Introduction
It is a perceptible phenomenon that modern ideas
and transnational interaction between people brings
about so many changes that they come into conflict
with the existing norms and belief systems of
a society. In fact, the ability to assimilate
productive changes and the capacity to discard
beliefs that are detrimental to the interest of
the society are the essential qualities of a good
social order. If a society allows itself to be
dominated by beliefs that are not in tune with
the needs and aspirations of the changing times,
one cannot ascribe it as a progressive society.
On the other hand, it must also be said that a
society that is open to change without considering
the detrimental effects that such a change can
make in the long run, will not add quality to
that society. Hence, ideally there needs to be
a balance between age old ideas that form the
foundation of the society on and modern ideas
that gives vigor and variety to the society. The
modern progressive ideas need to be implemented
on the foundations of strong principles bestowed
by culture and traditions. Such a society that
can give equal importance to proven and tested
norms but also respects newer ideas of merit will
be healthy and vibrant. However, we can see that
in this strife torn world people are carried away
by ideas and seek to implement them without considering
their merit in the long run. Similarly, conservatives
in the society are too eager to cling on to practices
that abuse human dignity and rights. Moderation
is no where to be seen and the urge to counter
the refusal to change with militant zeal, is a
very pernicious trend that has gripped societies
worldwide. One such issue that has always been
at loggerheads for the past many decades is feminism
that seeks to liberate women, and code of religions
that requires adherence to certain religious principles
in the society.
Analysis
Background of the problem
It is interesting to note that almost all religions
have advised that women need to be allowed only
a secondary role in the society. However, it must
be strongly suspected that more than religions,
it was the social circumstances that relegated
women to a secondary position in the world. Men
have been dominating the societies for many centuries
and therefore it is quite obvious that they were
successful in altering religions beliefs and customs
in such a way as to suit them more than women.
If we carefully look at the philosophies of the
great religions during their initial stages of
development, we can see that women were given
equal importance in many matters of religion and
the state. It was only during the later years
that the fundamentalists who grew to have tremendous
influence within the society, modified rules and
regulations that could control and even exploit
women in the society.
This is how religion was degraded to the status
of a manipulative tool that could subvert the
rightful freedom and dignity of a group. Due to
the abstractness of religious philosophies and
the fear of God that almost every religion inculcates
in the ardent believer, all the tenets of the
religion was accepted without further questioning
and reasoning. Only very few religions in the
world allowed the devotee to question the religious
principles even though the foundation of all religions
principles is independent enquiry and constant
negation of ignorance. Now, socially dominating
groups found out that religion could be used to
manipulate the masses so that they would conform
to those rules that were set by a few selfish
individuals within the society. Hence religious
ideas were contorted to suite the whims and fancies
of a few, who enjoyed social reputation. Therefore
exploitation of women also got the much needed
religious sanction, which ensured that conflicting
voices were always silenced in the name of blasphemy.
Hence, men were able to control women for a long
time in the name of religion. It was perhaps because
of this that women were denied education so that
they would not come to know of their real nature
and the real edicts of religion. Therefore, it
may be said that the struggle between feminism
and religion is in fact the struggle between conservative
male chauvinism and feminism and religion has
been unrightfully dragged into the controversy.
Feminism and the fight for assertiveness
Feminism arose as an organized cult because of
the social process that involved women who reacted
differently to different systems. For example,
research shows that there are a lot of women who
prefer the traditional security of religion than
the relatively newer and often radical approach
of feminism. Others are able to create a niche
for themselves even in patriarchal religions because
of the benefit offered by their circumstances.
In other cases, they are accepted within the religious
establishment even though they may not be vociferous
feminists [Brasher 1998] Hence, it would be wrong
to believe that feminism is the only medium that
provided women with their much needed assertiveness.
It is in fact the interplay of many factors. It
is also amusing to note that many women resort
to feminist perspectives when they fail to gain
attention through other means. They may also use
feminism selectively as a tool to tone down the
fundamentalist rhetoric of orthodox religions.
Perhaps this is another fact that makes religious
people look down upon feminism as a sort of social
rebellion.
Feminism actually fights for the rights of women
in the society and seeks to provide equal, if
not more than equal, predominance to women in
the society. However, it is sad that almost all
feminists have equated religion with repression.
While it is true that almost all religions can
be accused of adopting double standards against
women, the fact that seems to be ignored is that
the subjugation of women were not sanctioned by
any religion. It was merely the social order of
a time that cultivated the feeling that religion
advocated the subjugation and repression of women.
