ABUL A'LA MAUDUDI

PURDAH

AND

TH'E STATUS OF WOMAN

IN ISLAM

TRANSLATED & EDITED BY

AL-ASH'\ ARI

M.A. (English): M.A. (Philosophy)

Islamic Publications (Pvt.) Ltd.

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INTRODUCTJON' 111

,AVTHOR ·s rnrr ACt. ,ii

C.h3;ptu J. S,.3t, TUR.F OF THr PFtOBL EM 1 ~ ~

Ch:3pler ... STATUS OF WOMA.~ IS DJrFERE~T

AGES -4-17

(j rt~..: ~ - ~ ttl" ~(,hi.~' ian E Ul('1 pe

Mode nil [U TtJ pt ,~Thft'1: Doerr .inc:::. u r

",t estern Soc iet y- - - M isc:ra b~c: f' all U re

of Hilma n T" te lite! '

, ,

Chapter ,', PURDAH AND THE J\1t:SLIl\:iS Of

TODA Y ! 8-~1~

H~ltohc:a! B.ac".vound- Mental SJs-'

... c:r)l- How the Pre blc:m Arose- 'Y

The, :Rea.l MotWes-.--A Guat ,Hoax-

The: Objet:t Brion us.

Chapter -t. WESTERN CONCEPTS OF

MORALITY 16-36

1 &th, Century COlICC:pt, or Li beny-'·

J 9th Cc:nulf)' ChaDlrs-20th C.::ntury DtvelopmetdS--- N-=o-MaIUUl&t1lll Liter-

alu:n:.

elm pter 5. TR. AGle CONSEQUENCES-I 17-.S7'

] ad lIl5trial Revolution aad", lmpad.

•

on Saciety-Cqetalill ,SdfiabQaa.---.

na·"", die: Pot)t~Facts &ad

,FSprn-Monl Bdkmptcy-PrnaImct- of ObJc'mtty-.-Stxu&lily .-d I Qdeceocy--8iBDS of Nal.iouJ CoZ~pse-Decay of Pb,hca1 EMIlY ~~wDilH'Upt ion: of Family Syst.mll-...- • Genocide.

Cbaplt'r 6. TkAOlC CON.SEQU[W;~-11 .. ~8-·71 Sc:~liI.Il DclUnquc:ncy AmoD, A1Mfk:an Chi~~q.- Ed ~,uional Stage-- Tbrtt

x

Purdah alJd IhE Status of Wt'mQII in ls/.tJm.

I

Powerful Motlves-Preval.enee of

Sex 1,1,1 Promiscuity- Veflcrtll DiJ... easC'5-' D t"iorce aDd SeparationNat icnal Suicide-The etse -of ~and~

Cbapter 7. THE DECISIVE QUESTION +. '2~Bl

The QT~.::nlaL ~~Occldental!S·t---Modem

U rdu Lite rature-Mool:rn Ci\,i! iz.a .. fion~ Wha t Do the. uOcciclentals" Say'?- The "Lip·Service" Musllms~ Th~ Deel sive QuenioD-

Chapter 8- LA \VS OF NATURE 84- .. ·:]22

Role: of Sex Appeal ill Ci v jli:!ltion~

Bnie' Pro blem of Civili~t.ioJl~Rfqu ..

trements of a CI"rt Community Life ;

(]) Control.of Sex u.i! UI',gc:. {2) "FoU!1dini the Family.

(3) PuventiuJl of Sel ual Lawlt:is(lC:iiS. (4) Eradication of Indecencies,

(5) Correct blationtbip Bctwten

Mannd Wife.

Cbapter 9. HUMAN LIMITATIONS .. 1ll-131

Real Cause of Inability-Some Sign i-

fiCllnt IDs.taoc:e5-ModeratioD of

bl:i"rnic Law ..

Chapter 10. SOCIAL SYSTEM OF lSLAM~1 " .. 112-140 BULe Concc:pta-Rc:"al Significance of

" Su- MaD ta Animal Nature" aDd itl

" Demands-Hu.mlll Naturi: and ~

" Demandi.

Cblp~r 11 .. SOCIAL SYSTEM OF ISLAM=-11 .. 141-1.58 Fundamental "" Princ.ipla---I'Prohibited R.elltlOD'u (Mw'rarramal}-ProbJbitioD

of AduLttf)'-Ma.rriJ ,gt:--Orp:niza.tiod

gr FamilY...1--MI.D .. Pro\ljOO':"""Womants.

Spbe~e of Activity-RettrictiODS f.or

W gillen--.. Woman', RiJh,ts-EconOQl.ie

Ri8ht~ci8.l R ights-s-Fcmale Education-Real Emancipation of Woman.

Chapter 12. SOCIAL SYSTEM OF lSLAM~m t59-l78 Saftguards

SeK~ Purl ftc. doD ~

Ilaya (-~}-H idden Motives-The EviJ Look-Urge for Display---- The Voice-« The Sound- The Perfume-Nudity.

Pu.n1tin: Laws :

Punishment for Fornication-Punishment for Calumny.

PRYeoth e MetilII"eS ;

Injunctions for Clothin g and Cover.ins of N aked~:BoundaTie8 of Safar for MaJes-Boundarits of Salar for Females-« R.egUJatiOOB for EntraDU-Prohibjtion of ToucbiDj or Having Privacy with Women-Distinction Bet w.::cn Makram and non- Malzrum M.ales.

Chapter 13. COM MA.NDMEN'IS OF PURDAH ] 19-199- Restraining the Eyes-Prohibition of

Display of Fjneries-- Covering the Face-The V eil.

Chapter 14. DIVlNE LAWS FOR lllE MOVE,..

MENTS OF WOMEN .. 200-210

Permission to Leave the. HousePermission to Visit the MolSqueConditions for Visiting the Mo&que...Rilles fur Women during Hajj-Participation in Frida)' and I fd Ptayei:1--Attending Funetali and Visiting Ora VCi-PartitiPltioa in Battler CONCLUSION

INDBX

"

.. 211-2l8 . ~ _ 2J 9-22:1

CHAPTER I

Nature of the Problem

THE firs~ and foremost problem or'manrs community life on.

whose r air and (atioDaI rot ution depeDd.=; his real ad vancemene and weU·being is the proper adjustuient o~. the mutual relationships bet ween the husband an d the wife. F.o!' it is: these relat ionships whjch provide the real ba!i.i s r or m an 's social life anti 011 their strength and stability depend 5 his future ,wdl-bejng~

ITT"lportan~ as the :-iOIUl ior. ofthls problem is, its illtrjc.atc nature has baffimI philosophers and 8Sges from the earl] e!!i£ rimes. In fact, one call L10 t be e:t pected to offer i tx just and fa it so] ution unless One has acquired a complete and comprehensive view of the whole hurpan nature, Itut this Is. Do L rut easy thing for mao i ~ H. wodd In hi mself .. His phy~i('"aJ and mental make-up, his energies: and capabilities, hiS' desir-es anddemands, his emotlons and feclin,gsl and his active and passive relationships with countless things 0 utside him, these .consti .. tute a world in themselves, Man cannot be completely llnderstooo unlels each nook a Ild co raer of t~i Si vast world is f u Uy brought witbi.n 4 clear V1cW. Conveaely I the ba 5jC hu man problems cannot be SOlved unless man himself il flrst completely understood.

, The cnigrn a 0 f hUIlla.n nature has defied solution by man since the earliest times and k .!i l j II remain s unsol ved, 7hl; truth is that, man ha:s no t yet been .able to dj!icovor and explain aU the f .. cts and phenomena of this world. None or the: ~ences has sc far auaiaed jhat Mase of perfec:tioo. wbere it coxtkt da,im to have encompassed

all knowlcdj!,e pertaining-to its own pa~it:ulal" sphere. . Eve~: tb~o facts Mlid phenomena that bave been di!C.Ov.cred and exp!a:ill-t:d are SO vast and complex in t hem~rvtS tbat .no man (or men) can ha ve a complete view of aJJ their farets slmultaDlIDusTy. If one trjos to concentrate on one facet, the others ·~dc jnto the baekgrcund. SometimeS one i.8 not able to:8LYC aU one's aJ~e.otioD to 1t and some:-

.: I

2

Purda', and Statt4 oj Woman in J slam

tjmes personal inclinations alld whims distort its view, On : .. recount of these inherent weaW.-esse5, man wiLh 311 h.1.s ingenuuies has failed to solve the problems of h is own life. His own growi ng experience br inga out Raws in b is best tbougb t out sol ut ionl. Real solutlon is i ndced impossible wi ttl out aual niug ::J. bala need view of the whole human nature, ani a bal Llll¢ed view 0 f it iii i rnpo 55i ble unless a r 1

" ~

the as poets or the. known fllCls at lea-st. arc kep t in \I' few a. t one and

the sam& time, But when the field to be viewed is 100 vast, ami one's personal whims, likes and djsUkes~ too powerful 10 allow an unbiased pi.cture~ one <;annot possibly attain :t balan.ceJ view or things, Any 'Solution u .... der such conditions as these will na: II rally be based on one extreme or the other.

In order to illustrate this, let U'Si go b;;1:ck to history. We -eome across various eXBggcrated notion'S based on the: oonfUct ottllc two extremes. On the: ODe band. we find that the woman, who ,gi yes. birth to 1111\.11 as mother and accompanies him in all the: ups and. dow ns 0 r li re as wife. 11 as bie n reduced '0 t he po~it ion or a maid, ' rathe' bondwoman, She is: treated as other chattels, she is deprived

, of all rights of inheritance and cwnershlp, she IS r..:g'l.n!ed as an embodiment of gin and misr~nunet abd is rd'LL~C'd .lit opportunities for developing and unfolding her personality, On the other hand. we find that the same woman is ralsedto prominence III a ma n ner and with 1 he result that a sto rm [J r immo(31.ity and I icentleusness tollows jn her wake. She i~ made is plaything for carnal indulgence, she is ac,u3n~ rtdLtCed to tbe position uf the DevU~s agent, and with her rise to upromil!teoce"~ starts the deSCneration of mankind In general.

ThC:iC: two extremes are not merely theoretical but thty exist in practice as welt, and it it because of the. r cv it consequences in the" Practical I. fc that we pronoaoce them as imntoral extre;m~. History testifies tbat when a ¢omttlullity gbakcs oft' barbaci.nn and advancel toward'S clviiization. its \¥OmaD follow it! 1ttC.IJ rlil;S maid'S and bondwomen. I nitil1l1y tbe comrnunlty gaiRS Dloinentum fro ttl the store of ~ergie$ tnt accrue f ram the wild Hfe Qf tnt desert, but at a later

stage of development it begins to rea lize th.t i l can not go any further by keepi fLg hair of iLl population in J stale of bond.age. Th us, whl:!o the community finds, the pace of ad va neement betng retarded, the ra.llrll, of n«eu,ity compels i~ to eonabJe the neglected balf also to

Nature 0/ the PrOOlem

3

keep p~ wil h the advanced half. But then it d oes not rest con tent with makjll8 amends ooly, it bestows undue freedom upon the [air 'Jell; wi th the res ui l that the 1atter~5 excessi \0'':: freed om deals a rahlt bJow at the family life which JS the very oasls of dviljz8rjon. More than that, tile free intermiugling or the sexes brings in us wake a ftoQd of obsccni ly, 'licc:ntiousn~!!iIs and sexual perve rsion, w 11 ich ruin the morals of the whole community. Along with this: mural depravity starts the gradual weakening of the intellectual, physical and material energies of the community, which evelltu,dly leads. it to ,"o{ill collapse ami destruct ion.

CHAPTER Z

Status ·of Woman In Olfferent Ages

IT i 5 not pmsi ble to recou nt here in derail a 11 the i nstances of tbi.

from history I but a ftw ill ust ration, are necessary, .

C .. eeee

Let us take the case of ~ he G ree k ci vilizat ion which hu 5 been regarded as the III ost glorious of .all the ancient ci v tl izat ion s, In its early stages, WOIllEiH was looked Llow n upon mora lly as well a~ ~ial.ly ~ and she had no legal rights. A.ccorui n g to the G r«k: mytboJOiY. an jmagill3 ry woman called Pand ora was the sou rcc of all human j lis :and misfort u nest like: I be Eve of J ewish myl hulogy. J ust a.$ the co [lCocted story about E .... l: hud deeply i n flue need l heJewish and Ch ristian conception or the woman a nd ad \o'erSely atTected their law l soc ial cu s 10 rns, mora ls as we I [ as t hei r gcm.:ra] ILttitude towards life, so was the i m puet of Pa ndora fkl ion U pOD tbe Gr-eek mind. "i'be Greeks rel'!,anJed Woman.?lf. a sub-human creature wbos'-.: rank in SDL.:'lcty was in every way inferior It,l' that of man • for whom alone W~~ rese rved h on ou rand a place or pride.

This notion and au i l U de with mi nor mod ificau ons rema i ned in vugue du ring the carl}' :'I [a scs. of {he G ree k ~ kill ural development, The enhghtenme n l nro ugh 1 by ci ~ ilizalio n llnd know Icdgc d ul nOi a1Icct woman ' 1;. legul rlo)~il ion, but tt wUll for her a cum p~rElti. \o'el), higber status in SOCiety. She became the it ueen or the G rce k home, he:r duties being restricted to the r our wa lh:, where she he Id a posit ion of author ily. Her c hasu l y W.:lS a preei OU~ t hi ng w hieh w~s hehl in high. esteem. Women of the Greek. noblli l)' 0 m.el'\,&j Po rdah, . the fc male apartments in t h e i r h ouses were liieKfeiilted from the male apartments, "nd thei r womeafol k ~eithe r sat in m i¥d gal her j ngs DOr Wert they promi nenlly bro u ght out j n pu blic. To be u nited with .a miln in wedlock was a pri v i lege and ma r k of bono u r f or a.

5

.al1nL~ and her tiv.iDg the life:; of a plostitUIe ,was held in diq:rilCt. AI ,biii ,1ime tbe GRCt IUltion on tbe wllole was,_. igol'aus and emerJll" tic and wal rapidly climbing the: ladder of advancem-rnt. ThoPo!h thd 'J'IlmI1 weaknes.wes we~'thare~ these' were wUhia ""--in limilS. Meat' lInHla:- wonttn,. wen:: exempt rrom the demands and reqU.in!mtBli of claMttty. purity of CltafllCt.c1' and moral \I rri8htneu.. Nor 'liP it «peeled of them" thai thc1 should lead a morany C'lea~ life. Pro-AiUrtion was ICmbecided in the QJU:i: SOCietY and r-etations .,Ith C('IPT1lpt women by men were not coMidertd Imporper.

{j radual1y the Greeks beearee .overwhelmed by ejotillDl. and. iin ual ~niolt. With this chalijle in tl,e outlook, the: 4;OI'T'U.pt re..le eJrOXIRt gained ~ ptOmiiDeQ.Ce, that ha$ 00 parallcl ia,

bWtpry ~ Jlle! house of:t.t:E prQit.it~ became the: fO(:U8 of .u.cDlioA of .u 1Clai6t$ of the G~k ~ly ~ .a nd attrac1ed their pki1osophen.. pqc:l$t hisloriall:&. li~.ry men' and savanUi of iIlrt. 'Sbe AOI ooJy pM10ftiSCId lilC'rary fllnctiom, but p6litic:al affain of ,st'C'&ltoa.ll:q.;M;IO aho \Wre di!Litkd' .. lIldcr bet jlltUCllce~ It rna y stta:II SlIaRl!Ie~ lhI oou~l '£Ir one wOO'did Dot remain faithluUy .u.achtd to-one .... (:w:'fI :f' UI twO oonsocldn.e nights wilB ' eagcrb', »ogbt and ret.pected, III 1ftiIuet'S an which d.i:p:nckd lift B.Dd deIth. of tbD n.at.ion~ Tbetr aftttll:tic UlS~ -and wonhip of beaut)' aroused to the: Grcci:: peopl. a thin.( for !Cnsu.' pl.c::a8u~ 1100 tbrtr i.ndu~ 1111 'xl b,p Q to find C:lprcsWOII: i D the Creat10R « Rud. wbil;:b 'S9U.ned on tt.ir _ual fediup to tho ew.tent tau: they tooft lost .n ~ W"II«Ur. l!JCXua,l ind lllacncc involved a moral turpitude. They' becaru to def,radc:d ,iIlitd ckpra¥td ,:tIl" c;vttl dleir ~PMn 'and tftCIt'8,l pltupwrs did 'not '~'u*ry'aad:' licartioUnet$' .. bate .aad W'onhy of eeasure, The common maD 'looked 'Upon matrintOn, .. an unnecessary restriction and ~midcn::d f.ornication as perfec:tly l.-wrul and right. So mU(:h IiO t~t :e ... enlually these became- a part' of their rc:li8,ioltt .Q.nd~,wPr&hj,p of Apb.rodi~t tb=,godr1esa r#, lave ... beaJN.Y~ ,~read throuMO-~ G~~, And,. ~in.I ~ dteir ~~. tbis, , ~s , 'W~ ,was, 'kS.l wife or OQC ,sod, bad devC'Jopcd inicit relat ions 'Wit h three OUter god!: a! well as with a moit J i :':: ThC ~u1t:of th~:' la~t imCJ~ relatl unship W3!1 t be' birth 'Qf ilOOt.hcr _goo, Cupid.. ~e god ~r love. The Vt::J)" r~t tb~ Apbrodiie wdS an idea' sC1(idas'w(Jrlhy 'QlwOrlbip,-W.Q.,,'aD j~ ~ tb.e.ir dtpr~ ..

... ... .". . .

6

Pllrd~h llUd II~ Statw of WDman ill IJ,/Qm

..

v ,ty rAfter such a moral deciiac~ no naLton in the· wnrJd has C'¥ti' bee'O ..,n to rise again. The :e'.dn .-of Ba.m&marg in India ~dd Mazdatl in [ran c:merxed d...n:na similar periods. of dedi lie .. and. .aiw..ilar were lhe tondrUons .in Ilabylon thlll Itelped p.ff)Sli(ution,pi" rc)lgi~Ui. bO.ilness and ~tlty ... A"er jts dowllfallt Baby jon ~ MYel been ·htard or c:xupl in Ict.ends. of the puJ:t.· With lh. wonilUp, 00· the goddess· of love .in G~! houses o( proMitu tiu n became pJaoes of .... orshipJ prosht ures wt'J"e' ~on!l;jder¢d ·itke: ptc.lni Midi. deditated Lu the lempjEli" and aduu-ery wn ~aiSC'd to the status .or- piety

100 in\'ested with full ndiaious ~:.J.l')Ctity. ., I,

. Another aspeer of the seK.l.I.al lawlessnn5 wa-s. the pmv.;...te~ of the unaatura] att among the Greeks, whiCh was . welcomal: and pa:l.rooa.ed by· religiun hml morality:: . fhough no trace of lhis p.rac1loe is f.ouOll in tbe hmes -or Homtr ..... nt.I· Hesiod~ ·il sprt:rid wUh· the adVaOCC'JUlnl . of (;i\ .liz.altOfi. . When n ud ity"" nd i ndu~occ ..... lhe pleawA:!l. of the: body·~mt \0· be Cl'ltled by the . '"Civilized.· 114imfti' or art aGd aQtbelics-. tbese .o.rnuYd the·.~rotic p;JUlons Qf 1M peopLe to·.u HltDt·· tbat lranSCftSSing the naturalbounds tht:'y bepR to iUk. -suUsfaction in the u nnalu ra1 wo}';s. A rnsts mo.llj£ested thif: -rra'Vjng in SUU ues, M Dnd preceptors. deIiCobcd: it asea tnili; .. of the ... boJMl of Iriepd!i:hi-t) ~ ~ . .between two. perSOrui. Ha rmodi us .1:0,4

Aristoa.itD.fi-2 wen: Lhe n~t·1 "NO" Gret-ks wlto won thei r ' emu ntrymen 's approbati oa. aD4 ili6t. . rt",ganillfi. aceoun l of th~i r lilmal u roll C6n~ t ierr WHb eaeh~..ather· a'ld~.werc. -ayra.blllliled I ia ~tult~e", l()- l$ «me",""

bca:d~for ever..,· .~ ,'" '·1~,: .t.·,· : ., ... , ........ '. ~ " .

.. z: HiMOf}' hE.t\tS~""C. tt.:l.l after t ~,. passi ng :~W'J,y or its p.!ri~ or lWlndcltr ,f4ld'pridc, lhl: Greek n~,hoJl 'ould.·~vc:r ttt U s.L."Cond oppon4ujlff Q-r reLracmg ils. steps into ·glfny.,:.·

,. ,

"1,

. -: ". .-1

, .

In ·the ease rinhC-· Rtmtn1k ·~·h:·o~.rt the rieit;(o. ·achic¥c· gleny ana greatness' :.fter lll·e (jn.:"rn.'·~· .f.r~tnCS~ a :iinlih.tr phL~nOa· of··me . rise ·ar'ld ·rali' ~\tcl't1~i·re.· ·\~'ff Ihc··'itdrAnns·emt::tged from,

................... _ ......... : .II~ ., • I __ -. • ..:. t; I ... _. - r· .

.I. : ~ Ii ~ ~~mcnl ~~.1¥1 ~~ iJ) Jh~ .. ,dS" c£:. Ltte ,.~r..ii.~ ~~

Qu.b.i~ (48J-5~1 A.rt)-·Jr~1 .. : . ... . . . . ..

2. ~uljlitoo (6th ~r.i. iLCJ whCl ~~her wid ... J J~imodjU5 pt~~J u..

.' ri' '. I r. I. - .. , • '. •

d~!b ·~rthc ~yrao.(HI",,~ i.ad~'d4,; bibthw:r.···TrT . .. .

S hllUo$ of Womon in Di/f,;rtm Ag.es

.?

dar lrL nCi:!i 00 the bright l:wri~ af history I' thei r social rra di riOM rL.~o~ru," man as t~ ch ief of C he fam ily unit, posieiiiot; f \ill au tho rit 'I and power over the members of h is family ; so rn~ su that he cou.ld lalrr:e the life or his .w~rc.

