When General Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali seized power over Tunisia in 1987, he began his rule by attempting to show he held the rights of women at heart, by adopting various policies related to women. Over the years a host of laws, seeking to push Islam out of the Tunisian woman’s life and making the woman more equal to the man were brought in. Abolishing the duty of the wife to obey her husband, abolishing polygamy as well as amending child custody laws, are a few examples.
However it was clear Ben Ali’s drive to ‘elevate’ the woman was not out of his concern for them. It was out of his need to ensure his dictatorial position in Tunisia faced no challenge. When Tunisia’s legislative elections highlighted a desire for Islam, Ben Ali realised that the only way to wipe this opposition out was to accuse Islam of trampling over women’s rights and to set the Tunisian Government as the only body who could champion women’s rights and defeat the ‘enemies’, the ‘Islamists’. This resulted in a zero-tolerance approach towards living by Islam in a country whose population is 98% Muslim. The banning of the hijab (headscarf) in public buildings is one such example.
Today in Tunisia close to 100% of women are literate, 60% of university students are women, several government ministers were women, and there have been women judges, senior party officials and a provincial governor. Even the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has praised the nation for their view towards women on her visit there. However these statistics are in no way a reflection of the real status and well-being of women in the country. Although they may on paper have access to jobs and education, they have been forced to live by a secular iron mould shaped by Ben Ali.
The oppression which faced the women, who sought to live by Islam in Tunisia, was single to none. The ban upon the hijab meant that women were harassed routinely for simply choosing to dress in the manner Allah SWT (God) ordained for them.
Girls and women were routinely expelled from schools and universities for wearing hijab. Police regularly patrolled a prominent market place forcing women to uncover their heads and sign forms promising they would not cover their heads again. Those perceived as being Islamic activists, or even being related to an activist, were subject to incessant harassment, house arrests, even torture and sexual abuse. Women such as Widad Lagha and Radhia Awididi (the wife and fiancé respectively of Islamic activists) suffered intense persecution at the hands of the regime including being filmed in the nude and being accused publically for loss of virginity.
Finally the Tunisian society like many others across the region, has been infiltrated by an amalgamation of secularism, tribal culture and tradition, which has meant women in general have been subjugated by the oppression that these values have brought. For instance, sexual and domestic violence is a deeply entrenched problem in the country.
The recent people’s revolution in Tunisia which has thrown Ben Ali from the throne which he so thought was cemented over his people, has proved to the world that such a repressive hand over a people, will not be accepted forever. Despite the fear and harassment Ben Ali created, the Ummah of Muhammad SAW have strength in their hearts, and as a result boldly spoke out what was the truth, not fearing the consequences. The question which now lies for the women of Tunisia, is that although they have as good as rid themselves of dictator Ben Ali, what should they call for now?
Ben Ali fled his seat of power on the 14th January 2011 and no more than seven days later, scores of Muslim women wasted no time and mobilised, filling the streets in demonstration for Islam and the right to wear hijab. This has proved that the Muslim women of today are women of thinking, and understand that it is not simply the removal of Ben Ali, nor even the removal of his Government which will ensure them liberation. It is the removal of the entire rotten system which has been propped up by Western democracies for all these years, which will ensure real change. A change in face in Government will only allow oppression to occur under someone else’s name.
Muslim women have witnessed what Western secular liberalism has done for the woman. The view of the woman only being valued as a sexual commodity through secular liberalism, the burden women have had to take on of looking after herself and her family, having no one to depend upon through the gender equality of secular liberalism; have more than proved this ideology which has been perceived as the only way to liberate the woman, surely does not do so at all. Rather the Muslim women of today reject this, and desire the Islamic Khilafah system which enshrines the rights, protection and value of the woman by the Creator of mankind and women, Allah azza wajal, not the whims of dictatorial rulers.
The only system to liberate the woman
It is thus the Khilafah system which will allow the woman to be valued. It is this Khilafah which will ensure the woman is seen across every single element of society, as an honour to be protected by the people and state. It is this Khilafah which will allow the woman to engage actively in public life without hindrance, account her ruler openly without fear of retribution, and where all her rights of citizenship as enshrined within the Islamic texts will be safeguarded. It is a state that will truly transform the talk of 'women's rights' from rhetoric into reality.
The 2006 Gallup poll surveyed Muslim women across eight different Muslim countries and although did not survey women in Tunisia, the poll still highlights the wave of public opinion of Muslim women in the Muslim world. In all but one of the eight nations, the vast majority of women chose Shariah as either the only or a source of legislation for rule. However regardless of the numbers, the women of Tunisia must realise that it is only a ruler who rules by the Deen of Allah, who can provide the women of this Ummah with the justice and protection they need:
Muslim narrated on the authority of al-A'araj, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (saw) said: "Behold, the Imam is but a shield from behind whom the people fight and by whom they protect themselves."
