By: Muhammad Mehdi
There are different strands of feminism either liberal, socialist, radical, black, or philosophical feminism, and so on, but a common feature of all types of feminism is their focus on the equality and empowerment of women. Historically, women have been disdained in society like we see in Western countries until the early 20th century when women did not enjoy an independent status. After the 1930s women won equal status legally and various Western countries passed laws in effect. Patriarchy still looms large in many societies. To fight with social discrimination of women, feminist theory was born, but with time feminism has been considered controversial by some religious scholars. Some of them thought this to be a Western product. There were also proponents of the idea that religion in general and Islam in particular is the biggest challenge for women’s rights in society. But at the same time, many Muslim men and women disagree with such a view and argue that the Quran provides significant rights for women, which are often more fascinating than the rights provided by the legal system of the secular state for its female citizens. Why it is considered Western by Islamic scholars and why the use of the term feminism is objectionable from an Islamic viewpoint? What is the difference between Islamic and Western feminism or is there any difference at all? This will be the focus of my discussion.
Unfortunately, what most people fail to realize is that feminism is not entirely a novel concept, nor is it anti-Islamic. In fact, Islam is the first religion that systematically empowered and honored women. Before Islam, women were subservient to men having zero social status. So, the question is what is the controversy among Islamic and Western feminism? Let’s go by the definition of feminism as an ideology to empower women. There is no difference but the difference comes at a secondary level i.e., the perception of women’s emancipation in the eyes of Westerners and Muslims has different meanings.
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Islamic feminism is based on certain non-negotiable values i.e., equality with honor and dignity, of which western feminism is not obliged to. This is the major contradiction in Islamic and Western feminism. Family is the basic institution of human culture. We should know the basic social values which are more or less necessary for social cohesion and a peaceful society without which a social disorder is inevitable. Radical feminists argue that the legitimization of lesbianism is a necessary way of preventing male domination (patriarchy). Women don’t want equality with men in the view of radical feminists rather, they want liberation, and liberation is only possible if patriarchy is overthrown. But in view of Islam lesbianism is totally against women’s dignity. Freedom has a certain Islamic limitation whereas in Western culture, sexual freedoms have become a matter of human rights and sex has become a matter of enjoyment, losing its sanctity as an instrument of procreation. Moreover, it poses a fatal blow to the family system which is one of the strongest and necessary social institutions for the production of an ethical society. In Western capitalist countries, women have been reduced to a commodity to be exploited and their dignity has been compromised.
There is a need to apply a cultural relativist approach (believing that laws should be according to the religion and culture of local population and accepting that every law or concept is not universal) if gender equality has to flourish globally. United Nations believed in an idealistic approach that their laws are universal, which is not true actually rather they should believe in a realistic approach. The same is the problem with the concept of feminism in Pakistan. Western ideology is claimed to be universal however it is not compatible with non-western or countries other than the West. To achieve the real aim of feminism which is gender equality, the concept of feminism needs to be restricted according to the culture and religion of Pakistan rather than based on the ideology of Western countries including their so-called norms and values.
There is no need to make different strands of feminism rather there is a need to chalk out the real problems from which all women suffer (albeit in different ways) and endeavor to make feminism as convincing and well-researched as possible. In short, feminism doesn’t advocate in any way the superiority of women nor does it call for immoral and anti-religious practices. It simply endeavors to make the lives of women across the world a lot easier than they are used to. For this purpose, Islam provides a comprehensive guideline. The need is only to follow by avoiding misperceptions.
The writer is a graduate of School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad. He is interested in the social and political issues of Pakistan, and the issues faced by Islam in this modern age, particularly by orientalists. Tweets at @Muhamma23469196