WOMEN’S STATUS IN SOCIETY AND LEADERSHIP ACCORDING TO ISLAM

2. WOMEN’S STATUS IN SOCIETY AND LEADERSHIP ACCORDING TO ISLAM

Women’s status in Islam is crystal clear. In terms of status, they are at par with men in getting equal treatment and respect as human beings. This had been underlined in the principles of justice (al-adalah), equality (al-musawah) and freedom (al-hurriyah) introduced by Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) with the command of Allah as stated in the Holy Quran (al-Hujurat, 49:13);

“O mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Truly, the most honored of you in God’s sight is the greatest of you in piety. God is all knowing, All-Aware.”

The above verse shows that Allah does not treat mankind diferently, be it on the basis of gender or ethnicity. Diferentiation by gender is neither a credit nor a drawback. Islam sees women as equal to men in terms of respect, value, recognition and status in family as well as in society. The most respectable, valuable and honorable in the Eyes of Allah The above verse shows that Allah does not treat mankind diferently, be it on the basis of gender or ethnicity. Diferentiation by gender is neither a credit nor a drawback. Islam sees women as equal to men in terms of respect, value, recognition and status in family as well as in society. The most respectable, valuable and honorable in the Eyes of Allah

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(iman & taqwa). With value and respect given to Muslim women, their lives became meaningful, not only for themselves but also for society.

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The recognition of women’s status is clearly shown when Allah s.w.t. forbade the Arabian custom of female infanticide and considered it a crime like any other murder. This prohibition is also to protect women from injustice and unequal action by men. This is clearly stated in al-Quran (al-Takwir, 81:8-9):

“And when the female (infant) buried alive is questioned, for what crime she was killed.”

In fact, since the dawn of Islam, whoever protects and supports female infants and women will be rewarded. It is mentioned in one of the Hadith narrated by Ibn. Hanbal that:

“Whosoever supports two daughters till they mature, he and I will come in the Day of Judgment as this (and he pointed with two ingers held together).”

From the above verse and Hadith, it is understood that women are treated well in Islam unlike the discrimination experienced by women in the dark ages of jahiliyyah. Indeed, all good deeds upon women is deemed a responsibility and good practice (ibadat) in Islam. To prove this position, women are given permission to seek knowledge and earn property to contribute to the betterment of their earnings, family and nation. Beyond that, seeking basic Islamic knowledge known as fardhu ain is compulsory for all Muslim women and men as mentioned in the Hadith below;

“Seeking knowledge is mandatory for every Muslim.” (al-Baihaqi) Opportunity in education can provide room for self improvement and contribution to

working and professional environments. In fact, Muslim women nowadays work hand- in-hand with men on many occasions and in various ields. Muslim countries vary greatly in culture, traditions and social systems and there is a wide range of attitudes towards educating women to the tertiary level. For example, in Egypt, women have attended university since the 1920s, whereas in other Muslim countries a university education for women is a recent phenomenon.

Looking at the reality in Malaysia, enactments have been passed to protect the welfare of women in general. They have equal access to educational opportunities. In fact, there are more women intakes and graduates in certain educational programmes compared to men in Malaysian public universities. Female intake for irst degree programmes for example, increased from 10,554 in 1995 to 153,544 in 2007 compared to male intake of 9,216 in 1995 to 94,337 in 2007.

The numbers of female graduates which increased in those years, were also double the number of male graduates by 2007. There were 7,217 women graduates compared to

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6,315 male graduates in 1995 and 48,893 women graduates compared to 27,354 male graduates in 2007. This shows women are no longer left behind in the educational

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system but surpass men and even excel in certain programmes and ields. These igures are especially signiicant given the fact that from 1995 to 2004 there were more males from the age of 20 to 59 in Malaysia. Thus, the recognition given to women in Malaysia, as well as opportunities to seek knowledge and earn property and belongings make

them much more valuable to the nation.