(\ s the Rmlll ns .shook 0"" sa va:gtry and advanced towards t'i \0 11 tlJ t ion, l he rami Iy system re m ained u naffected, but its undue I ililJ urs practice tl)' sofrcned d own to moderation. '!J hen the ~ornan .lemocracy was at its zenith, ,hei .. women did not observe Purdah like the women of the Greek nobility. but the. wementclk and tbe youth WL:'r~ ke pt u nde r 3 n ~ nrelerai ng f ami Iy ·disd pUl)e. Chaslity t t'~~c j u II ~ of the rem a I.;; '. was hJghiy val ued and considered as a en ten 0 n of t he .f.L9 hi litY o[ C haracter. They bad such a high . moral !>t.\ndard thHi when a Roma.n Scn.:!:tor once kissed his: ·wife in the presence of his dau.ghw. it ,,!as c~nsidered derogatorY to the nat1cnBl moral character arid .-"Qll:" or·censure was passed against hlm Oll, .ri~· . fl~ot· of rile hou~e. 11rei-e·wa-s no orner legitimate' and proper fLwrn of re lati ons hi p between man and . "Woman ,ha'lt throup 111 ~t rrj~ ge. A: woman was held wo rthy or res peel on Iy whe n she w~:i. .IIL!" matron of a family. Th~l..Lgb prostitution e.'i:·i:Hro and men· ~ 1 rc e i II a restricted way to ha ve '.11 id f relat ions w ~ t h the ·'pro!!!:! it utes, • I.e! a veruge Roman ubho rr-ed ira nd" lcokcd dow n U pot.. Men ha 'Vi ng

:-.ucn retanons with contempt. .. . •

Wit h the ad van~rtR:n(·· on rhe road t c clv ~ li zati on ~ the: It.-oman l:"n~ a bou t.: the posrnon: or -I he -wcrn a A. U nderwent ·.a serious ell ange-·· ·Mls&. -Mld reSwMi0tlt lovernl n.~ lI"Iarrlaee and· di~on:e and t he ~trgdto ~ or .:tho- t~y ·!illystam gt'.1duaMy suffered such a complete m~taniorphrNi s t hat COD~,htf(ift& :changt;d . for the wora~ Marriage wa~ reduced to . .a, civil contract which was: held at tbe sweet will of the partuers, which rendered tilt responsibilities of marrii:d life very liAh t. . Moreover ~ the worn an WJ.:S gi.veo. full- propn«ary ri:ghl" ovitt j nheri ted and oilier proPE::"ty • nJ. the. Jaw 'm·lde ber free of.UM: a.uthofit)l ,oil Hac futhe r· and the-llllllba n~ .. , 'Thu~ tb. Rom-a D wom.cn not only became- ~~micaU¥."inde~Tldent! but gradl,Dlly ;jI,JOOd. portion of tl\~ national :wealth· alw:,ljpped. inla r~r control. "Ib~ .. lent moBCY to their hlb,bhnd~ a1 higb- rates of.intet!:St witb the milk·· rhnr ··husb-aTtd~ or· Wcalttty: wi1t"cl!ii· \rirlUaUy -beeame their sla~ OObIU: be~~ Me etti}" and wedlock was e·nded 011 Iii rosy JrounrLi •..

... ...

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I I."

8

Purdah o.nJ the SUltus of Wo'1nao1 in IMam

Seneca (4 B.C.~65 A.D.); the famoUt Roman philosopber and statesmaD:. has !SeVerely rntiaied his countrymen for the high incidence of divorce 8m(Jn g th.em+ He say! ~

'" Now divorce i.!J not regarded as something s h ameful in Rome. . ·Women calculate their age by the number of husbands they .. have taken. U

. Vir' omen in: those days used totake several husbands one after the other. Ma~al (43 A~D.~104 A,D-) has mentioned a woman who had changed ten husbands. Juvenal (60 A,D.-I30 A.D,) has wrltten a bout a woman who ohanged eight husbands i u tl~ years. St, Jer~me {34D A. D~~20 A.D.) ID3kes mention of a wonderful woman :Whose las thus band was the ~td in secession ~ ilnd she wil9 bcrs~]f n!.e 21 ~~ wi fe. ~ her husband," .

. Dl¢ll:&: this age, extra marltal . relatlons between man lind wom.a.n began tc be grad ually di.~~ with the res Il~t that even their m~l precepto rs Jookt.d upq:n a4ul;t.ery as ~ minor oJfen.ce entailing no punishment. Ca to (234-149 B. C .. ) who was appoi ated ceosar in. Rome ill 1~4 B.C. for taking ~o,aizance. of o±t~ces against p~ ~o(a1i~ .openly held juvenile delinquency H.~ iu~tifiab]e. ~n C~o (106..-43 .B.C.) pleaded for ,r~ntil1S moral La:rr::ity 10.the youth. Epietetus (Ist cent. A., D.) who wa 5 known to he n morally strict and thorough-go ing St~~c advi_sed his pupiL~. =

·~'Avoid tM-oompany of women before marriage, .bllt refrain . from c.utiptiq: those ~bo aan~ :pemt:tho t61ptKtiontt•

, Wben the clle~k5 on ~bUe. morality becsme weak, the dood of tlexuai .JicentiOUi!i.nr:~s, nudi";y .• ·~4 promiscui L)' bunt 1ij)OD. Rome~ Theaues bNamC!l tht: scenes of moral p;rvl!r~un and nude performanees; dweUins :p1aces :wtre decefated wit·b ·uu4Lt' ~d. .. humoral. paintln,p; aDd prostitution .bee,_ I(), widespR«i and p.opldu tJ.\at. Caesar Tibcrius {14 A;Dj~3r.A.n..lha¢to- eofDrm. D Jaw proh~bitinK w~ ·of the Roman nobilitY from. adopting p!u:StilU'ti on. Flora boc.Ml1Ie a popular Roman "SP<ttt in w.b:ich nak1:d women competed in race oonte:8tAL Malts and: femalell took bath together in public baths. RDlQao literat'lre: became replete W llh immoral and j mmodest tbtmes·with the teSul1 that.nc hterary work devoid of ~. tliemes (joWd, bGeamo popular ·wj.th- .the common peopJe or the jn~lUatnt&1~.

Wben the Romans becaine ~o overwhelmed by animal pa ssi 011$,

9

,tbeir ,lory ,cornple~ly laded .1W~ly Ieuving not even .LI truce behind It.

OtWt.1u Ellrtpe

To cure the West of i 1 s moral ai I m,"ntjj '-='-1 me Ch r i5ti ani ty. In the bcgi nniog it served 'he ,purpo.;.e we~ I: it put a n end to immoral customs, 4;1c:B.nsed the various aspects of life of immodesty, made eifO[ts to eradicate prosrit utlo 11, re trie ... ed corrupt 'women il nd da I1cina girls, and incul ".a ted mural teach i n gs On the people _ But the (onCC3pt s: helJ by the Ch mUll. n pa tr ia reb s of woma n and eon] ug~ ~a. tionship wert not only opposed to human nature but unnatural to the extreme,

'I'hdt basic doctrine wail that woma n W~$ t he mother Dr s.j n and root ca use of ail cvi t, She was the p rima ry ell ure of slim u la tins mall towBra~ sin and corruption ahd thus Jed him to Hell: all human . ins and t ro u b1e:s em anated from her. Tbe mere fa ct or he r bej DI 3 woma n was en ough to re nder her dett1ta ble. She !ihoutd f~c1 8!1 harned of her bta uty and charms, -r or t hese served as means, to S1U,llic tempta ti ons, 'She should. tht:rcfo re, keep OJ) at a ni ng con.sta nUy Io r he r inherent si ns, beca use she was TC-SPO nsi bIt for ell Il!~i .... an huma n ills an d mlsfortuncs in I he world,

Tertullian tA.1). ] 50) who was an. early Father of the Christian

Churc h has ex po U Ilt.! -d the Christ ian d octri ('I C .ia bou t woman thus: '~S h.c ope 1150 t he door ttl Satani e temptatlo ns: leild~ rna n to the forbidden tree, breaks the Law or God, and CflrrlJpts maoth~ 'im.,'&e of God'~·; ,

St. John Chrysostom (C- 34.5-407), one of the Greek Fathers

of the Church, S"}'$:

~. She is an inevi ta ble ev il, an eter naJ m ischie r, an .iii. ttract ive calamity t a domestic ris k, a charmi 118 a nd deco rn ted m i sf ort une", Their second doetri De Was. 1 hat t he sex ual rel:lliQ 0 bet ween

man aJtd woma n WitS in J tself IUl 0 bjtl,;tj ona Wet di rl y affa j r, even if it W.'1:!ii establi shed with I [J ieg.ilLl m arri U.V, This monas li c C{~ nee pHun of mora til y W3~ al ready .... taki ng root in Europe u uder the: inffuenc.e of neu-Plarouism. Thc,('hristran Church led it .to its lng;-c .. ~1 extreme. Conscq uen \ Jy: «II hal".'y and SpJll:11 erhuod became: the trj tc rio II or the no pi lily of char i.l'te~. and mar rled li.rc CrJ me to be.sregarded as a

10 Purdah and th e Status of Woman In Islam

necessarv evil, Avoidance of marriage became 3 I!:ym ho 1 of piety and holiness and a sign of &0 und moral t::: haracter, To live :t c:"lea n and pure re Ugiou'S life! therefore, one was either not to marry at aU, or wag to. H vc apart .from one' B wife in Com elete abstinence of coDjJ.ljaJ relations, .R;ule~ were PD.!i~ in re»aious conferences barring the Churcb officials from meeting their wivf;:S i.n seclusion, They could, however, see each other in ·:puP]i~ in the pr~~cc or at least tW() other persons. The concept of the conjugal relationship as a. d,!!l' affair was inculcate j on the Christian mi nd by various dc",,~. For insta.nce, it W.f:IS enjoi ned eba t the man and wi rc who had shared bed dUriDg the night before a Church festival could not participate

. in it. They 'Were -too poi luted to .be allowed. to associa te themselves. with a relisi~us function.,. This Dl.Onastlc concept jon affected : ad ~sely the relations of love and blo od, even those between mother ~ son, because al l rela tlons resulting from the oond of marriage were held Ed vicio~ and sinful.

These two dor.:trines not only caused the dowDfaU of the woman from mora] as weU as social point.,. of view, but they also undermined ·the traditions under lying the -commu~ty life to the ex Len t that, on the One band ~ married Ufe became a headache both for moen add women; and, on the other, the sociallStatus or the woman was ill every way. degraded, Following are the main features ·of the legal injunctiQ.t:l.s that were enforcedin the We:!oil under the infl uence Of the

Christian Cb urch ! .

1. The woman was crus hcd econo mica tl y and made ro de peud wholly On man perm anen tly: she was g iven lim [ted 1'1 ghts of Inherit, anee, and even more limited or acq uiring and holding pro perly; she had no control ~ ver her own ear nings, as these were all seized by the husband with fUn proprietary rights.

2. D tvbtte arid Khut~.l were totally prohibi ted. The man and wife were compelled to rema 1 rr together .. bol h by rdigio II an oj la w, though they might be r ctl up WJ lh each other, The ~iw:um tbat con Id be d one i n ·extrem~ circum stance» was to .cause separation between the !'ipotL1ie~t and that WElS all. It:1:;'ucL a case, neither the

1, That is. the riFt of -rJj .... oree effCl;;llC'-U by the ~ jn lieu of a compensarioa pa,d by he.: to the bu.iband out ttf her OWD. llir,operty.- T.r~

11

'IDID. nor the ~ was entitled to mnattY. Obviously, this IDNJ1Ile Vial even won:=, for after :tepar.ation they were Wt with no other dlt:Jic;c than to b:com.c m.onks and JUlM or resort to a life of D.

l~ It was conPderoi ~ rather sinful. for * 1pOU8C5 to mnarry after the death of their lire puiMo. . Ac:cording. to the Qri.stia:n sehoEara, maartyiq wu·DOtIlioa:'hut a mean! .or aati:sfting MimaJ pas&iom and lusts of the Itsb:.' They Cllled .It -i'i'c1\riliud ad~",; Remarryiag ,by. the priem was particularlJ looked upon u a erlme UDder the Cha:n:b. klw .... Lawof.the land bad aJ..s.o' pl'ohibited it in <:ct1ain plaees, and when: it was allowed by lawJI pubJie opinio.o. whlch wu deeply colollted bY tb.C lC']ijioui pn~ d.i4 :DOl f'tCO,IDiz:e it as lawf ul.

. Moai:m Earope ~

'When in the 18th ceDtary 'the ·European philosophm and w rlters

raised !heir voJce in f.your of the individual's ripll apiost the ,eddy . and ~ bepn tgi hlow the ttblpel. of liberty they in fact wUt attac.kiIiS the aatJ..aoci*l ~ of ntOtality aad lire that had beenbroq;b.t in ~tJ:re unholy allian.ce·of tho (]ui!!ltmn moral doctrln~ aDd (be ~lintf.cudal ~+ . This had lup:pressed and crusbed tbe lnunaD_ an awl blocked th:- way of pMJRSit for a long time. TIle dcstr'uetionofthil anti~l tLymm ill the hands of the .EUltlpCan arcbi.kds of ftiIIai.sSlDCO paved the way for tbe French RevoJ ulioo !II after whkh the Westenl f:iViliJation stcadDy grew on the lines leodina to aDd,'A]PiiMtiq in Ib-=· rtlNem 88= of proJreS!t and enlightenment.

In tht bqinaiaJ of \he moGern asc:~ c.fforb. made 10 raiset·· the womeAfoJ.k . from ·virtual slavery br'ousha about 'Wholi:3ODle elfeots iu the comm.uutty life. RiJt:tro:Js OOJUla1iom matilll to marrjage and divoft:e wen moderUi:dO! . &oDrunic ripts of womlm of ·which they.bad been ooDlpl«tiy deprived wuc umo!-t. l'e$IorOO. M-oral doctrines lIfhiQh ~1d.women low aDd contemptibLe were refflrm«J.. iSacial CiOII.CIP'b which had redDt':cd them to virtuiil slavery were m.odidcd. . Port.aJj· of hip.er education and· tra:.ining were opened to lban also along wUh 01.... ; These - t'Cforms' gradually helped to pa Ollt Ihdr hidJ.en capabilities .upprcacd by w:ro:Da Siocid laws _ morai OOnce,pls. _ They ~~ifted Ihe housr:s,. lent clIarm and IWectDess to 50Ciallife lUld .un.dert.i.':Ml Mlfate work.l.. Under' their

. ........ ",

.,

] 2 p~ . and the Status rif WDmQIt' in Jg/am

.,od ioftuettee and care, pu~ie health'ftS improved, DCW ~ dons brougflt up better t padent! nUl'Sed and home ac:icn= 'OS rapidly 4eveloped. These were the initial fruiu or the awakeniq ~t ... bOllt in the liees of women by the new c1V.iliutio.n. But them; • • 1I~r side of the picture. 'Ib:e doctrines that p'IO birth to th..iI. awakeaing were inclined towards en e1trcm.c: fraal, 1M".,. beainnw Tbi5 inclinatiou' rapidly ·increued during the 19th. oontury~ ~ widt the advent 'Of the 20th centwy the pmdUlWll i)f social life in m. West bad akcady swunl to the: oppo.itc ~trea.L!t.

,

Urff DoctrlIla of WestUD ~

The doctrines underlying the Wes.tfm society may be divided

under three heads :

1. Eq ual i ly between the male and the female ;

2. EtonOrllic indepe.Ddence of woman. ~ and

3. Free interminaling of the sexes.

·Tht resuh of buildi ng and developing socialllfC on these bJ&C3 was inevjtable. It kd Europe .te the following COIUeqU~ncei ~

1. Fq uality betwee-n the ~ "'.~ ta ken to mean that the IIl8.Q, and the woman WI'!U'· not only equal in mor.al :R.tatDs and hu ..... nlhts, bu.t that the woman was M-SO free 10 uruiortab: t.be= saJ"IiIC sort Of"JOM 18 ~l"e done by the man, -ad that·mo:ra1 n!:d.riatJOM DG lIer ~ to be ~ 3.$ they~' for t.i-(rr~. Tb:b WTOD~ ooacept fJf ~ 'Jed WOmenl astray and m.a1e tbettl unlP;ndM of their natural funerions on tbe p.:rfo~nce.of wbic:h dcpe:mds tha 'Yt:eY .existence of hwnan:- r8C!:' and oivilization. S1te hec:ame wholly ah80tbcd in her econcmie, poJitic:a1 a.nd wcial plU'SUits. He c:leoti.oncl!:ring campaigns, service in o:fliccs and ractori~ competition with DMn for comm:trc1al and industrial· vocations, ~rts and physical el;etci_, soeial· ct11:tltai.omteats! and her abMnption in the clw, stage and. musical concerts, besides sevtTal other cngagement9, SO overwhelmed her that she became utterly indifferent to the responsibilities of married Uff.;. Tb~ hringing up or childE8D and the otgJnization and tat'C of the home celled ·to be ·her apecilll care. Bes,desj the developed anabherrenoe for her n.a.turaJ rlu~ alfectioS ultimAtely the family :9ystem. wh1eb il tb.t basis of ayilaation. The result 1'- that heme life on "ffhlth depmd~ manti! efficle1l.CY is rast

1.3

dl:i:.lpPe8.ting in the Wc:~t. Tho h't~n<.1 of marriage w hieh is the pt".1ct1ca1 form of m aD and wcman's CO-t:Jp~Ta.tion in the service and ·development of oiviLjzation is rapidly w~akt::nin.g. The increase in popula tlcn is being checked. by birth control, abortion and destruction of the offspnn g, The wrona; concept of moral equality .has: come to establish immoral eq u.aijty between the sexes. Those "ic~u~ and. ~;nr ul acts \Ii hieh wr.:re 01101: held shameful even for men,

'. ' .

.ll9W do not bring any shume or disgrace on women ..

'. . 2. The economic independence of WO~· has mad 0 her iudc:pl;nd.:nl of man and the gn.-a t time-honoured principle, .r;j Man lor the field and Woman rur the hearth ~~ • has been flung to the winds, The new principle is that both man and woman should earn and leave the running and maintenance of the: home to the hotel. After suc,l;i. a radical .(;hMgt;o man and woman have been le n with no common m.ertt that could bind them together except the satisfacrion of tbeir ie::ru.al d.e1i..l'ti. ·Obvioll·:dy.,. the mete satisfaction of the sexual desires is not a thing that caa tie the mali: and the female together for a lifelong companionship and compel them ~G live a family Ilfe 'Witb common i ntercsts, vtky should a woman who wins her own bread, supports herself eeonumica lIy a nd does aotdepend on 3 oyone fOT !'iccunty and maintenance. remain faithfully a.tt.ar:hed. to one man (Jnly for the sake of sawfylng her sexual degln::~ 1 . Wny shouki shebe prepared 10 subject hcr~elf to so Many mOr1.1 and legal curbs to sheulder the responsibilities of family life? Especially, when the .concept or ·moral equality has eleared her Wfly of all 0 b8t.acl.es for satisfyjng sexual desires. freely. why should ~ht; forsake the easyt pleasure-.&ivl.Jl=· and aUutJng way of satisfying them and choose the: antiquated way that is not only laden with rcspo,oslbilities but dtma.nds sacri.ttces also ? With tM banishment of religion from life, :the: fear of committing sin was lluLom.a.ticaUy destroyed, The fear of society is no more there, because the soclety now does not regard a prostltutewlth disfavour but welcomes her. Lastly, there was the da.nger ofiUegitima te children; this: h35 been guarded against by tbe conrracepnve devices. If.these devices faa, .abortiun may b..:: reserted to. If a ho rtion ·n nnot he procured! the baby may be quit:tly Ji:spm.cd. 'lJl ivt ever + 111 however ~ the motherly instinct

. (which is. Dot yet dead)" saves the child, no compunction is felt for

l4 Purdah· tJIlrJ the Status of w~ til 14/Qm

being an unmatried mother. "Spinster mother't and "il1.e-gi.titoate .ehild" have sO! freely and f~ voura bb· beeD tall£td aboUl..that :00 sodety can. now dan regard th.etn with di~ltvaurJ unless of'· 00Ul1e ... it is prepared to brave the charges or obscurantism and - backward- ' neSi.

ThIS sta to of affairs has ihAk.en tho very - foundations of 'Social 1 tfe in the West+ Hundreds of thousands of young women in ~ Western country lite to live· unmarried lives, which they are bound to p~ in hnmontlt promiscuous and sinful Wl1ys. A ,till greater number of them marry under the temporary impulH of phyaical ~ove, but since there d~ not 9lst ·ao)' relation of inter .. ~ bet\'veen the man and the woman that may ptl'rnadently bi~ tbem toget.ber except the sexual relation, the 'bond of ma.ni8.F ltu also J.oij most of lts stren.&th and 1Itability. The man and Ihe wcman who ml'C grown. elmost : wholly ind4pendent of ea:ch other t do not gcnemJ.ly find themselves iriclioc:d to any kind or mutual concession or oompromise, T.ran!iic:nt and short-lived as emotional-sex ual love. i~ • marriage based 00: i.t cannot stand the strain of even the most ordinaJY diJlcrencc of opinion ... not to -,peak of rea] indifferenct that more often than: not become, the eau&e of sepsration. It is for this reason that most ms.tfia8ei end in divOrce or estI'8BJClllC11t. .. Cont.raceptiYe devices, resort to abortion, tinlrugjQD or £he, ofllp.dn& faltillJ of the btrthrate and :tbe hiJh Incidence. of iUcgimaate births. aU point to the §lame eoot ¢aUIIe· Immoml 8.D.d promiscuous Jivi.na and the spread of venereal di~ can also be traced back: to the, SI.lnC 5ad state of al£airi+

3. The free intermingling of the UUS·hti brought.in iii wake an cvtr-lrow.iQa:· teD~ towanU &bowing oft', nwiclleu aqd leX perversion. SexuBl att.rad"KIl1 which oaturaJJy exists: J:ctwccn the· sexes as a stroDi inttinctive .urge bc:mmes aU too. powerful, even 113 bellious, to transtren an Jimlbli with every impetus it receives front the free iIitorPlinalillg of. the men and .women- 'I1lis -freed.orn of mi;dng ~ogethtt naturally gives rift to aa urge tD appear as aW'8Clive to rhe opposiU: leX as possib1c~ In the absence of 8.D.J moml • st~int tbJs urge is aati Frlied with increas.i.og keena.eu and both t.he sel[~ begin to ebow .off and disrlay their physical cMrms "jtbout

Status of Woman in DiJfervfl k~$

15

3.U.y considera tion for decency. This tendency sometimes toucheg nudeness, Su~h is the condition of the Westem civiliza tion today. To develup a megnetie attraction for man has become a mania with the woman there. When, however.she cannot satisfy this mania. in spite of"bright aad da:~ng dreiS, powders and lip-6ticks~ and II thousand other ways of beautifymg herselfJ the pour l1i:;;;g~ted soul jumps 0 u t of her clothes. Mcnlo OIl the other hand} are growillg more and mote voracio us in their sexual appetite, because the fire: of base emotions burning within them HaftS up ins tcad of being q ue 11 ched with ever-Increasing intensity with every Dew gesture of di.~lay from 'Women. These poor people in fact suffer frum an insatiable thlrst which tends to become even more insatia ble with -every drop of water I'BEl:;;;i Tlg down their throats. To satisfy thi, extraordinary semal urge they are ever b"Wo/ inventing and designing new ways .. The nude pictures, selualliteratlITt' ... love romances, nude ballroom danc::inS, sex-inciting films, all are means of I kmsifying the: game fire which the w tong; social system has kicdled in every heart. To savethelr faces, they call it ,jatLt"II.

