Real Emancipation and freedom of women

Umrah Binte Ashraf

Whenever somebody has tried to set fire in someone’s house he himself had to bear the brunt’s of this as the fire spreads. The feminist movement that started in Europe for empowering women and emerged under the slogan of emancipation and freedom of women. Though this slogan seems attractive and bold but all that glitters is not gold, instead, this favour really turned as havoc for our society.

 If we go in flashback, I will not take you too far, just twenty years back women commanded respect irrespective of being educated or otherwise. If a lady was found standing in a bus at least ten persons would get up to offer her a seat, she was always leading and given priority if she would be waiting in queue among the opposite sex. Now today we don’t see anything like that. Why did this happen? What is the reason behind this? Yes, the utmost reason for this change is that it is only that women, who came out of her sphere of duty, crossed the limits and lost her right of being respected. Today we see maximum cases of molestation, dishonoring or attempts of dishonor taking place in colleges, schools, factories and other work places. The exploitation is dominant today in every walk of life. This is not the problem for herself only but also for her children as she leaves them to the mercy of ‘baby sitters’ and in case if there are no baby sitters found, the children are not well looked after by the mothers as a result of which children form deviant behavior and the irony is that we then label it as ‘generation gap’.

The disastrous effect of this so called emancipation and freedom lies in front of our eyes, but we all are watching like mute spectators, enjoying the show.

Today’s, mother doesn’t know where her daughter goes? Brother doesn’t know where his sister goes? And we don’t take pains even to enquire it unless an until the ‘water level’ rises above our head. We lock our doors, when we move out of our houses but did we ever ask our sisters and daughters to observe the rules and regulations prescribed for the personal security in Islam. We seldom care for our honor than the material things.

  Not to talk of the system this has failed to provide security to the women. The law and justice of the time has become a toy in the hands of the big bosses who are at the helm of affairs. How can we forget our sisters of Shopian tragedy, Neelofar Jan and Aasiya Jan, who are craving for justice even today. This society has failed to guard the honour and the chastity of women.

 The horrible side of situation is that females are used to such an extent for commercial advertisements that men seem to have no role in life. Women are misused for the advertisements meant not only for ladies but for men too. It has become now a trend today that there should be a half covered woman in every advertisement  with a man. We have left no stone unturned to expose her body parts on one or the other pretext. She has lost her dignity and modesty and where she had to show that she is empowered, brave, she didn’t but showed it well in shameful and indecent acts. This has also changed the outlook of the younger generation. They hardly bother about the moral standards. If a woman is empowered in the real sense, she can make her children Hassan (RA) and Hussain (RA), two sons of Hazrate Fatimah (RA), who sacrificed their lives for the wellbeing of mankind, for the chastity of women and for the safeguard of divine principles. Following these divine principles our youth can serve the society and Islam in a better way or otherwise can lead a nation or community to the breach of destruction. Nevertheless we have not reached to such levels of anxieties as faced by Americans, and other European modern societies.

We have faced the consequences to the extent we had exposed the woman. Today so called empowered woman becomes ready to kill her daughter inside her womb. What kind of freedom have we given to females?

 Oh Eve’s daughter! Islam never stops you from moving out but with certain rules of your safeguarding formulated in Shariah. Following this Shariah you will be guarded by the system itself. The unnecessary exposure of body is to be deplored and clothes used for attracting others are to be abandoned and the dress to be strictly used according to the guidelines of Quran.

 “O children of Adam! We have revealed onto you the raiment to conceal your shame and splendid vesture but the raiment of restraint from evils that is best”(Al Quran) this is the revelation of Allah that she must remember and act upon. We need to understand that emancipation and freedom from Islamic perspective is that we have to accept ourselves as the slaves of Allah and then we can’t be slaves of else things.

We Muslims believe all our sufferings, problems and adversities are a test from Allah, Who has said you will never enter paradise until you are tested. To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.

 So we all should ask ourselves that where we stand before we will be answerable to Al- Mateen on the Day of Judgment.

(The author is perusing B Ed. In College of Education Srinagar)

--
AHMAD KASHMIRI