The Role of Women in Politics

The woman being equal to the man, or, the man being equal to the woman is not a significant matter which has influence over the societal life and nor is it a problem which is likely to occur in the Islamic life. It is but a phrase which is only found in the West

Introduction

The role of women in politics has generally been downplayed throughout history. In 350 BCE, Aristotle, in his treatise Politics, excluded women along with children and slaves from his definition of a citizen. This prevented her from having a say in government and ruling. Later generations came to defend the decision to exclude women on the grounds that they were not suited to the task because of the differences between the male and female intellect, womens' physical strength and inability to maintain their attention.

After centuries of oppression and struggle to gain the same respect, dignity and basic rights which had come all too easily for men, the tide for the woman seems to have turned. In the twentieth century Western world, the historical values of male chauvinism have been challenged. Sometimes, women have been considered political equals of men, and in some exceptional cases, a few women have even surpassed the level of achievement of their male counterparts. But despite such changes in recent thinking, the idea of women engaging in politics continues to be a matter that raises much debate in the West and particularly in the Muslim world, which often bears the brunt of criticism in its inequitable regard towards women.

Indeed the political status of women in Islam is in many quarters still perceived to be on a par with the Dark Ages of European history. Muslim women are assumed to be strictly in the background of the political milieu, having little to say and even less to offer. Whilst the West purports to have completed the process of integration of women into political life by championing democracy and the advancement of womens' causes, it attacks the Islamic world for its oppression of women. In reaction to this, many Muslim women, inspired by the apparent progress made by her Western counterparts, are becoming increasingly vociferous in their call to participate in the political process. But what needs to be scrutinised is the legitimacy of the Wests' achievement. Have the women in the West truly been liberated? Does Islam really oppress women by not giving them a political voice?

THE LEGACY OF THE SUFFRAGETTE MOVEMENT

The political landscape of Britain today, with respect to the role of women, was shaped through vigorous campaigns that began with the demand for women's voting rights. In 1867 John Stuart Mill initiated the first of many debates in Parliament to install rights that had been denied to women from centuries before. The 1900s saw the formation of the Women's Social & Political Union and the Suffragette movement, the latter of which became famous for its extreme measures, such as engaging in hunger strikes and similar activities that often led to imprisonment. In 1918, women over the age of thirty were given the right to vote and by 1928 the voting age for women was reduced to 21 years, the same as for the men.

The West claims that through democracy and decades of struggle, it has achieved freedom, sexual liberation, equality of the sexes and women's rights. However, in reality, the struggles of women like the Suffragettes continue even today. Eighty-five years after women were granted the right to vote there is still a long way to go until true equality is reached.

Whilst the aforementioned successes for women may exist on paper, the West is still very much a masculine domain. A report produced by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (Unifem), showed that women accounted for only about 14% of members of parliament worldwide in 2002. Further breakdown reveals the following:

COUNTRIES SHARE OF SEATS IN PARLIAMENT 2002

Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway,
Germany, Argentina, Costa Rica,
South Africa, Mozambique 30%- (Target achieved)
Rwanda 25.7%
Uganda 24.7%
UK 17.9%
US 12%
France 11.8%
Japan 10%

In the last general election in Britain, the country actually saw the number of women MPs fall for the first time to 118 (out of a total of over 650). In the House of Lords there are currently 112 women out of a total of 652 temporal members of Lords. When put in historical context, these figures are even more revealing. In the entire history of British politics there has only ever been one female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher; and, in the last 80 years there have been approximately 4,500 MPs at Westminster of which only around 240 have been women (approximately 5%). These facts provide a glaring indication that the democratic world of politics is in fact far from being an institution that observes the equality of the sexes.

POLITICS IN THE MUSLIM WORLD

When we look to the Muslim world, the situation for women in the arena of politics is no better. In the same report by Unifem, it was found that a number of Gulf Arab states neither gave the women the right to sit in parliament, nor even permitted them the right to cast a vote. The West argues that the lack of advancement for women in the Muslim states is a result of the implementation of Islam and the lack of democracy in these countries. Muslims living both in the West and the Muslim world have begun to accept such rhetoric as fact. Their evaluation that democracy has all the solutions to the problems of the world is arrived at by the simplistic observation of how rich and materially progressive Western societies have become, without consideration to the numerous contradictions and social inequalities that are rife within them.