However, women all over the world see traditionalist
and religious leaders in the same perspective
and actually believe that religion advocates the
repression of women. This is a bad trend because
ultimately peace of mind and liberation comes
through religion: whatever be the materialist
belief of a person may be. It is only through
philosophic intervention that a person attains
liberation and self-fulfillment. If the elements
of religious thought are deliberately ignored
in order to satisfy the ego of women, it will
only boomerang and create issues in the society
that would need a different set of solutions.
It would be a good idea to examine in what way
has the role of women belonging to different religions
have changed in the modern society. While liberation
of women has been a common theme for feminists
in all major modern societies, their rhetoric
has been affected by the religious beliefs of
the women in a particular society. Hence, it is
very important to note that feminism have been
affected by the religious beliefs of the women
involved in the liberation movements. The role
of women in some of the prominent religions of
the world is considered below.
The role of women in Christian societies
It must be said that the impact of feminist ideas
have been most felt in those societies in which
women are educated and economically self-sufficient.
Hence, it may be inferred that education and economic
freedom and two very important factors that encourage
the strong establishment of feminist ideas. Hence,
feminism has been most successful in countries
where the Christian religion is the most predominant.
It may be seen that feminism has changed the outlook
of women to religion in almost all parts of Europe,
the United States and Britain where the predominant
faith is Christianity. The fact that women of
other religions are still backward in many respects
in these countries indicates the importance of
liberal ideas that come with education and freedom
that comes with economic immunity. Even though
the Christian faith was tolerant towards women
in comparison to other religions, it too had strong
religious edicts that prevented women from actively
participating in public matters. The Puritan society
of the Victorian era looked down on women who
broke conventions and encouraged the adherence
to traditional social norms.
After the industrial revolution, the value of
money went much above religion and it was important
for women to have money rather than being considered
as a religious lady. In fact, the society even
now equates feminists to atheists because they
believe that feminists cannot be religious in
their outlook. This clearly shows the deep contention
between religion and feminism [Ecklund, 2003].
Many Christian women have been able to balance
between their identities as a feminist as well
as an ardent Christian. Research shows that women
prefer the best of both worlds and prefer the
traditional security provide by their belief in
religion, while they speak against the atrocities
towards women even from the part of the Church.
A lot of research has shown that Catholic women
have reacted to the overbearing influence of The
Christian religion in many different ways. For
example, many of them have become outright critics
of their religious systems and have rebelled against
the religious establishment in their own ways.
Mature elements within the same religion have
sought to present a moderate view by incorporating
elements of feminism with religious practices,
and have been able to pay justice to both. There
are also people who have broken away from the
Church and formed groups that have remained religious,
but have tried to reform some of the principles
of the Church.
In Christian societies women have been included
in many social spheres of life which was not allowed
by the traditional Christian faith. The role of
women in the history of the US army is very significant.
Today the contribution of women are very high
in the US army and the number of women serving
the military forces both in the military as well
as the auxiliary services are very high. When
women were inducted to the army, they were not
allowed to fight on the contention that it was
very dangerous for women to participate in the
war. They were posted to non-combat positions,
which in fact did not provide any significant
safety for life. The contribution of women to
the civil war also is very noteworthy. The women
were involved in life threatening situations as
nurses, spies or just by maintaining the family
when the husbands were away fighting. The contribution
of the ladies for maintaining the family cannot
be ignored. The contribution of women in the civil
war cannot be ascertained due to many reasons.
Since the government had forbade women from involving
themselves in the battle, women usually disguised
as men and fought in the battlefield. "Mary
Owens, discovered to be a woman after she was
wounded in the arm, returned to her Pennsylvania
home to a warm reception and press coverage. She
had served for eighteen months under the alias
John Evans." [Blanton, 1993]. Women have
proved themselves in diverse fields like medicine,
law and order and political administration
Although these changes were party religious in
nature and partly related to the development of
the society, the recent demands that women be
allowed to take up priesthood is very significant
as a move towards normalizing women’s status
in a domain, the highest offices of religion,
that have never been dominated by women. The Church
however remains adamant that only male celibates
can be allowed as priests. Other changes that
have changed the role of women in society are
maternity rights, abortion rights, rights against
sexual harassment etc. All these rights have made
the women proactive in the society, and this role
is very distinct from the meek and demure lady
of the yesteryears.
The role of women in Muslim societies
The Muslim society is one the most restrictive
one in terms of freedom to women. The attitude
to Muslim women was clearly highlighted during
the reign of the Taliban when women were even
denied the rights to decent medical facilities.
As mentioned before, women were given much importance
in the Muslim social life, but gradually they
were restricted from even presenting themselves
in public. The modern Muslim feminists try to
highlight these points and have been successful
to a certain extent to highlight the plights of
the Muslim woman [Schwartz, 1998]. The Muslim
feminist although very few in number and very
widely scattered across the world have an uphill
task to perform because education and economic
independence are issues with which the Muslim
women are not as lucky as their Christian or Hindu
counterparts.
