Human rights under the UN are divided into two categories or generations: civil and political rights (CPR) comprise the first generation, while economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) comprise the second. Another, albeit much older, institution that ventured into human rights is Islam. It is often argued that Islam is one of the pioneering institutions to grant women equitable rights compared to their male counterparts. These rights cover a variety of aspects such as, inter alia, the right to property, right to a consensual marriage, and the right to education. While Islam indeed achieved a breakthrough by alleviating women’s status in society, most of the rights it granted fall within the category of economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR), leaving women with very limited entitlement to civil and political rights (CPR). Muslim women today, both in theory and in practice, remain largely excluded from positions of leadership and full participation in the public political arena. To give but one example, many fundamentalists whole-heartedly believe and argue that any nation led by a woman is doomed to a fate of failure.
It could be argued that the type of rights granted to women when Islam first evolved is directly related to the type of roles women assumed in that period. With the exception of a few privileged women, pre-Islamic Arabia was intellectually, politically, and economically dominated by men, while women were restricted to the private sphere. As a result, the new doctrine of Islam focused on empowering women within the private sphere they already occupied by granting them the aforementioned ESCR. However, an examination of Muslim women’s ESCR today shows that even the ideals prescribed in the texts lack proper implementation on the ground, partly because they have fallen prey to centuries of patriarchal understanding of the texts. An additional reason why ESCR of Muslim women lack the proper implementation is the close relationship between them and the missing CPR. According to the Human Development Report 2000, ESCR and CPR are closely interrelated as the former cannot be exercised without guaranteeing the latter category. The result, therefore, is that one category of rights (CPR) is virtually nonexistent, while the other category (ESCR) remains confined to the pages of sacred books.
This legacy has placed women in the backseats of development, rendering them passive and unproductive. Consequentially, women have missed invaluable opportunities of applying their intellectual and physical abilities in bettering themselves and the societies they live in. How can this situation be remedied? Given the current state of affairs, the demands of a swiftly-changing modern age in addition to the need for full realization of ESCR both apply pressure on the need to revolutionize Muslim women’s CPR. But how could this possibly be done when the doctrine in question is about 1500 years old? This is where the importance of the concept of “gradualism” arises. The Islamic ideology is based on the idea of gradual change that allows Islam to remain relevant to its adherents regardless of time and place by implementing flexible modes of jurisprudence. Moreover, history is witness to the fact that intellectual tides are consequentially followed by the appropriate changes in traditions and practices of a society, including Muslim societies. Therefore, it is necessary to acknowledge the concept that CPR, which will lead to the inevitable achievement of ESCR, can occur by empowering women as agents of change rather than rendering them no more than passive recipients of welfare.
In spite of the fact that different generations and categories of human rights are relatively modern concepts, Islam has the necessary tools to utilize them for the purpose of improving women’s status which will ultimately contribute to the overall betterment of societies worldwide.
It could be argued that the type of rights granted to women when Islam first evolved is directly related to the type of roles women assumed in that period. With the exception of a few privileged women, pre-Islamic Arabia was intellectually, politically, and economically dominated by men, while women were restricted to the private sphere. As a result, the new doctrine of Islam focused on empowering women within the private sphere they already occupied by granting them the aforementioned ESCR. However, an examination of Muslim women’s ESCR today shows that even the ideals prescribed in the texts lack proper implementation on the ground, partly because they have fallen prey to centuries of patriarchal understanding of the texts. An additional reason why ESCR of Muslim women lack the proper implementation is the close relationship between them and the missing CPR. According to the Human Development Report 2000, ESCR and CPR are closely interrelated as the former cannot be exercised without guaranteeing the latter category. The result, therefore, is that one category of rights (CPR) is virtually nonexistent, while the other category (ESCR) remains confined to the pages of sacred books.
This legacy has placed women in the backseats of development, rendering them passive and unproductive. Consequentially, women have missed invaluable opportunities of applying their intellectual and physical abilities in bettering themselves and the societies they live in. How can this situation be remedied? Given the current state of affairs, the demands of a swiftly-changing modern age in addition to the need for full realization of ESCR both apply pressure on the need to revolutionize Muslim women’s CPR. But how could this possibly be done when the doctrine in question is about 1500 years old? This is where the importance of the concept of “gradualism” arises. The Islamic ideology is based on the idea of gradual change that allows Islam to remain relevant to its adherents regardless of time and place by implementing flexible modes of jurisprudence. Moreover, history is witness to the fact that intellectual tides are consequentially followed by the appropriate changes in traditions and practices of a society, including Muslim societies. Therefore, it is necessary to acknowledge the concept that CPR, which will lead to the inevitable achievement of ESCR, can occur by empowering women as agents of change rather than rendering them no more than passive recipients of welfare.
In spite of the fact that different generations and categories of human rights are relatively modern concepts, Islam has the necessary tools to utilize them for the purpose of improving women’s status which will ultimately contribute to the overall betterment of societies worldwide.
(Image by Hamed Saber
Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bandari_Burqa.jpg )
