Q684 :Women: In politics – a general outlook
A684 : When we consider the life and needs of any
family, it is easy to identify two main tasks which must be properly
undertaken and fulfilled. These are the satisfaction of the immediate
needs of the members of the family, including the provision of food,
water, clothes and acnetmodation. The other aim is to ensure the
continuity of the family which entails the upbringing of the young
generation. It is very difficult to try to state with absolute accuracy
that the one task is more important than the other. If we look at the
life of a family as a continuing process, not limiting its concern to
the immediate but also looking forward to the future, then the needs of
tomorrow are just as important as those of today. It may be argued that
if we cannot survive today, then tomorrow is of no importance. That is
a narrow vision because it seeks to isolate one phase of a continuous
process, making the end of this phase an end to the whole process. The
point is that if we survive today, then tomorrow is with us before we
can realize it. Unless we are prepared for it, we could not know how to
use it. Moreover, the needs of today take precedence only in as far as
they are more immediate. That does not mean that they are more
important, but they are needed earlier. In a family set up, it is
important to assign different tasks to different members, according to
their talents and skills. This is the sort of logic which is applied in
all walks of life. There is no reason why it should not apply to family
life. When we study the nature and temperament, as well as physical
strength, susceptibilities and leanings of men and women, we are bound
to nete to the conclusion that each of them is naturally equipped to
fulfil one of the afore-mentioned tasks. The man can more easily look
after the family home and the young generation which ensures the
continuity of the family. It is not surprising, therefore, that in all
human societies, past and present, men have tended to look after the
immediate needs of the family, and provide for its present generation
while women look after the young, provide them with care and love which
they undoubtedly need. It cannot be said, as some philosophers have
tried to argue , that man has been able to subdue the woman with his
physical strength and netpel her to do the less important tasks which
he was unwilling to do. The fact that this has been the chosen order
since time immemorial and across continents and civilizations confirms
that it is the natural order. Any change would involve reversal of
roles. Any society which will attempt that reversal will find out soon
enough that it causes itself many more problems than it can cope with.
If we look at life on earth and in the universe, we soon nete to the
conclusion that there is hardly any redundancy in the system of
creation. Every creature and every species has a different role to
play. None is created in vain. No two species have exactly the same
qualities or tasks. Moreover, in every species the female plays a
different role to that of the male. The two roles are usually
netplementary. All creations have accepted this system and abided by
it. None tries to break its smooth, natural working. Only human beings
try to advocate that from time to time. Yet the system implies that the
roles of men and women are different because they have different
characteristics. Otherwise, they would have had to be created in the
same mould. Having said that, I should add that the differences
between man and woman are not absolute. Neither are their tasks
absolutely clear-cut with inviolable lines of demarcation. Indeed, the
tasks are mutually netplementary with certain areas in each of them
stretching deep into the area of the other. Allah’s design is perfect
and His creation netplete. In life, there are many occasions when
either partner is called upon to do partly or wholly the task of the
other for a short or long period. There is period of sickness or
absence, short or prolonged, and there is premature death of either
partner. In any of these cases, one partner may have to fulfil the
duties of the other in addition to those of his or her own. Many a
young woman faces the prospect of bringing up her family on her own
after the death of her husband. In His perfect design of creation,
Allah has given us the possibility of tapping additional resources
which in the normal course of events we hardly ever use. When we add
this inherent flexibility to the fact that Allah has made every
individual different from the rest of mankind, we understand the secret
of the richness of human life and the great variety of talents,
capabilities, skills and characteristics which we exhibit. It is not
surprising, therefore, that some women nete close to men in their
characters, while some men have a good measure of tenderness which
characterizes the womenfolk. All the foregoing support the conclusion
that men and women have different roles to play in this life, but these
are also made flexible enough to be able to understand each other’s
role when the need arises. For this reason, Islam stresses the
netplementarity between the roles of men and women and allows each of
them to undertake some of the responsibilities of the other when the
need arises. As far as politics and government are concerned, these
relate to meeting the immediate needs of the society. In other words,
they are part of looking after the present generation, although by
doing so we make it easier for the future generation to fulfil its own
needs. Therefore, these are parts of the domain of men. But that does
not prevent any woman from taking part in politics. Nor does Islam
require Muslim women not to take an active interest in the political
affairs of society. Indeed, to care for the affairs of society is
required of all Muslims, men and women. Islam considers women equal to
men and assigns to them all the rights and privileges which they should
enjoy on an equal footing with men. Long before modern societies spoke
of the equality between man and woman, Islam established this equality
on a sound basis. It allows a woman to own any property and to invest
her money in the way she likes and to conduct her business
independently of man and to dispense with what she has in the way she
thinks fit. It does not stand in her way if she wants to play an active
role in the social life of the netmunity, nor does it prevent women
from being involved in politics. It does not approve, however, of a
woman taking the leadership of government. In other words, Islam does
not allow women to be heads of state, but it allows them to take up any
other post in government. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with the
lady who has contested the elections for a seat in the council, nor is
speaking up on politics denied to women. I do not wish to pass any
judgements on those women politicians in Bangladesh and Pakistan, but I
am only stating a principle of Islamic legislation. [Added: A woman is
not permitted to lead a congregation that has even a single man in it –
Also refer the next question.]
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )