A lecture on ‘Muslim Situation and Gender Issues In The West’ by Prof. Margot Badran was organised by the Institute Of Objective Studies at its Headquarters in New Delhi on 6th December 2003. The programme was presided over by Mr. Manzoor Ahmad former VC, Agra University.

The programme started with the recitation from the Holy Quran by one of the female audiences. In his brief introductory remarks Mr. Ahmad informed the audience about the working of the Institute since its inception in 1986. We highlight the plight of the depressed sections of the society in general and the Muslims in particular. ‘Empowerment of women’ is one of the many topics, which we are dealing with. We are also working on this project and a seminar at our Patna Chapter will be organised very shortly, he informed. ‘Human Rights Today’ is our another publication, which highlights the plight of individuals and ensures that fundamental rights are provided to all citizens including women. Dr Haseena Hashia, then, briefly introduced Prof. Margot to the audience.

In her lecture on the topic ‘Muslim Situation and Gender Issues in the West’ Prof. Margot, who is a historian and an expert on gender issues, elaborated at length her experiences while working in Egypt and in other Middle Eastern countries. She praised the Egyptian women and the Egyptian society, where they can practice their beliefs in absolute freedom. Egypt is at the cutting edge for this new feminist thinking. Egyptian women have really shown, what women empowerment means, she quoted. The rise of Islamic feminism or popularly called as Islamic activism that too within the confines of the Quran and the Shariah laws is the hallmark of this whole ideological revolution. They call it secular feminism, she stated. All they wanted through this was equal right to education, equal say in family affairs, in raising of children, marriage and right to freedom of expression as advocated by the Prophet and mentioned in the Holy Quran. They even demanded that women should have access to mosques.

Prof. Margot emphasised that this feminism is not imported from the West but is an indigenous revolution by Muslim Women from the Arab lands. This discourse is grounded in religious interpretations and surely has positive connotations. She criticised the hard line clergy of the late 1970’s and 80’s where women in the Arab and other Middle Eastern countries were asked to stay indoors and also forced to cover their heads. She praised the resistance exhibited by these women. Though they were demonised and sometimes even branded as Non- Muslims by hard liners they kept on their struggle. They knew that their resistance was justified and well within the framework of the Islamic society and Shariah laws. Equality of sexes has reference in the Holy Quran. Some women do practise modesty by keeping their head covered and follow it as a popular practice. She emphasised that they should do it on their own and not be forced to follow any one sided interpretation. She also criticised those sections of the western society who demonize the Muslims owing to this practice but informed that majority in the West does respect this tradition. Of course after 9/11 (in the West) people wearing hijabs (covering their heads) were subjected to humiliation and insults but they were brave enough to resist it. It was really bad, she regretted. In the American State of Virginia some Non-Muslim women put on hijab to show solidarity with their Arab and Muslim friends.

Prof. Margot informed that in the West the 2nd generation of immigrants readily wants to be identified with Islam. Conversion to Islam in the West is wide spread of which marriage cannot be attributed as the only reason. She regretted that some Muslims who oppose freedom to their women do give Islam a bad name. Empowerment coincides with self-respect. Your community should encourage you. She informed that these converts lack basic study material. Some translation (in English) does come from the Arab world but due to insufficient study material people lack proper understanding and some do retreat. She criticised the role of the clergy that sometimes tries to act as mediators between God and man. Their interpretations of the Holy strictures put women rights on the back burner. Women do respect them and listen to them but are increasingly questioning their interpretations, she remarked. These women are empowering themselves from the interpretations of the Holy Quran and are empowering their community. The lecture was followed by a brief Question & Answer session where the audience mainly females placed their misconceptions regarding the various gender issues confronting the women and sought their true interpretations.

In his presidential remarks Mr. Manzoor Ahmad, former VC, Agra University highlighted the need to treat men and women as equal as mentioned in the Holy Quran. This is a problem our society has been experiencing since Hazrat Ayesha’s times. Even she complained about this to the Prophet. Islam is a religion which gives equal rights even to slaves, he mentioned. Since Muslims today are an embattled society as compared to other Western societies, so in this atmosphere of uncertainty women rights do sometimes take a back seat. Women must come forward and exercise their rights and duties. He praised the girl who took the initiative of going to the mosque to pray in Lucknow. He emphasised that education is a must for Women empowerment. Even the Prophet laid emphasis on the need to educate the girls properly. Mr. Ahmad mentioned that it is a fact that at some stage or the other every religion (including Islam) has treated women unequally. This has nothing to do with any of the religious books or with any holy verses. He criticised the treatment meted out to women in Afghanistan by the former Taliban regime and stated that it should be condemned.