Islam and Women

Usually I try to come up with a title that will grab the reader's attention. But the title Islam and Women already grabs the readers attention, however.

Just a quote about learning in Amman, Jordan:
“You can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you.”  Barbara Sher

Since I am not a woman that normally finds herself in the middle of Jordanian society, I thought this quote was accurate. I came to Jordan not knowing much about Gender roles. I assumed that it was a stereotype that women were generally not treated equally to men. Unfortunately this is the truth sometimes. Women do not have the same treatment in the Jordan.

I have had the privilege of listening to three women talk about Women's Rights in Jordan. One woman was an Islamist, the next women was interested in secular arrangements and the third was interested in looking at a justice point of view.

1)Dr. Dina Fina- Islamist

While Dr. Fina did not open with her background, I feel that it is important to start with who she is as a person. It helps us understand where her point of view is coming from.

Dr. Fina applied many years ago to be an assistant professor of Sharia at the University of Jordan. Personally, I find this impressive as that is a very challenging subject to study. To be able to interpret the Quran and such is amazing and I would love to see more women involved. However, when she was not contacted about receiving a job, she went into the chair of the department's office and asked them why they had not called her. She knew that there had been a job opening for a while now. The chair at the time explained that they were waiting for a man to come and fill the position. He did not want to hire a woman when there might be a man without a job. From this moment on, Dr. Fina wanted to help the cause of women in Jordan. She works as a social worker and presents her ideas at Sharia and religious conferences.

Personally, Dr. Fina's story reminds me of how women had to give up jobs to men in United States history. In our history, the US has often only let the man of the family work during the depression so that every family could have some income. Unemployment is terrible in Jordan and there are little to no jobs. While I  believe that Dr. Fina was discriminated against, I can also see a tad bit of the economic mentally. She should have received the job though.

This speaker opened her lecture by stating that she "was hopeful for advancement, but feels that this year was disappointing". From here I knew that I was not going to be sitting through a happy lecture.

The two themes Dr. Fina wanted to discuss were
1) The Status of Women in Islam
2)The Status of Women in the Islamic world


From the setup of the lecture, I knew that the speaker was going to play the reality of Women's status in the Islamic World (Middle East) to how things are supposed to be and how the Quran and Hadith (Sayings and practices of the prophet Muhammad) say women are supposed to be treated.

I love Islamic history and I really enjoyed how she told the class stories about Muhammad's time and stories about the Caliph's (Secular leaders that governed the Islamic Empire after the death of Muhammad) that I have never hear before. I think most students found this boring, but I was soaking it in.

Stories

1) Oman, the Caliph
 Omar was the second Caliph to run the Islamic Empire after the death of Muhammad. He was a member of the sahaba, or was friends with Muhammad until his death. Omar is remembered for his excellent wisdom and jurisprudence. He is also the Caliph that reversed the ruling that Jews could not worship in Jerusalem. For people that think the Muslims and Jews have always hated each other, think again. There were plenty of times where there was peace. Let's get back to that place!

Okay back to the actual story...

Before Omar converted to Islam and met Muhammad, he was married and had a baby girl. Not pleased with the gender of his child, Omar took her out to the desert and buried her alive in the sand. This was a common custom in Pre-Islamic Arabia and was accepted. Apparently the child was old enough to question what was going on.

After Omar converted to Islam, there was a drastic change in his attitude and treatment of women. This is shown by the following
1) Omar assigned a women to head the treasury
2)Assigned his daughter, Hafsa to be the custodian of the Quran after his death. He had many sons, but the woman of the family was trusted with the literal word of God.

This shows a major shift in Omar's thinking. He went from women are not worth raising to having them work in the government. Islam reversed the ill treatment of women. Arab culture was to blame for the mistreatment of women, Islam aimed to correct that. Omar is an example of the power Islam had in the region.

