Education For Women
For the progress of a country education for women is as much essential as for men. Men and women are two wheels of the cart of society. The cart cannot run properly if one of the wheels is defective. Women from almost half of the population of a country. If such a large portion is denied the privilege of education the country is bound to lag behind. There was a time when it was said that educated women are apt to neglect their domestic duties and lose their tender grace and feminine virtues. An educated woman was suspected to be self conceited good only for novel reading playing on the organ, slighting her husband and disobeying her parents. But those days are gone. It is now pretty difficult to procure a good match for a girl who does not know how to read and write. The importance of education for women is now admitted by every one.
Women have to play every role in the society. So there are may advantages of education for women. First an educated woman is conversant with her duties as a citizen of a state. An educated woman is aware of the part she has to play in the growth of her nation. She understands her responsibilities towards herself her family and country. Women cannot become good citizens if they are uneducated. Moreover they pass on their education to their children it has been rightly said If you educate a man you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman you educate a family. So education for women cannot be neglected.
On the other hand a mother has a great influence on her child. The upbringing of a child the inculcation of good ideas and habits are done more by the mothers than the father or the teachers. An educated mother can serve her country in the sense that she produces good citizens with tolerant views and vast outlooks. Uneducated mothers are superstitious. They do not have elementary medical knowledge. The alarming figure of infant mortality is mostly due to the ignorance of mothers. Educated mothers will give the nation healthy enlightened and decently brought up children. In this way the future of nations depend on the education for women.
One more thing an uneducated woman cannot be a good wife. She will not be able to understand her husband. There will be no mutual adjustment which is very essential for a good married life. On the other hand an educated wife is refined matured and resourceful. She can help the family by getting into some employment. She can look after her husband and children in illness. She can easily run the administration of the home properly. She can bring peace prosperity and progress in home.
When education is so necessary for women more girls schools colleges and universities should be opened for them. But all women do not need that type of education which is imparted to men. There are many who are to stay at home. To them useful subjects such as nursing, domestic science, hygiene and embroidery should be taught. These subjects can be of more help to them than higher Mathematics , Political Science or Economics. They must be taught how to manage the house. They should be able to look after the house properly. Such kind of education should be in parted to them.
women education in islam
Gender inequality is a common accusation made against Islam and a disparity in educational opportunities between men and women in many Muslim countries is often cited as a primary example of this. Education is seen as one of the pivotal factors in determining the economic, social and political advancement of a society and if, those making up over fifty percent of that society, are denied such a basic fundamental right then needless to say human rights activists will seek to find reasons for this disparity. Religion, particularly Islam is cited as a major stumbling block for women’s advancement. Studies have shown that in many parts of Africa and South East Asia women’s acquisition of knowledge is either fervently opposed; regulated to secondary importance as compared to men or encumbered with so many restrictions as to make it almost impossible for female students to acquire a decent standard of education.
This is a sad reflection upon Muslims and the societies that we have built since knowledge is one of the important pillars upon which the edifice of Islam has been raised. The very fact that the first revelation upon the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) contained the commandment to ‘read’ speaks volumes of the emphasis Islam lays on education. Within Islam there is no disagreement found on acquisition of knowledge being binding and obligatory. The importance and excellence of knowledge has been highlighted both directly and indirectly in over five hundred places in the Holy Qur’an. Indeed one of the essential duties and responsibilities of Prophethood was the dissemination of knowledge and wisdom to all. Allah Almighty says:
﴿كَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا فِيكُمْ رَسُولاً مِّنكُمْ يَتْلُواْ عَلَيْكُمْ ءَايَــــٰـــتِنَا وَيُزَكِّيكُمْ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ ٱلْكِتَــــٰـــبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُم مَّا لَمْ تَكُونُواْ تَعْلَمُونَ﴾
Likewise, We have sent you (Our) Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) from amongst yourselves who recites to you Our Revelations and purifies and sanctifies (your hearts and ill-commanding selves) and teaches you the Book and inculcates in you logic and wisdom and enlightens you (on the mysteries of spiritual gnosis and divine truth) which you did not know. [al-Baqara, 2:151.]