This disease is eating fast in to the l'ery vitals of tbe Western nations. No nation in t he past has survived it. It destroys aU the mental and pt,~iC"'.dl ca pabilities of man tha t God has endowed hhn with for his 'Wt:ll-heing and prosperity. Obviously, the people who are surrounded by !eX stimulants. OD aU sides, who have to face a new temptation and a new spur every moment, who.are submerged in an emotion~ 'Wrought .. up envi romnent, . and who perpetually remain In a feverish condition On account 01 nude pictures, cheap litetaturct exciting songs! .::motionaHy erotic dances, rem antic fi:luuJt high~y disturbing scenes of obscenity and ever-present changes or encountering members of the opposite sex,' cannot possi b1y find th.a t peace of min d and tranq uiiliiy of heart tb~ is so essential for eonttruct..i\re and ereau ve work. More than that, a uch all envi ronmene ;that pmai.ls in the We'sters world today is not at aU conducive to that calm and peaceful atmosphere which is essential for t·he full development of the mental and moral q uali ties of the coming aenerations. As soon as the ycang people attain maturity, anima) J)M6ioos l8.Y complete hold of them with the result that the moral tmwth of their personalities is almost wholly impeded.

15 . PurdiJh tufd the Status of Woman in Islam

MlwU1e F-ailare of IIMUla Intellect

This is the hi~ori.cal background. of the rise and fall of civilizations over a period. of tb.J'e:e: thousand yl!:Rn or so, It is related to a vast .. area that has: boen the .cradle or 1 wo great civilizations of the .. past, and which again boasts or the most prominent ci .... ilization in the world of today. Similar i~ the: story of Egypt, Babylon, Iran and other countries, The SUb-continent has also been suffering from one excess or the other for eentu ries. Here, on the one hand the woman is made to worship the man who becomes her master and lord: she has. to subserve her father as ii maid in childhocd, become a chattel of the husband in youth and submit humbly to her Children in widowhood. She is required to sacrifice herself over the burning bier of her hu sband ; she is deprived of her right to inberjt aDd acquire property: she is subjected to extreme Ill""" in maniage under which she i Iii made over to a llU\R without her consent; and she is compelled to live wlny-nilly under the thum h of that husband till her death. She i-s regarded as a n em bodirnent of sin and m oral and splr ltual deprav 1 ty a'S in J udalsm and Ch ristianity I .00 she is not su pposed to ha ve an independent personality. On the other hand, when she is regarded with 1 O\'C. she is made a plaything for all irnal passion, she overrides the .rn an, ruins herse~ and leads the w~o}~ community to ~y and disintegration. WOrMip of the male and female organs, naked and genitally united. statues in temples, religious prostituteSjI f ri v 010 us scenes at the, festi val of Holi, aU are manifestations of the Harne m..lla-dy. These are indeed the impious remnants of the movement started hy Bam-marg, which spread like plague in India at the zenitb of her ci "fl ilizatlcn. Just as· it brought ruin 10 Iran, Babylon~ Greece and Rome, 5i~ It 'led the entire Hind u nation to the -lowest ebb of its decline,

If we study these instances caref uny! we sball see how difficult it is for man 10 attain :l. balanced and i ust view with regard to woman, gra'Sp it fuJly and practise: it i,n \, fc. A balanced view can oot)! be the one which, on' the one hand, allows the woman art opportunity for developing her personality and capabilities fLLUy., and enable!!: her to play her due role in the cultivation of human civilization 'With full .. grown capaciries : aDd skills, and ~ on the other! prevents M!r from. becoming a means of morii decay a~ d di!inte,gration~ HeT . part~-

Status of Woman in Djfferfru Ages

17

ship with roan should be so adjusted that co-operaticn of one with t he other produces wholesome results in the building up of community life. Man has been trying hard f 0.£ centuries to attain this halanocll and just view but has not yet succeeded. Sometimes he swings to one extreme aud renders one half or humanity useless ~ sometimes heswings to the other" i:Xla;ute and-the whole ofhamanity becomes paralysed,

Tb i~ balanced and j\.1 st view is not imaginary jo it exists, But man's faculty of Judgement has become so blunted by continuously !-:hirti!1g his position berween the two extremes" for centuries that now he does. not even. recognize it. Indeed he spurns it, ~pcab dlsparaglngly of it! and tries to put to shame those who hap"Pen to po~~s ii: He may be likened to a child who is born in a coal mine andbred and brought up there. Obviouilylo he 'Wilt take the dark anne sphere of 11 is. place of birth for the real and natural wend, But ":1hen he" is brought out of it andconfronts .. the bt1ght, pureand clean world of nature, he will naturally feel ill at ease in" the hcsLnning. Hut man after all is rna n, He cannot possibly keep hi~ eyes closed to reality and refuse to" discern "betweel1 a coal-ceiling and the star .. studded sky. His lungs cannot reruse to distinguish between the pure air and the impure d us; for long.

,

CHAPTEIC .. 3

<

·Purdah ·and the Muslims ofT"doy

THE. Muslim .W.Ii!:i .the one who could save the world from the: cvil of ~xtrro!mc::s~ because he alone possesses the correct ¥Jl ution of all the problems of man']. 'community life, But the tragedy ofman's mi stort uue h as. been that the one pcssessi n s: the beacon of Li&bt

• . . . • I .

has himself gone night-blind, Not .to speak of .!;LliJillg· others . to

the Right Path, he.himself has got lost.aad is runoing after the other

. . . . .

bUm! people ~n ~Ilarc:l) ~f. ~i£ht and truth,. .

The .w.ord '~Purdah~! j~ '1~d jU a tiUe for the. .sct of jnjU~l.CliDn~ which ~nstLtut(l the most important part or the _Ist~mic system of commluN~Y .life, .. .If ~C!le injunctiona are, u\lp'Cd . in their .right perspective against the structure. of (his sy:nem! every petso~ .wbO' n.ls not Wh~ly·loSit htlii powers of discernment will rc4t.dUy. admit this to be the unly balanced and just vi~~ in regard to man's ~ial

. life. 'Then if this: system is shown to work p·ra-ctlcally in its true sri nt, the w hole woe-stricken world will rush towards th rs fo untai Dhead oj' peace and fiecurity JOO Sleek. jts help iu curing its'social maladies. But the question is: Who wlU undertake such a dernonstration 1 The ODe who could do this hELS himself been taken ill for a long time. Therefore, before proceeding further let w have iii look at him and try to diagnose his: ailment,

Hl$tori~1 nae.kgrollDd

It was the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century when the Western nations' hunger for territorial expansion assumed the proportions of a deluge on the horizons of tht: Muslim countries and before the people could fulJy wake 'Up 10 the impending disaster, it look the whole world of Islam, from the east to the west) by storm, Conseq uen tly, by the middJe of t M: 1 9th centu ry mC61 or the MusUm nations had been subdued by Europe, Even those nations: which apoarently held tbtir own had ill fact been subdued menially and

PUFdun and the MUslims of Today

19

qjr:i,tually. W~en this :SUbjugatiQll· was -Cbmp.lete~ the Muslims l?ePu l? cast of{ slumber, The uationa] pride that they had developed . through centuries of rule and conq W3l was shattered and fib a drunken 0J:l1; W ho is br:9ught to senses by continuous strokes .of a powerful enemy ... ,they began to examine the causes of their h umilialion aud .defeet and those of European domination. Tbough the: .state of Intoxjcation 'WaS ovtr,..they had not yet fully regained their ~'lSCS .a.nd balance. On the one hand, their f~ling of extreaie bumiliatiqn was impelling. them (or the change, On the other, t.boir Jove: of ease and: comfor; whi.cl1 they had developed during the past centuries f 0::r0e9 them to chQ{)~ the path. of the lea s~ reslstance to bring about ijlis change. Then their illtelkctu.al powers which tMy .bad: not. cared to exercise for d\:~ll~ had also ·.&r9Wn ~wty + lJnkIes, they s~op ~~oped a ~yish men:ta~ity arid fear Whleh nat unilly afflict a nation that has been »oijticaily· routed. All these vzl"io~ raL1.Qrs com billed "to m..is..l~ad,. the Musti.n\s: l.nto.ara \'c pitfalls. Most of them were indeed 11t 0. loss to understand '.tJ:te real causes of their dowDf::tlll'j$..a-~is EUIOpe'S rise to power. But even those who un de rsto od these ca uses Jacked the necess.a~ oou.ra~/ aud m.uscle as Wei I as t.h~ spi rit tfJ .jight for their freedom. On t~1? of tb.a t mental iubjugatlon affiicted both the. cla;."st.:~. ·Bt::lng dcgeneplt.e the way -they -ehose to cb~b the Jadder of progress ~.as lJ:le one o£r(.:ring the Jeast resistance .. r,rhey decided to ,imitate .. t~e ·.~ais·3ll4· manners .of the W~m d idi~ ~ovn. : in their ).ives ~~ develop the quailly of a mirror: that. r..ithf~llJr ~~ a prden j~. full bloom but ~ rMlitY· is

. ! I . . ..

w:i.tbol.lt !, .. ~ , ... : ,~ •.. . ... , .... ,.. :--:')~. L": :;: • .L

. r

L

. ,

It wax during this state of crisis that the Western d ress, Western w~s of living~ Western. etiquette; ~D Western ma.1lQ.e!='8 of moving a bou t, 'were iinl~ te.d and :! lI~6Ut efI'ofti made·w mould the :Muslim

• J". •• .. •

~tet~ ~ afi~t . tile. W ~l.Cfn. ~at.tCi'~. ~e~;· 3:thejim and rna ttrialfim

WC(C.:a~ptc4 ~~raslliun .. AnY.idea;. g9~ or b.34J that c~mi froJli the West w.es. lt~pted without q ue~w;o .a nd ~y~~red .p ub~icly to sbow broad-mindedness. DlirJk.i1l8~ pmbliogt lotl.ery.' $y~ horse-racing, theatre, ni uslc, dancing-and ot.hrIr twits· of,the WelEw:n .dvililatiOQ w~J""C· adopted mest eagerlY ~ All the Wnt"trn ~or:i,.

20 Purdah and the SCatUJ oj' Wcmm~ in Islam

and practice~ pertaining to culture, morality, social life, economics, politics", taw~ even religious beliefs and worships, were accePted blindly withou t ascertalnlug their valldl ty, like a Divine Revelation, which has to be bell eyed and obeyed, RveB l n e eveats ('Jf Islamic History, injunctions nf fhe T~lami~ Shati~ah, aod the Commandments. of.the Q~l'QJl and Hadi(h1 that were objected tn in the spirit or rault-' fimling by the enemies or Islam, began to shame the Muslims i!'1tDl Rl'oll?8ii:i ng, The E uropean- 0 bjccted to Jihad an d M ~ sHmt readily expressed their Indlgnatlon against it; they found fault witb Blaveryl and the Muslims averred that it· was a.b5.01 utely un la Mul in I slam; they object~d 'to poirgamy alld the Muslims at once closed their eyes to a clear verse or the QUI' ~ an; they sJJ d that man and ~~rn.an should enjoy ~Pecl ~qL1afity between them, the M~lsJjm5 !aid tha t t~t was their faith' ; they obj ected to the J:.clamic laws. governing marnage ·iDd divorce, the MU3liTnt 'were bent on m.ea-dirig and nlodifymg·them.; theY. said that Islam dlsfavoured art, the·M-u~HJttj. statt'd that Islam had always been, pD.troni%ing musie and danc:ing.:,., painting anti sculpture ~ w on an.d SO forth. .. .. I

. Hol¥, the Problem ArfI~ .

At thfs most shameful period of the M w;.lim history t Purdab 5YStcJ:n also c.am~ under fire. It the question had bee n: How ni.ucIlo freedom h~ woman been a UoW(d in Islam ?-ft wmr not 4.iHicult to taclae.. The ~os·t One COll hi diiT cr i II the :m.attet was Whether the .. hand·s ~nd ~~, J~~.~T~.·to be co~rea·or·~rt uncbVM'ed; and this was in no way a bas.'iJ di:lf~rence.· The question, however, waJi a d ifferen t one. This question arose am eng the M usllms beca ...

- ..

Europe regarded "harem", Purdah and veil wilh di9~.aVOll':. The

EUTopea~ writers portrayed these in loathsome and ugly colours.

1. A"i .~. &lavery. ,it ·lbouJd: be-. JW~··wd.l that uw.._.DIu: w::~ pro. b!bited Ihl: uk IlJd: puu.-baM.of fr-e;e M!U.Il.D .beinp.. It ~ ~I' penni~ lhis in lbt ~ or pt~cttJ of war u a D~~r}' ~iI. The MU!Um:' may cilbc:t' .. them free as a favout, or for ransom or tor ewhatigC of ·Muslim priIaDm; or war •. ~t ~: tb6n 8~: S1~Ves Tr'ifM:ir:hOl.1!e!.·· But C¥:n ill that _:lIIIlavery hu been m<l!de U Htim!1H: Ii.! pc~blt~ The: -Mutli1D5 bMe 'hMn ~ to trc:t.l tIem w-j~h ·tbo 1Icmost· kindtl_ and t!dDai.te tbr::m 19 bcooaJe. .r.l:ll mtml:a':l ~ 1OCialy. 'IbIIII.ila_v.es ~ abo ·iJl(J-~ _~~ ~jn their f~otn by fulBllinllM wo(!..i..-

tialll:il·l~"t ~~ be .Mid d()~ by tl'l~tr. ~!¥~r.B~ Tr, ~, .

. . _ _ r... ".1 .. :. • •• I •••

Purdah and 1M Muslims of ToJo.y

~l

·~ndt while enumeratlng the demcri ts of Islam, they mentioned the . uoonfinemenC' of women prominell tl y. A~ usual the" M nslims re1t ashamed ~ and, they reacted and behaved i n the matter of Purdah ·uact! Y M they had done in matters or J iJuJd, sla'Vtry, polygam}l' ~ . etc. They l urncd over the pages of the Q!:IT ~ (1". Collections or HaJUh and religious opinions and verdicts or the early 'doctors merely with

a view to collecting some material with which they co uld wash oil

l

tbe "ugly blot' 1 of shame, They found that certain scholars had

allowed uncovering of the hands and the face ~ and also tha t a WOJ]J.3.'D .c("~u.kl go out as and when required under nt:ceSHlty. Again they· found that a worn an wag pc.; rmittcd to go to the battlefield to look after the wounded and thincty snldiets, She could also visit mosques far offeri ng pr.i yen aud for learning 01" imparting knowledge. With ·this material j 11 hand, they came out with the claim that Islam had. granted full liberty tu woman. Purdah was a custom of i.g:norance w hich had been adopted by the narrow-minded MWLl ima lOAJ atler .fh~ glorious period of Islam, They also averred tbat the Qur"an: and Hadilh were devoid of the Purdah injunctions; they only incukatcd moral teachings or modesty and chastity ~ and Islam did .1)01 ree.ogIli7.e any discipline restricting the movements of wOInC:O.

The Real Mol.hcs

One common weakness with man is that when he adopts an attitude io life~ his approach in the beginning is. generally emotional and Irrationat.: Later, he tries to Pl'"O'IIC il to be rational by rescrt ttl argument and reason, The same was the approach ad(llpted by 'the Muslims w ith regard to the law or Purdah. It did Dot arise under tbe feel ing of a rational or religious need] it arose as a result or being overwhelmed by the attractive culture of a dominant power and its vehement propaganda agai ru;t Islamic culture.

Vlhcn OUr so-called refor men saw with dazed eyes the E.uropean laJies in their full mak e-up moving freely and participatillg actill'ely in social life, they-could not help longing to see their own womc:nf~]k. abo tread the same path of freedom and progress. They were abo iuflueneed by the modern concepts of the emancipation and ed~·· tion of women and the propaganda or the equality of the sexes that .w es ~ru;:e~t!.ant1y hcing carried out by pOlYert\d logic and the printing

~

..

22 PunkJi and the Sldtv.s. of Wonum in ldoor

machine.. The J iterature thUi prod IioCCd was so au.lacti ve and power--fuJ that it adversely affected their powers of thinking .aDd d1scritninar tlon, J t forced them to believe: in lbese concepts without question.. .0 d propagate them by all possible: means, They -were ooo:riaced lb.t en r orcing these concep: I!I. in the practical life was absolutely essential fot one who li ~ to be caned .• enliahtened nod bro:wlminded n II.! agai nl!it ., rigid and old .. fashioned" + Therefore~ wb.:J:l. modc~tl1 dressed veiled women wen:: dubbed"· moving tents a.ud. shrouded· tunerals", these so-called reformers felt shamed into di!l!~. ObvioLJ~ly ~ they cou Id not put up with this. d i ssrac:e and humiliation fOT n long ti me. They were, therefore, impelled to wuh off this shameful blot from tb(: fH.t."t! or their sociEl.llifli! as I(JOD as po.iSlble.

Such We re th E!' f£cl ing ~ and trends that ga ... e bi rth to the movement for the emanclpa Ii on or women am Dng the M l1il;r.n::i h)W11'ds the eud. or tbe 19th cent dry. Some pea pl e who did not know wby they felt i~linod towards this movement had these very sentiments lurkiD,J, in thelr s. ... econscious. Tbey Vfere in fact labouriQg under dOl dc:ccption. 0thc:I"S who were fuUy conscious of t bcir iKlillaLi04t could not dare CXPl'CS-!\ them openly. They did not dc:t;:.::i"",*= tbc.m ... selves, tbey Ui-ed to deceive cthe fa. Both the classes, howeva jI' made it :Il point to eoneea I t he real motives behind thei r m~ and tried 10 projtd: it as a rational, i nstead of an emotion al, move. meat. The various pretexts l bat were brouaht in support of it W£:rG aU imported directly from Europe. Amo~g these were worDell·. health ccnsideratlons, growth of thei r in!eUect uaJ ca·pa biJitin and> practical stillst protection of their Ilatural blrth rjghh,. sa rcguardiD,J thei r economic independence, their deliverance from mall ts bo_ndaae and apathy and, above all, the nt"CC5KiLy oftheir progress as OD. it alone depended the cultural advancement of the. ... whole commudilY .. These pretexts WM.e put fo rth with a vieW' to hooowink:ing the; common Mu.slirni and keeping t hem in 'he dark. a bout tbe real morlves of pidtog and direcling the womenfolk: to follow in the footsteps of the Western women and m 0 uJd ibS 1 hem i nt 0 the :S(ICiaJ pa tterns prevale Bt in the ".r est r

A Grat Hoax

The greatest hoax lll.a l has been pJayed in tll I.~ ennnection 1~

Purdah ana the Mw~lim.~ of Today

that efforts were rna de to' prove from the QUf.' an and HadiJh that this movement was in perfect conformity with Islam. The fact, however, is th at Islam and the Western civili zation am poles apart

. in thei r object! YeS as well as in their pTinciplcs 0 r socia 1 organi zatirm, " Islam! as we shall see later, aims at canalizing man's SI!X cnCT~}' by moral discipline so as: to render it co nd uci ve to the building up of" ": dean a. nd pious: cu lrure illst-ead of wasti n jt; it ill diss i P ~ 1 iOH and erotic passions, In contrast to th is, the We&; tern ci vII iaati on a) ms fL 1 speedin g up lna teri a 1 pro gre ss by euc ouragi ng eq u al partici pation of n ... ~ n an l woma n in the a ffa i rs and res ponsib.ilittes of lUt, and at t [, e sa me lime sub 1 j m at i Tlg sc x cne rgy in arts a nd ether channels. with a view to getting reI ief from the b i tter hRnl~ hi lIS of the lifest ru ggle. Th.s J iffere nee of 0 b] ecti V(!~ TlC~t..:;~R.::Lr i I y leads t.n a f undameural d ifI~ renee in ap proac h a 11 d methods or social organizatiou a s. .ad 0 pted by Isla m and lhc W es tern civiliza tion, Th us the object ,.r T ~!J. m is. to es t 8. blis h a s oci al order tha t segrega tes the spheres of l! cti v i L Y of the male and the female, d iscourages anti co utro Is theih:'~l' iII term I ngl i n g n r t he sexes ~ a. nd . curbs all such factors as are" 1 ikely to upset and jeopardize the social discipliue, On the contrary, t he ('I bj eel before the Western ci vilization req ui res, and naturally vo, tha t both t he sexes: shou ld be d ra W II into the- sa me fie: 1 d ur life and activity, that all snell hindrances and impediments" should berem ovcd a;;, are 1 i ke ly to obstruc t t~ir free and promiscuous i nterm 111.f!1 i ng, and tha ~ they s hou 1 d be afforded unlimited opcortunrnes to enjoy each other's bca uty and charm of physical pertecucus.

Now, any intelligent penon can see bow sadly mistaken am those people who, on tile one hand, feel inclined to follow the W estern eivi j izatio n an d, OTl th e other, c i tc r s.l am ic pri nci pl~ or ~(K:[al llfc ill sup pori or thei r treuds. Accord i ng Lu the Social System of ls 1 ant, a woma n n t the mas t cau uncover her hands and face, if necessary, and can go OUt of her house for genuine needs. Rut these people take th;~ last limit as their starting point, Tht::y set uu t f rom thl! po i u t w :lI:.~re I~ lam COmt:S to halt, and transgress all limits of decency and modesty wit~cu.r hesitation. Not to speak: of the: h an dx and f ace, beau t.i fu lly pa rted ha i ron the head, hare ur ms to the sho ulders ~ a nc.l :.;c m i-cove red breu srs ;:li re .(II so d j So pla yea. ~e~t of the btvl.1y chnnt;;;. .::I re so covered in _~alU.y attirca as to :oiatisfy

j4 Purdah and the Status 'if Womatt in J slam

the: hungry sexual g~ of men. More than that, tastefully dressed wives, slsrers and daughters in full make-up, art brought face to face with friends, not to speak of neat relations, and arc encouraged to mix freely and nave good time with them ina manner and. to an extent uaimagiuable for a Muslim h~dy even in company of her real brother. Permi ssion to leave the house that was con ditional on genuine need and ob xer vance of perfect mo desty and full covering of the body is bel ng abused for li cen se 10 ream a Imlessly on the road-side, stroll in the parks, visit hotels and go to pjcturcs, in glamorous saris and attractive blouxes that ha rdly rover I heir nakedness, The limited an d conditton al freed om that women had been allowed by Islam in matters other than horne science is being .!i.erl aioi ;t rgurncnt t (1 e u courage the Muslim women to abandon home j i fe and i 15 r~i"ipOTl8i bl1 i t..i t'$ like the Europea. n women and make their lives miserable by runQjDg after political, economic, .soc.ia.l and other acti vi ties shoulder to shoulder with men.