Aisha
This story is great because I can connect with it on a personal level. During the time of Muhammad women and men both prayed in the mosque together and there was no segregation. The idea of segregation came about after the death of Muhammad. Asiha, one of Muhammad's wife and arguably the favorite, was asked by the caliph, perhaps Abu Bakr (That would be historically accurate, but Dr. Fina did not name the caliph) to rally women to support the idea of segregation in worship. Aisha responded that "it seems you [Abu Bakr] forget quickly" and refused the idea of segregation. Men and Women were equal in Muhammad's version of Islam and Aisha wanted to maintain this equality. Aisha was a strong women and her opinion was ofter heard and followed, so I am sure she slowed down the segregation idea while she was alive.

In Islam, segregation is definitely a concept that developed after the death of Muhammad. Dr. Fina talked about how in Hajj, men and women worship together in Mecca and that there is no segregation. Hajj is preformed in the same manner as Muhammad did so it is true that Muhammad let men and women worship together.

I remember going to the women's prayer room when I went to Friday Prayers. Personally, I felt disappointed. I did not want to watch the Imam talk to me via flat screen TV. I also had a friend, Allan that was there. I would have liked to have stayed with my buddy. The whole thing felt impersonal. I wanted to see the beautifully decorated Mosque that the man sat in. Instead I sat in a less fancy small room with a group of ladies.

Community is an important concept in Islam. Muslims all turn in the same direct at the relative same time to pray. They break fasts together as well. It does not make sense to divide such a community based off of gender. Community is so important, why does not having a few inches matter? I would have felt like a part of the whole group if I could have sat with the whole group. Some mosques have men and women in the same room, and the women just sit in the back. This is essentially so a women do not stick her butt in a man's face while they are praying. I am okay with this idea. It keeps everyone together as a community.

Unfortunately, these are all the stories that I wrote in my notebook. I am sure that there was one more, but I forget. Darn it. I tell you these stories because I want to show what Islam was when Muhammad was alive. The ideas were so drastic compared to an Arab culture that quite honestly treated women with not respect and as objects. This the message that Muhammad fought to change.

You might be asking at this point the following: "Natalie, if Muhammad fought so hard to establish equality between men and women, what the heck happened?"

According to Dr. Fina, Arab culture and its mistreatment of women crept in the backdoor and changed Muhammad's message. This makes sense to me. If you lose your leader, you might revert back to ways that you were comfortable with before because you are without your leadership. Old Habits die hard.  Also, all the scholars and people in power at the time were men. Establishing a dynasty after the death of Muhammad, you would want to make sure to hold onto power. You might interpret things in order for lets say, half the population to not challenge you. You might also put your own spin on things.

Dr. Fina also talked about law and how it is played out in Jordanian Society. Islam states that women should receive inheritance and that they have the right to ask for it. Many women in Jordan will not ask for their inheritance because their brothers will disown them or mistreat them. As a result the law is not followed. Also, when Muhammad was alive he said women should receive 1/2 the inheritance that men do. He did not mean to say women are worth half of what a man is. Think about it. If you were coming from a society where it was perfectly acceptable to burry your "worthless" female child in sand, would you really be able to push for a full inheritance? Muhammad started the progression towards equal rights, but he had to keep in mind the culture he was working in. 1/2 was a start, especially since women had a husband to take care of them. Also, the husband would have had no claim to this money. Essentially, the women could have bought dresses with her inheritance because it was her money, not the family or husband's money. Men however, used their inheritance towards food and living expenses. Women kinda lucked out by being able to have their own small fund due to inheritance. Also, in Islam women can divorce her husband. There are different words for when men and women ask for divorce, but both are the same. Currently there changes are being made to the divorce law in Jordan. They are trying to make it easier for a women to ask for a divorce. I forget what the professor said about divorce. Reading my notes now are not helping. However, there was apparently a problem with a law in Jordan that helped women get more of a divorce. It was passed but then women were asked to rename it because the title hurt the men's feeling. Now the law is working well under a different name.

