Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!apple!usc!rpi!bu.edu!m2c!wpi.WPI.EDU!shari
From: mmdh@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (Mamdouh Maher)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Re: Women
Message-ID: <1991Jun27.134043.19412@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Date: 27 Jun 91 13:40:43 GMT
References: <1991Jun20.152742.19343@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Sender: shari@wpi.WPI.EDU (Shari Deiana VanderSpek)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 91
Approved: shari@zahle.wpi.edu


Assalamu `alaykum,

In article <1991Jun20.152742.19343@wpi.WPI.EDU> hanan@mcs213k.cs.umr.edu (Hanan Lutfiyya) writes:

>     Women are working more.   The reason is the economical development
>that is starting to take place in many Arab countries.[...]

  Good point. Of course, Islam never prohibited women from working. The concern
is, what is it that women in the homes did that can no longer be done when they
work? If the woman is single or has no children, the trade off is small.

>Some may
>ask about countries like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where the
>percentage of women in the labor force is still small(although,
>there has been great improvement in the last few years).  These
>countries are not good examples, because they have the money
>to increase their labor forces through importing workers.

  Again, I agree.

>  On the otherhand, take Iraq.  Iraq does import workers.  But, they
>prefered to encourage women to enter the workforce, esp.
>for managerial and skilled work, instead of importing foreign labor.
>BTW, you saw this to a lesser extent in Jordan(probably because
>Jordan's pace of economical development is slower).  It interesting
>to note that Iraq has a pretty good record on womens rights.
  Women are an important resource of society. Jordan, Iraq and other
Muslim countries chose the better alternative in this case. Importing workers
creates an imbalance that is clearly seen in Gulf countries.

  Ok, now my point:
>   I ask you this: Is it really bad to have women working?  In order for a 
>society to develop, it must use all members of it in the best
>possible way, including its women.   Yes, there is
>certainly exploitation.  But, laws(no matter how slowly) can
>be passed to prevent exploitation.  We are starting to
>see this in the West.  There are many problems.  But, I think
>this is because the West has not adjusted itself to the
>working woman.  The answer is not to go back to the way it
>was, but rather to work towards a "new order"(yuck, I sound
>like Bush, but I couldn't think of a better combination of
>words).

  I think it is good, not bad to have women working. I do not think that
the West has started to pass laws to prevent exploitation of women yet, I
think they are still at the "patch this problem and make a lot of publicity
about the patch" stage. A woman is often expected by society to juggle the
home and the office, even when she is not expected to do so by her family.

  You said: "In order for a society to develop, it must use all members
of it in the best possible way, including women". I believe that this statement
carries more meaning than meets the eye. It is clearly in society's favour
to bring up the best future generation that it can. On this point, the West
fails and the Muslims fail as well. The West fails because it all but neglects
the young. They are left to external influences which are often destructive.
The Muslims fail because, although they give the young a great deal of
attention, they frequently fail to give them the right resources to develop.

  It is my opinion that Islam should be an integral part of the upbringing of
every person. Islam in all its strength, not just one face of it. The young
should enjoy the power of the Islam that compels them to learn and apply
what they have learnt in every constructive way and in no other way. They
should enjoy the greatness of the Islam that makes their ethics a model to
all humanity. They should enjoy the beauty of the Islam that balances work
and worship, making each a form of the other.

  The family can give that. The mother can give that. Daycare cannot.

>[...]
> As important as motherhood is, I don't think that my
>role in society should be limited to just motherhood.  Society loses.

  I agree. If you can give your children their full right to a strong Islamic
upbringing and still work, then by all means. You would not be the first
woman to be able to perform such a great task. My only concern is parents
who compromise the future of their children for material wealth.

>   I doubt the West has anything planned for the Arab/Muslim woman.
>At least not what you have said.  Why?  Because in the long run
>society benefits from working women.

  _Some_ people in the West hope to shake Islam by alienating Muslim
women. I know that for fact. So far they failed except with some Muslim
women in the West itself. The best defence is to eliminate myths about
Islam by showing its truth. Islam is just, it can only be fought with
distortion.

Assalamu `alaykum,

Mamdouh Maher