Things in the S ub-e ontinen t h ave so far reached this state ~ but the condition of the people of Egypt, Turkey and Iran, who arc politically free but mentally servile is even worse, To vie with European women, the ..... Muslim" women of these countries have started wearing exactly t he same sort of dress as is worn in the West, Turkish ladies have taken to beach bathing in one-piece bathingsuits, the dress whi-ch hardly covers one-Fourth of the body and t:"'at also in a manner as to reveal all l he outlines of the female figure,

One wonders how people can seek justifica tiOI1 for 3 uch a. shameless way of lite from the Qurtan and Hodith: If some people feel like adopting it, they should boldly do so and declare thr:iT· desertion of T slam and i t5 law unequivocal. y. This would ~ ndced be the height of hypocrisy and dishonesty on their part if they openly adopted in the name of the Qur'an that system and way of life whose bMic pl'inc; ples, objectives aDd pract ices have been ccnd euined, one and all, as unlawful by the Qur'an, By citing the Qur'au at the cutest tbey perha pi want to dccei ve the world j nto bel levi 1"1 e tb at they are following the Qur "an In their entire lives.

The ObJtct Btlfore UI

Such being the condition of 1), e "4 M uslim" of to day, our ob jcct

Purdah and r:1ie Muslims oj Today in thi8 book IS two-fold :

F ina, We propose to present be fore the people at large, Mu:SJim or nen-M usl im, the: entire Socia] S Y8tem of T slam and explain to them the necessity and importance of the Purdah injunctions in it.

Second, we want to present before the ,. modern ' ~ M uslirns the injunctions of the Qur!an anti Hadith 8g against the doctrines and 'Tcsults of the Wes.tern way 0 r life witb a vi ew 10 hel pin Ii them to give up their hypoeri tical a Hi tude towards life. This will enable them to choose ODe or the two alternatives with a. clear heart : Either they will have to live in accn rrl a r. ce with the Isla mic injunctions ·if they want to remain Mus lims, or they will have to discard Islam if they are prepared tn face those disgraceful results towards which

the West-ern way of llfe win i nevira bl y lead them. .

25

CHAPTE.R ..

Western Concepts of Morality

ARG U MENTS that are put f orward against Purdah are 1. '?t merely neg.a tive in nature b I1t have a. pos iti vc and affirmative basis also. People wbo ad vance these arguments do not merely regard the woman's remaining whhin the four walls and her gcing OUt in veil as an unlleceSis:uy restriction, and want to remove it; they have in their mind a totally different way of life for her, They indeed pos~~ an altogether d itferent concept of the relationships between the male and female, They want the female to fellow one particular way and no t the othr.:r. Tn us, their ma; n o bjec tion against Purdah ]s ilia t if the Woman remains: con fined to the house aud veiled, she cannot fOllow that parncular way~ nor can she do "thAt" which is expected of her.

Let U~ noW'" find out what is that u:;.orncthingn: what are the concepts and pril1cipJe~ underlying it, whether it i:.; right and reason .. a ble in itself and what are its couseq uences ill practical lifo!:. Obviously ~ if these concepts and principles are taken for granted, then Purdah and tbc social system of which it is a const; t.uent part are autQmaticaUy proved to have been wrong1y COl icei ved. But the question is ~ W"llY should these concepts and principle!": he accepted wi tho ut being subjected to prag ala tic tests of reason and experient::e ? 1:0.. the mere fact of their being modern and p revalcn Lin the world

, of todllY enough to make one accept am! adopt the m uncritically 1"

18th C8ltnry Concqt of Liberty

As I have pointed out a bcve, the phi losoplie rs, scie nti 'jots and literary men who raised t heir 11 oice fo r reform in the 18 t b. cent u ry bad in fact to grapple wit h. a $OC.13 l 'system 'IN hich was overflowing with undu~ restnctions, which was highly inflexlble and which was

.,; ~ -Iete wit h se nseless to: ustoms, rigid regu fa tions and anressoua ble ~ ,

Western Concept» of MorulUy

21

unnatural di versi ti es. Centuries of dedi T1e and decay had rendered this qstem the stumbling-block in the- way of progress - On the OM hand, the new awakening and enligbtenm.e1u was impelling the" middle class (the bourgeoisie) to emerge on top by struggliag hard. en the other, people of the upper class. and the churchmen were sming tight and tJghtent Tlg upon them t he knots of custom and tradition. Admioi:dratio n of the churches ar.d defence forces, management of the courts of justice and royal palaces, maintenance of the agricultural Jands and fin a.nci a_I and busi ness centres, and the running of the ether spheres of socia.l Iife was such that a. few privileged classes WeTC ta king full ad vantag!::" of al ready established dghts. and appropriating the ~n:Jjt& of the !abDuT8 and capabUitie&of the emergenllnidd~ etass. EvelY effort that aimed at reforming the condition, W81 tOiled by the selL5:8h and hideous mot! ves or the people in authority. This caused disgust among the peOI"K: "wh() loDJCd for the ebQ ogt: and bener timea and fU1ed them grad ually with a bli.nd urge for revel utlon, Consequen tly, the whole YJCiaI

, fYSlem. with each of its constituent parts was revolted agai DSl.:. eventually ai'ring rise to as eXlremi~t concept or: personal freedom which ai:med at bestowing complete li~rty and absolute freedom on the iD.;li.'ridWil as apinst society. II" wu pJeaded that the i ndjvidual oqbt to be privile:8W with the riiht to do anything that he ,1Lk-:d and _have the freedom to refrain from anythin, that he disliked. Socieif had no riabt to restrict or curb his personal freedom. The JOVe:nIlJlClat was tbctc mainJy to see that tM indhridual~.'i freedom of choice and action· was aafCiU8Sded1o and the social institutiom ~re meant to hl:lp the i.n.dM~ (0 attain his goals and ohjectives~

This exa88trated DOtion of liberty wIlich was in ract the result .of retaliation ajaiGlt the prt'Y8.lent iilhuman social order CODtaiaed in" it .eerms of it: greater ioiquity ~ People who had initially pro-" papted it \VQ"e themselves not fuDy a.ware of its logical posaDUili.:a. m.d they fOi'caC.w::a the resulb in which the \l1llCStrickd freedom and 'Ohbridled liberty or 1h.c iAdividua.l was .IOing to culminate, theywould pelhaps bave ~uddmd" 'With ditlgul't They:in fact had' -.i1Ded. to reIll:C"'e" undue ~lics and. uarcasonabJe ~dction.," ~onCODIempoI1ry~ty. But~ the ~ ideastook "root in the Western mied ad bepo. trO "pow unbampertd.r

Purdah (Jftd Ihe SlgtWi oj WomtJ.~ lfl. / slam

19th Ce.'liIry Cbluaes

The French Revolution came in the wak.Q' of this co ncept of f recdum.1 I ts repcrcwc~i()n:i were fat+reachiDg. It shattered to pieces mo~t of the moral concepts and cultural and rel ig~ous trad.i.lLons. Wben the revoludooaees saw that 1 he destruction of the old concepts and traditions led 10 progn=s!i1l l hey co ueluded that e.a-ch nne ef the al re:llly established concepts and ways of life waJi a stum hi ing-bloek wh ich must be removed to make any head way towards progress. Therefore, as soon ElK they had destroyed wro n g principles of Christian ethics: they til Tiled the. r attention towards t he basic concepts of h uma n et hies :- l hey q uestioned cbafiitjty ; lhey objected tot he rest ricr ions of piety 011 the youth ~ and lh~ did not see any harm in ha ving love aud sex. relatlous 0 u tside marria gc~ Afi-er marriage ~ they argued, one coo ld not -be denied the right to love for one still possessed a heart. Such were the doubtl and obiectjotls· bat were raised in the post-revo 1 u tion society on aU s:i~. especi all y by the Romantic School of wri te rs. Georp Sand (1804---1 876) waS t bei r lead er in t he bcginn i ng of the 19tb cent ury. She herself v inluted all lho:!le mor al priuclples of conduct on whicb. is based human no hi lily of character, especially nf the feroale~ Itci os the legal wife of 0 ne busband) she c&tKbLisl1ed iUicit relations free1y witb others, At Jan she separated from her husband and changed se ... eral L~frjends" successively, but did Bilt s.tay

w ltb anyone for more than t wo years~ In her biography at least six mtD have been mentioned, wjLh whom she had open and regLlIar

1. 'Tb.iI ~pt Q{" eM I.jbcN.fIf the ind jyidual &ave; birth 10 tE mod" .... capitalistic order, democratic ')'"Stem Qf CLlItIlR. aiDd IDDmlli~lioUIDDM. Du:riDi 1M nut OM. iI. haJf CCDtW'y it Indcd gu.l liIum i.nbuman Irea1menl to ma.lH.iDd ia Euro~ :!lind Ameti.ca that human nallllC" fcll consll"ain.ed to revolt ap.hut il. Jt)i.l.Uowml the iruliv.iduM t Iree license ror M:lfi5h alOti~ apinrl the: penl wen~lnl Df sadt!!ty. it be:lpcd rum collective: ~Ir"'rl: (If the community and dd--mk'gral.e ~1 lire. 'Socialfjm and Fa5C;sm an::: it.l fItIt fruit. 'Ibcic: K'I-CIIUcd recoil:$.nl~tw: ~lo~nt contaiDcd tmnJ or dim:.tqJ'atig.n from the vet", b':1h:u~i ..... ~ :ip f«c:l.b.ave oouxill to C\I ro ODe eX1 rert""II8; by du:: 0' b U" C:;JIi;I.l":~. 'The: J s.tb centuty con~ of f'rt:e4Gm ermJ by DcrifkiDl the: ·c(nnr~t:llty to the iodJvidLU.L The 20Ch m.tury hils erred in the opposite el1Iemo by sac:.rific:i:c.1 the: iDdivW!Uillii ... th1! ~M:I,l.nity. Fot: the sa.1vatlon.of mank..i::Dd a balaD~ and JUIl CloIIIClqJ~ " !u t(:t~ tOda)l eo'S iI: "a'1 in the 18th eonlury.

illicit relari ons,

Alfred de Musset (1810-1857)! French pod of the Romantic School, was also one of her lovers, He was so much disgusted with her Ialthlessness tha t he ~Iilled that Gem ge Sand would n nt attend his. funeral. This W~~ thtll the pcrsoual charact er of the woman who deep 1)' in [l uenced t he new F rench genera ri 011 h~ he r charming a Tl d romantic works for as long as thirty years, In her novel, Lelia, the heroine writes to Stenio:1 .

"The longer T live the more I recognise that the notions adopted by our youn~ people, with regard to the C~c]LJ.'SLVene:;s of the love's ardour, the absolute possession which it demands, and the ctcrnnl right~ w hich It claims, Of re false, or at least fa tal. All opinions shou ld he allowed, and I would. gr.1 nt ilia t t) r conjugal fidelity to exceptional souls. The majority have other needs and other capabilities; they need reciprocal freedom. mutual tolerance, exclusion or an Jealous egoism + •• ' All loves are true, whether impetuous or peaceful, sensual or ascetic, Jasting or tr enslent : whether they lead men 10 suicide or to pleasure." (Paul Bureau, p. 100). ] n Mot her of her nov-e] s en titled Ja.cques she presents the

character of an ideal husband. The wife of the hero (J~i,;ques) establishes illicit relations with another man, but the hU!5 band is ' too large-hearted lo censure and hate heT'. Accounting for this liberal attitude, he says. tha t he hag no right tn trample u '[Ider foot a rose which desires to spread its sweet smell to others, besides him. At another place she expresses thTough Jg.ceques the following ideas:

"1 have not changed my opinion, 1 have not made peace with society, and marriage is always according to my judgement one of the most barbarou s in stitu tions ever imagined. I ha ve 110 doubt tbat ~t will be abolished, if th-e human race m.a.ke~ any progress towards justice and reason ; if bond more human and not less sacred, wiU. replace it, and will secure the existence of oft:s.pring who will be born of' a man and il woman, without ever fetteriug the liberty of either. But men are too gross and

1. These extn.ct! have b~n t&k91 from Paul Bu.rea.u ~ ToJW1J'rh M.(!1'f21 S"rr",.upv:.y) puhl..iJhcd ftow I.MOOn by Co~tab!e alld .Co. lr. 19:2S.

30

Purdah mtJ tlle S tatus of W OMGII in lsk:m

women lOu Coward Iy to dema nd a nobler law than that whidl rules them : heavy .::b.airll~ must bind beings wh-o lack oonscicD.ce and virtue". (Paul Bureau, pp. 107+108). S uch were the id eas propo unded i D and a boo Li.t ] 833. Ocorp

Send did not ~o fu rt he r. She could not dare tau these .idfiat to their logical co nclusions. In spi ll: (] r ht:t 1 ioera l-mtndedDess. IiUld j enligh tenmeru' t she had not been a bJe to sbake off wholly the dirt of tradttlonal morality, Thirty-five years later, the thesis was tabu up Elgaj n by another School of dramati s~, Ii terary men a nd moral philosophers whose chiefs were Alexandre Dumas (l802~1870) a nd Alfred Naq uet, These wr Iters vehemently propagaled the idr::8.:$ lb at r reedom and satisfactio.n or the pleasures of the itudy WCre in thernse 1 yes the bl nh - ri ght or ever)! indi v id 119.1. To cu rb lil is right with moral .l!Lnd sotild restrictions W3:§, cruel.on the part of society~ The to regoing wr lte rs had dernan ded freed om n f acr ion for the individual in Jove affair:i only. The new writers felt lnb emotional basis for freedom to be too weak. Therefo re they tr ied l o e&lablilih the demand for individual liberty, moral lawlessness, and unbridled freedom on the mo re so und basis of ph~ 105.0 ph ic reasoni ng, Thertby they wanted to encourage young men a nd women to do wbatel'er they pleased with full satisfaction and approval of the c::onscieflal+ Moreover, they wanted to ed uca te the socitly not to miAd the

J ust fu I benav j our of the youth b ut to r-tgatd it as mo-rally rijbt and laudable,

Towards. the end of the 19th CI:!!'1turyt Paul Adam {1.862-1920), Henri Batuille (1872-1922), Pierre Louys (l8 70--19'2S:) and many ~hcr writers sJlI!1I:t all their art and skill on imbuing the youth wjth blind ~uragt: titnd dash so as to remove completely all !thada....,s of ~$itatiol1 and iIlhibitioll caused in the minds by tbe out-moded moral ideals. Paul Adam in hi! book, Le MMait de Llatnol4r~ hB.t censured the youth for committing the foUy of making their S'Wl"ft+ hcart~ be lieve that thty are passionately in love with them and cannc t live w.it~ out them. He writes :

".'To walk. together in th-e mnonligh t by the woodland path~ repeat ing to each other bana land unchangi os tri:Oes,. to swear emphatic ~ empty lies. to From~!if:: eac:.~ other :II; I ire .Ic;:u capable uf separation than they belie .... e ether people's to be, to C'.l.t:banae-

W (' stern Concepts cf M oTallty

em p1 Y promises an d lyri c 11 ypocrisies, . . . . ; til ~s is what is destroy ing, a~ as 1 the best or 0 u r French youth.

~~ AJl this to conceal, 11 nder em pty verbiage, the healthy long 1 ug rOT simple bodily union at the will of a natural and innocent appeti te •

• , It is a grea t e .... ~i among the Latin races th at lovers refuse to admit plainly and candidly their relish for voluptuousness, a nd for the joyous compa ni onship 0 r the sexes" r

{Paul Bureau, p. II ll ..

He advises the youth :

"Then be refined and sens uous sav ants, not building .a. temple to the servan 1..~ of your P leas u res nor lazi 1 y blUng esleep at their feet. but choosi ng il new gues.l for each momen l of pleasure",

(Pa ul Bureau, p. I 12).

Pierre Louys went still further, He emphasized the ideas that moral restrictions in fact hindered the pruper groWth of man's iote!. lectual r scientific and spiritual development. In his Aphrodire t he has tried to establish the hypothesis that civilization was at its zenith in Ba bylon, Alexand ria ~ Athens ~ Rome, Venice and other centre') a t the ti me when "St.:ns uality, moral law lessness and sex ual licentiousness flourished unchecked. ' 'As the beauty of the soul Illuminates atl the face. 80 corporal virility alone fertilizes the brain". But as soon as moral a 11 d legal restrictions were imposed on human urges, human soul was ilIso doomed to fetters,

Pierre Louys was a prominent lite~ry figure of his time. f{t:! .set a new style of writin.& a:.nd CiSlabllihed an independent school in literature, In ·his. wake appeared .a. wbole censtellatinn of novelists, dramatists and writers on morality ~ who propagated ills ideas ceaselasly~ Pierre himself made e-very possible effart with his pen to establish that nudity and prcmiscuous Intermi ng 1; ng of the sexes were perfectly justified, rather fa uda ble, In the same book) .Ap'lIO-diff~ he eul~i-seSi Greece (01'" her best period thus :

u. • ~ the- time when naked h umamty, th-e most perfect form that we can mow or even conceive, since we believe it to be made to God's image, can unveil itself under the lineaments, oj

• _ i/'.

a coDSecIated .sourtesan before the twenty thousand pilgrims

•.• l' ; wbere tbe most sens.u.a1 10'".1:" the divine love from whit::h

Purdah and the Status of Woman fa Islam I

~ were born! was without defilement, without shame, without sin;. ." (Paul Bureau, r- I J S).

At an other place" he has expressed h imselt' more ex pliel tly. 'He

proposed

-t 0 comba t by t he most cnerget i c moral tea-ching the :1 bominable opinion that motherhood can be under any circurnatances dishonourable, illegitimate, or disgraceful". (P.] 16)+

20tb OUtur)' Uel'elopm-ents

Thus rar had d eveloped j deas j n the 19t h century when writers of the 20th century appeared ~ who asp: red to soa T even higher than their f oreruuners, In 1908, a play entitled, Le Lys, was pu blished by Pierre Wour .)nd Gaston Leroux ~ in wh ich two girls have been shOWD explaining to" thei r father the h orrors of their position and their ri gh! to free love, in the prese nee of thei r brother. Their main contenti on is to show how terrible it is for a yo ung girl to pass life wi th 0 ut engaging in j 'free love". The old father t.:CT1"SUI'CS his,

...

daughters for having illicit relatio ns with a young man. The "daughter

replies ~

.. I Yet I could not make: you understand, because you have never understo od that om: has not always the right to ask. a girl, thong h she may be your sister or yo u r daughter, to become an old woman without having 10 ... 00 .• ." (P+ 111) ..

World Wax I not only provided i rnpct us to this freed om move .. ment but also it took. it to its extreme logical conclusions. The anti .. conceptionist movement had affected France in particular r For over forty years birth rate in that COil ntry had con tinually been falling. Only in 20 cut of 87 French districts birth rate was higher ~ de~th nile, III the ~eluaini~8 districts. the case was just the reverse; so mach so that in eertatn areas, tilt average death rate was as hi gh as 130, 140, even 160, aga lost every 100 births. When the W al' started, the French nation W::\"J. already in the throes of life and death. Tn is. was a rude snock for the French slatesmen to Jeam that the nati 011 lacked in a SoU rru:: Lent num her u r fighting-fit J 0 u ng men.

: " "If, for the time being .. they tried to save the Dation by sacrificing the available few at the front, how would they counteract the next

Western CQttcept,Y ~f Morality

ouslaught ? The whole nation was in a fix; It could not survive, the leaders th OU~ ht, except by La i sing the nationa 1 bjrth rate by ~Ll possi blc mea ns. Th is gave the campaign another direction _ The writers, journalists, speakers, even scientists and politicians came out ami raised one universal cry requiring the people to bring forth more and more children without bothering about marriage formalltics, Any apinster or widow, th~y said, who offered her womb voluntarily in the service of the tnt)lherlandj deserved to be henourcd rather-than censured. I .. overs of freedom seized this opportunity for spreading among the people all their devilish ideas. A distijJ~ u ished journalist of the time, who edited La Lyon Rep lib Iicain ~ wrote while discussing the question ~ Why should rape be- a crime '!

"Science and philosophy, in dealing with the natural will, prove the U1l j versa 1 im peri ou sness of a n ecd, Jess fn:q uent but. not Jess imperious than hunger and thirst, and of which rape, too often followed hy murder t i~ l he enraged l: xpressl on ~ as theft is the us ual res ult of enraged distress. The a trraction of the sues forms part of th c system of l he universe, no Iess than gravltation. A healthy man, who is young and Vigolou~,. can no more help hi s desires than he: can his empty stomach listen to reason by a prorni se of food next week. The mail dyi og of love in our cities where everything is abundant, ought to be as much of an anomaly as a man dying of hunger. As suppliesof brca d are distributed gratuitously ~ '0 we should seek the means to appease other bungry ones' ~ . (J. 12 J).

The reader should kJ10W that this article was not meant to amuse the people, it hat! been seriou sly wrltten and was read eq UAJ1y seriously in France.

About the same time, the Paris Faculty of Medicine approved a doctoral thesis and published it ill its official bulletiu, It contained tbe: foUowing sentences also :

(·We.hope the day will come when without cynical boasting. or ral~ modesty we shall say: j 1 had s.yphilis at twenty years old,' just as w~ say now-a-days, 'I have been sent to the hills for spitting blood' . ~ . Whoever has passed his youth witbout contracting those troubles which are as it were the prlce of pleasure, is but an incomplete being who through

Purd(Jh und the Status of WtunQT! tn lslam

cowardice, .:!E cold na tun: I or reHgio us scruple, h as missed the eccomplishment of what i~ perhaps the. least degraded uf ni~ natural functions". (P. 151).

Neo- Malthusian Li leratlU"e

34

Before proceedi n£ fu rt.her jet us consider t he views that have been advanced til support of the anti-conceptionist movement. Wben towards the end of the 181h century, the British economist M althus (1766-- I g 34) presented h i::i ideas 0 n birth control with a view to imposing checks on the fast increasing population .. it migbt oot have crossed hls mind that his innocent proposals just after one century wouid be m~iniy used for spreading adultery and promisculty OIl an enormous scale, Ma1thus had only adVised- continence and marriage at advanced age in order to check increase in popula- 1100. But when t~(! neo-Malthuslan Movement was initiated

. towards the end of the 19lh century t 1 t was asserted tha t the sexual urge was to be fred y satisfied and it~ na rural consequence, the birth of children], was to he scientifically controlled. This helped .also to remov-e the last Impediment from the way of tree and promJscuou." i ntermingling of the sexes, No w a woman cculc freely aive herself up to a- man! without fear of hTinging forth children and en dll ring res ponsibi liries, The conseq LU .. mces of tIl.$ te rnlen cy wHI be- descri bed Ia ter . Here a few ins tauees 0 f the pa teot ... icw!'i mas l commonly [OUIl d in the J iterature on hi rth control are presen ted,

F ollowi ng ls the logicaUy built up t 11l:!-1 is. of t h.e nee- Malth usi an

litera tuft ~

"Every human being invariably experiences three imperious needs. ; nour ish rnent, rest and love. N aturc hax implanted them within us. and has had the foresight to attach enjoyment to thci r sati sfactlon, Logic wou ld have man hasten to respond tel l h is natural desire. and such is in fact his conduct wi th regard 10 the fiTl5t two needs, But, on the con tra ry 1 it is. aston L!': 11 i ng to find tb at wi In regard to the third, he haa adopted a completely different attitude ; socie ly has invented the strange i nsrirutiou (,}f monogamic and indissoluble marriage, Social morality forbids ;D fact every satisfactlc» of the sexual appetite outside of the marriage. bond, and ill the married s talet W." ieh it atel ~ rei

Westem Coneepls of Morality

. 3S

jndis:soluble~ it imposes the dut.ies of fidelity and of non-intervention in tbe reproductive work of nature.

