Pakistani society defines womens’ role as the caretakers of their children and their home whereas the mens’ role as the breadwinner of the family. Although the Quran supports this notion of men as the bread winners and caretakers of their household, it doesnot place any type of responsibility on the women.
In Islam women are free to do as they see fit for themselves. If they work during pregancy, they are allowed. If they want to stay at home all their life, they are allowed. The injunctions on men in no way apply to women, that because men are breadwinners so women are caretakers of the family. We have twisted the Quranic injunction to add another layer of thinking pertaining to women that doesnot exist. Infact it is a method of control by keeping the women subjugated and the society unaware.
Quaid e Azam believed in the equality of women. He believed women have every right to work shoulder to shoulder with men.
In his speech once he said, “We will be greatly handicapped in our work if the ladies do not work shoulder to shoulder with us. The history of Islam is full of events where the Muslim ladies have taken active part in the political, economic, social, and educational activities. The hand that rocks the cradle rules the empire.”
He always travelled with his sister and felt that men have much to learn from women. Spiritual men always keep women close while egoistic men play with them and deem them unfit to work as equal with them.
We must believe one very important fact and that the soul is niether male nor female. It is only when we are manifested into the physical form that we encounter ourselves as male and female and develop the required functional psychology to work therein. If you believe that women must stay at home and look after children, what would you say to the fact that children in Arabia used to be raised by villagers just as Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) was raised by Bibi Halima Sadia. He (SAWS) only returned to his mother at the age of five. Countless stories from Islam proves this very fact. Women were teachers, sellers, business owners, cultivators, shepherds etc.
How do we expect women to groom their kids if they themselves lack understanding. We have seen this in the Pathan culture where the men keep women confined. Haven’t their men suffered too? We mostly see them as workers or sellers. Even the man who confines women for himself really likes the independent, self sufficient dynamic colleague he works with rather than his simple minded wife at home.
The society cannot control women and make them work as per their rules and regulations, i.e at home and not outside. It is the choice of women and theirs alone to choose what they want to do with their lives. Islam has given all the freedom to women, the society or men have no right to take that away. Some women really do love to cook for themselves and their families, and today even this has turned into a business. Some women want to become pilots or surgeons. Whatever their passion, they have every right to pursue them. Only then can they really be happy with themselves.
