Saturday, 8th March 2014
Islamic Centre, Mira Road.
It is quite an irony that more than half the world’s population has always been at the mercy of the other half… oppressed, suppressed and exploited. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Jamaate Islami Hind, Mira Road sought to highlight the contribution of Islam towards the uplift of women in society by organizing a lecture on Status of Women in Islam.
The program began this evening with the recitation of a passage of the Holy Qur’an wherein Lady Maryam and Lady Aasia have been praised for their piety. Thereafter, the guest speaker for the evening, Mr. Abid Athar was invited to offer his presentation on the slated topic.
Mr. Athar began by citing ayaat from the Qur’an which speak of women’s rights, honour and chastity. He then moved on to the various accusations levelled against Islam with regards to women like the system of veil, polygamy, easy divorce and restrictions on their movement and education. The learned speaker quite convincingly refuted all these allegations and proved that all these systems were actually for the benefit of women and that time has proved their underlying wisdom.
Flipping through the pages of history before the advent of Islam, he spoke at length about the profanities and injustice committed on women by ancient Persians, Greeks, Romans, Indians and Arabs ostensibly under the cloak of religion and social norms. Islam, on the contrary, has been a boon for women by:
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Stopping female infanticide.
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Terming daughters as the means to heaven.
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Discouraging preference to boys over girls.
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Advocating widow and divorcee remarriages.
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Making the man shoulder her responsibility, thus liberating her.
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Making the bride’s consent in marriage compulsory.
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Offering her mehr and legal security.
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Elevating the ranks of mothers.
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Giving them stipulated shares in inheritance.
and so on and so forth….
Mr. Athar also presented the examples of virtues women in history and explained how they have earned unsurpassed ranks before Allah, far exceeding those of millions of pious men. He concluded his presentation by providing some solutions to the contemporary issues troubling women by stressing on their education and moral upbringing, nurturing in them the virtues of piety and advising them to shun materialism, television-addiction and advocating the system of purdah.
Mr. Athar concluded his presentation, which was addressed in a colloquial and lucid language laced with dark humour, with an earnest prayer for the success of women in this world as well as the hereafter.
Earlier in the day, the ladies wing of the Jamaat, GIO held a book stall near the main bus terminal expounding the role and status of women and the benefits Islam offers them.
