Shared by Dr. Syed Ehtisham

Posted by nSalik

(Not sure of the claimed paternity, on the Day of Judgment, Allah will call every one with their mother’s name).
Mernissi compares and analyzes the philosophy of two early Muslim scholars Imam Ghazali and Qasim Amin and two non-Muslim scholars Freud and Murdoch, “In societies in which seclusion of women prevails, the implicit concept of female sexuality is active, in societies when this is not so, the concept of female sexuality is passive”. 51.
Uncontrolled female sexuality is thought to create fitna (public evil) in Muslim society and imbalance in the family is called nushuz (private rebellion). Mernissi opines that the entire Muslim social structure can be seen as an attack on and a defense against the disruptive power of female sexuality. 52.
The socio-religious context in both non-Muslim West and Muslim Afro-Asia led to control and curb of females in a similar manner. As a result women became a commodity.
There is a direct connection between the charges against immoral and defiant women and the list of religious commands and social devices to control women’s bodies and sexuality. This environment existed in non-Muslim countries till less than a hundred years ago. St Paul emphasized veiling and proper dress for women. In St Augustine’s (413 AD) account woman is a) temptress and instrument of devil b) wife an instrument of her husband c) mother an instrument of God’s creativity. 53.
In the 3rd century AD, Christianity encouraged a more flexible approach and discussed the possibility of marriage between slaves and their mistresses. The trend actually decreased the gulf between masters and slaves.
Driven by changes of mode of production from feudal-agrarian to mercantile-capital industrial, shape and nature of societal superstructures also changed extensively. Slaves, serfs and women were de-propertied and definitions of honor-shame changed in equal degree. Women started working in factories and offices. Employment of both sexes in labor cracked and weakened the wall of public and private exclusivity in economic activity. That paved the way to eliminate physical segregation, veiling and dress codes and resulted in social intermixing. Enlightenment which brought liberalism, capitalism, individualism and democracy, resulted in the birth of feminist movement. Consequently women gained rights.
Because both husband and wife were working, husbands became less obsessive about transfer of property to legitimate children. Father and brothers could no longer decide who the women would marry. To love and marry whoever he/she wanted, was recognized as an individual right. The loss of Church authority over the state affairs and personal life, and recognition of women’s rights brought changes in the institution of marriage and family. Female sexuality was de-virginized.
Societal acceptance of co-habitation brought major changes in status of out of wedlock children. Wife’s adultery is considered a breach of contract and a legal remedy offered to impassioned husbands. De-stigmatization of female divorcee led to much lower incidence of honor-shame killing in the West.
In Islam (7th century AD), there were almost no restrictions on marriage between slaves and masters, only women could not marry non-Muslim men. Islam never condemned or rejected love as a basis of marriage, but in the West romantic love is recognized as the only basis for marriage, whereas Muslim elders are strongly hostile to the idea.
In the past, Christian attitudes strictly required a girl to be virgin at marriage as it is still with most Muslim communities. The concept of stoning women to death for adultery was very much present in early Judaic and Christian writings as prescribed by Islam (Rajam) in 7th century AD. 54. Christian misogynistic attitude persisted till almost mid-19th century.
Changing global economic and political realities have caused Muslim elite and power brokers to react more conservatively and have enacted more misogynist legislation in the last three decades. A girl or a woman is always blamed and punished for a shameful act by her family. They are also expected to punish the relevant male of another family. No males are to be killed by their own family
The two centuries of British colonization had an extremely adverse impact on gender relations among the Muslims. Women were harmed equally by colonial legislation and by male Muslim elite in public sphere and family members in private lives.
Muslim masculinity had been defeated in political arena. It could only assert itself in private arena of the family. The public sphere was considered dangerous for Muslim women due to presence of foreign men. A veiled and voiceless woman was considered a good Muslim woman.
It is strikingly similar to the attitude prevalent in Abbasid times, where due to thriving business of female slaves, Harems were built to protect upper-middle class women and streets were considered unsafe for them.
