Tenth Letter to Tahira
Dear Tahira, I am grieved, like you, over the consequence of Shahida's married life but
we have different reasons to be so. Your sadness stems from the fact that Shahida is your
childhood-friend with whom you shared good and bad times, and now it is painful to see her
pathetic condition. Whereas what saddens me is that Shahida turned a deaf ear to what I
had been telling her for so long. That eventually she had to face the expected result,
made me shudder just thinking about. The difficulty in our society is that men generally
are guilty of high-handedness and the victimization of women is a general rule. (I am
hesitating to say that, and you may mind it, but the truth has to be spoken out). In a
conflict between a man and a woman, other women will always side with the woman, and the
man is, as always, considered the guilty party. If you consider Shahida's life and its
consequences objectively, then I am sure you will agree with me that the outcome was in
line with the positions taken. Saeed was not guilty. Rather the patience, courage and
tolerance with which he bore everything is praiseworthy.
Life of a Modern Wife
Shahida's lifestyle was such that she never woke up before nine in the morning, because
she never slept before midnight. If today she is at the club; yesterday it was a big
meeting where she had to speak, and the next day would be the last show of the seminar. If
there was no function outside the house, then she would invite her friends to dinner at
home and they would gossip till midnight. Poor Saeed had to work in the office the whole
day long; how could he keep awake till midnight? In the beginning he kept her company till
late at night, but later he found he could not cope. Anyway it was quite considerate of
him that he never checked Shahida rudely or sternly. He tried to reason with her, but he
was never harsh. She would return home at midnight, and he would get up to open the door
for her. Their two little daughters had to go to school by eight the next morning. Just
think how much of a botheration it was for the father to wake the girls up and get them
ready for school, while their mother was still sleeping. But Saeed used to do all that
willingly. The dilemma was that the elder girl was neither big enough to look after
herself, nor was she so small that her father could bathe her and get her dressed for
school. Moreover, this job could not be left to the servants, and he had to employ a Nanny
for this purpose. Saeed knew that if the children were left completely to a nanny, it
would affect their upbringing. Therefore, he looked after his two daughters himself. Along
with this, he also had to be ready himself to reach his office by nine. All this was
happening in house while Shahida was asleep.
She would wake up to find that her children and husband had left for school and office
respectively. It would take her about an hour to get over the hangover of sleeping late.
(This is a normal result of regularly getting up late). Breakfast would be followed by
going through a newspaper or a magazine. As she was the secretary of the Women's
Association, she had to check all mail and documents related to it. Then she would write
an article for the Association's magazine, on how to bring up children and on having a
happy home-life! Soon it would be time for lunch. After lunch she would listen to the
radio or gramophone records, and then have her afternoon siesta. If the children returned
before their mother had her afternoon nap, they would say "good morning" to her.
Otherwise, the servants would feed them and they would start playing. Then their tutor
would come and they would become busy with studying. Mother would get up, have her bath
and tea, and would then either go to the club to play badminton or table tennis or else,
or go out for shopping. Saeed would come home tired with work, and would then start
looking after the kids, the servants, the household accounts and checking things in the
house. Dinner (provided they were not dining out) would be at the family table but here
too, quite often, the conversation would become sour. Shahida was always complaining about
uncouth servants, the unorganized house, the ill-mannered children and an inattentive
husband. When Saeed used to so much as remark about how much interest she took in the
home, things would get worse.
Ill-Health
Well Tahira, have I written anything wrong? If it is incorrect then you are
responsible, because you are my prime source for all this information! You also used to
tell me how you tried your best to change her, but she always turned a deaf ear to all
your suggestions. You also told me that this was not only the cause of her disorganized
house-life, but that it also was effecting her health. Not sleeping or eating on time, or
regularly dining at hotels or clubs was taking its toll upon her health. At such places,
the emphasis is mostly on clean crockery, (although nobody knows how they clean them), but
nobody thinks of the food ingredients. As health worsened, it made her more jittery and
consequently increased expenses.
Increase of Expenses
First it was the many servants that increased the expenses, (and many servants had to
be employed because Shahida was too busy with her social engagements and her Women's
Association to be able to attend to her home), and now it was doctor's fees and the
driver's bill taking a toll. Income was limited to Saeed's salary only. How could that
salary cope with these increasing expenses? If Shahida had cared then she would have
decreased her personal expenses and balanced her budget. But she did not reduce any of her
expenses. Saeed had to borrow money, and that decreased his income all the more, because
of the deduction to pay the installments on his debt. On top of this, Shahida demanded
that she had to go to New York to participate in the All World Women's Conference, as the
Secretary of her Association. There she would listen to deliberations on human welfare in
general, and women's rights and obligations in particular. The Association did not have
enough money, so she got a resolution passed that every delegate would pay for herself. It
was impossible for Saeed to procure such a large amount and whatever he had, was not
concealed from Shahida. She knew about each and every penny of his income and expenses, as
Saeed had never kept any secret from her. Tahira, so many times you said to me that Saeed
really justifies his name. (Saeed means good omen).