Also a small story about Polygamy. A man came to Muhammad and wanted to convert to Islam. He told Muhammad that he had 100 wives. Muhammad thought and told the man that he had to divorce all but 4 wives in order to convert. Dr. Fina said that this is the reason that men are allowed to have 4 wives in Islam and also said that it wasn't meant for everyone to do. I however am confused by this. Muhammad had way more than 4 wives. So it was not a problem for him. I think polygamy is allowed in Islam and is kind of a tough thing to argue against. Her story and explanation did not fully rule out Polygamy being a part of Islam from my mind.

What are the road blocks to Equality in Jordan

To illustrate my point, I will share another one of Dr. Fina's wonderful stories. 

1) Attitude
One woman came home one day. Her husband told her that she had to leave the house. She was not going to be granted a divorce, but she was told not to come back to her husband's home. She tried to return to her husband's home the next day, but the locks on the doors were changed. Her children live with the father and are not allowed to communicate or acknowledge their mother. When Dr. Fina, working as a  social worker, talked with the women, the women responded that this all happened because "She is not good enough". Dr. Fina said that what the lady really was saying is that she wasn't "passive enough". Women are just putting up with shit and need to stand up for themselves. Call some authorities and demand more for yourself. Think of your kids. Women have learned to put up with this type of behavior and are not fighting for more equality. One women also said that she would not consider her husband "a real man unless he beat her". She equates a good husband with someone that would physically abuse her. Stand up for yourself! Without women asking for more, equality will never happen. Women have been brainwashed.

Small story in regard to the attitude section. During the Arab spring, a group of women started rioting in the prision for more quality. They were shut up, but the Arab spring is showing women that they can have a voice and be heard.

2) Misinterpreting of the Holy Quran

Read the following verse of the Quran. I know that the translator of this verse is good. I used his translation in my Intro to Islam class.

The Quran, chapter 4 (An-Nisa), verse 34:

“

Men are guardians over women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).—translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali T

Thank you wikipedia. I want to focus on discussing what Dr. Fina said about the punishment system discussed in this verse. The Quran states that a women is to be scolded first, then you are to withhold sex (okay...that's such a strange idea but whatever, not my focus here) then you are to beat them, but lightly. Dr. Fina talked about a new interpretation of this verse. It was done by a female scholar, which is most excellent. Apparently, this scholar is asserting that the word for beating is incorrect. While I do not have an Arabic version of the Quran in front of me (oddly it is in Westminster) I believe the Arabic word uses is daraba (درب) . Apparently back when Classical Arabic roamed the Earth, daraba had many different meanings, including to send away. This scholar has determined that the Quran states that the husband should send his wife away, or divorce her, as a last resort. "Lightly" is an added word not found in the Quran's text, so I believe that interpretation has some holding. I know this interpreter is a big deal and very popular, so she must be credible. Looking at the classical meaning of words now long forgotten will perhaps lead to changes in the way that the Quran is interpreted and will give women better protection, the protection Islam intended for them to have.  I personally find this small detail fascinating! Language is such a tricky and specific thing! Dr. Fina believes that women can "reclaim their rights according to Islamic texts". Also note how the Quran says that it is man's duty to "support" women. The words abuse and subjegate were not used here.

Here are a bunch of memorable quotes from the lecture

"Islam is about modesty, not passivity"

"Women were brainwashed"

Women have "no self esteem anymore"

"Our problem is not man anymore"




2) Dr.  Rala ( I will get her name Later)-Secular Feminist

 Dr. Rala is a professor of English Literature and Feminism at the University of Jordan. She was formerly a Dean at the university, but was let go from her position after helping a group of female students create a video about the large amount of sexual harassment that goes on at the school. The video is on youtube, but I cannot find it. I am hoping that once I find out her last name, I can find it. I will post it.

She opened with "Arab women have the strength to do anything...[they] can grow wings". This is beautiful but reality soon set in. Professor Rala stated that the Arab spring was not good for women and increasing equality in Jordan or the Middle East.

Unfortunately I used the word "initiatives" but there was only one really stated. That's kinda depressing. I wish I could have used bullets because so much was being done. This is not the case.

