Saturday 7 April 2012

Where are we headed to?

I could not sleep much last night. Most of the time I was tossing and turning and my brain just refused to zone out. Twice I had to get up and go to the wash room thinking I was going to get sick.

And no. It was not because I was under any stress except the usual study-related problems. It was because right before going to bed, I had made the mistake of reading e-tribune’s story on Domestic Violence Bill reaching a deadlock in a joint sitting of the parliament. The current status is that JUI-F and even PML(N) are advocating against it and Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman has vowed that he will fight tooth and nail against the bill that protects women and children from getting beaten up. Infact his exact words during the session were “Western culture cannot be promoted under the pretext of protection in Islamic states”, which indirectly means that beating up women is an eastern and Islamic culture and quite acceptable to us.

Let me tell you a very simple thing first. Why do we consider stealing or robbing someone a crime? On a human level, we consider it a moral and legal crime because we are violating another person’s rights and are harming him or her. We have been taught by our parents and then in schools that stealing is wrong. It is a criminal act and has adequate punishment. On a religious level, we are told that our Prophet (PBUH) condemned this act so much that he even said that he wouldn’t hesitate to cut-off his own daughter’s hand if she was found stealing. So, because we grew up with these things being taught to us, today most of us civilized people do not rob anyone, no matter how needy we are. Those who do eventually get punished one way or another.

I never had much hope from this Domestic Violence Bill, to put it in plain words. Reason being our society and its male-dominated environment would make sure such laws are never implemented in their true spirit. There are men who would favor this law but then they are in relative minority or atleast they are not in the parliament so it does not make much difference at this moment whether we have this law or not.

Having said that, there is one thing that I had been hopeful about. Even if such women protection laws do not get implemented in my or your life time, atleast our future generations will grow up being taught that it is wrong and a criminal act to beat up anyone, be it outside or inside of home.  This is how all moral sins and legal laws have been systematically ingrained in our brains. If a boy grows up thinking beating up his wife will be criminally punishable, he is less likely to do it when he gets married.

On a human level, we all know domestic violence is wrong. What strikes me the most is that the opposition to this bill comes from the religious right or let me say so-called religious right and they use Islam to justify the violence. And no matter how many times do I read the Quran or listen to scholars discussing the rights of women, I have never come across anything that allows men to harm their wives in any way. It is beyond me how people like Fazl-ur-Rehman, Khawaja Saad Rafique and even some women parliamentarians would claim such a thing and to my astonishment, there are people who actually think they are right and are protesting against this bill ! My only question to these mis-guided people is: Why is sunnah limited to having a beard only and not seeing the way Prophet (PBUH) treated his wives? This again brings me to the point that why do we even need to use Islam to justify such inhumane thinking when we know that in our religion nothing is against nature. How could someone even think that Allah (SWT) would ever allow his fairer creation be violently treated in something as sacred as marriage? It does not make sense to me.

I think I am too shocked right now and my belief in humanity is slowly fading away. Someone asked me a few days ago that why do women need separate laws and special treatment for themselves? My answer was very simple. Women NEED special treatment and their rights have to be defined and written because unlike men, their rights are not given to them on a plate. They always have to ASK to be treated as humans. They always have to ASK men not to beat or harass them. Otherwise it is considered NORMAL treatment.

I never call myself a feminist because I’m still struggling for women to get basic human rights; Equal rights are too far off an idea to spend my energy on. But this recent news has made me fear for the future of thousands of women and children. How can we bring up our daughters in a world like? If we shelf this bill now, not only women will no longer be protected; but also domestic violence will be seen as something legal and allowed which will encourage the abusive men even more.

And for those who are confused about Islam and domestic violence, try doing your own research for once , instead of listening to Mullahs who get votes in the name of Islam. It should be unnecessary to get defensive about such a logical issue but since it looks like some of the parliamentarians are bent on defaming Islam, I as a muslim feel appalled and consider it my duty to point out what Allah (SWT) and his beloved Prophet (PBUH) actually say about women rights.

1. Sabr is Not Suffering in Silence - Webinar (Yasmin Mogahed)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mzFJikLyG8

2. Removing the Silence on Domestic Violence by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

Here is the link to the bill itself that i found on the national assembly website.
http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1302132729_698.pdf 



Please try to find out for yourself where this bill is unIslamic and how could it promote westernized thinking as per JUI-F's tantrum in the parliament.

My apologies if I sounded like ranting. I needed to get it out of my system.