Source: The Egyptian Gazette
ONE of the many misconceptions that non-Muslims have acquired about Islam is the claim of discrimination against women. This opinion much of the world has formed about Islam’s stand on woman is not actually driven by specific Qur’anic verses or the hadith (sayings) of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Instead, it is the actual practices of some extremist parties on women’s rights that has made many in the world adopt this wrong perception about Islam pertaining to prejudice against women.

Apart from domestic violence against women, which can also be seen in some of the most developed countries in the West, females in some Muslim countries suffer a lack of education for many social and economic reasons.

Generally speaking, in the poor countries of the South, the illiteracy rate is high among the people in the rural areas that represent a majority of citizens. Unfortunately, females form the largest proportion of the illiterate in these communities, regardless of their religion.

The causes are always attributed to families’ inability to send their children – male and female – to school, so they favour having their girls participate in farming out of the belief that boys rather than girls have a greater chance of getting a job after education. Besides, people in most of these rural regions are conservative. Parents refuse to send their girls to schools that are far away from their small villages and prefer having them married at a young age. And this is another large problem contributing to the injustice perpetrated against women in these countries.

Social injustice against women is supposed to gradually disappear by introducing development projects from different international institutions to assist girls in these communities to enjoy their right of education on equal footing with their male peers.

However, there is a new challenge started facing these communities with the emergence of some extremist Islamists, which seek partial control over their rule if not via direct rule, such as the case in the occupied Palestinian territories of Gaza, through armed militias, such as the case in Pakistan. Those extremists, under the pretext of preserving Islamic Sharia (religious law), intend to take measures to increase discrimination against women in their respective communities.

Despite the non-existence of a single Qur’anic verse banning female education or specifying a certain marriage age for girls, these extremists have banned education of girls with the claim of protecting them from being influenced by the Western culture.

To enforce this wrong perception in society, some extremist parties, such as those affiliated to Al-Qaeda in Pakistan, have adopted violent acts to discourage parents from sending their girls to schools. None of those extremists ever imagined having a teenage girl challenge their decision and launch a campaign to encourage families to send their girls to school in one of the rural regions in Pakistan.

Malala Yousufzai, a 14-year-old winner of Pakistan’s National Peace Award, was shot in the head and neck by Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in October 9 for challenging the will of this terrorist group, when she worked on promoting education for girls in the Swat Valley of Pakistan.

Yousufzai’s story has been read in all corners of the world and the US, British and United Arab Emirates Governments have all expressed readiness to provide treatment for the courageous Pakistani girl, who has become a symbol of the wise Muslim girl suffering discrimination and injustice from extremist Islamists.

Hopefully, Yousufzai, who has been flown to Britain to obtain treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, will survive and induce the Pakistani people and authority to take a stronger stand against those extremists who harming the Pakistani nation and the image of Islam by their shameful practices.

Apparently, those extremists want to fight literacy in the societies they live in, so as to be able to dominate the public mind by their extremist thoughts that violate the moderate kind nature of Islam.

Under the pretext of preserving Muslim societies against the invasion of the Western culture, they mean to oppose education, especially of the woman. What is being seen in Pakistan is very fearful and worrying that it will be manifested in other parts of the Muslim world, including Egypt, with the high profile the extremist Islamists are now showing, following the toppling of the military rule of Mubarak. Having some of them even participate in drawing up the new constitution of Egypt is very worrisome, in that they could enforce rules against female rights, including the elimination of the minimum age of marriage for females in Egypt set by the law at no less than 18.

Apparently, the different revolutionary civil powers, as well as Al-Azhar institution, oppose such illogical suggestions that neglect the changes of time and seek to apply the full image of the early Muslim society on today’s Muslim women in respect of the way of dress as well as the marriage age.

Actually, the conditions of the Muslim society during life of the Prophet were much better than those extremists seek to impose on our society. Isn’t it enough to have the Prophet Mohammed keep recommending his followers to be merciful to women in his last speech he addressed the nation during the Pilgrimage?

This corner does not have sufficient space to cover all the many examples one could give to prove the justice Islam and Prophet Mohammed ensured for women. Isn’t it enough o know that Muslim women were sharing with men in their prayer behind the Prophet at his mosque in Medina? Isn’t it enough to know that the Muslim women asked the Prophet to specify a special day to teach them their religion and he approved.

What is more important is to affirm that the great Islamic civilisation, which has continued to enlighten the world for many centuries was based on education with participation of women in the different aspects of life.

We hope that the multitude of voices being raised in Pakistan, condemning the infamous act of the Taliban terrorists, and the strong resistance exercised by Egyptian civilian parties in the face of extremist Islamists will protect Muslim societies from the dark ideas they wish to enforce on today’s Muslims.