"The fundamental principle of Islam is Tauhid
- the unity of the human race under the sovereignty
of the One and Only, Universal Divine Allah. Islam's
message of peace affirms the equality of all human
beings, and rejects all discrimination on the
basis of race, class and gender. Yes, Allah is
the Sovereign and we succumb to Him and put aside
our preferences, prejudices, and traditions and
culture which are secondary to Allah's injunctions.
The Qur'an declares the absolute moral and spiritual
equality of men and women" [Author not known,
1994]
Much of the misconception that the world has about
Muslims is because of the Muslim personal laws
called Sharia, which specifies specific actions
for the problems in life. For example the Sharia
has laws that elucidate how a person must conduct
himself in a society. The Sharia also has specific
punishments if a person does not conform to the
rules codified in it. Administrative laws in Muslim
countries are based on the Sharia. For e.g. In
the Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia,
the law is very strict and is based on Muslim
interpretations of the law. Therefore, human right
violations are very high in these countries. The
atrocities of the Taliban are well documented
in modern history. The Taliban had different set
of laws for Muslims, non-Muslims and Women. Barbaric
practices in the name of the Muslim Personal law
were implemented and the defaulters were treated
mercilessly. The intolerance of the Taliban towards
other faiths is also well known. Experts opine
that the violence that is associated with Muslim
cultures of the world is primarily because the
Muslim law authorizes some kind of violence. [Nasr,
2002].
However, the role of the Muslim woman has changed
in many countries with a liberal outlook. For
example in India and Bangladesh, the social involvement
of women has increased since the past few decades.
Women have started to occupy high posts in public
administration and in Bangladesh, the highest
office in the country is held by a lady. In many
parts of the world, Muslim women have made a name
for themselves as lawyers, physicians and administrators
and have been competing with men in many fields.
She has outgrown her traditional role as the housekeeper
and has begun to affirm her identity in the society.
Like in Christian communities Muslim women who
are more affluent and educated have been able
to break free from the shackles of restrictions
imposed by religious misconception. There are
a lot of Muslim organizations that impart educational
and vocational training to Muslims in a bid to
align them to the changing needs of the modern
world. Most Muslim students who reside even in
advanced nations are compelled to stop their education
after their formal education in the religious
schools. The lack of exposure to the outside world
is one of the many factors that prevent their
overall development. Muslim mothers who are educated
can impart education to children at home and inculcate
the interest in learning in them. Hence, the role
of the Muslim woman begins from the grassroots
level while the Christina woman can afford to
look at higher issues that need further attention.
The foray of the Muslim woman outside her home
has definitely made changes to the outlook of
hardcore Muslims. Many households have become
flexible to the educational needs of their children,
especially their daughters. There is a growing
resentment against age old practices that were
imposed on women without any religious sanctions.
Women have asserted and have gained their right
to visit mosques and perform duties that are not
restricted to the household. There are a lot of
female Muslim professionals all over the world.
With 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide today cultural
differences make for great diversity in the way
Islam is lived.
Cultural differences help to explain why countries
like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Taliban's Afghanistan
can all claim the imprimatur of holy law and yet
treat their women differently. Iranian women can
drive, work in a mixed office, and attend mixed
university lectures. Saudi women cannot. Iranian
women play active social roles as civil servants,
teachers, doctors, and engineers - a profession
closed to Saudi women. The Taliban discouraged
women from leaving the house. But more than 3
million Afghanis have sought refuge in Iran in
the last few decades, giving Iranian women a close
look at another way of life under Islam [Frontline,
2002]. The vastness of the spread of the religion
is definitely a fact that has impaired the development
of all Muslim women.
The role of Women in other religions
Women’s liberation has followed a similar
trend in other religions as well. For example
in the Hindu culture, women were for long, restrained
by the religious laws. However in India women
have been actively involved in politics and other
spheres of life since a very long time. Although
some states in the Indian subcontinent have very
liberal laws for women, there are parts in India
where the rights of women are still trampled upon.
Like everywhere else, the reason for this neglect
is lack of education and economic dependence on
the males of the society. In the cities and town
and even in many villages the number of working
women is similar to the men and the role of the
lady is almost equal to the males in the house.
It is seen that in the majority of households
the decision making capacity lies with the males
although the females actively influence the decision
making process. Similarly, is the case in Jewish
communities where the women have been enjoying
their freedom since a long time. The Jewish society
was also not liberal as far as women's affairs
were concerned. Now there is growing concern among
fundamentalists that the laws of the Talmud are
being violated in the country. However it may
be seen that the state of the Jewish women are
far better than their counterparts in many other
religions.
|