NWDP consists of three parts with a total of 49 clauses. Part A (clauses 1-15) describes the background on which this policy has been chalked out. Part B (clauses 16-41) sets the goals of the policy and Part C (clauses 42-49) discusses the organisational infrastructure through which this policy is to be implemented. If we objectively analyse all the clauses of this policy, definitely we will find that neither of these clauses contradict either the Qur’an or Hadith. Rather many of the clauses of the policy indeed follow the instructions of the Quran and Hadith. Let us examine some of the goals of the policy in light of Islamic perceptions.
The goal of the following clauses of the policy is to establish equal rights of woman in all spheres of life.
Clause 16.1: To establish the equal right of man and woman in all cases at the state level and social life following our constitution.
Clause 16.8: To eradicate the prevailing discrimination between man and woman.
Clause 17.1: To recognise that man and woman have equal rights in cases of human and fundamental rights by eradicating all sorts of discrimination towards womenfolk in political, economic, cultural domains.
Clause17.2: To take necessary steps with a view to eradicating all sorts of discrimination towards woman in light of the charter of CEDAW (adopted in 1979 by the General Assembly of the UN).
Clause 17.9: To ensure the identity of the offspring following both the parents.
However, the essence of the above mentioned clauses is not a new one for our country as the constitution of the republic also declares equal rights of man and woman through Article 28(1), Article 28(2), Article 28(3), Article 29(1) and Article 29(2).
Providing woman with equal status and equal rights is also one of the objectives of Islam. At the time of Islam’s emergence in the seventh century, human society was (as indeed today) replete with a variety of social injustices such as claiming of superiority of one group over the other and discriminations on the basis of sex, lineage, tribe, race, etc. One of the first things Islam did was to demolish all these artificial barriers through the famous verse: "O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it its mate and from them both have spread abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward Allah in Whom you claim (your rights) of one another, and towards the wombs (that bore you). Lo! Allah has been a Watcher over you." (4:1)
Since men and women both came from the same essence, neither gender can be superior because it would be a contradiction of equality.
In another Quranic verse Allah states: "O Mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of a male and female, and made you in to nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)." (49:13) The message is unmistakably clear, that men and women are equal in the sight of their creator, the only way one can be better than the other is by being more righteous.
Emphasising equal status of woman in the eyes of Allah, many other revelations can be cited. Some of them are:
"Their Lord responded to them: "I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female, you are equal to one another......." (3:195)
"As for those who lead a righteous life, male or female, while believing, they enter Paradise; without the slightest injustice" (4:124)
"Anyone who works righteousness, male or female, while believing, We will surely grant them a happy life in this world, and We will surely pay them their full recompense for their righteous works." (16:97)
“The believers, men and women, are protectors of one another. They enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil, and observe regular prayers, pay alms, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His mercy, for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise. Allah has promised to the believers, men and women, gardens under which rivers flow [in Paradise]” (9:71–72)
In light of the above quoted verses from the Qur’an, Islam undoubtedly recognises equal status and equal rights for both man and woman and only discrimination can be made based on their deeds on earth. However, Islamic bigots always try to demean the status of woman through wrong interpretation of Islam for their own socio-economic and political interests. So, it is not surprising when in the context of NWDP, Mufti Amini, the so called religious leader, uttered with an audacity, ‘According to Islam, a woman can never be equal to a man.'
Clauses 16.3, 16.5, 16.20, 16.22, 23, 25, 32, 33 of the policy have given importance to women’s empowerment and their economic liberation. Women’s empowerment, if we analyse Islam objectively, does not contradict Islamic teaching. Islam grants woman equal rights to contract, to enterprise, to earn and possess independently. Her life, her property, her honour are as sacred as those of a man. If she commits any offence, her penalty is no less or more than that of a man’s in a similar case. If she is wronged or harmed, she gets due compensations equal to what a man in her position would get (2:178, 4:45, 92-93). Qur’an has taken all measures to safeguard them and put them into practice as integral articles of faith. It never tolerates those who are inclined to prejudice against woman or discrimination between man and woman. Time and again, the Qur’an reproaches those who used to believe woman to be inferior to man (16:57-59, 62; 42:47-59; 43:15-19; 53:21).
History reveals that women participated in public life with the early Muslims, especially in times of emergencies. Women used to accompany the Muslim armies engaged in battles to nurse the wounded, prepare supplies, serve the warriors, and so on. They were not shut within four walls or considered worthless creatures and deprived of souls.
In the case of commerce Muslim women were not behind compared with their male counterparts. Our prophet’s first wife Khadija was a renowned entrepreneur in Mecca and he always admired her for her skills in business and commerce.
