The Muslim Woman

Some Muslim group has urged the government to prevent the formation of women’s cricket league in Bangladesh. They tagged it as an ‘anti-Islamic’ move. In a statement, the Islamic Constitution Movement, which has no representation in parliament, said women’s cricket, and other field sports such as football, represented ‘alien culture’. After all, harassing women and subjugating them for their own purpose is their ‘culture’ so giving them space and letting them go ahead in life is definitely called an ‘alien culture’ for them. The group asked the head of an interim government that is, in place to prepare for national elections to ban women from participating in the league, as well as in any other sports or beauty pageants. On the other hand, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Cricket Board Mahbub Anam said that the league would continue despite the complaints. Image Read

Over the years, in every religious society, women have always been considered as physically and mentally subordinate and unproductive to men. The trend might have reduced somewhat in the 21st century due to the advent of media, women commissions, NGOs, human rights organisations, etc, but we find reports of widespread violence against the ‘creators of life’, particularly in the backward and developing nations. This particular article would concentrate on the current conditions of women in the Bangladeshi society. As Bangladesh is predominantly an Islamic society, the country’s day to day activities are guided by Islam’s holy teachings. But the role of women in the society is still a major point of concern for the civilized world as it is in some other countries, like India, Pakistan, Iran and many other midle-eastern and south-east Asian countries. Before going on to the general treatment of women in Bangladesh, let us concentrate on Islam’s exact teachings on the role of women in the society. The great Prophet was himself a pillar of respect for women. He was the protector of female integrity, beauty, divinity and above all social rights. In his teachings he clearly indicated that women should be free from religious pejudice, political manipulations and social and personal injustice. But as Islam started spreading allover the world, different regional cultures depicted and manipulated the Prophet’s holy teachings according to local beliefs and traditions and as a result women bacame largely the victims of these age-old human beliefs. In Bangladesh, discrimination against the women is largely due to some inherent and common social and religious factors. Similar to their Indian and Pakistani counterparts (Muslims and non-Muslims alike), the Bangladeshi women have been subjected to unjust local social taboos and norms. People still follow the ancient belief that women should only be considered as child-bearers and housewives and as a result they are discriminated against by parents, husbands and sons throughout their lives. Lack of education of women has certainly played a part in the widespread discrimination. The country’s literacy rate is one of the lowest in the world with women being the most illiterate. As a result employment opportunities for women get heavily affected making them firmly dependable on their husbands, which on many occasions result in domestic violence. Poverty is another major reason for the existence of this social crime. Although the situation has somewhat improved in the cities and towns, large-scale economic pressure in various rural regions drive the families into domestic violence against women due to non-performance of dowry obligations on the girls’ sides. The Bangladeshi government, over the years, has made sincere efforts in reducing the crime against women by introducing stringent laws regarding women welfare. Although there is some progress, many of the guilty party escape tough punishments due to the influence of popular religious leaders and corrupt judicial setting. But there is some hope for the women of Bangladesh and of the world in general. Increase of education is one of the most important ways in curbing the social scourge as proper education helps in eradicating rigid social and religious taboos. In addition to this the rise of both governmental and international social welfare organisations is helping in dealing with the situation. Image Credit: Washington Post Via: The New Nation