ulema (scholars) is to be highly commended for its ruling against forcing women to marry against their will; the council also demanded that violators be imprisoned. The ruling shows that our honored scholars do indeed care about women and their causes.
Women continue to face a number of problems — the most obvious is the suffering they endure in courts where cases drag on interminably before being settled. Cases involving separation and divorce normally end with the woman waiving most of her rights, including custody of her children. This is a situation a mother dreads more than any other. A woman would be prepared to pay double the amount the husband has given as dowry just to be rid of an alcoholic or addicted husband who has no fear of God and who does not hesitate to injure his wife, his children or even himself in order to satisfy his own selfish desires.
The Grand Mufti says that forcing a woman to marry someone she does not want to and preventing her from marrying someone she has chosen is against the teachings of Islam and thus is not allowed. He stressed that those who insist on following these pre-Islamic customs should be put behind bars until they repent and agree to behave differently. Now that the ruling has been made, our next step is to focus on improving the performance of courts. I don’t think our judges want to see additional burdens being put on women or see them being denied their basic rights. Nonetheless, their keenness on seeing the family remain united sometimes proves counterproductive.
This solution may come at the expense of the mother’s and children’s welfare as they may find themselves being victimized. This fails to take into account that the success of marriage depends on the ability of both parties to fulfill their part of the bargain or at least ensure that the other party is not prejudiced as a result of any misconduct by either party. Another problem facing women is their inability to control their financial assets, especially an inheritance which some men consider as theirs alone while refusing to give women their share.
This problem of marriage is further compounded and complicated by the very common — some would say dominant — mentality whereby families insist that girls marry their cousins. This is made even more complex when financial considerations have to be taken into account. The Grand Mufti’s statement has been welcomed by all women. Let us hope that now a mechanism will be set up to monitor the situation and help those who need it. Women’s protection must be institutionalized.