In an attempt by the West to integrate the Muslims into Western society and accept its values, it actively encourages Muslim men and women to participate in its political affairs. Facility is made for the establishment of representative Muslim bodies and individuals who purport to act on behalf of the Muslim community by lobbying the government using the democratic process. Muslim women too are encouraged to have a political voice, the likes of which is otherwise denied to those who reside in Muslim states abroad, where they are subject to the sexual discrimination that has come to characterise such countries. A token gesture of this sentiment is the appointment of the US/UK led CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) in Iraq, which has just appointed 3 women out of 25 members in its Iraq Governing Council.

Contrary to what is asserted in the West, Islam and the Ahkam Shariah are not being implemented anywhere across the Muslim world today. Instead, what we see is a semblance of democracy (or man made law), or democracy fused with a distorted Islam, both of which are kufr. For example, Benazir Bhutto came into power in Pakistan in 1987 and proceeded to bring democracy into this Muslim land saying, ''I would like to be remembered for overturning a military dictatorship and heralding a world of democracy in Pakistan, for bringing in changes which could not be reversed which included an independent press and the move towards free markets''

Similarly, if one were to examine every Muslim country today, one would find that kufr man-made laws have been implemented, which serve nothing other than to enslave, humiliate and oppress men, women and children.

In light of the characteristics of the politics described above, it comes as no surprise that many Muslims find it unpalatable that something as pure as Islam could have any association with politics; hence the maxim, don't mix politics and religion. This perception is understandable after one refers to accounts of political history across the different ages and considers the consequences of man made laws and their rich legacy of corruption. Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala) says:

And whosoever does not rule by what Allah has revealed such are the oppressors[ Al-Maidah: 45].

Although the orientalists may have painted a grim picture of Islamic political history, objective study shows that after Islam was revealed the face of politics was transformed forever. When before, primitive warring factions dominated the political arena in Arabia, Islam brought a system unlike any other, which was revealed by Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala) and was free of the corruption and selfish motives of man-made law. It was a system that produced Muslim politicians whose role was one of looking after the affairs of people in accordance with the laws of Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala), each aware that they were accountable before Him (Subhanahu wa taaala) for their actions.

ROLE OF MUSLIM WOMEN IN ISLAMIC POLITICS

Islam advanced as a political system which, for the first time in the history of man, commanded the involvement of not just men, but also women, to the action of commanding the maruf (good) and forbidding the munkar (evil). This is the utmost of political actions. Women were thus permitted, indeed obliged, to account the ruler, call for the implementation of Islam and work to establish the deen of Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala) on earth by way of the intellectual and political struggle. Like any man, she had to concern herself with the affairs of the Ummah. Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala) says:


The believers, men and women, are protecting friends (Awliya) of one another; they enjoin the maruf (that which Allah commands) and forbid people from munkar (that which Allah prohibits); they perform Salat, and give the Zakat, and obey Allah and his Messenger. Allah will have mercy on them. Surely Allah is All-mighty, All wise [ At-Taubah: 71]

Islam came with the Shariah commandments, which it obliged on the man and the woman. When it clarified the Shariah rules (Ahkam Shariah) which treat the actions of each of them, it did not give the issue of equality any attention nor did it give it the slightest consideration. Rather it viewed that there was a specific problem which required a solution. So, it treated it in its capacity as a specific problem regardless of whether it was a problem pertaining to a man or a woman. Thus, the solution was for the action of a human, for the problem-incident, and not for the man or woman. Therefore, the question of equality or the lack of equality between the man and woman is not the subject of discussion. This expression is not present in the Islamic legislation.

