Time to zip up?

On Thursdays, I like to kick back with ‘Scrubs,’ one of my favorite TV shows and drown in its delightfully nonsensical episodes. One of the lady doctors was having a hard time getting her ideas across to her male peers as they were not taking her seriously. So what she did was cover her diving cleavage to make sure that their attention was riveted on her and not her embellishments and actually that did the trick. Seriously gals, modesty turned out to be an empowering experience for her.

What I gather from this is that women all over the world want to be treated with respect and decency. Most women just want the opportunity to earn their livelihood without being disparaged, molested, taunted or teased. Our tight blouses and mini skirts are not getting us where we want to be. Sure in an ideal world it would be nice to walk around the way you want to without being discriminated upon but coming down to earth, we have to take the route that works best.

In reality, men can afford to reveal more than women without appearing to be immodest but if we look around us we will notice that men walk around in layers of clothing. Most men do not expose more than what a burqa-clad woman does but we do not go around calling a man’s attire oppressive. In fact, they seem to be quite comfortable in it. Men want to get what they want by focusing on their strengths. They do not want to be exploited. They are not throwing in any freebees.

As soon as a woman covers up, she is labeled oppressed and has to be liberated by throwing away the shawls and unbuttoning the shirts. I would say that when a woman dresses enticingly the only benefactor is a man. Is that the kind of empowerment we want?

Silent War

Most women face abuses that are so subtle that it is hard to articulate them. Some attitudes are so entrenched in Indian society that uprooting these weeds would amount to destroying the whole garden of domesticity. Laws cannot guarantee any justice in this silent war because men really have no clue as to what is going on. Even if it is thrown in his face, a man cannot wake up to it because the truth is that though we have the same kind of eyes we do not see the same world. It is easy to put the blame on the man but was not the man raised by a woman herself? Or is the stereotype of the father so powerful that no mother can instill a wider world view in her sons? Another undeniable fact is that women are most often their own worst enemies as they wage battles that are beyond the radars of men and stifle the cries of their brethren. Thus the legacy of silence will continue until a braver world can plant a better society.

Impervious

We are now dealing with a generation that has grown up on violent video games and aggressive vicarious entertainment. For them the dreadful images of war and torture have little shocking value. Compared to the heightened awareness and forceful protests during the Vietnam War, the objections raised over the Iraq war petered out quickly and even the daily body count of both Americans and Iraqis raise barely a whimper. Economic considerations far outweigh the ramifications of an unjust war in the minds of most ordinary citizens. Of course when questioned point blank about the sagacity of the war, most people would opt for a peaceful alternative but the hurried nature of today’s world ensures that noble intentions do not translate into timely action. This, needless to say is an unfortunate situation.

The blue rose

The rise of extremist ideology is inevitable within any system of belief including atheism or even secularism. The extent of its influence depends directly on whether the political, social or economic conditions of a particular time and space are receptive to these ideas. Buddhism is popularly viewed to be a peaceful religion but the recent violent protests in Tibet by Buddhist monks against Chinese imperialism are a case in point. Again, suicide bombing is a malady that was hitherto unknown in Iraq until the recent American invasion.

It requires great moral courage to counter oppression through peaceful means. Even the most benign ideology runs the risk of being perceived as evil if its followers do not heed the best of its teachings. Gandhiji’s exemplary leadership rendered maturity and credence to our own freedom struggle. The spirit of his beliefs permeated every aspect of his life, including politics but he displayed the best of its imbibed virtues. Barrack Obama’s inspiring speech on race is a contemporary example of how man can keep divisiveness at bay even in the face of personal ignominy. There is a heart of gold beneath the seeming rigidity or ritualism of any religion. People should tap into it instead of being mired in endless debates about issues that are of no consequence.

At the end of the day, when children, women and elderly are slain and able-bodied men mutilated, no ideology can stand vindicated. Even the noblest of struggles become tarnished when blood taints it.

Hunger for power, political or otherwise is as old as mankind itself. All major schools of thought have fallen prey to it as a handful of people try to wield power imposing their ideas on the rest of the followers. Islam has offered the greatest resistance to the burgeoning of such powerful people because anathema to hero worship is woven into its very fabric. Nevertheless influential people are perfectly capable of inventing new ideologies that are only a shadow of the original thus plunging the misguided, ignorant, and infinitely moldable followers into self-serving conflicts. Such ideological perversions are best dealt with by delving into the basics of the original idea and encouraging those who follow it pristinely (fortunately, a great majority). This alone can expose the hollowness of the newly-invented doctrines. Imposing other ideas that are alien to it or debasing the original theology will only lead to a rebellion that will suck more innocent people into a mindless war.

If we can appreciate the myriad colours that a flower can adorn, then we certainly can respect the various hues that human beliefs can assume. The slithering motion of a snake will not suit an eagle whose own soaring elegance will not fit a peacock. To each, his own way. The flowering of Russia under Putin as opposed to its disintegration and misery under Yeltsin is a reminder of this.

Half Truths

Growing up in Kerala, I was not even aware of my identity vis-à-vis religion until the advent of 9/11 and the subsequent attrition of Islam’s image in the West in its aftermath. I cringe at the complete misuse of noble words like Jihad by the international media and the highlighting of rogue elements within Islam as if they are the majority. People like me who practice Islam in its entirety are labeled moderates or liberals while terrorists are declared as paragons of Islam. This has led to a mushrooming of Imams and Mullahs who vie with each other to grab the limelight. In truth, the idea of one single leader who can represent all the Muslims in the world is a thought alien to Islam. Many evils prevalent in the Arab culture that predates Islam which the Prophet himself tried to uproot are unjustly and illogically attributed to Islam. With this kind of systematic misinformation that has existed for at least a decade now, it is not surprising that the average American goes ballistic at the mention of Islam. The uproar about Obama's middle name and the response to it is a case in point.

The rote-n Indian School System

So much is wrong with our school system and the attitude of some of the teachers that it is hard to even define the problems. The mantra of conversion from content-based education to competence-based has not solved anything but only managed to devalue the content itself. So if my generation at least had the good fortune to have depth of content at hand, the younger generation is left with redundant material. Intelligent kids will suffer from lack of mental stimulation and plummeting of IQ as a consequence while less-intelligent ones still will not be saved because though the content itself is simpler and repetitive, the way it is presented is neither innovative nor user-friendly. The ‘projects’ which are supposed to encourage deeper involvement of the kids have only added to the burdens of the parents as the manner in which the projects are assessed has resulted in the parents and not the kids doing all the work.

Any improvement is possible only by enhancing the quality of the content and that of the teachers. Extensive psychological evaluation of the teachers should be a must before they are appointed. If we do not do this, our kids are as good as dead.

Status of Women in Islam

Before the advent of Islam, most women were treated quite shabbily in a manner worse than animals amidst the Arabs - they were inherited against their will and baby girls were usually killed. The teachings of Islam were meant to change that appalling situation and recognise the potential of women and confer on them dignity. Islam rightly does not equate men and women. A man is not equal to a woman and viceversa because we are unique and complement each other. In accordance with the difference in our nature, men and women are given different rights and duties. In terms of Grace of God, men and women have equal chance of acquiring it and in the Koran, God Almighty calls upon both men and women to the path of salvation - there are innumerous instances of terms like 'believing men and believing women', 'righteous men and righteous women', etc. I find this exceptionally beautiful because most religious texts use the word men and assume it to include women as well but not the Koran.

Quote from the Koran - 'The believing men and women are associates and helpers of each other. They (collaborate) to promote all that is beneficial and discourage all that is evil; to establish prayers and give alms, and to obey Allah and his Messenger. Those are the people whom Allah would grant mercy. Indeed Allah is Mighty and Wise.' (Al-Taubah 9:71)

In the life and traditions of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) also, we find women being treated with respect and dignity. A few examples are listed below.

1) Women's Right of Permission: Narrated Khansa bint Khidam Al-Ansariya that her father gave her in marriage when she was a matron and she disliked that marriage. So she went to Allah's Apostle and he declared that marriage invalid. (Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 69)

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "A matron should not be given in marriage except after consulting her; and a virgin should not be given in marriage except after her permission." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! How can we know her permission?" He said, "Her silence (indicates her permission)." (Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 67)

2) On the Treatment of Women - Narrated Mu'awiyah al-Qushayri: I went to the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) and asked him: "What do you say (command) about our wives?" He replied: "Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them." (Sunan Abu Dawud: Book 11, Number 2139) "The best of you is one who is best towards his family and I am best towards the family". (At-Tirmithy). "None but a noble man treats women in an honourable manner. And none but an ignoble treats women disgracefully". (At-Tirmithy).

3) The Prophet's Disapproval of Women Beaters - Patient behavior was the practice of the Prophet, even when his wife addressed him harshly. Once his mother-in-law- saw her daughter strike him with her fist on his noble chest. When the enraged mother -in-law began to reproach her daughter, the Prophet smilingly said, "Leave her alone; they do worse than that." And once Abu Bakr, his father-in-law, was invited to settle some misunderstanding between him and Aishah. The Prophet said to her, "Will you speak, or shall I speak?" Aisha said, "You speak, but do not say except the truth." Abu Bakr was so outraged that he immediately struck her severely, forcing her to run and seek protection behind the back of the Prophet. Abu Bakr said, "O you the enemy of herself! Does the Messenger of Allah say but the truth?" The Prophet said, "O Abu Bakr, we did not invite you for this [harsh dealing with Aishah], nor did we anticipate it." quoted in: Mutual Rights and Obligations.

All rumours of Islam being discriminative toward women are falsehoods. In truth, women are explicitly given more rights in Islam than in any other religion. If women are still mistreated in spite of these beautiful teachings, it is because of cultural, racial, social, ethnic, and political prejudices. It has no basis in Islam. This is a simple truth that the popular media has failed to acknowledge. I wish the world would put aside its misconceptions. I also wish all women would get their due.