................ and This Step
Over and above all this, Shahida got annoyed and left with the children for her
father's home, from where she filed a case for divorce. Now Tahira, you tell me how far
her taking this step was justified? Granted, men are cruel, but does this story paint
Saeed as bad? Poor women are generally the 'wronged against', but tell me, upon God, was
Shahida the oppressed one?
This is not just Shahida and Saeed's story. It is becoming quite prevalent in our
society. Just as, time and again, some things become a fashion in different societies, in
the same manner the slogan of "Women's Rights" is becoming a fashion in our
society. At least, I do believe that you would not misunderstand my words, because you do
know how depressing women's subjugation is to me, and how much of an advocate I am for
women's rights. And why not when Quran itself is such a great proponent of them.
Women's Responsibilities
All I want to say is that every right is accompanied by a responsibility. Our ladies
who are promoting women's rights are putting froth great demands, but they simply do not
mention a single responsibility of their own. I am ready to fight for every right that has
been given to women by the Quran, and which has been suppressed by men (who use religious
laws which were formulated during the reign of suppressive kings as shields), with all the
force at my disposal. You know I have been fighting for this since long, but along with it
I want to remind my daughters and sisters of all the responsibilities which they have to
shoulder, as women.
Being Envious of a Man
Whether you admit or not, Tahira, it is a fact that in our times, (sub-consciously)
women have come to think that it is an utter disgrace to be a woman. This creates a
conflict in their minds, which manifests itself in such slogans that women are equal to
men. All the jobs which men can and will do, women can and will do too! On the surface
these slogans sound so revolutionary and seem to raise the status of women. But my dear
daughter, our sisters have yet to understand how much these demands and slogans are
depressing their status. I quote the Quran, which said about the women of the era before
Islam that in a dispute, she herself cannot explain her case explicitly (43:18). This is
exactly the position of these women in our times. They rise to fight their case without
understanding what their strengths are and what their demands are. They want to safeguard
their rights and demand the status of men. Remember Tahira, a woman has her own place in
this world. If a woman wants to give up her position in exchange for a man's status, it is
nothing to be proud of. This, on the contrary, makes men believe that they really do have
a higher status, which in turn makes women clamour for and demand their rights.
Duties of Men and Women
In nature's scheme of things there is no difference between the status of men and
women. However, their duties are different. Their physical and biological differences
reflect these duties. This difference, in fact, is the reason why a greater part of a
woman's life is spent away from the practical realities of life. Consider, for example,
the responsibility of pregnancy, childbirth, lactation or nursing an infant. This
'handicap' does not mean that she becomes lower in status to a man. Looking at it from
this viewpoint, raises the woman's status even higher than that of a man. Despite these
'handicaps', a woman, if she wants, can do everything a man can do. But a man can never,
no matter how hard he tries, accomplish what a woman's 'handicaps' can perform. When a
woman asserts that she wants to fulfil the duties of a man, she not only lessens her
position, but she also pronounces a radical change in the nature's scheme of things. This
is so, because if they start performing men's duties, then who will perform the duties of
women? A man is not capable of performing these duties. Please remember, my daughter, that
woman is responsible for the posterity and propagation of the human race. If she considers
this ability to be demeaning and finds it difficult to fulfil her duties, then she would
be interfering in nature's plans. The outcome is that, in spite of demanding her rights,
she is depriving herself of the satisfaction that would come from fulfilling the duties
prescribed by nature. As such, she has trapped herself in a psychological tussle. She
cannot erase the biological difference of her physique, but by hating it and instead
taking pride in man's physique, she has put herself into a self-made cauldron of
discontentment. Tahira, firmly put in your mind, that by virtue of being a female, a woman
qualifies herself for immense dignity and respect. But who would be more unfortunate than
she, if she feels ashamed of being a woman? Her penchant for striving to be a man, robs
her of mental self-enlightenment and the warmth of her humanness. There cannot be a worse
predicament of her, and for that matter for humanity.
Remember Tahira, home plays a foundation laying role and the family has a pivotal
position in the formation of the human race. A society that does not maintain the 'family'
(as it is happening in Europe in general and in Russia in particular) then its forthcoming
generations are bound to be wayward and rudderless. Woman plays a central role in forming
a home, hearth and family. She has a major share in making a heavenly home and a dignified
nation. If a woman tries to shoulder men's responsibilities by ignoring her own precious
and important duties, then she is being unfair not only to herself but to her own society
and to the whole of humanity. When I say this, I do not mean that women should not
participate in what men are doing today. All I am saying is that she should fulfil her
prime duties first, and when she is content that she has done this satisfactorily, then by
all means she should participate in other aspects of life.
European Women
Copying Europe blindly is what makes things difficult for us; and the greater
predicament is that we are copying at a time when Europe itself is trying to get rid of
such aspects and their unwholesome consequences. In Europe women rebelled against men and
started agitations for their rights. In fact, this was a reaction to Christian education
that considers a woman's status to be the lower. Christian education states that woman was
made from man's rib, and as such she is curved like a rib. (It can never be straightened
and if you tried to do so, it would break). This education professed that all evil in the
world is due to women, because Eve misguided Adam out of his heaven; that soul is meant
for men only; and that women (like animals) do not have souls. A logical and incumbent
consequence of this education was that women tried to be men. The first step towards this
goal was to abandon their womanly duties. They thus started abrogating one by one, the
factors that are essential for constituting a home. Gradually they reached a situation
where there remained no difference between a home and a hotel. I do not mean that no
cooking was done at home. What I mean is that a loving and genial relationship between a
husband and a wife deteriorated, and what the Quran calls: the women are like a dress for
the men and the men are like dress for the women (2:187), the relationship more or less
became a business partnership. The children, in the first place, were considered as
cumbersome intrusion. The children that were born were deprived of their mother's warm
loving lap and their first learning ground. European psychologists have recently reached a
conclusion after extensive research, that those children who have been separated from
their mothers before they were three, turned out to be criminals and wayward when they
grew up. Therefore, Europe is gradually reverting to home life, after it learned a bitter
lesson from its mistake. However, we seem to be starting the house-desertion at the time
when European women are turning back from their rebellion.
There is another interesting phenomenon. The discussion starts with men's cruelty to
women; that the men remarry, deserting the first wives, leaving them to starve, and
ruining their children. The girls do not get their dowers (when they get married), and no
one is responsible for their caring and up-keep. This leads the women to demand that she
should have a larger share of jobs; and that they should have so many reserved seats in
the Assembly (Parliament). Obviously oppressed women are not in a position to get a job in
an office or to become a member of the Assembly. Those who are able to get jobs in the
offices, or become members of the Assembly, are usually not the oppressed and down-trodden
ones.
Member of Assembly
Those who go to the Assembly can never ameliorate the condition of the oppressed ones.
As you know, I am not against women becoming the members of the Assembly. But a woman who
comes forward to safeguard the rights of her class (whether it is in the arena of
leadership or in the house of Assembly) we should first check what she has done to set her
own house right? How is her relationship with her husband? How much time does she spare
for her children's nurturing, education and care? How much time has she given to the
oppressed and poor class of women? Has she taken any practical steps to lighten their
burden? Please listen again, we have to check as to what she has done practically? Our
leaders and representatives do not go beyond, making speeches, issuing statements and
getting resolutions passed. I need not dwell upon these things in detail because, these
are all the things which you used to say to Shahida. Then she used to brag about reforming
the whole society (rather humanity). Right! But her own house was in disarray! She used to
formulate programs on how to care, nurture and educate the whole future generations on
correct lines; and she herself never even asked her children as to what they did or what
they studied? She tells all the women of the world how to win their husband's hearts, but
she herself could not succeed with a husband like Saeed. In her essays, her heart bleeds
for the condition of the wronged and oppressed women; but she is absolutely ignorant about
the real lives of these down-trodden women and their living conditions. She reproaches
others for (not doing anything for) their daughters and sisters who do not have enough to
wear, while she orders silken brocade mattresses for her dogs and for herself. Tahira, you
yourself used to reprimand Shahida for all these things. After all this what do you think
would be the outcome of Shahida for leading such a life? As for the welfare societies she
used to form for the betterment of those women, what example can she set for them?
Practical Example
Remember my dear daughter, the person capable of reforming a society is the one who can
say with full confidence, to a gathering of not only his friends or admirers, but his
adversaries: I have lived my whole life among you, can you not surmise whether my claims
are truthful or false? (10:16)
The one who cannot make such a statement can neither have a successful life, nor
revolutionize a society. Until the 'Shahida' of our nation can look after her own house
and herself, she cannot become: the caretaker of humanity (2:143). (Quran assigns this
duty to the Muslim nation). This is the stable system of life (30:30). It is generally
said, "Don't see who is saying it, but listen to what is being said". Meaning if
somebody advises you to do good, do not reject it by saying "physician heal
thyself". You should evaluate whether whatever is being said to you is good or not.
If it is good follow it, if not then reject it. This maxim is true, but it only applies to
the person who is being advised. It is also necessary that the advisor should adhere to
the principles he is propounding, otherwise his expositions would not be effective.
Actions always speak louder than the words. People, not conforming to their principles in
their practical life, can never reform a nation. This is the main reason why our Women's
Associations have not been effective. The women of these associations who want to reform
others, lead lives that require much desired reforms themselves. If they can set their own
homes in order and then come out to reform, then you will see how their efforts will bear
fruit. But if they want to keep a house like Shahida's and then want to set their nation
straight, then it is nothing more than deceiving others, besides themselves.
Finally I would like you to understand that if a woman has high ideals of collective
life and believes she would be unable to fulfil her duties as a wife, then she should not
marry (however, exception should be made for a person who is fully equipped to live this
kind of life). But if she marries, then family duties should take the priority.
Peace be with you!
Parwez
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