Amidst the controversy and debate surrounding Asra Nomani leading prayers in New York, some women in Tamil Nadu have been pressing forward with their own goal: a mosque by, for, and of women. With due apologies to Woolf, the logic is simple:
A Muslim woman has no space, she's confined to the kitchen, the bedroom and the delivery room. And if a woman petitions the jamat, she's not allowed to appear before it. [According to Daud Sharifa, the head of Steps, a women's development organisation]: "The jamat calls her husband to put across his point of view, but a woman has to be represented by her father and her brother. The jamat announces its decision without even hearing her. That is not justice."
Indeed. On the other side, we have the view that "[i]t's wrong to think that the members of the jamat are all male chauvinists - these men also have daughters, nieces and granddaughters who may also be facing these problems."
Then again, they may not. Or better yet, perhaps that is precisely the reason they ought not be trusted with these decisions. If the opposition generated by the attempt to build an all-women's mosque is any indication, the Pudukottai initiative is worth supporting. For far too long the self-appointed guardians of Muslim women (and Muslim values, which, by an act of hymeneal transubstantiation, apparently amount to the same thing) have held forth on the rights guaranteed to women under Islam (while assiduously opposing any move to reinterpret those rights, or to gain even more rights). If Pudukottai is any indication, the patience of at least some women is running out.
The above, of course, is a perfectly natural segue into a piece entitled Merchant Houses as Spectacles of Modernity (what? hey, at least Pudukottai is mentioned!). Or you can check out one of my very favorite historians, Nicholas Dirks, using Pudukottai as Exhibit A for his thesis, in The Hollow Crown.
2 comments:
Injustice towards women needs to be deplored but I don't think having a separate Masjid for them solves anything .It creates more Fitnah and is a break from mainstream authentic Islamic tradition .
One big hole in the "progressives" thinking is that they look at everything from a sceptical viewpoint . They do not understand and feel about developement of "Taqwa" Their is no scheme for ajkhirah and Allah.Everything is manmade ,ulema act only to maintain thier hold on power ,they are blind etc..
Injustice will decrease only if people have more Taqwa Fear of God
I fail to see why a separate masjid is needed for this ?
If they want to meet ,then they can meet in someones' house or any other place.Are they really so much interested in praying in a Masjid ? How many of them regularly pray at home even ?
As per Hadith women should not disallowed from praying in Masjids although the home is better for them.
The question is why should we change on the progressives' terms and hence damage our prospects on the Day of Judgement ? We will do what the Prophet (SAW) and the salaf do to safeguard ourselves from Hellfire.
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