﴿هُوَ ٱلَّذِى بَعَثَ فِى ٱلْأُمِّيِّـينَ رَسُولاً مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُواْ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَــــٰـــتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَــــٰـــبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُواْ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَــــٰـــلٍ مُّبِينٍ﴾
He is the One Who sent a (Glorious) Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) amongst the illiterate people from amongst themselves who recites to them His Revelations and cleanses and purifies them (outwardly and inwardly) and teaches them the Book and wisdom. Indeed, they were in open error before (his most welcome arrival). [al-Jumu‘a, 62:2.]
A basic principle of Islamic Shariah states that when a commandment is revealed, even if the masculine form of word is used the female gender is also included in this commandment. If this principle is rejected then the basic pillars of Islam such as prayer, fasting, pilgrimage and alms-due will become null and void for women. So though God Almighty and the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) use the masculine form of sentence to describe most of the commandments, women are also bound to act and follow those rules and regulations.
The study of these verses clearly shows that the prophetic responsibilities of Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) through his Prophethood included recital of the verses, purgation of the self, education of the Book and wisdom and communication of knowledge. Four duties out of five directly talk of knowledge whereas the second and fifth in the sequence refers to a particular kind of knowledge, which is technically defined as mysticism or sufism. However if the doors of acquiring knowledge are closed for women or unjustified restrictions are imposed upon this acquisition, which religion will they act upon? How can they come to know the nature of the verses that have been revealed to them? How will they attain the wisdom and hikma that Allah Almighty wished them to know through the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him)? How are they to teach the fundamentals of the faith to their children if they have no knowledge of it themselves?
The Holy Qur’an also states:
﴿قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِى ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُوْلُواْ ٱلْأَلْبَــــٰـــبِ﴾
Say: ‘Can those who have knowledge and those who do not be alike?’ So only the wise do receive the admonition. [al-Zumar, 39:9.]
﴿إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى ٱللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ٱلْعُلَمَــــٰۤـــؤُاْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ غَفُورٌ﴾
So only those of His servants who have knowledge (of these realities with a vision and outlook) fear Him. Surely, Allah is Almighty, Most Forgiving. [Fatir, 35:28.]
None of these verses specify that only ‘wise men’ receive admonition or that only ‘male servants’ who have knowledge fear Him. If reference to the importance of knowledge has not been restricted within the purview of men by Almighty God, why do we persevere in creating them ourselves? A number of Prophetic traditions also talk directly about knowledge being obligatory and binding in character.
The Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) said:
«طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ».
Acquisition of knowledge is binding on all Muslims (both men and women without any discrimination). [Narrated by Ibn Maja in al-Sunan, 1:81 §224.]
The Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) also said at another place:
«اُطْلُبُوا الْعِلْمَ وَلَوْ بِالصِّينِ».
Acquire knowledge even if you may have to go to China for it. [Narrated by al-Bazzar in al-Musnad, 1:175 §95.]
He (blessings and peace be upon him) said at another place:
«مَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقًا يَلْتَمِسُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا سَهَّلَ اللهُ لَهُ بِهِ طَرِيقًا إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ».
Allah Almighty makes the path to paradise easier for him who walks on it for getting knowledge. [Narrated by Muslim in al-Sahih, 4:2074 §2699.]
It is apparent from the Holy Qur’an and hadiths that the acquisition of knowledge is obligatory for women in the same way as in the case of men. The study of the life of the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) also shows that he himself made special arrangements for the education and training of women.
Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri reports that some women said to the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him): ‘men have gone ahead of us (in terms of acquisition of knowledge). Therefore, appoint a special day for our benefit as well.’ The Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) fixed one day for them. He (blessings and peace be upon him) would meet them on that day, advise them and educate them about commandments of Allah Almighty. [Narrated by al-Bukhari in al-Sahih, 1:50.]
‘A’isha al-Siddiqa, mother of the faithful, was a hadith-narrator, scholar, intellectual and jurist of great standing. She is believed to have reported 2,210 traditions. Abu Hurayra, ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amr and Anas b. Malik (may Allah be well pleased with them) were the only ones from amongst male hadith-narrators who had narrated more traditions than she did. This itself illustrates that women could not only teach women but also men after fulfilling certain preconditions.
