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From: hanan@mcs213k.cs.umr.edu (Hanan Lutfiyya)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Women
Message-ID: <1991Jun27.211247.18226@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Date: 27 Jun 91 21:12:47 GMT
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In Message-ID: <1991Jun27.134043.19412@wpi.WPI.EDU> (Mamdouh Maher) writes

>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.

     I agree that Islam has never prohibited women from working.  I think
the problem is not Islam, but traditions.   This is not a problem
unique to the Arab/Muslim world.  They are still coping with it
in the US. 

.....


>  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.
>

   Agreed.  But, I think prefer 'patch" to nothing.  At least they
are talking about it. There are some pretty good ideas.  Maternity
leaves(without getting fired), paternity leaves, job sharing, etc;
I think we will see improvement, because companies will find it to their
advantage.  Why?  Because companies will find themselves in need of
highly skilled workers that can not be satisfied by using only men.
Next step?  More women.   Highly skilled workers are not easily
replacable.  Therefore, you will find many companies embracing some
of the above ideas.
   That and pressure on the government will probably lead
to laws that will make it easier.  I don't think this will be immediate,
but I would like to think there will be trend towards this. 
 
>  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.

   Ok, I think I agree with this.

>  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.

     I think daycare is necessary, although I would like to have the
choice of daycare that best conforms to my "way of thinking".  I would
like to see more daycare centers at the place of work.  

>>[...]
>> 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.

   Precisely.  But, the key point is it should be up to the woman on
how she is going to do this juggling act.  Let's not place contraints
in such a way to conform to a particular perception.  I will agree that
this is one very delicate balancing act, and I hope ,as I think any person,  
does that I make the best of it. 
  
Hanan Lutfiyya
University of Missouri-Rolla