Hence, equality between men and women is not an issue for discussion, nor is it an issue which forms a subject in the Islamic social system. The woman being equal to the man, or, the man being equal to the woman is not a significant matter which has influence over the societal life and nor is it a problem which is likely to occur in the Islamic life. It is but a phrase which is only found in the West. None from amongst the Muslims holds this view except those imitating the West, which has violated the womans natural rights in her capacity as a human. Hence, she called for the restitution of these rights.

Islam commanded the Muslim woman, as it commanded the man, to be concerned with the affairs of the Ummah. She is permitted and encouraged to partake in political life so long as this does not compromise her primary role as a wife and mother. In Islam it is an obligation for a woman to carry the Dawah and account the ruler.

However, the contribution of the woman is not exactly the same as that of the man. In the sphere of politics, a woman is not permitted to hold positions of ruling such as Khalifah, his Muawin (assistant), Wali (governor), Amil (Mayor) or any other activity categorised as ruling. This is in view of a hadith narrated by Abu Bakrah that when the news reached the Messenger (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam) that the people of Persia had appointed the daughter of Chosroes as queen over them he (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam) said,

People who appoint a women to run the affairs shall never succeed.

It should not be assumed that a woman is prevented from leadership because she is in some way inferior or incapable of carrying out this role. Rather, the Islamic evidences specifically prohibit this function for her, and Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala) knows best. As a result of ahkam such as these, there is no question in Islam of men and women being at odds with each other, engaged in some form of historical battle for power and prestige. Unlike the example of the West, where women are put in direct competition with men in a male-dominated environment, in Islam both their roles complement one another, so that they can work in unison for the pursuit of the pleasure of their Creator, Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala). He (Subhanahu wa taaala) says:


Do not long for the favours by which Allah has made some of you excel others. Men shall have a share of what they have earned, and women will have a share of what they have earned. Do not envy each other, but ask Allah to give you of His bounty. Allah has knowledge of all things [ Al-Nissa: 32].

Women, however, are granted to partake in any political role outside of ruling, such as appointment in government to civil service where she is considered an employee, or in areas like judiciary in the position of judge where she exercises her own verdict according to her view of the evidence presented in a court of law. She may also be a member of the Majlis al-Ummah which, unlike a Western parliament, is not considered a ruling structure but rather a body that accounts the ruler on his implementation of Islam, monitors him and expresses its disapproval when it perceives that he is not fulfilling his duties with regards to the affairs of the Ummah.

While in the West women had to struggle even until the twentieth century to gain the right to vote for a leader, Islam gave her this right some 1400 years ago. Not only was she permitted, but she was expected to give her bayah (allegiance) to the Khalifah, alongside the men.

MUSLIM WOMEN OF THE PAST IN ISLAMIC POLITICS

After the birth of Islam, women were engaged in politics as never before. It was now their duty to carry the call of the Dawah and to enjoin the maruf (good) and forbid the munkar (evil) within society. So it began with some of the Sahabiyyat (ra), who found themselves in positions where even the Messenger of Allah (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam) sought advice from them on political matters.

Umm Salamah (ra), one of the wives of the Prophet (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam), was consulted by him at the time of the Treaty of Hudaybiyah. She advised him in such a way as to defuse the tensions that had arisen amongst the Sahabah (ra), who were disappointed at the thought of engaging in peace with a people who had oppressed them so bitterly in the past. This was a demonstration of her great political insight and wisdom.

The political rights of women in Islam included the authority to give a treaty to a non-combatant from a non-Muslim attacking force. When the Messenger (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam) came to Makkah, Umm Hani bint Abi Talib, afforded protection to certain relatives of hers. She went to the Messenger (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam) complaining that despite her promise of protection, her brother Ali bin Abi Talib (ra), wanted to execute two of these men because they were known for harming the Muslims and fighting against them. The Prophet (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam) said to her,

We offer refuge to whomever you offered and we guarantee the safety to whom you guaranteed safety. Thus, we observe that Umm Hani bint Abi Talib performed a significant political action by granting asylum to these men.