‘A’isha bint Talha (may Allah be well pleased with her) reports:
I stayed with ‘A’isha. People from every city would come to me including the old ones (who would put forward questions) because they knew that I am her servant. And the students who were young would treat me like their sister and would present gifts (to ‘A’isha through me). Many would also write me letters (so that I could reply them back after soliciting answers from ‘A’isha. I would submit: O aunt! Mr so and so has written a letter and there is his present as well. ‘A’isha would say in reply to this: O daughter! Answer his query and give him present in exchange as well. If you have nothing to give, let me know, I will give. So she would return (the present in exchange and I would send it back along with the letter).[Narrated by al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad.]
It is important to note here that the concept of knowledge in Islam covers a broad spectrum of subjects. All interpreters of the Holy Qur’an are in agreement that the first five verses of chapter al-‘Alaq form the beginning of the sending of revelation:
﴿ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ. خَلَقَ ٱلْإِنسَــــٰـــنَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ. ٱقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ ٱلْأَكْرَمُ. ٱلَّذِى عَلَّمَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. عَلَّمَ ٱلْإِنسَــــٰـــنَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ﴾
(O Beloved!) Read (commencing) with the Name of Allah, Who has created (everything). He created man from a hanging mass (clinging) like a leech (to the mother’s womb). Read, and your Lord is Most Generous, Who taught man (reading and writing) by the pen, Who (besides that) taught man (all that) which he did not know. [al-‘Alaq, 96:1–5.]
The first commandment contained in these verses relates to ‘reading’ as a part of a process of acquisition of knowledge. In addition to the description of Allah Almighty being the Creator and Sustainer, two branches of knowledge are mentioned, embryology and sociology. Whilst indicating knowledge of biology and morality in these verses, the Qur’an explains the Islamic concept of knowledge as being very vast. Acquisition of knowledge embraces within in its fold all of its branches, both religious and secular, which are productive for mankind. It is important to note that this is not restricted to the purview of the traditional religious sciences. Instead many verses of the Holy Qur’an invite man to ponder and meditate over the creation of the universe. Thus it would be wrong to allow women to just partake in learning of the religious sciences and prohibit her from gaining a wider scope in her learning.
Another misnomer is the view that suggests women are only allowed to gain knowledge from female teachers and that instruction from men is prohibited due to the demands of purdah. Although an ideal environment would dictate women teaching women, we do not live in an ideal world where this is always possible. Since Islam is a religion for all nations and all times, it is based on practical reality. There is no stipulation that only women can teach other women or a bar regarding male teachers for women. If the rules of attire and dress are properly observed then men can teach female students under Sharia. This is also apparent from the above mentioned hadith where the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) himself made arrangements for the education and training of women where one day was particularly specified for women in the Prophet’s Mosque.
Indeed those who quote the verses of the Holy Qur’an regarding the veil as an argument against women leaving the home in pursuit of knowledge are also severely misguided. If attending a school or college in the pursuit of knowledge constitutes breaking the laws of purdah then anytime a women steps out of her home would entail the same breakage of laws. This would of course create a ludicrous situation where a woman could never leave her home for any reason. If one looks at the verses regarding the veil Allah Almighty states:
﴿وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَــــٰـــتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَــــٰـــرِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا﴾
And direct the believing women that they (too) must keep their eyes lowered and guard their chastity, and must not show off their adornments and beautification except that (part of it) which becomes visible itself. [al-Nur, 24:31.]
﴿يَــــٰۤـــأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَآءِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَــــٰـــبِيبِهِنَّ ذَالِكَ أَدْنَىٰۤ أَن يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا﴾
O Prophet! Say to your wives, your daughters and the women of believers that, (whilst going out,) they should draw their veils as coverings over them. It is more likely that this way they may be recognized (as pious, free women), and may not be hurt (considered by mistake as roving slave girls). And Allah is Most Forgiving, Ever-Merciful. [12 al-Ahzab, 33:59.]
