"Muslim women! Do not listen to the speech of those who are misguided and who sow the seed of error in the heart of another; they deceive you when they stress obedience to your husbands without telling you of obedience to God and His Messenger (May God show him bounty and grant him salvation), and when they say that the woman finds her happiness in obedience to her husband.
They seek only their own satisfaction, and that is why they impose upon you tasks which the Law of God and His Prophet never especially assigned to you. Such are the preparation of foodstuffs, the washing of clothes, and other duties which they like to impose upon you, while they neglect to teach you what God and the Prophet have prescribed for you.”
Uthman Ibn Fodio
Islam has set Muslim women free many years ago but we have remained within the clutches of social and cultural dictates determined by men whom the Sheik spoke about in the eighteenth century.
Sadly 200yrs later a revolutionary has emerged in the form of Amir Sanusi to give back to women what society has taken away from them and a lot of men including some brainwashed women afraid of change have pounced in condemnation of HRH's desire which will give worth back to women at the same time return sanity into a society wrecked apart by injustice. For years repeated preachings on the superiority of men and their right to uncontested obedience have only further lowered the status of women and men have utilised this to take them for granted. This has resulted to unhappy households and higher divorce rates in spite of the fact that women have become willing to stay married no matter the difficulty and neglect. We have seen the rise of women at all economic levels from soap making to medicine so as to help out with the home expenses. Instead of this to result in higher literacy rate and better standard of living for the family, a number of men have taken advantage of this societal perception of shared responsibility to abandon what they pledged to take care of before getting into the marital contract. Women are the accepted guides, caretakers, cooks, disciplinarians, hospital and school takers of the children and yet suffer physical and emotional abuse in the hands of same men.
Finally a light shines dimly at the end of the tunnel and the torchlight is that of a man but as usual many have raised their feet to stamp that hope flat. Despite the claimed enlightenment there is still reservation and fear within many men on the existence of the educated and independent woman.
Milestones in history have only been achieved when external forces help marginalised groups. Whites helped stop racism. Men assisted the plight of women in the west. Muslim women cant do it alone. If you are good to your wife today, tomorrow your sister could end up your wrong hands. You may be six feet under when your darling daughter meets an abusive husband. Tomorrow is unpredictable and only strong laws and institutions can protect our daughters, sisters and mothers. Emir Sanusi's intervention couldn't have come at a better time when we have to be #BoldForChange Today I call on Muslim men to stand up for the actualisation of women rights within the confines of Islam for a better society.
Happy #IWD2017 to all the strong women who have slayed the cultural dragons and thank you to all the men that have thought out of the box.
#BoldForChange.
