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KUPI II: Women ulema spearhead movement for just, egalitarian society
In order to protect all citizens, both the state and civil society have to promote religious moderation and an Islam that is friendly, tolerant and peaceful..
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Central Java Deputy Governor Taj Yasin Maimoen (third left) and participants beat tambourines to mark the opening of the second Indonesian Women Ulema Congress (KUPI II) and the International Women Ulema Conference at Walisongo State Islamic University in Semarang on Nov. 23. The congress was held at Hasyim Asy'ari Islamic boarding school in Jepara, Central Java. (Courtesy of/KUPI II organizing committee)
Most religions believe we are equal in the eyes of God, and several verses in the Quran explicitly state it.
Some excerpts: Surah 4 ayat 1: “O mankind! Fear your Lord Who (initiated) your creation from a single soul, then from it created its mate, and from these two spread (the creation of) countless men and women”; QS.at-Taubah, 9: 71 “The believing men and believing women are allies of one another”, and Surah 2 ayat 228: “women too have rights over men similar to the rights of men over women.”
So why do the Abrahamic religions, including Islam, have a reputation – totally deserved! - of being unfair, oppressive and cruel to women, and are frequently branded as being misogynistic? Because religions are basically patriarchal, religious scriptures are written and interpreted by men to maintain the status quo.
Shaykh-ul-Islam, is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI), a Pakistan-based organization to promote peace, tolerance, interfaith and women’s rights, among others. He points out that gender inequality is ascribed to religion, but in fact “it originates from political, economic, social and cultural factors […] gender equality is part of Islam’s jurisprudence and fundamental teachings. Numerous verses of the Quran and Prophetic Traditions enjoin gender equality, which categorically proves that gender inequality is not faith-based.”
So how did it get so distorted? It starts with the story of Eve as a temptress, bringing the downfall of Adam, and therefore, mankind, casting women as the source of sin and therefore to be subordinated and controlled, if necessary, by force and violence. Girls and women are told how to behave and to dress, and that obeying their fathers and husbands is akin to obeying God.
Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), the famous French feminist and philosopher, argued that “religious faiths encourage women to be meek, to put up with inequality, exploitation and suffering and doing so will bring rewards in the afterlife.”
And of course, women are not considered fit to be political or religious leaders.