"But thia sexual morality, which we SEll: hangs together, Is really absurd; it defies both natu re and reason, and, being false in its very principles, produce s the worst consequences for humanity", (Fa ul Bureau, pp. .131-32).

Ideas that have been deduced from these premises may also

be considered. Bebel, Iesalcr of the German Social Democratic Party, franklY $ays :

~"Man and woman are merely animals; c:(JI there 00 any q uestion or maTr1agc) of an indisseluble bond" between animals T"

Dr. Drysdale says. ~

""'Love is, like all our appetites, subject to change . To seek to fix it in one channel i 8. to try to modlf y the laws of narure. Yo uth Is s pee WI)! gi V4.."TI l.o this changeableness in confonnity ·wlth the m agnif seen t logical nrde r of nature which ordains that ·our c~ pc riences sho uld be multi p 1 i ed . . . free union n."'"Pre~n13

a higher mor ali tJ tbaa any other! because It is more couforma ble to natural laws, and at the same time because it proceeds mere .dlrectly from feeling, passion, and di sinteresred love for "the inclination which determines it has .8 moral value which is Jack ing in U10se mercantile transactions which make of IT! arr-iage ·a veritable prostitution ~ ... the true guarantee for the be-

.coming maintenance of the children js to be found, not in the empty name of marriage, btl t in the independence of lht,: pa..renH! especially that or the mother". (Pp. 136-37).

It 'Will be noted hDW concepts are changing, or rather undergoing perversion. At first, efforts were made to make the people throw ofr their belief that adultery was anyt bing morally bad 80 a8 to-get marriage and j Uega 1 rela ti onshi p recogn izcd as of eq ual status .. Now it sh.:p f urther has hccn taken, M.ani age is being regarded wjth disfavour and ex tra-marital rela tions as. morally superi or.

At 3 nother place, Dr. Drysdale writes :

'~Onc can only look on prostitution ax a valuable and temporary substitute, while awaiting a better Hhll.c uf things. Instead of contempt i t i~ gratitude that the human race OW~S to the unba ppy ones who :s.ufft::f" fOT the cause o r 0 ur sexual nEL ture, They an:

Purdah and the S latus a/ Woman in J sta m

of extreme use to humanity. We must look on them r: s sex nat martyrs", (P. 140}.

Paul Bures u says ~

-!;4U nder the intluence of a lice n tin u.~ li teratu re and an immoral stage, divorce' an d ad uJ tery, an ti-conccpti on i8 t pra ct ices and abortion, are 3.l::C 1 i1Il1ill tj zed in ou r plan of Jj Ie. FJ vc-and-twenty yean ago the very words aroused in the immense ma] onty of people violent feelings of revulsion. even of profound horror and di:;.gmt. . . The a utomatic reflexes n a .. ·e J ost their", igou r beca USC the moral atmosphere has changed". (P~ 1-'i2).

J. S - Mill ~ fa mons B ritish Philosopher ~ dema nds ill 11 is book.

On Liberty, ~jthat the marriage of Indulgent person-s should M forbidden by Jaw ~ j uxt a~ rna oy German laws at in il t time oaly

, ,

allowed rna r~age to "those who could show that they had So ufflcl ent means", (Pp, 390-9 f), Hut when the question of the eradication of prostitution arose ill England, the same Philosopher opposed it tooth and nail, His argurnen t was til at i l was tantamount to curbing person al liberty and i nsuhing the wor km t:T1 who C('IU ld not be treated like chil drcn.

In other words, persoua 1 free dom is mean t to enable people to commit adultery. But if somebody wants to take advantage of this freedom fOT the purpo se 0 f marriage", hi s fight to it s hould be questicncd. In this latter case not only will the law be allowed to interfere with tb"e persona l freedom of the individ ual but such an action will also satisfy the moral scruple of the freedom-tovill! economist. This dearly shows tha l moral concepts have "U odergo:ne extreme perversion. Good has come to be regarded as evil aDd ev il 3.8 good.

CHA.PTER 5

Tragic Consequences-I

LI TERATURE shows the way I public opin 100 foUows the ltadl and finally collective morality, social CUSIOlllS and state lawt all give way. Such it change becomes inevitable, especially when all the pro> p.aga1l4a- devi(:.tS and techniques besides philosophy, hjstotYt ethics, science, i itera ture, art, ete., have worked together pers;steDtly ful" a hundred and fifty years or so tc. mould man's way uf thinking a.ftet a particular pattern. Then, it is unlikely that the taw of the land remains unaffected by the changlog.publio opinion in a countrywbttc: governmt.:nl and xoeia t institu tjODS are run on democratic priDcipL:3~

lDdU$lrial .Remlatloo 3nd Its Impact oa So.cietJ

Besides this, other cu ltural factors j n the WesL also became favourable to pave the way for Industrial Revolution, The impact of t 1'1 i!C 00 the economic. and sooio-cultural Ufe rejn10rced the trends which the revo]utionary Utetarure bad already giveTI then1.. The concept or peraunal freedom .. which 18 the basis or C-apitatismt rn'"C; ved an extraordinary impetus from the invention. of the machine and the consequent possi bl lit ies or mass production. The capitalist class established big industrial and t:um~t...""Tcial concerns witit the result that the new cen ires of ind ustry and business so-On grfNI into huge cities+ H undreds of thousands of people began leaving the countryside for tho cities, :t nd life became expensive, Housing fllCllity dimi nished and the cost or clothing, f ood and other necessi .. ties of 1 ire !oi~ red h 1 gh ~ PaTlly d ue to the e ultural ad\l'~ment and partly to the keenness shown by the capitalists, numerous new Iuxurles 'became part of life L But the capitalist system did not distribute wealth equitably so as to ena ble the common man also to pmuu::~s the means of affording all those comforts. pleasures .and enjoyments of new life. It did not even provide him wjth en(l1Jgh mea us to acqu ire easily tbl! bans! minimum necessities of llf'e-hOU5e, .

18 Purdah and th~ Status 0/ WomUj'1 /11 Islam

food, clothes, d.c.-in the cities to which he had been .attracted. Conseq uently, malntaiuing of the wife became burdensome to the hlliSiband and rearing ~ the ch ildren hoc arne troublesome to the father. Not to speak of ma·i ntaini ng others, it "became difficult for individuals even too maintain themselves. Economic couditiOI15 fQr¢cd every member of tile family to become an earning ro~mberr

"

Gradually all clasacs of womea, mClrri.cd and unmarried and wjdows,.

had to come out to earn their bread, and with the increase In the' opportunities fol;' free intermingling of the sexes, natural eouseq ueoces hepn to follow, At this: the society felt ¥cry much perturbed. Now the cont::cpt of personal freedom and the new ethics came' forwacd to console fathers and daughters! brothers a nd sisters, .husballdi and wWe!;,. telling them not to feel jU at ease, OdS all that was happenin& ~as desirable. ·It was Dot degeneration but emaaci .. paden; it was not imm~l but the enjoyment oflife. . The pit l-owa.nb which the ~pi taU.st was driv ing them was not Hell, it was H ea.ven, real Heaven]

C8J.11a115t St~

Not o.o.ly that hut t he concept of persona) freedom on which was raised :the superM..ru.cture of Capitalism prov ided the individual with an open and uncond.itl"oJJ.~ license to MIn wealth by aU means, {a..ir Of foul. The new ethics taught him that even' means by w hicb ~ could be amassed was lawful and fa.irt no matter whether the prosperity of one individual led to the ruin of many. Thus, the new-emerging social order fa voured the individual's Interests in every way against those of society t O1.l1d the latter was not pro. vided with .any saf-eguard agamst the former's greed and avarice, Thil opened new W8YS f~! the selfish individuals to use :society to their a.dvantage+ They discovered each weakness of man and exploited it for selfish ends in all possible ways. One came forward and gave the people the habit of drinking in order to make- high profits on his buslness, and n ~1 ~1 n.e C~ red to save society from this plague-stricken mouse. Another one laid the snare of usury, and no one: dared save the people from this blued-suck i Dg leech. Contrary to- that. such laws wore made as. favoured the leech .'iIU that it

- I

could suck as m uch blood out .of others. as it could. A third ·o~

39

mventcd novel waY::l of gambling which soon inrcctcd aU walks of commerce and trade, aud ,I;~() one had the courage to safeguard man's econom'c life from. tbe onslaught of this enteric fever. During this: impious age of the individual's revolt and aggressive siefulness. it was impossibtc that t he selfish Pl:OP le did not think of the wea kest point of man, his urge lor sex, which could be easily exploited for the purpose 0 f coiui ng money. And this weakness WB.~ f L1!1 y exploited! in diverse ways. S erv ices of beautif u 1 women were obtai n ed for theatres, ballrooms and film-making centres, They were made In 3 ppear nude bela re the Pi!O ple in order to aTO U9ie their sexual a ppet·i te lind deprive them 0 r thei r pocke ts. Some people hired out wo men and de veloped prosti ru t ion to the ] cv e1 of an organized international trade. So.ne other's invented new ways and manners of make-up and publicized I.hE;:Tn widely so !:IS to arouse the female urge for benuti licati on to t he po i nt of c raze wi t h· a view to making money, Others designed sex .. arousi n g) serni-covcring d resses and appoi ntea ell arming women tn wear them and go a bout In society wi th a view to tempting young men in ta r ge numbers, This oa turaH}' made these dressca popular among young girls and the designers earned high profits. Some- other people thought of printing nude p ict urcs and chea p s ens u a] Ii rera ture. They helped bring about a general moral degenera tion am ong the common people, but were able to til] the ir P II rses with gold. GLadu :dly things CELIDC to such a pass that no sphere {] f trade and comrn erce remained irn rnune from the rex. element. 811~i ness ad verrisements were: regarded incomplete without a nude or semi-nude female picture. , No hotel, no rcataurant, no showroom could ee iLIUL8LIH:d without a lady attendant in (J rder to a tt ract men, Po or, helpless socict y could safeguard its i [) teres ts 0 nJy ill one wa y, by counterac tiug the i ndividuallat onslaught by il~ own moral precepts and thwarting tile demon of sexual hunger, But the capitalistic system Wi:L~ lou broadbased to be SiO easily fr ustruted. 1t had tho! :0:> up fl 0 rt and bile king a r a complete philosophic system and :i:L strong variegated literature which was busy corrupting the moral values and precepts, Obviously, the i dca 1 murderer j s til..: nne who can coax the one to be murdered to C~ irne forward cheerfully a nd lay down h is head wilT ingly.

Purdah and th: .)'1atUJ of WOfPwn in 'slam.

nemoct:Ul£ P .... litles

On top of tha t, th is concept of Jibe-rty g"- ve birth to the democratic :.;ysl.cm of gover ument in the West. T his xervcd as a powerful facto r in bringing to completion the revolution ill moral va l ues, The main principle underlying Western democracy is that people themsel ves possess the sovereign as well as legislative rights, They can frame VI' ha tever la-ws they like and ca n amend or repeal aoy laws which they dislike. They do not MVt:: H hove; them any higber auth OTi ty i mm IDle from human frailties, w host! guidance and in-struction may be b i ndi ng on mall and may preven t hi m I ro m go in,g astray. They do nut possess any f undamcn tal law wh ioCh may be unquestionable and beyond human maulpulation, repeal or amendment, They do DIJ-t have a standard for judging right from wrong, which does not caange with every human whim and fanc.::y ... but which can stand unimpeachable for aU times. T hus, m orlcr n democracy looks upon man a~ wholly mdepenc ent aad LLJ1.aCCOuntable and makes him. his ·n wn legislator l' and so renders all lcglslatl lie business dependent on mil] ority opin] n 11..

Obvious Iy ~ when laws pe rtai [ling l.u cornru uui ty lite ~pend on pu bJi c opi Ilion for thelr passage, . and 'IN hL::U governments become faithful wo rshippers of the god of modern democracy ~ no PtlWC r of Ia wand order can save society r fU m moral i niq uity, Not to speak of saving, it win rather help ruin it e ventually, Wjth every change in the trend of public opinion the law wiU also change. Ai the common man '5 CQIH.: cpts undergo cba nge, pr i nci r les and bill)C.'oi. of law wiJl accordingly be affected. A mere proposal, however, ~etty and immoral, which has inc public backiDg to muster just ~ lout of 100 votes, can rcadUy attain tbe status or sacred law, Th ~ worst instance of t his u ppcared in the pre- N.a7.i Germ any, D r. Magn us Hirsch Feld who has been a President of tile World Le':'Jgue of SeJlual Reform, vehemen Lly advocated the adop [.j 0 Ll of the unnatural act for as long a~ six years. At last the god of democracy became inclined to regard th i3 unla wful act as lawf u 11 and the German Parliament decided by a m:ljority vote that the unnatural act was no lon.ger a. crime" provide 1 that it was ca rried n l.L t with w~ I liugness on both sides, If, however, the subject was a minor ~ his: guardian would perform the ~gl y iug away' eeremonv !

4l

L.·w h~~ r~1 thor been lukewarm in worshipping the god of demo. cracy, lt 0 be ys h i s commands but sornewha t i nd.lTer~ndy. Th is Jack t)f keen ncs.~ is supplemented by tbe administrurive machinery of the ~ ove ru ment, JIIL:CI ric . wht) en nd uct l h C" busi ness of the: dem 01,; f .u i c govc r nments I~II a prey to the • n flue nee of t he J j terat ure ... moral p 11 ilosop hies a nd cu rren t trends even be fn re t h~y an: ~cco rded legal sanction I Thus the prev ui ling mn ra I abu !i.L!:,; ~(J me 0 l1i.~iall,Y recognized wi t II t he res u U t nat L he po 1 ~ I,.'C and C(I u r rs of j usuce hesltate to practically enforce the law, und th.e abuses attain lawfulness ~ nd i reedy. T fI ke fur insta nee t he .c~ se of rr~::"U ri n g .11 ega I a bort ton. It iii prolu bHIJd in l he We~ te rn 1::11 W. h II t I here i"i IhJ cnu n try WhI:!!Te" it j 5 not open ~ y a nd co m mo n Iy practis ed. I n E Ilg land alone a l least 90,,000 eases 0 f u bort I on occur ann ual [y. Acco-rtll ng to an esumate I at least 25 per cent of UlC ma rried warne n perfo rm a borne non them. sel ves, 0 r 0 btai n l he: services of (,:II: pe rts; Among th C' u runar r led. the pi!:t~,:l:fIlilW! is. even 11 lgher. In eert a i n places the reo 3 re regui a r cl ubs to faci litate a boruo n t which are mai ntained by w~k] y ~ uh:;r.:ripti ons by women themselves, so that they ·ma.y obtain services uf experts IS and when req lli red. I n London .. here ex is I Q !.lIlt: a few liutl:iii 01 homes w here most of the patlents are @eDerall'i the wcmen who have h:uJ abort io n. 1 r n Sopite 1,)1' a 11 this. a borhon is s tin a en me: aeeord ina to the Brltis h 1 KW.

facts aDd FJ&ureR

Now I shall deal .at length with the three factors-modern moral conce pts, capitalistic c ivi I ization and democ ra tic pol it ~e\ and e :tami ne how t hey are wor killS together to dis. rupt collecti "'C' moral ity and the sex. re la tio n between t he mate and tho fe ma le , and wbat TCSU 1 ts lhey have ill: tually produced. Si nco I ha ve mostly me nl.ionai Fra nee so Iu r which i:! l he bi rt h pl ace 0 f t h i ~ m 0 veme nt, 1 shall again d ra w on the sa lUI! source fo r facts and fi811:rC!li~:k

Mara. "Rn..,r.;, rnptcy

When l he a hove- me I1t1 0 ne J COn ce p ts spread t! .t:y lirst deprived

1. AU ,I.cae illI.: l.ul, contai ned 10 Prof-:_ Juau ':II {;.it"" If) JrffHiL~ Ij ~"""irted"~8~ whk:h ha~ recent Iy bI."t"J'I; PL~t:lJ isbed rr.,}jl .. Londoi'.

2. M-v~t 'iJlf 'hJ;i j.nt'orm,uion has b."cll dra .... '~l i.··I.JIIlL T4I~'ql'lb MI)~1 &u.li.m,p(c.r {LolWon~ 1 £1':5 :5l. hoy P.l'!.d R.J i"C-iJ ir, 11 J i s:.I illguj!otH!~ l-rc 1"111,:11 Klcwlo-gr'llf.

42

Pv.rdtJh anJ the Slatus of WomQn ill Islam

the [1Co pie of thei r moral sense I Q sexuat atfalr1, Modesty and' the len"iC of honour began to forsake tbem. The dn;.ti n(:tion between rnarr i age and i I licit rela tiuns hip was gi yen up~ and fornciation was recognized as law lu I a lid I;: lea n, which bad Dol hi ng slnfu l or vicious abo Lit it lo be concealed and hushed up.

T owa rds the end of the J 91 h ceruu ry. Fre neh pee-pte bad begu n 100 king U Pi) n forn leat ion as 311 ordi nary, lUI. tur a 1 act for the JUlie. Pare n l~ did 11 at at a II rni nd the] r so ns' moral de l~ nq ueney, prov iJcd t hat it did not iu valve ihem ~ fl cr j m i nal cases and venereal diseases, Rather they felt pleased If it helped them materiaUy. They thought t ha tam J P'l'S ext ra-marital relation w.tb a woman 'WaJ iD no way had. Th ere are instances to show t ha t parents themselves encouraged ,he.r youn8 SUIl~ to estabhsh relations. with influential .. ed v.. ealt h "i 13..1 ies j n order to nl.lil;);-I: thei r fu t u re secu re and brl&ht. But as rega rds woman ~ t he (once pl Was qui te different. Female cbaslity was Mill valued high~y. The parents who did not seriously nllnd L~ir sons 't de ~'nq uency, yuuthfQl pran kS,IIwerot .nOI prepared to stand any blot of i ni'iot my 00 the pi: non Qf t heir daughter, The F n: nch society co LJ ad tolerate a f ornicator, but it de tested a tornicat ress ~ It iOlll.thcd tilt: prOSLLllJ.tc! but it ex.empted from blemis h the: man \' rsitin 8 her. Si ru ilarly ~ the mora! responsi bllily or a man and worn a n 1::.0 und in wedlock Wa~ n ot rega rded as equa], A husband could free ly go tl. bOUI S OWL ng II b \Ii' i I d na ts, bu t a wi fe"s p rormscuous

be havi Q u r wa s rega rded wit h cJ isgus t, .

As. l he: ;:U)l h cen l u ry approached,. cond it ions tot illl y changed ..

T11e- movement for the e manelpa t ion or women Vol h; c" had propagated Jll L.ll ~I eq u at] l y . bet ween the sexes gc. ve ,n.~ ;P"'l"'!miscu.ous cuuple equal status in xocicly, Now a woman cOt!i(j rt"~ely have ex tra-mar j ta l relatl ons wit h a In a n w hhou l any tl;ar of']1u"Ill ic : dis.8 race. P a u I" B urea u says;

'~ML.lny young. men in the working-class ~.r .... ·lCS of our grear towns do not considc~ the)' huvc the right to demand [rom lheir fiancee a chasti 1 y W hj1,; h tl_LL: 'f du nO l possess -the msel .... ~s, and 1h·;;: license or Which both '~\IU~! themselves appears teo precious f~f them to object to it. Thc~,-= new manners begiu to penetrate cy~n t 0 on r con n lfy dJ s t dcts. I ~ the Yonne, i D certain partt ~f Burgundy, arul elsewhere, it~eften happens that the girl ·.has ,

~OJltracted several "~friendship8"" before contracting mattillge, and no trouble 115- even taken to hide them. AJ tlLere is no fear of the complications of. pregnancy, atill leg of the birth of a cbildjo the relations shut their eyes~ and onthe wedding day tIat brid~ who knoW! LD what he is committing himself .I..a.ki:s car= not t9 find fault with a freedom of whicb. the lads

of the v.illage take plentiful advantage during the ten or twelve

years t-eforo·tll~ matriqe , .. .

J~Those who attentively fo~w the modern evolution of our manners. know that, du.ri.ng the last fifteen yeatS! one. meets: more and more frequentlyJ in Paris, the gr-eat towns and the indus:trial cmtJ:"e:sJ such a C8:SC .aLoi this, A Jirl-modi.s:tt;, dress maker, typist. shop-assistant, bank-clerk, or student-faidy e«UCllted~ of ·good . cli.ar.acter" used to a goed social environ .. ment, . . . resolves one day to set up h()uSlekecping with a young man. No marriage, notbecause it is understood there wiU be no children. .. . but because it is understood that each pre:iler",c& complete liberty to end. the union any moment th at the fr.i.eud ~ to please~ .. ; an c5tabJishmcnt that mereJy means livi ng to,ltther, and does not impl,. at tach moreent any en&agemCllt fot the next. On the oaher h.a.nd~ there is 11.0 element of fraud or ~uction : both lire equ3;Uy aware or lhe nature and scope of their mutual relation. ... ."

u. ' .• it was inaugurated by the ~lIdu.strial workers: at first it caused 1I.ur,r~ and· some scandal! then it made way in wgber social ,gra4lK, aad h..u tx tcOO.cd contiilu;tlly. .. This extra legal wt.ioD ll- Jsim~ in evtl'Y way to those which -every day. and in great nsmber, noeive the 0 Ale; al seal cf'the registrar" or the. lni.nbt~ of rdigioo·... (Pp. 94 96).

Such • ";~c~n has. now tamed recognitietl of the soci~ .&0. M.. Berthdeol:J" Protessol' Qf La. w at Paris, writes 1 hat the ucompa~on'" has pad~n 'i attained the sa.me legal ~tatU"5· as was onee .Dnopoly Q( the 1awful ",·if~. She ~14i Secured theinterest nf ParlJament. and ~ ts DOW protected by the administratlcn, A ·101:ditr's "co.rqpanion~J- is allowed lh~ same maintenance as. is

~llOwed to h~ wife~ after his death she is grauted [he sam~ amounv of pension as is ·.8fI11'l1..td to his legal widow.

