Honestly, we’re bored with official reports that call for gender equality and condemn discrimination against women. We need to start doing more to empower women in our society.
Many international groups, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), were particularly active in 2006, calling for equal rights and protection for women. Countries according to their predominant religious and cultural identities reacted differently to these calls to action. Debate was also sparked in Arab and Muslim countries with special attention to the way courts handle some cases, such as custody or domestic abuse.
One of the UN Millennium Goals is to eradicate illiteracy of women by 2015.
An important report issued by the United Nations demanded eradication of illiteracy among Arab women by the year 2015. UNICEF’s most recent State of the World Children report concluded that gender equality, especially in education, has the double dividend of helping the women and the children they bear. The net effect of this focus includes progressive social implications.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) emphasized that the role of the mother in the upbringing of children is three times more important than the father and that the mother has custody rights if she wants and can afford.
Islam guarantees many rights for women, and obliges Muslims to honor their duties as prescribed. This should make Muslims proud. However, even though women in the Muslim world have made ground, there still lingers a dark shadow over the lives of many women. They are abused with no place to go, they lose custody of their children, and in many countries of the region there is discrimination against women who marry foreigners.
It should be noted that the children of violent households grow up to be violent themselves, disrupting social harmony.
There have been calls for action from various governmental and non-governmental organizations. The Arab Humanitarian Development Report endorses greater protections for women against physical and emotional abuse. Unfortunately, we humans lack the competence right now to prosecute these crimes against humanity.
The UN, UNICEF and other public and private sector organizations must do more for women. Doing so pays a triple dividend: It helps women, children and society as a whole.
