In recent times the demand for women’s rights has become somewhat of an important and critical issue. Although there are some interesting and positive aspects to many of these rights, it should be remembered that many of them already exist in Islam and are guaranteed by Allah in the Shariah if applied in the correct way.
The negative aspect of such calls is that most people who demand equal rights only delve on one issue that really isn’t as important as made out. That is the issue of women driving.
Regardless of whether people object or approve, I believe that there are certain circumstances where the need for women to drive can vary. But apart from cars, there are other pressing issues that women really need to consider.
There are basic rights that divorced women do not enjoy, rights that are far more important than women driving. Scenarios where a husband divorces a wife after years of marriage because he wants a younger wife to remind him of his diminished youth are not uncommon. Unfortunately there is no law that protects such women by forcing husbands to provide financial support.
In our society it seems that women can be divorced for trivial reasons. Many women can’t see their children because their ex-husbands won’t allow them access. Such women demand rights but their cases are dumped from one judge to another, each one preaching to them that they should have patience and allow the case to be extended by a month or two thinking maybe they will forget about their children. These people are supposed to be the upholders of justice, but they forget that even animals kill in defense of their offspring.
Some women are beaten and abused; silently they bear all because they remain under the conviction that this is the true meaning of the concept of men being superior to women in Islam. When a woman protests she is told to remain patient because men have their own reasons why they behave like that and women do not possess the mental capability to comprehend such issues.
Isn’t it a social and legal responsibility to make women aware of their human rights and empower them? By that I don’t mean women should rebel against their husbands, brothers and fathers. At the end of the day Allah doesn’t accept oppression and has decreed against the abuse of women.
Whose responsibility is it to protect women who are sexually harassed by men? I should say that in no way am I trying to protect women who put themselves in predicaments through their behavior and clothing. Doesn’t society have a responsibility to change the attitude that women should be punished while men are left free to do what they wish?
Women in jail are abandoned by society for having committed crimes — all sorts of people commit crimes but shouldn’t female criminals be treated as human beings and offered help? Don’t they need support and help to turn away from the very environment that lead them to a life of crime initially?
There are hundreds of heart-rending issues that need solutions. Perhaps the best people to address these issues are not men but rather women who understand and feel what other women suffer.
The issues faced by women are well known but we need to be bold enough to have the will to discus these issues in arenas where decisions are made rather than just Internet forums. Our society is incomplete and as Saudis we need to realize that and work toward changing it.
There are no perfect societies and I’m not talking about the West but rather about our own society. The problem isn’t Islam; rather Islam should be part of the solution. Let us try to implement and adapt some of the old traditions, principles and values that underlie our just and easy religion with an aim of fulfilling our society’s requirements at this hour of need.