She stated some initiatives that are currently taking place in Jordan.

One was about a peaceful demonstration. Recently a group of female students organized a demonstration. They stood in a group and formed a human chain. They chanted slogans against sexual harassment. They wanted to show that women "are not rotten meat, [but are] human beings". This group of students were primarily female, but few men attended.

Dr. Rala also talked about how culture is allowing for women to be treated less than a man.

Dr. Rala stated that men's mistreatment of women is culturally acceptable because "man has to be manly" and thus can use his strength to look down and objectify women.  Also, a women in the Arab World is the "custodian of the family honor'. If she is not a virgin when she gets married, she is a slut and ruins the family's honor. Dr. Rala is questioning this notion. She asked "Why am I the Trustee?. Good point. Why can't men and women be held to the same standard. While it isn't good for a guy to be having sex before marriage, he has much less to lose than a women does.

However, I do notice a similarity to America. In America, boys too are allowed to take back women to their room. This makes them a "stud". If a women were to do the same thing, she would be a "slut". I think every culture needs to reexamine double standards in gender relations.

Dr. Rala shared some great stories that illustrates how Women are considered the custodian of honor in the Arab family. Unfortunately, I can use bullets in this instance.

1) A girl was walking down the street near the University of Jordan. She was dressed nicely and had her hijab on. A boy she did not know snapped a picture of her with his camera phone. He told lies to family and friends that she was his girlfriend. The girl had never met him and was totally unaware that this was happening. Eventually, word got back to her family and the girl was rep remanded. In this culture, you do not date. She was in deep trouble because she was obviously in the picture. The boy had no consequences. Dr. Rala said "a woman always pays".

2) A father was committing incest and rapping his young daughter. Eventually, she became pregnant. In an attempt to "save the family honor" he googled how to do an abortion. He did not want anyone to know she was pregnant so he didn't go for medical help. Also, he could not have his unmarried kid walking around pregnant. Too many questions would be asked and he would also be disgraced because his daughter would be a whore. When conducting the abortion, the girl died because the dad was an idiot and forgot that he didn't have a medical degree. When the police came to investigate he said "I used online instruction" and that the situation was an accident and "not a big deal". The idea of honor can cost many women their life.

3) Honor Killings. In this society, some people believe in and use Honor Killings.( Note; I did not say ALL people...I said some.) Honor killings is when a girl is murdered because she is found or believed to not be a virgin and she is unmarried. A father or brother will kill the girl to preserve the family honor and show that that type of behavior is not accepted in their family. Sometimes a family will pressure a women to kill herself that way the father and brother will not get in trouble. Sadly, sometimes the woman does. Often the women is examined at the autopsy and it is determined that she was actually a virgin. Sometimes the family cheers and ululates because the woman is virtuous. Gross! Sick!

A major problem to Women's rights is the lack of sexual education in schools. Sex is taboo in the Middle East. You will not see a couple holding hands walking down the street and many children will never see their parents kiss or hug. It's a big no no. I saw a couple holding hands a few day ago and I couldn't stop staring. It was so unusual and taboo. I was so shocked! Sexual education is important! Some people are having problems on they're wedding night because they do not know how things work. Dr. Rala told us a story in which a young girl (17 years old) was so stressed out on her wedding night that she had a heart attack and died. She actually knew the person, it isn't an exaggeration. Some private schools teach sexual education, but it seems that is more conservative rural communities the lack of sexual education is more of a problem.

The lack of sexual education is causing many different problems in Jordanian society. Besides not understanding mechanics, it is causing other problems. First, apparently there is a lot of porn. This is a result of a lack of sexual education as well as sexual repression. Young boys are sometimes caught watching porn on the internet. Also, people might view porn as a sexual norm verses some weird fantasy. Men might ask things from his partner that are not normal and perhaps uncomfortable for her. There might be unreal expectations for sex and the bar might be set at an unrealistic position. Sometimes young people get married just to fulfill sex fantasies, according to Dr. Rala.