Although women have not been permitted to take on a role of leadership, we still saw women in the past active within the State in other permitted areas. It has been reported from Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) that he appointed al-Shifa, a woman from his folk, as a market judge, who was empowered to pass judgement on violations of the public right.

Ensuring the States adherence to the Shariah, and accounting any deviation, is an important responsibility for women just as much as men. A famous example of this was when a woman accounted the Khalifah Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) after his sermon in the mosque where he suggested a limit on the amount that could be asked for dowry. Once the khutbah ended, a woman stood up and asked, Who are you to place a limit on what Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala) and his Messenger (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam) have not placed a limit upon? Umar realised his mistake and replied, The woman is right and Umar is wrong. This shows how the women of that time understood the Shariah and were not afraid to raise matters directly with the Khalifah in public.

PRACTICAL POLITICS OF CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM WOMEN

The Ummah of the blessed Messenger (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam) is facing a test whereby the Islamic State is absent from life. The once united Ummah of the Messenger (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam) has been torn to pieces and scattered across the face of the earth. In the absence of the State, she has no honour, no political voice and she is oppressed by a multitude of leaders who answer to the beck and call of the West, embroiled in its game of dirty politics. However, the absence of the State and the prohibition of implementing man-made law does not mean that Muslims are absolved from any role in politics. Rather, the duty has fallen upon all Muslims, men and women, to unite and work to re-establish Allahs (Subhanahu wa taaala) Deen by way of a political struggle; for a political problem can only be resolved through a political solution.

Working as a collective group or party has been ordered by Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala):

Let there arise from amongst you a group that calls to the Khayr (Islam), enjoins that which is maruf (right) and forbids that which is munkar (wrong), and they are the ones who have attained success. [ Ale-Imran: 104]

Such work necessitates that Muslims are politically aware and not naive about the world around them. It has thus become an obligation for every Muslim man and woman to rise in this crucial moment in time, and join such political movements and participate in their work of accounting and removing the rulers that subjugate our lands.

For women, their role in politics requires them to be active in the circles in which they live. They must call their families, old friends, new friends, acquaintances and the like to join in the political struggle in the name of Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala). It is incumbent for every husband to encourage his wife, and every wife to encourage her husband, in this noble cause. Every mother must embrace this great responsibility and inculcate her children with strong Islamic concepts, producing a new generation of politically aware and active Dawah carriers.

CONCLUSION

Unlike many other ideologies or civilisations, Islam, from its very beginning, recognised the political rights and duties of women. Politics in Islam is not the taking of man-made systems such as freedom and democracy and giving them an Islamic flavour. The view of Islam, for both sexes in politics, is one of total submission to the will of Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala), not of the subjugation of women to the will of men. Both are ordered to pray, fast, pay the Zakat, carry the Dawah and spread the word of Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala). All Muslims, regardless of gender, must look to Islam in working to resolve their political problems. For this, there is promise of a great reward from Allah (Subhanahu wa taaala), Inshallah.


The Muslim men and the Muslim women, the believing men and the believing women, the devout men and the devout women and the truthful men and truthful women, the enduring men and the enduring women, the humble men and the humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and the fasting women, the chaste men and the chaste women, and the men and women who engage much in Allah's praise-for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward [ Al-Azhab: 35]

Nazia Jalali

Comments

1.The rotten democratic system is drenched with a completely unwholesome Islamic atmosphere. As an example, this system pushes women who pursue politics to travel long distance journeys without a Mahram or without the permission of their husbands.

2.the Islamic judgments does not emanate from the human mind, but come from the Divine Text which is linked to the Islamic Aqeedah. Therefore the question of whether a hukm is right or wrong does not exist because this is not a task the mind can undertake. The role of the mind is to understand the incident and understand the divine text which applies to the incident. However the Aqeedah is established through the use of mind comprehensively and as a result of that it is obligatory to accept the hukm after accepting the Aqeedah

3.The purpose of the statistics was only for the sake of pointing out the contradictions within the capitalistic system. Here the mind was used to show the differences between what the west claim and the reality.