A Forward-looking Ijtihad in the Modern Era: fighting for women’s rights in Muslim society on the basis of Allah’s compassion and justice in the Quran

Ijtihad, Rethinking Islam

A Forward-looking Ijtihad in the Modern Era: fighting for women’s rights in Muslim society on the basis of Allah’s compassion and justice in the Quran

By: Farzana Hassan-Shahid

There are at present in my opinion, three distinct discourses within Islam on women's rights. The first is the one vigorously promoted by Dr. Farhat Hashmi which attempts to render women invisible and anonymous by enshrouding them in Burkas, endorsing polygamous marriages and upholding the uncontested leadership of the husband over the wife. Ironically such a discourse claims to be progressive, once again based on the "complementarity" argument, this time applied to the letter. The second, a slightly more progressive discourse does not intend to subjugate women to the extent of compartmentalizing them in gender specific roles entirely, but nonetheless emphasizes the need for reclaiming the "rights Muslim women enjoyed under Islam many centuries ago". This is dangerous in my opinion, because it will not lead towards progress, it will lead towards seventh-century norms and applications of those norms which are by no means desirable in this day and age, given our vastly transformed societies. This is by far the prevalent discourse among Muslim women who are self-proclaimed "feminists" out to reclaim their rights. In my opinion it is no longer enough to simply reclaim these rights. While such reclamation will certainly improve conditions for a segment of Muslim women in some societies, it will fall hopelessly short of modern standards of gender equality under the law.

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