Tuesday 15 February 2011
Why are British Women Converting to Islam?
In the last decade post 9/11, with every aspect of Islam being under criticism and scrutiny, the debate of how women are oppressed in Islam has been a subject of regular sensationalist newspaper headlines. It may come as particular surprise therefore, that in such a climate, it has been young British women who have in their droves, come to adopt Islam as their chosen way of life.
Multi-faith group Faith Matters recently revealed that the numbers of converts to Islam in Britain has reached 100,000, and furthermore within the last twelve months, the average convert to Islam in Britain has been a 27 year old white woman. Therefore the question begs, in this decadent society, where every desire can be met, why is Islam what women really want?
Capitalism has certainly claimed that it has given the woman the status that she deserves in the modern world. As well as giving the woman certain rights the society and state had not granted them a century ago, such as the right to vote, education and own wealth; secular liberal society has provided her further with the ‘freedom’ to behave, and be whoever she wishes.
Although women may feel this is the utopia our gender has been seeking from the historical experiences we have faced across the globe, characterising subjugation to men, cultures and different systems; we must be wise in understanding, this subjugation has not ended with Capitalism and secularism. The 3466 British women from the last twelve months will testify, the reality under the secular way of life, is far from liberating as it claims it to be. Instead it is clear to see, women today have been forced to fit another mould.
It is the value of ‘freedom’, arising from the secular way of life, which drives multi-national companies to make revenue in whatever way they can regardless of how woman are treated or viewed. Thus the multi-billion dollar pornography industry makes its money out of viewing namely women, for their sexual appeal. The multi-million pound beauty industry in the UK makes its money by making women feel that they must buy the latest beauty cream or skin-radiating foundation, in order to feel accepted in society. The effect of this upon women is clear - The 2004 Dove report revealed that of the women they surveyed, only 18% of women feel their ‘beauty’ is above average, and 79% wished women could be considered beautiful even if they were not ‘physically perfect.’ This highlights the new enslavement of women, where they are now subjugated to fulfilling an unattainable body beautiful image in order to be accepted, as a result of ‘freedom’.
Similarly men, who too live under this banner of freedom, also now exercise their freedoms in the way they view and have relationships with women, doing as they please and often just having fun. So instead of the commitment and responsibility of marriage sweeping across British society, it has been casual sexual behaviour and teenage pregnancies which are doing so, where the characteristic problem of people not sticking to relationships has arisen, leaving behind the most amount of single mothers we have ever witnessed. Similarly sexual crimes, where men feel they are free to treat the women however they want, are as rampant as ever. The Home Office study in 2002 relates how 1 in 20 women surveyed in the UK, had been raped since the age of 16, and 1 in 10 women said they had faced some form of sexual victimisation since the age of 16.
Over a century ago, in Britain a woman may have been completely subject to the commands of her husband, unable to participate in public life. However today, what we can clearly see is this subjugation has been transferred to the hand of ‘freedom.’ Women may be free to nominally do what they please, but of what value is this if her honour and status has been taken away in society? Is it worth it to have a society that can let a woman have a relationship with whoever she pleases, but can then guarantee her no value or protection when the same society allows the man to exert his freedom?
As a woman ask yourself this question – Is this what women really want? Indeed not. Islam is what the women of today are rushing to, as it is indeed a way of life which claims to liberate the women, and in its values and laws definitely does so.
The Prophet Mohammad (SAW) said: ‘The world and all things in it are precious, but the most precious thing is a virtuous woman.’
This evidence, alongside many others, shapes a specific view in the individual and in society towards the woman – that she be valued immensely in society, and moreover that her value is attached to her as a person, not the commodity she can be. Thus there is no room in an Islamic society for people or multi-national companies to exercise their freedom in how they view her, according to how it benefits them, be this for her sexual appeal or how much money she can make.
The father and husband have been given the guardianship of the wife or the daughter in Islam, being responsible for her financial needs as well as for her protection. As men are accountable to Allah SWT (God Almighty) in how they fulfil these roles, this develops a commitment and responsibility within them. Ibn 'Umar reported that the Prophet (SAW) said, ‘All of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of the people of his house and he is responsible...’ They are not free to treat the woman however they want, as is the case in the free secular society.
The system of Islam then helps maintain this view of respecting and protecting the woman, where rules such as hijab, segregation of the sexes, forbidding the woman to take up positions of work which exploit her femininity, all work towards ensuring in public life, the woman is only valued for her contribution to society and not for the way she looks, or money she could make.
Therefore truly, Islam is the only way of life which can ensure the value of the woman in its rightful manner. It is no wonder then that scores of British women who have experienced the anarchy of secular liberal law at first-hand, are turning to Islam for liberation.
1) http://rds.homeoffice0.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r159.pdf
Multi-faith group Faith Matters recently revealed that the numbers of converts to Islam in Britain has reached 100,000, and furthermore within the last twelve months, the average convert to Islam in Britain has been a 27 year old white woman. Therefore the question begs, in this decadent society, where every desire can be met, why is Islam what women really want?
Capitalism has certainly claimed that it has given the woman the status that she deserves in the modern world. As well as giving the woman certain rights the society and state had not granted them a century ago, such as the right to vote, education and own wealth; secular liberal society has provided her further with the ‘freedom’ to behave, and be whoever she wishes.
Although women may feel this is the utopia our gender has been seeking from the historical experiences we have faced across the globe, characterising subjugation to men, cultures and different systems; we must be wise in understanding, this subjugation has not ended with Capitalism and secularism. The 3466 British women from the last twelve months will testify, the reality under the secular way of life, is far from liberating as it claims it to be. Instead it is clear to see, women today have been forced to fit another mould.
It is the value of ‘freedom’, arising from the secular way of life, which drives multi-national companies to make revenue in whatever way they can regardless of how woman are treated or viewed. Thus the multi-billion dollar pornography industry makes its money out of viewing namely women, for their sexual appeal. The multi-million pound beauty industry in the UK makes its money by making women feel that they must buy the latest beauty cream or skin-radiating foundation, in order to feel accepted in society. The effect of this upon women is clear - The 2004 Dove report revealed that of the women they surveyed, only 18% of women feel their ‘beauty’ is above average, and 79% wished women could be considered beautiful even if they were not ‘physically perfect.’ This highlights the new enslavement of women, where they are now subjugated to fulfilling an unattainable body beautiful image in order to be accepted, as a result of ‘freedom’.
Similarly men, who too live under this banner of freedom, also now exercise their freedoms in the way they view and have relationships with women, doing as they please and often just having fun. So instead of the commitment and responsibility of marriage sweeping across British society, it has been casual sexual behaviour and teenage pregnancies which are doing so, where the characteristic problem of people not sticking to relationships has arisen, leaving behind the most amount of single mothers we have ever witnessed. Similarly sexual crimes, where men feel they are free to treat the women however they want, are as rampant as ever. The Home Office study in 2002 relates how 1 in 20 women surveyed in the UK, had been raped since the age of 16, and 1 in 10 women said they had faced some form of sexual victimisation since the age of 16.
Over a century ago, in Britain a woman may have been completely subject to the commands of her husband, unable to participate in public life. However today, what we can clearly see is this subjugation has been transferred to the hand of ‘freedom.’ Women may be free to nominally do what they please, but of what value is this if her honour and status has been taken away in society? Is it worth it to have a society that can let a woman have a relationship with whoever she pleases, but can then guarantee her no value or protection when the same society allows the man to exert his freedom?
As a woman ask yourself this question – Is this what women really want? Indeed not. Islam is what the women of today are rushing to, as it is indeed a way of life which claims to liberate the women, and in its values and laws definitely does so.
The Prophet Mohammad (SAW) said: ‘The world and all things in it are precious, but the most precious thing is a virtuous woman.’
This evidence, alongside many others, shapes a specific view in the individual and in society towards the woman – that she be valued immensely in society, and moreover that her value is attached to her as a person, not the commodity she can be. Thus there is no room in an Islamic society for people or multi-national companies to exercise their freedom in how they view her, according to how it benefits them, be this for her sexual appeal or how much money she can make.
The father and husband have been given the guardianship of the wife or the daughter in Islam, being responsible for her financial needs as well as for her protection. As men are accountable to Allah SWT (God Almighty) in how they fulfil these roles, this develops a commitment and responsibility within them. Ibn 'Umar reported that the Prophet (SAW) said, ‘All of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of the people of his house and he is responsible...’ They are not free to treat the woman however they want, as is the case in the free secular society.
The system of Islam then helps maintain this view of respecting and protecting the woman, where rules such as hijab, segregation of the sexes, forbidding the woman to take up positions of work which exploit her femininity, all work towards ensuring in public life, the woman is only valued for her contribution to society and not for the way she looks, or money she could make.
Therefore truly, Islam is the only way of life which can ensure the value of the woman in its rightful manner. It is no wonder then that scores of British women who have experienced the anarchy of secular liberal law at first-hand, are turning to Islam for liberation.
1) http://rds.homeoffice0.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r159.pdf
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