Neither of these verses prohibits a woman leaving her house. In fact they merely stipulate that when she leaves the house she should observe the veil whilst outside. Indeed these commandments are themselves a great justification for women stepping out of their homes and becoming active members within society. Moreover if the act of a woman stepping out of her home was prohibited, why did the revered wives of the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) participate in battles? If we study the following traditions we come to know the range of functions women performed during the period of Prophethood.
Anas b. Malik (may Allah be well pleased with him) narrates: when people became separated from the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him), I saw ‘A’isha bint Abi Bakr and Umm Sulaym (may Allah be well pleased with them) were completely covered in attire. They would bring water-bags upon their back, offer it to the thirsty Muslims and then return. They would bring water-bags again and made the thirsty Muslims drink it. [Narrated by al-Bukhari in al-Sahih, 3:1055 §2724.]
Umm ‘Atiya (may Allah be well pleased with her) says: I participated in six battles with the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him). I would pursue the Ghazis in their tracks, cook food for them and do dressing for the injured and make arrangements for treatment of the diseased. [Narrated by al-Bukhari in al-Sahih, 1:333 §937 & 2:595 §1569.]
This practice continued in the period of the rightly-guided Caliphs after the period of Prophethood. It is related in the books of sira that women were part of the parliament (majlis al-shura) during the period of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab (may Allah be well pleased with him). [Narrated by ‘Abd al-Razzaq in al-Musannaf, 6:180 §10420.] During the rule of ‘Uthman (may Allah be well pleased with him), women were designated as ambassadors to other countries. [Related by al-Tabari in Tarikh al-Umam wa al-Muluk, 2:601.]
The role of educated women in Pakistan’s development
We look at the history and our religion, the women were allowed to do business and they were quite good at it, biggest example is Hazrat Khadija (may peace be upon her) the first wife of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (may peace be upon him). The role of women in country’s development and rapid growth is simply can not be ignored but the fact remains that their potential is not being fully utilised in Pakistan as yet.
Women in Pakistan are expected to adopt the role of a house wife and to serve the whole family. I have seen alot of talented, highly educated ladies who could become very good entrepreneurs, are spending their time in managing the house and the family despite their strong urge to set up their own businesses. The reason comes out as usual “they are not allowed by their families or husbands”
I consider that violation of basic human rights that our religion gave the women 1400 years ago. The man’s ego wont allow his life partner to earn equally or more than him. The in laws think that a women’s role is just to look after them. Come on folks! she has a heart too, she has her own dreams which she always put aside to play her role as a house wife. In my opinion women are far more better than us in time management, they are task oriented, better and multi tasking and far better in communication skills if they have a solid educational back ground. They manage kids, manage the house, look after her husbands parents and at times whole family, she manages the routine house hold, she is very good at budgeting and savings, very good administrator, very good at handling stress and pressure, good in convincing through logic and above all very patient. So why waste such a tremendous talent?
If we go through the statistics, nearly 65% of the female doctors dont do jobs after their marriages, 80% of business graduates sit at home after marriages, not even 10 % of the educated women are enterprenuers and running their own business on their own, their scope of jobs is always limited to teaching, customer care, call centres, designing, training and fashion. They need a fresh break as they could do far better than that. Men by nature in Pakistan are un-organised and dont contribute any thing to manage the house apart from bringing the money to run it. The lady of the house needs his support as she works like a robot in a monotonous routine for years. Our Prophet may peace be up on him, used to do all chores at home by himself despite having more than one wives. But here in our society, the man needs his wife to get his house organised, his kids very well looked after, special attention to his parents, a nice clean and calm house, a VIP treatment to his friends and relatives, his ward robe organised, take care of family affairs, attend the family functions with enthusiasm, manage house hold from groceries to shopping for him and kids. If she could do all that why not try talents in her field of interest if she wans to try her luck in business or in a job.
I have met a lot of muli-talented ladies who are running big businesses excellently and managing their house equally good. In order to grow as nation we need their presence in all fields whether its education, IT, Telecom, Small and medium enterprises, Textiles, Banking, Health care, Fashion, Electronic and print media, HR and all other possible venues for them.