Recently in Saudi Arabic, Dr. Rala told us, some cleric made a fatwa that a women who undresses in front of her husband before sex is immoral and shouldn't do this. This is ridiculous! How can a women not be naked in front of her husband, especially during sex. Dr. Rala used this point to illustrate how sex is so taboo and how there are problems in every society with this.

Also, lack of sexual education causes problems in the physical realm. On the wedding night, if a groom  does not see blood, he might think that his new bride is not a virgin and thus used goods. This might cause her embarrassment or she might be divorced. However, it has been scientifically proven that not all women bleed or have a hymen to break during sex. A women might be a virgin, but just not bleed. This causes stress on a women. She might worry that her virginity will be questioned on her wedding night and that things might go very bad. With some education, problems such as these could start to be cleared up. Women would not have as many problems to face.

There are also many laws that prevent women from getting equality
1) Article 308 in the Jordanian Constitution-"The Rape Law".  If a women is raped by a man and is unmarried, if the rapist askes to marry her and does he can get out of prision. This is meant to "protect the woman". Since she is not a virgin, she cannot get married. In the eyes of the Jordanian legal system, at least this woman would have a man to take care of her. It also reduces the number of rape cases brought before Jordanian courts. A girls family might pressure her to marry the man to save the family honor.
2)Article 6-Article states that "All Jordanians are equal". Below is a copy of the article

Article 6
(i) Jordanians shall be equal before the law. There shall be no discrimination between them as regards to their rights and duties on grounds of race, language or religion. 


Notice, that gender is not mentioned in this article. Recently, women lobbied to have gender added to this article. It looked promising until the last minute when the Prime Minister said no. The ladies were so disappointed. One of the reasons it was not approved was because of the citizenship rules of Jordan. Men are able to pass down their citizenship to any woman they marry after 3 years. Women cannot pass  on their citizenship to their husband and lose their Jordanian citizenship if they do not marry a Jordanian. This is because the government does not want to allow women to pass on their citizenship. Their claim is that if they allow women to pass on Jordanian Citizenship that all the Palestinian men that came to Jordan because of political unrest in Palestine will become citizens. Then they will not have the incentive to one-day return to their country. Also, these men would have to receive the health and welfare that the other Jordanian citizens receive. Dr.Rala said that in actuality, Jordanian women are not really marrying a lot of Palestinians, but men from other ethnic groups. She thinks this is just an excuse preventing equality. I see both sides. 

In addition to nationality preventing equal rights for women in Jordan, Dr. Rala asserts that people also use Islam as an excuse. These people claim that since the Quran grants rights to women that feminism and women's rights movements are not needed. Thus these organizations do not get the attention that they deserve. 

There seems to be an interesting conflict between religion and culture For instance, Dr. Rala told us that in Islam a woman is allowed to propose to a man if he seems to be dragging his feet or not making a move (LOVE IT!). However, culturally this is unacceptable and a women would never do this in Jordan. Sometimes things and practices get confused for religion when in reality it is the culture that is ruling the decision. 

Dr. Rala talked very nicely about Queen Rania. She said that the queen believes in a solid education for everyone in Jordan and that "education is a weapon" that women can use in order to protect themselves. Textbooks are being rewritten to exclude pictures and texts that portray gender stereotypes. Women in textbooks are now portrayed as doctors, not just in the kitchen holding a baby. This is so girls can look at these pictures and start to see themselves in different roles. It all starts with Education. 

When a student asked Dr. Rala about whether she thinks feminism is a secular position, she said yes and disagreed with the previous speaker about finding feminism in Islam. Dr. Rala also believes that the Jordanian government has institutionalized Feminist groups to stop the counter discourse. Essentially, if women join your government, they will have to work with your government and be a bit more quiet.

Also, US funds cannot be put towards women's rights groups in Jordan. It hurts these organizations. The Jordanian government and some people are suspicious of Americans and the West getting involved in their political process.