Another reason for control of female sexuality was the rise of agricultural economy and growth of landed property. Muslim women’s right to inheritance could reduce landed assets. One response was to get the widow to marry a brother of the deceased. Another response was the development of Kafa’a (socio-economic compatibility); consequently women lost the right to marry according to their choice, a right Islam had guaranteed. 55.
Kafa’a traveled to India, so that men could force women to divorce husbands they marry in civil courts. Fictional, religious and educational literature of 19th and the first half of 20th century is full of attempts by male writers and religious scholars to construct a subservient, docile and socially invisible femininity.
In the 20th century, Islam was used as a tool for construction of a Muslim identity and deconstruction of secular-Hindu identity.
The situation did not change much for women in independent Pakistan. It became more difficult in the nineteen eighties, when the state took over protection of inner family sanctum under Zia version of Islam.
Social conditioning and not state initiative, was the more pronounced factor shaping attitudes towards women. Public platform remained the preserve of women of eminent personalities. 56.
Despite cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity, patterns of agriculture based tribal-feudal-clan and kinship networks are strikingly similar. The rate of honor crimes is shockingly higher in all the provinces in such areas, where as they are almost non-existent in urban centers.
Daughters of rural elite, educated or otherwise or of peasants can all face dire consequences if they try to assert their marital rights. Similarly wives of elites and their peasants in all four provinces are likely to be coerced or killed at the slightest suspicion of immorality, while they have no right to question their husband’s loose morals.
When they move to urban centers, the elite to palatial houses in posh areas, and peasants to shanty towns, their public lives change but power relations in the family remain the same.
Education of girls has become an economic necessity. Electronic media and multi-national corporations have loosened the hold of traditions. Girls think in terms of Hollywood and (Bollywood) film stars, get frustrated and elope. Divorce and suicide rate have also gone up due to the wide chasm between dreams and reality.

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Public perception and media coverage of honor crimes:
Folk literature is replete with stories of romances of famous couples like Heer-Ranjha, Laila-Majnoon and Sohni-Mahival. 57. In these stories girls were bold and defiant and leave a mark on young people. But they all end up in tragedy.
A Young man who sees himself as a Ranjha and expects his beloved to be rebellious like Heer cannot, however, tolerate his own sister playing the role. These dichotomous social attitudes have given rise to social conflicts and the result has been coercion of female sexuality.
In Pakistan in 1985, a commission of inquiry into Women’s problem was established under Begum Zari Sarfraz, a well-known social worker from NWFP. The report was shelved. 58. After Zia died, it was published during the first tenure of Benazir as prime minister. The findings were shocking, but after some discussion it was shelved again because Benazir was sacked by the President.
Under the second Benazir government, another commission was formed which reported in 1995. The report did not use the term Honor, nor did it address the issue of Honor related crimes. It stated that the average rural woman of Pakistan is born in near slavery, leads a life of drudgery and dies in oblivion.
Karo-kari is believed to have arrived in Baluchistan and NWFP with Muslim invaders from central Asia. A 1997 commission of inquiry noted that the practice was more virulent in upper Sindh though it was prevalent in the Punjab and Baluchistan and KP as well. 59.
In January 2000 BBC reported that in 1999, 364 women were killed in Sindh and 800 in the Punjab. 60.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated that in 2000, Karo-kari killings in Sindh were 1410 and had been rising, 432 in 1993 to 886 in 1999. 61.
April 12, 2011. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: A total number of 11,789 cases of violence against women have been registered in the country since January 2009. According to the available data from Ministry of Interior: 8433 cases in Punjab, 680 cases in Sindh, 1656 cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 333 cases in Baluchistan, 272 cases in Islamabad Capital Territory, 362 cases in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and 62 cases in Gilgit and Baltistan have been recorded since 2009. 62.