The biggest support they need is from their life partners who could convince their family members that they can do far better than what they are already doing provided given a fair chance to them to perform and prove their worth. They need to join hands with men to contribute to the over all growth of the country but for that they need equal opportunities in the jobs and assurance from their families that they can pursue their carriers in the way they want with out disturbing their family life. It is often considered that women who want to do job or want to set up their own businesses want an un necessary freedom and can be victom of modern society evils. But this is not the case, men have always kept double standards, they do things which they are not supposed to do in accordance with our religious norms and social taboos but on the other hand they would always build barriers and walls around women so that they can not get to know whats going on in the world around them and lead a life of a well’s frog! If men know how to carry themselves in the society so should be the women, its a mere dillema that men always considered them the best in decision making and handling crisis but I have seen working women performing miracles in the work they do by adopting firm business and work ethics and above all cause of their natural ability to cope hard work and stress. It time for all women to stand up and speak for their basic living right and with their presence already in the national assembly, raise their voice to get his right to change the world around them which is wrongly dominated by the men. they have education, talent and a strong will to compete men in all fields of practical life. there presence should not be limited to certain agreed and determined fields by our society, they should be given a chance to pursue their dreams, earn their own livelihood, become less dependent on men who always use women’s dependency as their weakness. We need a rapid growth to have a strong stance against the overall economic turmoil in the country and across the world and for that we should allow women to come forward and join hands with men to be part of the progress and growth of Pakistan in the days to come.
Economic indicators suggest that life will be very tough in the coming years, a single earning hand in a house hold wont be sufficient to survive. Governement can not always come to our support and if you talk of Pakistani governments officials and our leaders, they are too busy in making a life time fortune in the time they are in government and power, so realistically we should not be relying on them at all. men and women have to work together to survive in the coming days. Our society has already seeing a change where kids now work and study at colleges at the parallel to cover their education expenses and the next step would be the partnership of men and women to carry the burdon of expenses by equal sharing. I would request all women with bachelors, masters and PHD degrees and doing nothing, to come forward and join hands with all of us. They are as much entitled as men to choose their destiny in life, its not correct that if they are married they lead their life on men’s dictation whether its right or wrong. Our religion allows women to work and earn with ceratin conditions which are not at all difficult to manage. Its a dilemma that we would hire the most beautiful lady we can in our office but we will not allow our wives to go out and work with a reason that our society is not good enough to allow them to work outside. What is the out side world for women in Pakistan, its a world full of men like us who should learn to give respect to women at the work place then the society would easily accomodate alot more working women. We should develop a working environment where all parents and husbands send their daughters and wives with out any worry and second thoughts to their work places.
Its not all about dominating women, it should be all about accomodating them when they already sacrifice each and every second of their life for our comfort and ease. I am positive that Women in Pakistan certainly deserve more space and confidence from us than they are currently getting. Its their life as well but we are currently trying to control each movement in their life like puppet masters controlling the moves and moods of a puppet but women are human beings not robots or puppets, they have likes and dislikes, they have ambitions, they have plans for themselves also, they want to get fame out of their work and business, they want to achieve success, they want to be treated well, they need an understaning life partner, they need us to provide comfort to them in life, they need their share in the progress and development of Pakistan, they need to be in the field of work they find appropriate, they need to equal chances to earn their livelihoods, they need to maintain their grace and dignity, they need a bunch of family members around them who show confidence in them and ensure their full support to let them see success in life.
But a society dominated by men in Pakistan is hardly doing it, they want the out side world of theirs a total secret to their female life partners, they dont share rather they snatch and impose, they heart feelings rather then boosting the morales with encouragement. We had a female head of the state by the name of Ms. Benazir Bhutto, whos was miles ahead of all male politicians of her time in terms of courage, determination, know how of internal and external politics, planning for the betterment of the deprived people in Pakistan and above all had all necessary administrative and managerial skills to manage and run a government dominated by 95% of men. She was better than most of them, if we cant accept it we should have a look at the independt analysis of experts and specialists in the field who still rate her death as a huge loss to Pakistan and democratic movement here.
Can we be a far more open minded and realistic when it comes to possible good role of women in Pakistan’s growth? I strongly urge that its about time that we all do it.
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Arfa Karim name always remain in minds |