Also she discussed how some seemling Islamic practices might not actually be done for religious purposes. For instance, the Hijab. She said that she knows many women who wear the hijab for economic reasons. If they wear the cloak with the hijab, they can save money on clothing. If they cover their hair, they don't need to get it done so often. The hijab is also used as a fashion assory. I saw women at the university of Jordan with hot pink cheetah hijabs. While it looked awesome, I don't think it said "look at me for my mind" which is the traditional goal of hijab.


Here are some quotes
"They [the government and men] put chains on my brain and mind"

"We [The Middle East] have been colonized by the West but in a way, women have been colonized by men".

"I'm not rotten meat, I'm a human being".

While I have not read these blogs, she did suggest that we read them. I haven't gotten around to it, so I can't personally support these ideas or endorse them, but I want to get the info out there.

hiber

The Black Iris


3)Dr. Abees Dababneh- University of Jordan

Dr. Dababneh's focus is politics and women and was a different approach from the other two speakers.
She spoke about other women in Jordan besides Jordanian women. She talked about the "maids" that work in many Jordanian homes. Initially, students at SIT made jokes such as "the slave made my breakfast this morning".  This is because students felt very uncomfortable. One student moved into her host family and has her own room. She quickly realized that this was the maid's room and now the maid sleeps on the floor in the room. The student has tried to get the women to sleep on the sofa, but she is not allowed. Technically, the maid is not allowed to talk to the student. It's terrible. Honestly, this is not far from the truth. Many of these live in maids are from South East Asia. They live and work in a family's house for a very small wage. They often are not given a bed, sleep on the floor and cannot practice their religion. They are not fed well and not allowed to leave the house or contact their friends or family. Honestly, this reminds me of when Black people were no longer slaves but had to remain on the plantation because they could never afford to leave and would be mistreated everywhere. SO WRONG! Dr. Dabahneh wants to fix problems such as this in Jordan. Many of these women are also physically and sexually assaulted. I'm happy my house in Amman does not have a maid. I'm not sure I could do it.

Dr. Dabaneh also surprised us with some statistics.
*1/3 women world wide is beaten
*There are 5,000 honor killings a year and that yes Christians in Jordan do it too. Its not a religious thing but a cultural thing. 90% of the women killed in honor killings are found to be virgins during their autopsy.
*Genital Mutilation-mostly in African countries.  96% of women in these areas have had the surgery. The reason behind genital mutitation for girls is so that they don't "feel pleasure" when riding the farm animals without a saddle. So so sad.

Dr. Dabaneh also talked about Article 340 in the Jordanian Penal Code. This is the article I previously mentioned about how men and women should be equal. Apparently men get a lighter sentence for adultery then women in Jordan. This is not equality.

Also, 50% of the people who have AIDs in Jordan are women. Most of these women are married to men who have HIV. It is believed that these women get AIDs from their husbands who commit adultery. If kept quiet, these men will go unpunished and their wives will most likely stay with them.
When I asked how what is the percentage of women in Jordan who are given a divorce because their husband committed adultery, the program director of SIT stepped in to answer my question. He said that in areas such as where he is from, the Badia, people are really tough on men who commit adultery or rape. If a women is raped and not married, the rapist and his male family members are required to pay the victim a good sum of money. Then he is exiled from the group and must travel around the surrounding bedouin area waving a white flag to show that the tribe 'Is pure". The tribe no longer wants this man as part of their group because he brought shame to the tribe. While my first question went unanswered, the second bit was interesting.

Dr. Dababneh also talked about incest. In the case of incest, the women are not allowed to keep the child and the child becomes a ward of the state. The woman is then taken away from her family and put under protection of the state. In the past, this was the state prision but now women are pushing for shelters and that seems to be working. Unfortunately, most of these women become victims of human trafficking when they are sent out of the shelter at the age of 18. These women tend to suffer for the rest of their lives.

Personally, the third lecture was not my favorite, but it was good to hear the political point of view. I really enjoyed seeing three different perspectives on women's issues in Jordan.

And the length of this shows why it took me forever to post
Until next time,
Natalie