44

Purduh and the Status of Woman i7f IJiam

How ordina.ry and minor a thing has fOTrtic:ation come 10 ' regarded in the French moral code CIlH be seen from tbe fo UOW 1 11;0 i nRtalJCe1. In 19: 18 11 school mistress was found pregna at. !,eill~ unmarried. Some old-fashloned people in the Bdu.catiOr1 DC~\1.rt ... mcnt demanded her diamissal. Then a. deputa lion eompri-sn g some J'C.llpOnsible people wllited 00. tbe Education Ministry, ~LLd their following a.rgnments WOl'-e found 80 convincing that the case involving the mistreu was shelved :

(1) "'Pri vale ~ ifr: concerns nobody". (2) ,.: .. What has she done wroogT"

{3) "J 1& not iUegit; mate ma ternity more demeeratic?"

AmoIlg other important thio8~ taught to French soldiers as part .of their training 0 Il~ necessary lesson is how to we contraceptive! .devi.ce$ and protect oneu1f against venereal diseases, ObvioU.$ly, such lessons are imparted on Ltte presumption that every soldier shall commit fornication. On the 3rd -of MaY1 19'1910 the Commander of 127 Division issued an instruction to his soldiers which read as follows :

"~Monop()ly of Public Brotbels by Tirailleurs, The Grncral hag received various anonymous leti.trs fl"OTD chasseurs. Infantry ~ and cavalry 1 complaining that. they cannot find accnmmodation in the 'maison« de tolerance", which are monopolT1.ed by the ti raillcurs in great crowds, who remain too long and have caused frequtQt disturbanees, The High Court of the Sam:: .and the· municipal. authorhies are tak.ing measu res to increase com~idc:rably the effective force of the prostlrutes. But, until this can be done, the tjra.iHe.m must be more expeditious over

their pleasures". .

One should remember that this Jastruetion was ()ffi~iallJ pub--nMed by the: defence department of a most civ ilized D8.tional government. Thi!! SbOW5 that the society, the law! tbe admillis:tratiol'l. aU had wholly 10$t the sense of fornication being do sin.~~l

1.. wm.t would bap~ to Ole ho.ouur and ~1f-~ of .. V1.JUlWtbed _tUm. at tbtl ha:.uds of BU(:h a mru'D.lly depraved arDJJ' can well be imqiDCd. c.ont(.f):ry to tbl! 1DDraJ. itiUu:Rud of 15I000000y,. there is anotbu :!5wdard PlI!'!!Gl8d'

.by.~ Qut-30 :. .

.• iWbaJ WG gi~t: them 4ul:b$rity in the earth, they establish (Qilt, pay -.

f;iljob\ .. b:lt i~,aoDd m.d forl:li~ w!nll j~ !Wi}" 02: ~ 41) (Com'. ()II. pr 4J

-

Trag ic C mu!€qutmCt's-l

45

A short time before World War I, an agency was established h~ F ranee on the principle that every WO-JlUt [1, whatever her couditlon, her 8 u rroundings, her fortune or her habitual moral conduct, could always be persuaded for 'I a. new ex perienee' ~ P It annou Deed that any man who wished to have re l:ttion~ with a J ad Y should -only take the trouble of communicating her address and send t wenty-frve francs for expenses. Then, persuadlog the iady for the "~busines& 1 ~ was the agency's busi ness. The registers rnainta ined by the agtncy revealed tha t a large number of people from all classes of the French wciety had ea rried out "'busines~' ~ through it, ~'under the officia1 prott\?t ion of tbt pol ice and the municipal au thority", (P. J 6).

oiI4Let it be enough to say that i mmora lity bea WC'ml ncar relatives, even sometimes between father and da ugbter t and between brother and sister, are not very uncommon in certain districtsof Fr.ancE:: lind certain POpu10Ui quarters of our great towns".

(Po 3!i). .

~l'akGl;:e of ObsceGity

. M. Bulot who was the Attorney-Gen er al of France before World War I~ estima ted at half a m illi (J n the n u m ber of W01'1lt::JI' 'tV ho sold their body. F.n:::!nch postitutes cannot be compared to the prosti-

\ut.es here. They belong 10 R cultured and d vilized country, so their bus incss is conducted in a more orderly and modern fashion, They avail of an the facilities provided by the art of ad vertising, New spa pen, printed 1md i llustra ted cards, telephone, personal calls, in short ~ all ~~ civilized ~, way~ to attract the PC:Ople'5 attention are tUlly employed by them; and the pu blie conscience Ii Dot pricked. On the contrary} the women who attain extraordinary success in their business are highly esteemed, se. m ueh sn l.hat they begin to dominate political and :flna:ncis.l affairs as well OS the admlnistration .. I t will he recalled that such a triumph had once upon a time been achieved by the women of the same class in the Greek ~ocier.f a 1.$0.

COlI,!'. from p~ 44) .

1be.re iii":a. :9cldkT wbo- lOCi abo-ut tCwinl hii wild oats, ued there ls a soldier wlJn ~ ti'l.:: rl5k of hi-. Tirtl in r.trder to pmtm human mora] wI"Uei and teaeh ~ world lessous uf piety ud pu!"ity~ Has roa.D beeome eo dtptaved that be cannat' dktinaui!ih bt::tw«.c tM tw-o 1

46 Purdah and the sratu$ of Woman Itt Islam

M. Ferdinand Dreyf1.Mil, a member of the French Senate, stated a few years ago that prostitution was no longer an iao1a.tcd fact, but bad become a fl.lll-8ed2td business and an oTganized industry on account or it~ being 8. great mone)l-yitddi1l8 a~I]CY. It h.., iu recru itiDg agents who gather the "raw stuff" p iU travellers who :move f rem p 11:lCt= to place and i~' markets: which deal in tho import and export of YOUD!, litte girls" esp~jaUy those under ten years old r

Pa u1 Bureau ~ys :

.. c Here again we find ourselves facin& not isolated acts, the result or chance meeti ngs or i.B.e~ perience ; but a powerful organisation, duJy officered and systematized with the object of putting itself at the disposal of unmarrlod. men who wish to use their sex\lal activ j l Y 'W ithout j ncurring the r-e&ponsibilities which nature has attached to tbat functlon, A numerous body of . publicists and lecturers, physicians and apetnecartes, midwives and commercial traveuers, using the moil up.... to-date methods of advertisement a Tid demonstration, hal assumed as its special mission the instruction of an ever-growing clientele in the vast apparat ug which a perf~ly developed lecltniq ue placts at. its disposal j ~ • (pp. 21-22).

.

Besides this, prostitution is rampant in hotels, cafes and dan~i ng

halls, where women sometimes are subjttt.ed to i~hUman tft.a.tm.ent. Once in 19] 2 11 mayer of Eastern Fr"uce .had 10 intervene and rescue a. girl who bad been sUbjected· to sexGa1aratitication by forty!!Iewn customers durjng the: day,. and there "WHC others eagerly .. waiting their tum ill: the q ueue;

Besides coD1I%lm!Cial hOlL8es of prostitutloa, ~charjty brothels" were cpenl:!d dum., World· War I. Those patriotJc women who "served"'!! the W. heroes d.c&nding France were rewarded with fatber]ess~and honoUJ'lttl with the title of uWar aod.nloahtr& ... ~ " idea which· a.not be j~ly re-ndered into U rdn .. These wmncn .adopted proatitotlon·· i D . ~ systematizCd 'Way and the dk1w felt mOJRlIy ~ to '~belp:1t them. Leadiaa dailies .gl France, e5peciany F~dSlO and U Vfe Parisjf:lOf.e, the: two illustrated jourtla1s~ ~ them ~t .,. drawing the people'~ .attentian \0 Ilum. At the beIi~inr of } ~17. a I.i~ n·umbu 01 the laU£r journal. had

as 'many as 199"· such offeJ't advr:rtlsed.· .

41

Se~pUt)' a~ I ~e~ency

Such ~ prev ule nee of obsce ni ty an d Iicent LO USTI ess .5 ! n fact the result 0 r emotio na I ex c i tern ent wh ich i ~ ca u sed by Ii te rature, pictu res , ci IlC III 4., l hcu I rC"1 da nci ng and nude and i m mora L public: perform .... ~\I".'~::,.

There i ~ J. ho rd e of se I ILs h ca pi ra I i~ts who are dol n S t hc~ r worst to arouse 01~~ people's sexual appetite with a view to mali: ing money. DaHil.::'!. i:t 11 J wee k I it:';j ~ ill ustratcil jo u rnals, fortn igh tl ~t~ .i:..L ud mon thJit:S, all pub1i':lh highly t:<.ci,liJlg articles and shameful pictures, for they can ·tlllh en .... ure quick. increase in their circulation. Intellectual ca pabd~ I j 1.:':-'. M ll:o. Lie ~ k.i lls, L.I nd psyc he IOQ leal tact are used to entrap and ill fl uence peo ple _ BC'~j des, h iSh l'l impio u s 1; tc ra t u rc j n the sha po of pamphlet', ~IHJ bnoks on !iC:-;' problems is ,regularly published in ed iuons as. 1;.J: r ge us 50,000 C"IlC h, most often run n i ng .i nto sec reg, of reprin is. Some rub tis hlng h 0 uses ha ve specia lised in the publk:il~ lion of 5 uch l~ te r ~t tu re, Many 11 W r~lcr has dim bed I hI:; ladder or czninemx I.IIlJ g 1 .. 1 ry in this way, Now it _.Il: no longer disgraceful for an au l hor 10 wei re n I tce 11 tious book. If it tun-s in to ·many edhi ons, j ts' success may lead to a ChKi r in the Academy, or at Jc:ast to the Crei Jl d ~ honne ur, .

The, go .... er II men L luoka on I hese sha meless, se x-areust ng activ ities wit h U 11(:0 (leer n. Very seldo m has .l h.a ppcn ed th at some hJply o ~11L: In i ng !!'o pu bl i shed and t he pol ive re i ucta nty ngi ~te r • criminal cast, But then, there are liberal courts of law who deem it is 1iuf8cie.nt ju~t to adm.onish i he defa ult ers ~ f.ot the: people who pfCside O"WC1 these CQU rts are the rnselves accustomed to dra w pleasure out or such I itc:rat UK. E ... en ~cme or the j udge s lhem~IYl:s are wrtters or o~ne books, If by e ha nee a mai;i<;;lrJ re hap(lL!Ui to. be: .old-fa.!jhioncd .~nd the writer!i smldl ·!jnjlJiiticc" at hi$ hJDd~ rerao"WDCd . s.choIl1U, and litterateu rs ~QmC 11 u.t a nd r aist= one 1,UU)'en.a]

. .

"Vem. throllSh the press, -calli og for a free .and WDrelf£red al~pbete

lot the pr08~ess. of art and .litc.Tat ure. Tbcy vr:hel1lenlly Of'~ aU !§.Oris of mOT;.l1 1"f;~ tric tions (or these ace ordiDg to the m reftt(:t the ~.D.r.a~ty o( ~be _iohtr 11;. -i.1gt:=;, and urc i mpo~ with a v ie w to cur bi nil

.tt.rw:an! .

No:w let us::;.ee bow 'hj~ fine an is dev eloped + It LS de v cloPfd

4K

rnai n Iy by means 0[' n ude plct u res and U I U5.t ra ted OJ lb urns v. h ich are p repa red in m i Uj on 5. and orr e red for sa 1(' not 0 n I yin the rnu rket, hotets and cafes but ~I .. o in schools alia colleges. M, BtnLl~ Pouresy who prescntc .. J 01 report to the Second National Congress ",snj nst im mora I. t Y. rerua r k ed :

"'These fillhy ri'h.~to~r:Jph~ produce an incredible disturbance or the s..I:!nsE;'!":, and li.:Jld to urge the U nfortu nate people who buy them to {hc In O~ l mo n::.,! 3"0 1I s crimes. T h~j r d i st integra ti ilK act ion u po u bt ,ys il nd gi r IS.!!i tea rful, and ha ve seen many -r.:ollr-J:!:c~ ruined morully and rhy!:ioicr1l1y hy thl,.·ir means. For gi rls there is no m .. "I-I'c P~) ~""'LI-r u Ily d-t::"~l ruct L lie a gen t" , (P, 42). The same nne a rts a I'(:" he i ng dcvc loped l bro u gh rccreat iona]

activities at l.h~alrc.:-:-. + cinema and rn usic-halls, and cafes. Tbe dr.ll mas, t ha I a re presen t cd on the F re nl::h l-itagL::: a nd are w it nessed kecn~y by· rugh ~Ijjss. Frenc h :"u~ Le~y , a nd whose- aut hers, prod ucers ami arti ~t~ rece i n: unl vet sal a p ~~la IJ se ~ are one and all reple te with sexuality and obscenity. The salient feature of such performances usually is th ~t the m oral! y wo ~t c h araetc r is. prese n ted a~ an ideal worth y of respect an LI i rn i ta t i on. Accord i ug 1.0 PEl ul B urea. u, the ] ife portrayed and prese nted by the F !"tile h dra ma rists ca n only give a cultural onlooker rhe impression that married couples in France are by and lar~e deceitful and d i~h'yu.1 matrimuniatly, He says :

""Who does not know, in france or among fOT"cigtlefS how perse1,,'eringly our dramatic ·Il utho rs ha ve dt'ltoted ~ hemselves, thl;iC l.a.st tbirt)' yean r to rlace on the stage a ll the most scandalous passage!!: of ad u It~ry and f ree love, of tlcentlous life and of divorce? Under t he pretence of repre-senting the manners. of our time, one: would Imagi n.! ~hat I;i.ra nee had non!'; buL unfaitbru 1 spouses, no h.' .. , .1 L1d 'S ~.-: cep t boor So and rool~~. ~ it Joe:5 without sayhlB that !ht: impulse to which the leadiog ·cb~r

. yj.el.j SIS kr(!sislj b k:~ and the p layw right" wou Id be d i!ligraceLJ ir he i ntrrnl uced OfL the boards people capable of teSpc~t.in.s t~!; lilws or tradition a I rnn ra t i iy ", {p, 4.1).

I;rum ttl i:s rna y be jud sed the condkion .of the theatres and: re I.: rea t ions meant for the pCop!e ~ t large. The Iangu age .. the coq uelt ish bc-h"-L v~m.l rand, the nudeness tha.t CJ n sa ti.!.fy thcijoC w~ch.ed~

Tragic Curtsi!quel1ces-1

49

licentious pt .. oplc emotionally is presented freely on tbe stage+ uJt, goes without saying that the obscenity of the bills and advertisements

. .

ann ou nCC9 a nd ensures the 0 bsceni ty 0 r the perf Of ma ncr. This is

lIIuat is caned free or realistic stage", Em ile Po u resy has presented in his report several instances which he collected from various recreation centres. He has preferred to use alphabetic letters; to names 7

j ... At H, monologue . ..; a at! songs are gross ~y obscene: the ta b lea t.x and d ra matic scenes gu so far as to plctu re the sex u al it: Ia Lions, The audience= there a re more than a thousand d isti ngu ish cd spectatmi-a pplaud frantically. At N!I the Ii tile SOIl gs, the most obscene monologues, and some gestures which are veritn.blt public outrages on chastity, are applauded by cluldrtn ~lld y.oung peopl c LJ ndcr the up prov lug eyes of their parents - At L, a very numerous audience calls five times the 'cabotin' WliQ .nd:s his. tum with the most hue! vious litt le SCI rig imagj na hlc, u. • • at. R ~ a m 1 xed audience no isi Iy recalled the: .;!oi,~ ngc r 01 an exceptionally obscene item. On this occasion the 'cabrtin' grew angry! E1tl,d in mid dle of her performa nee ~ C~ H rod out i:ndig~alllly : ~~ Dirt that you are. . . you don ~ l see th at l b ere: are children here", and, wi l no L:.L L finishing, retired to the green- 1iOIOQl. (p. 45) ,j At X. the: performers at a. cafe-chantant are put iaro a lottery ~ they themsel v es offer tickets at tell centimes each; the wmner call keep the woman and her room for the n ight ~ the kf:Y is outside lh.£ bargain". (P. 1-6) .

Paul Bureau wrile~ tba t most often u tteely T1 akcd women are presented en t.ht &tage. who form the chief part of these performances, M, Adolphe. BrjbWI1 once protested fl.8aius.t such perform ~ aaecs in the famous French newspaper, T enzps ~ rema rking :

~ 'W e a re driven to wish that the -sexual act might take place 011 the stage .. + ... (p. 46).

Indeed the perfection of ,j art" will he achieved only then j

The so-called scientitlc and medical 1; te rature on contraecpti on and sexual science has a tso helped to spread obscen it y and pervert public mO(j_!ity. Concept io nand rela ted matters, and the usc or contraceptive devices art so freely descri bed by lectu res and the magic lantern in public meetings. and by illustrative notes jJ;l publicationsl that. nothing remains hidden or unesplaincd. Similarly,

50 Purdah and the StatuS 1)/ Woman in Islam

books on sex treat In detail of all aspects of sex anatomy underthe cover of seienee, so as to remain above censure. Now the propagation of such things is being labelled as the '(service of humanity", The writers and publishers say that they want to save the people from sexual Japses, But the fact. i~ that this literature aud this mBSI training have caused the spread of extreme forms of obscenity among men, women and the youth. The result is that a young girl in school who has not yet attained full physical maturity pOSResAeS such knowledge about :3(::X as could never be imagme:d by married woman before. Same j-g the case with young, immature boys. Their base emotions become aroused before time and they begin craving" for sexual experience. Thus, before they attain puberty, they become accustomed to lI:exual gratification. There is au age limit prescribed f~; marriage! but for such ventures" there IS no a ge limit. The youth begin embarking on these front 11 Or J 3 years onward ..

SiaU of National (;ollapit

When moral depravity, self-worship and sensual indulgencehave touched such extremes; when men and women, the young and old, have got lost. in sexual craze; and when man has been completely perverted by sex incitements, natural consequences leading a nation to total collapse will inevitably follow, People who witness the prngress and prosperi ty of such declining nations, which indeed -f'.9tand an the" very brink of an aby5;9 or:fire'''~ are led to conclude that Uleir self-indulgence is J] ot impeding their progress, it ig rather aceelera til] g it. They think that a n arion is at the peak of its prosperity when its pf!Ople aN higbly self-indulgent. But tills i s a sad conclusion. When the constructive and the ~tructive forces are both working side by side and the constructive aspect on til e whole seems to have an edge. over the destructive aspect, it is wrong to count the latter amonl factors leading to the former, Only an insane person can draw such an inference.

Taker or instance the case of a clever merchant who is earning high. profits by dint of his inteUigence) hard work and cxperlenee,

But at the 'Same time if he- is giwn to drink, gamble and read a. care-free life. will it not be misLeading to regard both these aides

Tragic C~quences--.-.-l

51

of hi'S: life as contributing to his well -being and prosperity'" As a matter of fact, the fiest set of qualities is helping him to prosper, wherc.as the second set is pu 1~ i ng him dnw n+ If on account of the posjti ve q uaf ties he i~ Ilou ri~ hi ngl it does not mean that the negati ve forces are ineffective. 1 r one care!";" to IULJk "a little deeper one will see that these forces are in fact ea tJ US in to his .... ery vitals as well as into his fortune, They are indeed laying in ambush for a chance to make a xurpri se and decisive attac k on him. It may be that the devil of gambling bri ngs h i;:oL wnotc f Of tune to nought in a moment, and he IS lying in wait forsuch a chance, It may be that the devil of dri nking leads him to com mit a r H. tal m is.ta.ke render lng him bankrupt in no time. and be is ryJng in wai l for such a chance. 1 t may be that the devil of sexual Indulgence leads hi m to commit murder or suicide, or to some other calam ity.. One can not imagine how prosperous and tri urn phan L he would ha ve been h ad he not fallen a prey to these devils,

Similar is the case with a nation. 10 the ~&iQnilli it recei-ves impetus from constructive forces, but then due to lack of proper guidance it takes but a few steps in the eight direction, and begi.a.g ~alhcri n g IOU I1d it the means of its own destruction, F or a wbile the constructi: .... e forces drag it along under the momentum alrtady g(1 i ned L But the destruc d ve forces' that are working s.±mllJtanoously ~ weak ... m it 150 much that one stray shock can send it spra wling to its don rn. Here we shall brietl.y mention the mal n causes (If the French nation's decline which were the di~~ t result of its wrong social system.

Decay of Pby§leal EDtfgy

In the first place, tho FI~nch people's sexual indulgence b8.~ .grad u ~ lly resulted in t he Joss of their physical strength. Ever .. 'PJ'""::"~'': n l L:: rn otion 1 L sit ua t loa s ha ve broken down their POW(I!t of resistance. Craze for SI;!X ual pl ~as. ures has left them w J t h 1 ittlc or DO forbea ra nee, and the prevalence f~ r venereal diseases has affected their nattonat health fatal ty • Eve r since the beginnin s: of the 20tb centu ry ~ after every ~Il pie of years ot so, the French military a uthor ities have bad to lower standards of physical fitness r or new eat r3 nts, beca use yo ung me [1 coming up to the previou s St3 ndards

j2 ~nJaJ. and the Status of W (m'P"~ in Islam.

have day by day become rarer, This .me.a8ure, wjth the: accuracy of a. thermometer- preci!j:ely indieetes .hOW' fast has the French nation been losing its physical strength. Venereal diseases are a rnajot caUiC 0 r its d~d ine. During ~ tint two yea rs or WorM W ar T ~ t be number or French soldiers who had to be hospitalized on accou fit .of 'y phllis was estimated at 75,.0(X). In II garrison town or average importance, 242 sold i~ 'Were f 0 I.l. nd s,lLfI"eting from this disease sirnult.aneous1y. Imagine for a whik the predicament in which the: ·Frencll nation was involved, On the" one hand, it was facing a tire 2ind death situation and stood badly in neal or the si ncerest eft" ort by every single soldier for its s u rvi val : each franc was precious, each second of time and each ounce of energy valuable, and an pcsslble resources were called f'Oj in nati onal defence. And an the other, thocsands of yl" u n ~~"~CTl la Y use less. f 01' molt ths together on account of sexual diM.ipat ion! and were rh us becom lng instrumental in squanderi n g t1 ational wealth and resources on" trcarment at such

a critical time.

Accord ing to 0 r. Le redde, a French speci~l ist • about 30,000

geath~ arc caused every y-e~r ill France by syphilis and its immediate or ulti rna te results I which is the second biggest ca use of death a ncr tuberculosis, An4 syphilis is not the only venereal disease.