Woman empowerment is only possible if women are properly educated. So, many of the clauses, for instance, clause 18.5, clause 21, have been targeted to enhance the overall woman education in the country. In this context, we may cite the famous Hadith which states, "Seeking knowledge is mandatory for every Muslim (male and female)." This includes knowledge of the Qur'an and the Hadith as well as other secular knowledge. Men and women both have the capacity for learning and understanding. Since it is also their obligation to promote good behaviour and condemn bad behaviour in all spheres of life, Muslim women must acquire the appropriate education to perform this duty in accordance with their own natural talents and interests. In another hadith emphasising women’s education Muhammad (sm) said, ‘Educating women denotes educating a nation’.
The National Women Development Policy (NWDP) has specifically emphasised on universal rights of baby girls and their protection through clause 16.10, 16.11 and 18. Even in this twenty first century in Bangladesh, like many other third world countries, baby girls are widely discriminated and harassed almost at every stratum of society. In many cases, girl babies are considered as liabilities for the family as well as the society. Islam is strongly against this attitude.
The female sex in Arabia at the advent of Islam was a sort of abomination, the mere announcement that a wife had begotten a female child used to evoke anger and disappointment in the husband and the female child might end up, as many did, buried alive in the Arabian sand. The Qur’an strongly warned not only those doing these killings but even those who expressed anger at the arrival of the female child. Ascribing graphically the attitude, it says, "When the news is brought to one of them, of (the birth of) a female (child), his face darkens, and he is filled with inward grief!" (Q. 16:58) The Qur’an unequivocally abolished the practice not only by promising a severe penalty in the Day of Judgment but also by instituting the ‘life for life’ injunction in the Sharia. The prophet in this context announced to his companions that anybody who has been blessed with two female children and brought them up with love and kindness, will be granted paradise on account of that. Of the people listening, some had only one female child and they kept asking the Prophet: what about one? The Prophet said even one would do. In another Hadith, the Prophet said, "Whoever has a female child and does not bury her alive, nor holds her in contempt, nor prefers his male child above her, God will make him enter into paradise." (Abu Dawud)
So, no doubt, the Quran and Hadith protect baby girls and their rights. So, in light of their massages, it can be safely said that the relevant clauses of NWDP essentially follow the Islamic instructions.
Clauses 32 and 33 of the policy have stressed on political and administrative empowerment of women. Islam emphasises on equity and equality of man and woman and so it rejects all sorts of discrimination and injustice in society. However, many Muslims may argue that woman may participate in politics, state administrative affairs but according to Islam woman can not hold the highest political post of the head of state. This line of argument hinges on the Hadith which says: "a nation would never succeed that make woman in charge of her affairs." This evidence has however been faulted by some scholars. First, this Hadith does not seem to be in agreement with the spirit of the story of Bilqis the queen of Sheba in the Qur’an, as Bilqis was the head of her state and was praised by Qur’an for her wits and sagacity. Moreover there is no explicit reference of the Qur’an that says no to women leadership. So there is no barrier to women leadership any more than the standards that Islam has placed for such leadership which applies to any Muslim, male or female.
Some Islamic bigots who oppose the policy are deliberately spreading propaganda that it (NWDP) has scrapped the Islamic inheritance law. This is, however, far from the truth. In fact there is no single clause in the policy which intends to abolish the Islamic inheritance law or any personal law of any religion. On this issue only one clause (clause 25.2) has strongly emphasised on providing women with full rights on their earnings, inheritance, lands and assets through marketing management.
In this context it may be mentioned that the women policy formulated in 1997 during the period of the then AL Government was more pragmatic in the sense that its clause 7.2 explicitly declared equal property inheritance right for women. Later, in 2004 BNP-Jamaat alliance government dropped this clause.
Many may argue as inheritance law in Islam is based on Sharia, it can not be amended. There are many schools of Sharia: namely, Hanafi, Maleqi, etc, and on many issues verdicts given by two Sharias contradict each other. This contradiction, in fact, is due to time and context dependency of Sharias.
So, Sharias are not universal prescriptions for the Muslim community. Sharias should be modified to the extent to address emerging social problems. Many Islamic scholars have already advocated for modernisation of Sharias. For instance, the great poet and philosopher of Pakistan, Dr. Allama Iqbal, in a letter to Mohammed Ali Jinnah also suggested the modernisation of Sharias. Even in this land some of Sharias (for instance Musim family law 1961) has been modified following the demand of the time. So, any amendment to Muslim Inheritance Law providing equal right to man and woman should not be treated as anti-Islamic as the goal of Islam is to bring justice in society. By depriving one half of the nation (i.e. the womenfolk), justice can not be fully delivered. On the issue, Islamic scholars should come forward upholding the true essence of Islam and suggesting a way for providing women with equal inheritance right in light of Islam and incorporating it in NWDP.
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Md. Anwarul Kabir is a university academic and freelance writer.
email: kabiranwar@yahoo.com
email: kabiranwar@yahoo.com
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