Women’s Rights

Disclaimer: the following text may reek of narcissism to some readers!

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Hello and welcome to another episode of two bits. Last four weeks have been Ramadan, a month of fasting from an hour before the sunrise to sunset for Muslims. This year after more than two decades I decided to fast. By the time this gets posted many Muslims around the world would be enjoying the eve of Eid al Fitr, the biggest religious festival in Islam. Here though it would be on Thursday. However, while the followers of Islam practice self restrain during this month, those of Islamism do the exact opposite. Not that they do not fast but during the meals before and after fasting, known as Suhur and Iftar respectively in Arabic, they tend to be too excessive about items and courses. A large number of them also experience a sharp spike in their suicidal tendencies, unfortunately they start blowing up or murdering other people while killing themselves. That is the part I find unacceptable about the religion called Islamism, despite an abundance of love for all other religions including the pagan ones in my heart which should be evident from my About Me page.

 

Fortunately I was born in a Muslim family, not an Islamist one and as an Eid surprise for the audience, I want to talk about what I have learned regarding women and their rights in Islam from my family. As the process of learning goes, what I accumulated evolved as well and the path was not without a few hiccups along the way but what I am about to say is what I have firmly believed and been practicing since July 2015.

 

A woman, whether she is my mother, sister, wife, an adult daughter, a friend, a recent acquaintance or a complete stranger, has the following irrevocable rights:

1. She can choose to wear anything she wants or nothing at all if such is her desire. I have no right to intervene or interfere. I may dislike her choice but I cannot impose my choice on her or express my feelings in any way that might offend her.
2. She can choose to act in any manner she wants and as long as it is physiologically or psychologically not harming me I have no right to intervene or interfere. If it is, then I can defend myself or exit the scene. If her actions end up in breaching of any earlier moral contracts, she has the right to dialogues or go for a settlement if she chooses to.
3. She can choose to have an abortion whenever she wants. I may or may not like her choice but I cannot impose mine and nor can I express myself in an offensive way.
4. She has the right to be treated as me by myself and rest of the world if she decides to, i.e. whatever I might and can desire, she is eligible too. She has any and every rights I am supposed to have.

 

As a surprise I am keeping it down to some of the most important ones I can think of now and leaving out many other rights of significance. Perhaps in another episode I will talk about some more. Of course I have my rights too. Say, for (1) I would not be too inclined to interact with those that have decided to put themselves inside a Casper like shell from head to toe and the nudists; for (2) I too can opt for a settlement with a reasonable justification if she refuses her right to dialogues. Finally for (3), this being the election year in USA, the largest base of my readers according to WP statistics, I believe one can only urge a would be mother not to abort for the sake of motherhood but that is the most one can do. Killing doctors and other stuffs providing abortion related services or threatening a physically and emotionally stressed pregnant woman ought to be taken for what they are, killing and threatening challenged human beings. Moreover if killing and bullying are labeled Pro Life, then we have an acute case of misnomer in its very core. Pro life sounds and so it should be like Pro Mother, whether the mother wants to continue or abort, provide her with the care she needs to obtain her wish in a healthy way.

 

Well, I guess some of you are sighing in disbelief and disdain at my luck for the kind of parents I have but I am truly proud to be a son of my mom and dad. Thank you for being here!

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Image: my mother and father in 1973.