In February 1998, Karachi was paralyzed by a strike called by the Pakhton Jirga, which demanded that a young man from a different ethnic group who had married a girl be arrested for kidnapping. 63. During a court hearing the girl stated that she had married the man willingly. Both were attacked, the boy was paralyzed and the couple had to take shelter in a Scandinavian country.
Tribal affiliation is stronger than religious affiliation. All tribes, clans, ethnic groups and social classes are very hostile to the idea of romantic love.
Honor related violence also occurs among Muslim expatriates in Europe and North America as well .64.
HR advocates harassed:
Mansoor Baloch a journalist from Sukkur, Sindh was attacked and his office burnt for reporting that a girl was going to be killed by her father and brothers. 65.
Prominent lawyers and activists like Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani are threatened frequently (Asma was beaten up by the police in an HR rally). 65a. Samia Sarwar seeking divorce from her husband was murdered in Asma Jahangir’s office on April 6/1999 in the presence of the lawyer and her own mother. 66.
Religious extremists threaten HR activists. Maulana Chitrali wanted all women’s shelters including the one run by Asma closed down calling them centers of prostitution. 67.
On April 9, 1999 Daily news reported that hundreds of Taliban led by leaders of JUI (an Islamist party) chanted slogans in a rally that Asma was an infidel serving Zionist interests, should be arrested and hanged. 68.
A Sindhi journalist, Shahid Soomro was killed on 22 October 2002 for exposing honor related crimes in Kandhkot, Sindh. 69.
Humaira Khokhar had survived three attempts of murder by her father and brothers for marrying against their will. In 1999 she appeared in court in an armed police vehicle. 70.
Shelters in the West have victims of spousal abuse. In Pakistan more than 70% are daughters and sisters.
Economic survival and financial problems are forcing a change in gender perceptions in Pakistan, but not when women challenge socio-religious patriarchal power. There is discrepancy in the public sphere and the private one leading to increased tension.
Honor related murders are rare in rural upper class where women are strictly controlled. When there is no knowledge of another way of life, there is no comparison and there is no dissatisfaction or resistance.
In Pakistan, many young women remain unmarried as they cannot find a suitable male in their own socio-economic group. Mernissi argues that economic pressures are causing sexual segregation, one of the main pillars of Islam’s social control over sexuality to break down. 71.
Politico-religious groups consider public expression of love as Western influence. Though commercial interests have cashed in Valentine’s Day celebration, all orthodox religious groups have reacted strongly. Jamaat e Islami and other religious groups have got into the act and for fear of breakdown of law and order public co-educational institutions barred the students from celebrating it. 72.
In India, RSS and Shiv Sena went on a rampage in 2001 and looted gift shops. In Vanarsi, they cut off the hair of celebrants and in Kanpur they burnt the effigy of St Valentine. 73.
Killers chase transgressing couples across borders to Europe and the USA. In April 2002, an uncle of a girl was convicted in N.Y of killing his niece for $60,000.00 from her father. 74.
Caste plays a bloody role too. On 8/9/2001, the newspaper Indian Express, reported that two lovers were hanged by their own families. 75. The execution was approved by the village community and the government had to deploy paramilitary troops at the time of arrest of murderers.
In Pakistan a village woman, Mukhtaran Mai was gang raped in a hut surrounded by the villagers on the orders of the village council. Her younger brother had spurned the advances of the village chief. 76.
Police often coerce girls to say that they were not abducted. Many murders are reported as suicide.
Urbanization, education and change of locality do not affect any change in attitudes. If couples have civil marriage, they risk trial under Hudood ordinance. 77. At times marriage without Wali’s (father/guardian) consent has been found illegal by courts, even though law allows such marriage between a boy over 18 and a girl over 16. In a recent article, a British Muslim girl reported that the Sharia council in Britain had decided that consent of a Wali was not essential and a woman could serve as witness in the marriage ceremony. The Imam of the most important mosque in London, the one in the Regent Street, refused to honor it. 78