Dirraptioll of Family SY!ilem

In the second place, free sexual indulgence and licentiousness' has disrupted the family system in Fra nee. It is rna. triage that gi ~~ birth to family life, binding the man and thl! woman together permanently. It is from the ma rri menial bo nd that ind LV ldu als draw peace of mi nd ~ nrmness a nd stead fastness in life. It is: this bond which diverts. their ind i vid us. lism i pte collective eha nnels and presses 'ihe anarchic trends into the HCTV ice of cu ltu re and civilization. It is "the family relationship in at crca res an atmosphere of love a n.d peace a.nd fellow-feeling so essential rOT" the proper development of morality, right conduct and ch aracter arno ng the new genera tions. But the family system can neither be C!) tab 1 ish ed nor can it work j n a country where men and women 11 ave" cnmp 1 c::tdy J o~l sigh t or rna rria~ and its purJIDACI whe.-.c sex ua t re 1 !:I ti n n iR ai mcd at grati r yin g 8t:X U8' urge only, and where hosts or p!casu re-see king men and women a r ..

:keenly and constantly going about sucking j u ic.:c fTom every :Rower, In an environment 81.1 ch as th.ist the people are soon duprived of their Gapahiliut::!!o> to shoulder responsibilities of matrimonY:ll iti ObUgatiODS and rights and, sustain the moral disci pline that it brings. This mental and moral state leads to and results in the dl;:tenoratlon of roUbre with every new generation. Illdividuw become so 8elfttb and self-conceked' tbat community life begi ns 1;0 disintegrate. They become so fickle--mButed ~t their national as well as i nternational bella v iou r ~ns 1.0 soff-er itom a I.ack of CUD,6d:!:ncc ~'l.d stability. Without Lhe ~ of mind that accrues from home 1 ife, li'WGS of individuals become-devoid of sweetness and light!" and a state of perpetual restlessness &!:pri V.J:S them of all peace and tranquiUlty. This JS indeed. the torment of this-worldly hell that Juan ,iOt.I in for in a r.t of senseless pleasure-seeking.

Hardly 7 Of' & per thousand people in France enter wedloell: annuaiJy, Tbis low peKln.t.a.p clearly indicatt& that there are big cbon'k~ of French popu~ tha.t are, unraarried Among the few ~l'ricd ones there are eVCD r ~l' who 1i ve chaste or marry with :f1 'View to living a morally clean life. Apart from this, tne)' have -aU soru of motives while entering matrimony, one common mauve, being to legjtimize the child born DT concci ved before marriage. 'Poll 111 Bu rcau wri te;l:: that it has almost beco me a c ustom alUODI the French worki ug classes that a woman, before marriage, must ha ve the.&S$UJ'ance of her would-be n1J.Hband to recognize a child who is not his. In 1917, il wom.an stated before the Civil Tribunal or the Seine:

~ 'By these present I declare to my h usband. That in our union I have only the object of legrtimizing the children bona of Ol1r ufree" union, _ .. and JHJl that of resuming our Hfe togather. J lea vc him on the day of OUt marriage at 5.30 p.m. ~ ,n order to ~apc from conjugal duties which I have no intention. of ful.6J.]· ing; I give him by these 'present a deed of separation, to serve iowa rds wh at is necessary ill 0 nler in obta in a d tvoree". (P. :55). Tht: Principal of a great co Ilegc 0 f Pa ris t old Paul Bureau :

"At the pre sen t time! many y oung men see j n marriage nothing .but the means of securing' a mistress at home. _ _. For len or .twc]ve years they have roved a little in ,aU directions, tasting various forms of Jicenticusness in ~ a.rio 1..Li-: degrees, A day comes.

;54 PurJah and the StatlU ()f W.oman In Islam

when tbey tire of this restless and i rregu lar life; they ta.ke a lawful wi t"e~ convinced tb at with her wUt be combined the ad-vantages of safety and tra nq u iIlity with those of .Q.licentiOU6nest~ modified indeed but still ell fficient and· relined. to suit a tess

exacting appetite." (P. 56)~ .

F ornicenon in France has come W bl: regarded ~ an aet thit does not entai I a.ny censure at all. If :8. man keeps a. mistress bftidet his wife he need no t concea 1 her ~ The ~Ociety does not at all mind it, for individual ~ are with i n their rigfrts to do So.

In such circumstances as these, the· marriage bond has bC'COJMI too weak to stand any stress or straln, Sometimes it does not even last for more than a few hours. A French dignitary who had several times held ministerial ra nk obtaiaed divorce from hls wife just five hours after the rna triage ceremony, Sometimes very minor and silly things cause divorces. For instance, snoring by one of the partners or one's di'!ililting a dog. Once the Civil Tribu nat of the" Seine nullified 294 marriages at one sitting In a single: day. In 1884, when the new divorce law was passed, lou r thousand divorces wtre" decided. In 1900 the number went up to 7,500., in 1913 jt was 16~Q(Q,. and in 1931, 21 ~OO(t

GmotJde

Dringf ng up of children is a hi2hly mora! n::!pOD!;ibility~ It £alIs for seJf~discilJline, seldessness,. enduranee and a high altruistic spirit. Selfish and egoistic people who are comp1etely possessed of jndividualist and anima 1 desires cannot reconcile themse lves to undertake such a responsibility.

For the last :seventy years or so, France has been in the grip Dr auti-conee ptlonist propagan da, CODseQuently t each French man and Fren-ch woman is now fu Dy aware of all those dev ices by which they can enj oy all the pleasures of the sexual relation and yet eK'-8.pe the natu ral consec uences thereof, t, e ... conception and procreation .

. There is 0.0 city, no town, no village, where contraceptive drugs and appliances are not sold in open market and made available to all a TJd sundry. The result is that not only the sexually promisell ous people use them freely but also the married couples have taken quite a fancy to them. Now every man and woman desire that they

Tragic COT1~equeIJC~S- I

should somehow a void a child, the bugbear of their comfort and pleasure, From the constantly fallin&. birth-rate in France, experts nl!ve estimated that OD the average 600 ... 000 births are prevented annually in that coun try hy cnn traceptl ve devices.

Conception:.; that take place in spite of l hesc devices are preci pita ted by a borti on, aDd th U$ a nether 400,000 births are prevented; Abort ions .[l re not only p-rocured by u uma tried women but married WOmeJ1 .also gQ in for these in: large numbers, Morally thlH a:ct is TegardeJ. bla meless and righ t for women. Though it is still a crime acco rding to la w ~ the law bas ceased to look upon it sertouslyHardly One case out of three hundred odd cases is registered, and 75 per cent of the culprits are acquitted by the courts. MedIcal devices for performing abortion have been so much simplified that m u:.; t wome n call themsc 1 yes perform a bortion; and those w 11Q cannot are readily provided with expert aid. Destroying the young one in the womb ha~ become as simple and common a thing for the people as getting all aeh i ng tooth ex lracted,

This craze has so corrupted. maternal feelings that the mother whose love has always been proverbial has become fed Lip with her own offsprin g. If in sp i te of the contraceptive devices and a [tempts at abortion, some babies do succeed in seeing the fight of the day, they .f.L re given ~ nhuma n treatment. ·Pet ul Bureau expresses this tra Sic fa ct j n the toll 0 wi 11 g words ~

L~Frnm. time to time the newspapers report the martyrdom of children whom their parents ill-treat, torture ur cripple; but besides these cases thea is the sufferi ng, or w h~ch neigh bOU1~ a re ElW.fJ. rc, of t nose othe r unwan ted little ones who are blamed tor having come into the worhl, for having disturbed the pleas u re :i nd selfishness of the others, F or lack of courage people sh ri n k from abortion j ~ I order '[0 stop a pregnancy which Uou~ht J10t." to have occurred, but the innocent child win pay ror the misadventure." (P.74),

This malicious atti tude has touched ex treme Ii m its, Once a worki ng gj rl was so much de lighted at the death of her si x-month ... old ch 11 rI t ha t she danced a od sa ng 0 ut of sheer juy by i ts corpse and exclaimed !

·~Wc certainly won't have another. My husband and 1 art!'

5-5 Purdah and th« Statw oj Womart irt Islam

greatly relieved by this one ts death. Think what a little baby is: it cries all the- tim!!:: .• it dirtifs its clothes, and one j ~ never done with it" , (P. 75).

The more tragic part of it is that this calamity is spreading fast, and the: goveroment3J].d 'tu.w courts are not taking due notice of it but 3R r..re. ling it li:&hHy like the cases of abortion, For instance, in February J 918, two girls were produced befou the Court of As9iF for the Lout district on the chaI"!f of kjiling their babies, and both wtre acquitted. One of them had drowned her i n rant! though her relatives had offered to bring up ijJ:e child, as they had done in ·the cue of another to whom she had pr-e,.. iousJy given bin h, aut the mother was determi n ed Dot to tet it li ve. The Court let her off observing . that her crime was pardonable. The other girl had srran glcd her baby,· and when she found it WE.\.S yet Ii vi 118 she 11 ad knocked it again~t a wall. Thia woman was also acquitted by the Freneh judges and jury. In March 19] 8! s. dancer was put be fUf'P the jury uf the Seine+ She had tried to tear out ~CI" infant's tongue, Cf'\1Ihed its skull and I:ut its neck. She was al~o:held innocent both by the jud~" and the jury!

A nation that develops such hatred a.nd hostility again ~t its own offspring Ci'!!nnot be saved [rom annihilati on -even by a JT1 iracle, N i:W geoerations are nece~sa:ry in order to contin ue the ph)' ~jc.a} existence or a nation. If It turns against ib own seed it j~ in fact turning 3J31nn itself; it is. comm~ttin!- p.uicide~l

Even if there is no external enemy it will I.OT1 ihilate itsel f in dOl: course of time. As: I have pointed out above, birth-ra tc ill France bas constantly been faIllO,J for the !.p,t seventy years. or so. Sometimes death-rau: exceeds birth-rate, :!!.ometiDles they are equal, and S(IQletUn-es birth-ra te -o.ceed!f. death-rate hard!y by 'One per tbonsand. As against thls, immi!l'ilO.ts in France are on the inerease. In 1913, out of. total population of 41 8.,OOOtOOO in France, ~890,OOO were Foreigners, If this state of a1fairs persists, it is not unlikely tbat by the close: of the 20th century the F reach ua tion might

I, "'M ore .c:ofti!1ll tba:a cradles" ~ wrote a German author- with rc8~rd to' the

• Frencn; and w.I~cd, ··TI'I"U9i mu:;t diBappu:r throuilJ lbejr own fault tb~· D1.1.iCIa"

• who bave 'brokl9l the fuudamenti!llilW1 of Ufe '1. (P • lOS).

Tragic Consequences-s-l

57

well have been- rendered a minority in its own homelan d.l

This is 3 n short the logical con~q uenee of the movernen t which was initiated in the beginn ing of the 19th cen tury fot the rights and ('mancip~tion of women.

,.....

l. ~jTbiI btautiflJl nation ~a e¢mm.tti ns: suicide", said ('.If the F:rc:ncb, Pr$!I:idtm Ro~L j FA people whose women ue not con viDt':d that rbe.re i5 J10thirlg m.oie beautiful fot them than to be a FJcd wif~ and motber, U • pel'Yple wbo hll.s scrloll:$ reason to be al2rm.ed fOT~il\ future .. •. (('nrrquest f)/ lfapjJl/tLu

. by,- IkrtftJJd R llJ:!IeJr~ l'J'. .209}.- T.r.

CHAPTER 6

Tragic Consequences---.II

ONLY for t he sake of historical conti.nuity we have d welt on the moral concepts or France and their consequences there, but F ranee is no" isolated in this matter, 111 deed all the countries tha l have adopted these concepts and the irrational, unnatural principles. of comm uni IY· llfe are involved in 11 similar predicament. Take for instance the case of the U nlted States or America where til is social system has alm os I reac hed its zenith,

Sexlllll DtliDQ.ueDt]' Amoaa, Amer[~an Children

J ud_ge Ben Undsey who in his capacity as President of the luyeni Ie Court at Denver availed himself rully of the opportunity to collect ftn.t hand information about the moral eondl lion of the American yo LIth, writes in his. book, Tile &volt of MOOnlt Youthll tha t American children are Illtainin2 maturity premature1y.

,. Sex -ovenvhelms them before their minds and thel&' powers of restraint and j udgernent are rna ture enough to cope with it. • • .. We made a special study of 313 girls. We found th at 265 of the 313 had come to physical rna L uri ty at 11 and 12 years, more of t bern maturin gat I 1 tha n at 1:2. . .. Such children, at 11 or } 2 years, may h ave the deaircs and needs of the girl of 1'&

or older". (Pp . .s 1...$2).

Dr. Edith H ouker writes in her hook, ~ws .oj Se» ~ that "en

in the cultured and well-to-do c1a5SC~ or society it is not uncommon to fiDd gidst seven years old or so, involved j n ctandestlne love a.ffu irs with boys of their own a ge group wi l h w h om sometimes t bey ha ~e: sa relations also+ she relates the: case of a seven-year-old daughter of a respecta ble family wh 0 had her first sex experii;mce with her own elder 'brother and some or his Ir ienijls. . Another gf"OUp of five

r===-

1. PubJillibed from London by John lane-- Tbc Bodl6y Head. Ud. (19-32:)

d..ildrent two girls and three boys, who ha ppened to live next door to each other, were found having sex relations between them, and they also exercised similar influence over other children of their llge/ !be oldest among them was just ten. Another 90-year-old girl who apparently Jived under the Ute and protection or her parents had the pciviJege of being the sweetheart of a nun:iber of i=1]Uv<:rst\. (P.328)- .

A physician of Bahim OR has reported lh at within a year or 150~ more than a tho usand cases of fornieation with aids under 12 were tried in that city. (P. 177).

This is then th e first fruit of the social environment charged with sexual exeitem ent and licenuousness. An American author says that the social system unde r which most or the American population Is living is 50 uno atural that boys and girls between ten a m.l fifteen year~ of age sta rt fetliflg that they are in love with each other. Thls results in ·,gra VI! eonseq uenees, Such premature sexua.l illttrest has always led to llnfortlloate heppenings, The least that can bappen is that adolescent girls run away with their friends, or get married in young age ~ and if they fail in Jove they commit suieice.' ~ISt.

ChiJdren whose sexual feelings are .waken~d prematurely gain their first experiences while at elementary . seheole meant for boys (II girls cnly or schools of ee-education ..

In the first type of schools the abuse -of homo-sexuality and. masturbation is fast spreading. For the feeJin&& that are aroused in childhcod and are incessantly stirred by ineenti Yes all a:rouod must crave for satisfaction. Accor4ing to Dr. Hooker, many instances have come to notlce in such schocls, colleges! training schools. for·nurses and religious institutions, where members of the same sex have been f ound involved in homo-sexu allty to the extent that they have lost all in terest ~ nd desire f 0.. the opposite sex, She has mentioned in detai1 0. great many cases when: h"y~ were founq with

1. I~trt: i!i Pfl'bably more ~DJphamll on z.a in Ametit.m. toda)' lhao In any bltion to lliBtOJY~ , Amcrkan life is SJulJ'attd with aD uD1lAtur.Q] and UD~8lthy CI m,ph.I..siIi. on &t!X' ••

(Noll' Qr f.r'~6t by Dr. 8mJ1ey BbmJ:~ p~ lH}-T.r.

60

Purdah and the Staws of Woman in Islam

boys· and girli with girls attached in homo-sexuality, Some other booka also reveal how widely bas homO-8CX IIi( lily spread. Dr. LoMy ha:! stated in his. book, Herself, that oncu .. he Headmaster of a. school confldentially informed forty families that their 501;1:5 Could not be kept at schoot a'S they had been found involved in "a ·hiply dreadful immorali ty" . (p. 179),

Take now the case of the second type of schools ttwt have adopted co-eduea tion. Here, the incen nves as well as the means .of ;&rati6.cation arc readily available. Sexual feelings tb3t were awakened jn childhood are further aroused here. Boy~ and girlJ read' dirty aex-inciti ng literature, Love romances, pampblets. on so.-called ~~arttt" cheap boob on sex t articles provid in g contraceptive ~ormation, such is the reading m aterial craved for by the youna: mare and female stud~rtt!i: of these schools and colleges, lIend.tk:ft Von. LoODt famous American author, says that the literature whicb is In great demand in the AmePican urti versities is so 0 bscene, Licentio-ull and i ndeeent that the like of it was. never ~ freely presented before publ ic in h istory +

The information drawn from such li teraturc tner. becomes the 5U hj.ed. of frank and free discussion among young people of both the sexes, and thus equipped they advance towards practicel ~ .. pcritnre. Boys and girls go out for petting p:trt~i!I. where they freely dTjnt and smoke and enjoy danoing and· music.! AccQrding to Judge Lindsey, at lean 45" per cent of the high school glrLs become -sexuaUy experienced before leaving scbool~ This percentage is evott bigheT in tile later educaticaal stages. He says ;

''The high-school hoy is a much Less dramatic figure than tho hi_gh-school girl. Generally she sets the pace, w hatever it is to be, and he dances to her pi ping" 7 (P. 66).

ftree Powtrl'ul Moti'ffl

,

In school-s and colleges there cxiats some sort of discipline which hinders free inter-play of emotional activity. But as the: young people leave the eduea tional instituti ons and en ter the world, th-eir stirred up emotiob-s and depne.rate habite refuse to be bound by aoy restrictions. They find ever-preHCn l situations to excite them emotionally

1. H()w 1 CQl1 ~f M(lnkd',. p. 172.

•

TrtWic C~s-l1

Gt

8i wtll as tnea..os to 8Jatify thci r desires,

An AmerWadl magazine has analysed the causes of this un .. precedenltd preva lenee of immorality. I t ~ys that • triJ:aity of the: foUowing devilish forces has dominated the world of today and tbeat.-are now wOT'king together to turn it into hell :

{a) Licentious literature which has increased ill obscenity I.lod. ci rcu 14Ii ti Oll ala tremendous s~ and spread unusually fast after World War 1.

{b} The movies which not. only arouse sexual hunger but also teach practical ways of sa t isfying it, and

( c) the depraved mont i (..'OndJtl~n of women which is reflected by their attire, nudity, increasiog smoking habits and

their free and unrestricted intermingling with men, .

These forces are becoming stronger day by day and they now eem to a ugur destruction for the Chris han ci vi I ization and society ~ If these forces are not checked in time, the history of the West wiU not be any d ifferen t from that of Rome and the other na tions which loot their all on a ccou nt of their sens ual indulsence ¥d Iieentiouaness ...

..

Pfe'ralCllC-e of ~l PromI~1ty

Women in America who Jut ~ ado.pted. prostitution as a career ba.ve been estimated at fi.vt: la(lli:. An American prostitute cannot be compared to her lodiMl counterpart.. She is not a professional prostitute but Il. woman who ~.:s: till .rec:etttly a.n· employee some ... where. She became sexually promiRCUQU OK ·8OOI)u.nt of bad CO:Ib.pAoy and came to sattle in the brothel. She will do htlf.' 'business" .here for a. few ~l' and taen revert to amp loy.mellt in some otIico or factory. Detalk=d Cise-sl:udy ha& shown -tha t 50 per cent of the America prostitutes ~rr: once do:rnestic servants; the remaining c:une after at",jng up lerVioe in hospkals .. offices and shops. Mostly 11leV eDter UPOll this .ca.reer between 15 and 2() yeaT'S or age j and .tter attaining 2·" to :.\0 years of age they gen eral 1 y leave the brothel to join some free profc8S ion.! Th is bri ngs out tbe signincance of the presenc-e of five Iac prostitutes in A meriea who have ado pted Pr05titUtion a~ a permaneut career ..

Alii has been pointed out .bove~ prostitution In the West has

62. PunJ~ .mod the StaNr of Woman tn 1~1anr.

been orga.~d as a busines.s on international Jevel. New yortt Rio de Janeiro and BuenM Aires are the ~t centres of tbb bwineal 10. America. The two pr~pa1 hQwes of New Yotk have; their own l!Ieparate administrative co .. neils whose presldents and ilCCrttariei .sre regularly elected. These councils ba.'Ve appolated . their lepl advisers who mfegu.ard their .interests in the, courts of Jaw. There au t hou-UBdJ of aseotl who au 8. bo~ with a view to· enticing away young girls lor bnsmess. Somtt.imes these ~nti do roaring husi uess. Once t.h.e President of the Immigrants' . I..eaPe of Chicago .received during 6ft.c.on month! the addresses of 7.200 girls who lVt:lC ,coming to settle in the U nited States. On enquiry, It was found tbat 1 ,700 had n:achc:d their d~til1a1ion~ The other j ,.500 could not be traced!

Apart (rom brethels, there are plenty of assigaation and call :hOlllM which an: spe£iftca1ly maintained to enable gellrJen:ten and ·ladies to- have: ~Jb 02) each aili-et. Investigation\; have shown that ·there -were 18 such ho •• in OD~ ~ty,.; 4J iD. another, and 33 in ~ -third onc.1 1'h.eE home:!iI are- not only'risited by 'nnmarried ladies,. but married women also throng then replarly. Accordin,s to :il .fa1]lOf.lS. rcfOlJllCr1 at JII!:'8.tt one-third: of '11K married population ot N~ York. .b. unfaithful matrimonially both from moral al1d phyiUcal points of view ~ And the6e CODditi.oos I_Ie not peculiar to NI:W YOl"k~

,.they bold troe for IYeJY city aad town in thCI UnikMi States.

M ~icall.oomm.iu.·Q{ motal refetmers popularly Jmollnl as the: Commi~ of Fourtca is earnestly enppl in lracing ClIntJel ('If imm.oratity~ ducbin& the COQD.try's motal ~ndition and ~ practical ~ for ~ IDC)ra1s 'on a brp eca!e.. Kepons ·poblisbed ltJr it have 0I.1oa1ed that almO:81 .U baUroc:.st uisM dubs, beam, WOOI);S, mukore sho pll mea. rooms and haif...

·_dressing &aops in A.mcd::a ba ve turned into houses or prostitution;, . .nay, their conditioD Is eTeJl worse on account of tire vnspeakablt wickedness' bein& committed there.I

Venereal ~5Ci

Prevalence or sexual promiscuity has resulted in the prevalence or venereal diseases. According to an estimate about 90 per eent of the American population is afflicted with these diseases. En~ycfo.

•

CDl1r. {rem s- 621

"Now it ~O.n'H!tiIrH!s seems that aU America t!. one big Oq:ont 8(,x. . ~ With

today 's mooel it is no lo01!lel' IlCICCI:!IS8J')' to "Sit in aa.mpod .q_ uari=-.1 for a ~pt.Cific time. J mproved aIld -e.n.1arged to ¢".ooompalill the continent, the bl8' machine work,;: .rJn its. s.ubjlClCti- co.ntinllougly I dB)' Uld nil,ht. F.ram innumc:ra.bIc. .seroonl and $~. PMiml'.; an ~ ~ it flubes the la.rser-lbJu:l!·lifo--B~zed il'l:lagt:S of :MI:.

'From COtl.Q!~ racks and ~ it pu:!btlli t.hcI boob wbk:b. a few )al"S qo wen:: co05id~ porlWpaphy. F.rom myriad lou.d·rpeabttl it b.rmu:k:alta ibe ward! aDd t'.Qt.b.m.I of pgp-muiiI:: ~tica. Aod conJtantly. Qvet' lbe Wlc.uflCtnal :.Muzak. comes,the.DJl!lS8l,ge that IC.I; will save YOII.l.Dd 1fbllio mab!l you (.roc ••• 'Ib.I: Gree.b whu .ba~ srO'Wn u~ with the memory or Aphr-odirc CIID OIlIy ~ ,.t the AQlc.IU:aa JQddc:~ llillkco and semim:Klel in n miD.io.n advtriiRmmt&. • • "Iba U-S. ~ lo be I.I.DduJOiDi a RY .. :diltigu ~ .IIlW'a aDd an «c.ion ot ~ ~t ia tu.tDiDa: it Into what Rc:icb called. "qx .ffitmin!l: culture. . . ., ..

"PlfUtJ,. NucaIOl1 lAd the iIlI;'l.OO;tl.Dt: vf jllOralit1 alllU'iC do pan ~l'CII to~ to u..r 1IIIdo:n,\~r ~1>ut thq UJUally AOlInd ba1f-.bearted., ... • . ND :eew KiDIe1 R:pOn o¢t Oallap poll C8Q ch.a.t't rbe ~l grivato--&Dd. mast ull'CUl:l---.ol

tu.bjcc:b:... - - Of' '

,

, ~. Aracr.ic.a dmbc:IllO'Waday~ ma.uap: tg ba' botb fraa &nd .tpw.tVCI , • •

.-ad.":IMI. lie 4own. lkiru: &.I. UP, ski PI.DM art tUht. ;JtrdIe31 1EtC.... IlDd .fiIurN UO bdict .............. to which ~ cag, bot. vcr: fnw objcdjons w w .1'1

'1a II; JIII&"l ad I)'mpWm 'Df an era in whi.ca ~i.k ant widdJ'lrdd to be ~ pr!Ya .... ~.i:Il which plea:iUle b i~.iinsJy eo ~ aD.JJnost ,coG...

'.uwa-l filM ~ ~. pri~-:iQ.. Ulcb :!d.f..cJeajal." ~..., ,N ffIoP*s ~ 1 ather lh&a virtuI. WlIiID ~ has l'CdQu:d 'fear of Ioa;fo ~.ntdf ctanFn. lrtJoh aJ precn~ I}a.d VD. 1b!pl:iC'm\ b.., dirai~

feu or din.. punitbant. r • .111' ,

III ~ • • OD; b ~ of IC.imey 1iQI4 ... I~r .aliGIC .tCo!IIJJ: .udal. ... t.JuritJ or ~ mea. &Q:d at le!W halt' the Womoft It()V( b ave m· .. IIICa'-

c:oune Won,~ . ~,.., " ' J

-Dt~ Gnhu! Blain.:: Jr~ es.ttlna:t.IM that within !hI!:: put 1,:5 y.:an ~ JilIm!:IcIr of oono:. boy.i who had ill.terccuna Wa:n .... d.uatiaa tDHI frOID ~% to 150%, ... DlIIDba' Q( coDIgt .Jirb [rom 2:5'% to 40%, A Purdue:lIOcl.oloairt a.tima • ..... t alit out at dI: brtdu Q, p-epam, ., ~ .""

..... , today (co1Iqt bop) UI:j' ~ !oaktd dOd DII. if ~ can'l .I~

Wi1b .I coo«. t • ..." , , '

.'In. WIY, tIM slt .. ~ is dlc'J.oaical'~ ofU,S. ~ t~ yo1ltb • I' , 1M u~ bu .. tbt You ... £rM.1ivtG o.n c:IU1.. ".... ~ f£OI" PI'I'k1. aDd ,. Iti1l tIp::dt tb!Im to t'olIcnr lbiI.ruJa • • • " fCw¢ ,.,. 6f

6(

RurJ(Jh and the Status of Woman in Islam

•

ptWiia BrJtmtnlca reveals that in the government dispensaries an .. ~ of 2~OOtOOO cases of syphilis and 1 ,50~OOO cases of gonorrh I,: a are treated annually. 65 dJspellsaties have been set apart f Of such cu.es. But people by and large prefer private doctors to iOVe.rnl:lilW.t dispensaries with the result that 51 per cent of the syphilis Cales .and

c..r. {rolf"". 64) "'~ . . . odtc:r .Jilb. oo.D.Ii.d=' a ~rgLn down .rjghi.Bq1l3.m. ~ W9:1 at \l'irviDily,..

.... tcIU:ltiJl, i.D ~CYt i!. !imply Q.O I.OD~ cL)n,.l~ aD. ADe:ricia:I. Tn.pdy ..

, '

. , ·11 ~ --:

.~n. bit lWW dtw.Lopmoat is. tM o:l;"Iti c~trl'l;epIi"" pin widely ~ ~ eYeD> . ~ "4ItIL'I.ely ~iIcu .. d. ~ "t ¢Q1lc:1JC a lid at bo rue. A coM.i~akl bQy l':!Ib a ;lid poIi~t .. iAm JOlI 011 p~ 'I" If not J bill: ta k~ the precantiom. b{m~r. . . ~ t,.. . ~tI 3pitt: cf .. n ihi::!l! tb= number 0 r itlegit r mate d!ildr=n born t~ toe n-a p. mothers roM! .from 8, 4 ~ thoUSl.nd ifl 1940 t~ 16 in ]96 I, in the 2{)·to~15 qe IJ'OfJP frem n.:z. per tbollSil.nd~D 4].2."

~~ . . . when N.ew York ij]rls speak of a date ai N .A.T -O-t lheY tneI:o.' CIO"Me.m.ptu~m!y+ "lINo Action, ·ta1k Ouly."

n • • • tie U :s .. 'I!!: taLltwr try i 118 to banish sln from tbo lIDiVCJ;'st • ~ ~ an finding nr::w :rim: to WDrrY about . . , PBych o::malyst Roll:!! May bclicv=a thlI.~ it w mioiinistd extu:mc stY:ial am:.icly "hut il'lCN!a.sed. fl1tunal tCfl!lon . • .....

·"HJstQtil!ll Will Durant recently decided it was time to . ,peak. out, not onlY lOB ;S.CJI,; ual morality hut 011 morAl!. ~Clr~'y. Sa.i d hi!: : "Most of a:ur lilen:hue atld· &Ocial phil~by after 1 sse W~ the voice of frt(rdom .IMt IlUUwrily .. of the ch lid api nst the parellt, of the ptJpil a.piDSI the tMclw. 'IhrouIb..y ytan I i.barcd in lbat indivlduaif.'Uic nvoU. 1 de not TC!,II"8t it ~ it .. tho ~ of yollfh to defend libe&ty anel'imtantiDD, at the ~ to defend o.r4er aDd.t:rMIt~QQ ... and of mJddle Qg( to:find :II. midd~ w.ly. . Btllt.oDw that I tOO·1JQ GWt I: ~ 'Wt'~~ ttJ.e b$.tt.kIl fouibt wu Ac:Pt to~ t:complak:ly won. Let ~ .., IiWYrbly l;!Iut pu~Y that we reten.t OOCtupfwll. ill poJitk"l, ditho~lY in~. &itlll~ tn ma-rrlaSt:. potnO.j!"aphy in lireeature, cou.DeDi!IU in ·la1'l~ cb.m in ~ meanj n~k5SDeh in art ... , (pp. 48~:53).

It wm be inte.rcs.ting to note some of the CO~ by 1'eAL'1en a;l tbU ~a.

publWled in tlg. TIME of Jamury ] l afld Ftbnlary 7~ 1964 : '

J. "'Wt, as coil. studc:1IU, would .li.te to lhJ,n.k you for the fn.Dt. ~ and thouPt-Provok.i~ fIrlkJc:~~.

2. ~~J.cannot Mlp :hut q.ree wi~ tho facu: you oxposed .• ,

J. .u:T "':!~ faJdn·ll_ T1: was a brave efrort to aU attclltfon to IJl. niiliD.J. evil, 1 apJ:I.rcciat.!!! tM w,eaUtJ of .fact' •.

"', ~·Sho.;:k: P¥Ii!! w .. y to appll.ux. It· w.:iJI monUlIlC:Dta;I, iocvita~ .. bittor,.. ~I.I)' and uJlim.e.ld;y wholaQ.DlO~J,

s, ~·Nausca.t iJII .. depressina. heart bt'ea t 1n& lUCb are U)I!: i.rte:r-c.IYoctJ. of your ar~1e (Q sex. ~ .. - ";t'r.

65"

89 per cent of the gonorrhea cases have to be treated and attended to by them, (V 01. xxiu, p. 45).

Thirty lo forty thousand infant de8.t~Si every year are caused by hereditary syphilis, Total deaths caused by syphilis alone are more than those caused by all diseases other than tuberculosis.' Acco rding to gonorrhea specialists 1 a bout 60 per cent of the 10Wlg men and women, both" married and unmarried, suffer r rom this

• II

disease. Specialbts. of fern ale dlsea ses are agreed that operations

performed on the genitals reveal 75 p-er cent gonorrheal infectionSl.2

Dlreree and Sep."lI.tion

10 s-uch cor. .. ditions as these it is unlikely that the family system and the sacred marriage bond could survive , Women who earn t 11 eir own bread, w no do Dot stand in need of men el-cept for sexual gratlflcation, and who can easily have them without entering wedlock .. look upon marriage as a useless institution. Modern thought and rna teri a 1 isric [fends have Tid thei l' COn5C!CnCe of the fee ling that ha .... lug extra-marital relations with a man is anything vicious or sinf ul. This has rendered society also so i nseusitive that it does

not abhor such women (lor holds. them worthy 0 r censure, Judge Lindsey represents thl; feelings. of the average American girl in this

regard 3 5 foliows : "

U W ell MEllY"! I put i u, ~ ~ wb.y don't you and Bill gel married T" "Married 1" 5.he said derislvely, 'IWhy Judge, out of ten girls in my set who have gotten married in the last two years more than half arc divorced 0 r se parated from their h U5band! • . .. ' ~ (P, 124).

"W c believe we have a natural right to 3. comparuon-ship and an intimacy w hich we i nstinctive 1 "f crave : we have a 'knowledge . of contrace pnon which precludes t be likelihood that unwanted babies. will complicate the situation ~ we dou''t admit that 'S}ICh."

L ... ~h. vear ~]'philiJI kills 4,000 Amencans, find In 1~62 il infc:t.ed :a reported 20~OOO. Mmcc'Vtt', a recent ~U(~ conducted by the Am~~ S(II;:J.!.l Health AHOCtatiQT1l fn cc-cperatton WLt~ the American Me(li~l A'9::iOl;i:ltion. revealed wt almost 9U pet cent of lI-yph~~:,;, C1~! 10 unrep orted, Expert 'Opinion f'lH~~~t~ that plJ:tSw.ly 1, ZOOjOOIJ peo .pit arc now aLllictl!d Vo'ith untreated sypfulis " (R~"d~rs Di![CJ r, Januaty 1964}_ -Tr,

. 2" • ·1.fllll of Se», ., IJ. 2Q4.

66 . Purdah. and th« Status ()f Woman in J slam

a eourae on OUr part imperils the safety of human society; and we believe that this effort to replace tradition with what we think is common sense will do good r~ber than ha rm. " (P. l.3 9) One th i ug that Call ever bring shameless women with such ideas

round to m arriage is the sentiment or love. Bill more often than not, this senti rnent is. only skin -d eep, the res: Lilt of mom en 18 ry a rrraetion, As won as d esires have been sa-tis fled, t he rna n and wire a re illlrd.ly I eft with an y a ttraction r ni each other. So mere difference of temperament or habit C3USes indifference between them, leading

.generally to law-suit for separation ur divorce. Judge Lindsey ~:lYS!

"Pot every marriage in Deuv cr d u rl ng the year 1922 there was a separation. For every lWL) marriage Ilccnses issued there was. a divorce !-.u it filed. These (i gures art not II rni ted to Denver alone, They are approximately correct for many cities of the United States." (P. 2 I J).

Then he says :

I'SO fa [' as Den vc r i ~ concerned r am sn re, from a Iai ily reliable survey, and frum information constantly corning to the officers or the Juvenile Court concerning social conditions. in Denver, that the number of separations, including divorces, is now annually equal Lo the number of marriage Iicenses granted. And what is true of Den ver is, 3.5i I ha ve already said, just 11-Q \~ true of other cities, U (P. 2]4).

Some t [me back fl n article appea red in The Free Press, Detroit, containing the following ideas :

N cglect of legal rna tri mon y, increa ~ in tbe di VOiCe rate aud the prevalence of extra-marital relations. between men and women show tha t man is reverting to ani m ality. The natural urge for procreali 00 is dying out, en tl dren are being iefi~ cared for ~ and the con viction that fa mUy and home: life J re lndis pensable for the well- being of civilization and independent pui~ty is fa!)t leaving him, On the contrary tune finds 'hat man is becoming more and more unmindful ~ a n d very pain f u J!y 50,. of t h to:: tragic consequences con fronted by civilization and society today-

To remedy the abuse of divorce an d sepa ra tion "'coJn_p.Etn ionate rn arria ge' has been proposed. B ut t 1l~ re medy is· worse than the ... '-';J.se. A companionate marriage mea ns the. t a man and a worn ~111

67

should I ive together fOF some time without being married _in the uo1d fashion on, If they ff" d themselves agreeable to each other; thl::Y should solemni se m anlage; otherwise they should sepa ra te to search for new companlons. However, while they Jive together, they sho u.ld avoid ha ving children. U nJ u c.kiJy jf they get one tbey will have to be' bound in wedlock. This; is called ~rrtC love' in RlW.ia .

.

N atiooal So:h:ide

~el r-iTl du 19cnct.:.. avoidance 0 r matrimonial responsi bi lities, indlfference to family life; and instability of the marriage bond have combined to !:11m ost kill the ua I ura 1 m nth er Jove, spiri tually the purest and highest of t he fema le senti men ts, the basis of Dot only civ iliza tion but of the su rvival of human So pecics itself- Con In.ceptive devices,' abortions and destruction of offspring could become popula r only after die death of ~ his sentimen t. In spite of all legal ttStr~ct~on:! every young boy and girl in the U 0 ited States PO~9- anti-conceptionist informatlon, and contraceptive- drugs and applianccs are freely sold in open market, Not to speak of common free woman, school and college girl:.> a11)O keep these things in readiness with them, so tha t if their friend hy c h ancc forgets thes e, a pleasant even in g does nul _gn unenjoyed.

JudgE!! Li ndsey sa y!": :

I ~ Ou t of 495 girle of high school ~tho ugh not all of them were in h igh sehoo l-who a dm itted to me that they had had seX" experiences with boys ton ly a bou t 15 became pregnant. . L .. The others ~ voi ded pregnancy, some hy . J lick, oth ell beca usc they had a knowledge or more t}t ~C'~~ effective con traceptive meth od~ knowledge, by the way ~ which T fLJ1d to be more common among them than is generally supposed." (P+ 64). Sri nsters use these devices so that thei r rreedom is not marred,

married women use them so that they are not encumbered with the responsibi 1 i ty or rea ri ng children, so that they can divorce their h U~ ha nd s any ti me they like. Wo men In Si.L1 t:::13.1 use them because they have begun to abhor the v~ry idea nf motherh ood, because tbey an:: prevented from enjoying life fully, and because they think thei r phy:oj i c-a I cha rm is ruined flfter bean n.g eh ildren.!

1. Mcfaddellj M.a,.hI,x,r/ and MaJ''''ag?~ p. -S2.

68 P'w'dah and Ih£ $laIuJ Qf Woman: in I slotn

Motives may be anyjo but thtl fact is that in 95 per cent of easel natu.ral . consequences of man and woman's sexual relation are stopped bY antl-eonceptionist dE.W"ice!'i+ As regard So the remaining S per cent cases ~ conceptlon takes place just by t: hance a TId to count eract it one can freely resort to- abortion, Of even destroy the (}rr~ping. According to J u.dge Lind soy ~ at least 1 ~ ,OOJOOO a bortions arc per ... formed annually in America, and thousands of babies art: dis posed of for good as &000. .u they sec the light of the day.' (P, 118).

'lbe else of EaaIaDd

I do not wish to dwell on these unpleasan; details any longer .. but it would not be pro per to end this part of tile discus-sion without reproducing il f~w excerpts from G!ocge Ryley Scott's ""..1 History of PrQ3ritufiofl'~.~ This author, being illl Englishman, has mostly de:alt with the mo r al s L ate ur hi:s 0 wn co un try. He says.:

~ ~ In addition to lhc wo rn ~r:t who are entirely de penden t for their bread ani butter on thai T earnings from the hire uf thei r bodies) there are large and ever-increasing numbers who have otiler m-eans of earning par t Of all of their hvelihood 10 and who induJ..&e in promlscuous sexual intercourse as- :l means of' supplementing their h:U.'-OID-C!.::+ These ar0 prostitutes in all but name. And for the purpo ses of this work.. t hey may be a pdy des.cribel fl.!; amateur prostit utes. (P.] 31 )

"But, pElradcnc..~.ally as it may seem, there are far more amateur prOiltit.utes today than there ever were before. 1111:y exist in eve.ry strata. of society t and tho fact that these Jiri~ would bunt into bot angel Qt the mere su.at:i don thai they were, prostiteting their bodies, does not alter the. fact that they arc, in everyth in I except name morally Ind istingu isha ble from the most brazen harlot of Piccadi I !y . + ., It mu ~t be. remem bered that it is now fashlona ble r 0 r ad otescent girls to

1. .A e-t:crdlnIJ tc D.r. Jaooczfnc.r, Asslat.:mt Comaii ssloner ~f the New Yoc.k Cit_... D:_part.rf1t!;nt ,or HII:::it1th, ~'Of ~Jl thl:l maternal deuths in ~. Y. ac)' in ] 961 .. ow:r 50 p.e, res.ulted from crlrntnal l.bnrL~o::'1:1: or. tRr.'uJv·~ Dig£"M, Mw:-h, 1964, p. 1 ~5)--.1"t,

2. GMr~ Jt ylqr Scott, A. JJ i!JrT.lty (Jf Prostitutio» " Fr (1m A Pltr(,J1Jr J)' sa 1':1,; i'r1"~·~7ft D~y, PII,J.bli:shed b-y T. ""ere=r Laurie, Lnndon, 1940.

'b~ sophisticated, daring, and even vulgar ; just as it is f.a:~~oJ1- .abie for them to smoke cigarettes, to dnnk cocktails, to use JipSlick! to avow ~now1edge of :sc:x and hirth control, to discuss obsoene literature .. + r ~ Thu.!iI girls, in ever-inci'easina .num bers, arc indulging in sexual i utereourse befort marria,lt; so mu-ch SOt in fact) that the girl who goes to tbe altara virgin

-in any erne sense of the word i~ becoming a rarlty." (Pp.

J J2-1l4)-

Then the author analyses the 'causes which have wor-kct1to bring things l.u "Such a pass, Let U_~ have the analysis in his own wonls:

4' In the tirst place the. desire for sma rter clothes 3. ltd accoutrements ha s a lot t(t do witb it. Allyooe who cares to use his eyes can see, in every citYJ working girb by the hundred who are dressed in clothes thr:y could not possib1yalford if they were Lk:pendent saldy on their wages, The saying that ~ -men buy their clothes t~ is as true today as it was a quarter of it century ago. The clothes which the girls wear and which the men buy rur them are bettor and s martJ,..""T-that's the oruy diftetence. Then in: emlnci pat ion of woman" with the concomitant tremendous Increase in their freedom, has had a lot to do with

it. The decline of parental control 0 "'~ .&0 many young girls _ fl~ been so great in the past few years that one can justifiably say l he girl of today enjoys a greater degree of r rr:edo·ro from paren l&.l restriction or regula ti on than did the young man of the same age a couple of decades ago. ,t (p. ] 3l)

~ 'Another factor is the entry or women, in such overwhelming

num bers, j nto the business world and into the profession in competition with men. This has led to an increase in the promiscuity of women, a lowered standard of morab generally" and a decre31!O in the resistance offered to man tioj erotic advances. It has led to all these th.in~ in two different way~. 'Before woman's cm.anci .. patinn, as was evident from the inquiry in a preceding chapter, into the reasons for women taking to prostitution as a profession, a.girl in any butthe peasant class had one professlon open to her, .: and unto: Oil Ty, . tha~ of marriage. Her whole aim in life was to : make a. good m~tch ; io other words, to find a man who would

10

Purdah artd the Status of Woman In Islam

provide her with a home for life. POT" this reason she prized her vlTginily as she prized a. rare and expensivejewel. And it W~ this very prlze which she ever 13 sti ugly dangled in front . of man. Today marria ge iioi. no 10 ngr:T" the big and important thing it was. True, most normal gj rls look U pOD a successful marriage 8!1 the culmination of their careers, b II t they no 'longer are obsessed wi tlt the urgency and necessity of 1 t, they 1\0 longer spend all thelr walking hours in the ri goronx pu rsui I of ll~ To t.he contrary, ill most cases, they defer any scrio LL~ con templattQo of' marna ge LL,[lIH they have had that ~Igood time" which now-a-days is on every girl's Iips .. as at one time it WM· on every man "s, All of w hich mr:ans thar, while matrimony is relegated to the shadowy future, sex adventure loom'). up more i mportantly than ever. Vi rgi ni l y is laughed at as something terribly cld-fashioned.i So much su that thnse who stress its importance are In dar-goer of being accused of" worse practices than normal sex ual promiscuity. The modern sid"s L7C..-dO is to dunk her fill of enjoyment while she is young. To this end !!.hc f req ueuts dance- halls, nigh t el LL bs, restaurants. d rink- 102: saloons, she goes joy-ridJ::s with young men w,om she scarcely knows from Adam. In other words, she puts herself de 11 berately and repeatedly into environments and circumstances designed to ind uee aDd to develop sexual excitement ~ and !oj he indulges j ncreasiDlly in promiscuous inten.uurse as: the inevitable aftermath. ~

(Pp. 134--136)1

L lronk=ally ennuaht. l!Ida.y it is tbe! jncipiCDI professi(lnal progt]tU1C and Mt (:1_ also pimps and prvCw'ers. woo attaCh wl"-f.: to th_ft pOl8eS9iozJ of v~intty~

2r Tbc:ro.::ent. sex-and...r.ecurity !lll:a.nd3l jlll'tPb'ine; BritiSih Wu Mlnister John Profumn. will 1101 be fm;.otkn for a lu.os time. Briel ~I".IU from tM. statc:mc:fits of te5POQPi:ible people. win :shr;)W how violently it roc;'k-t:d Brita.if'l and ca'll9Cd

erlDLls shake-up in tbe adminlsrratlon oft"M. c.':j)un.try : •

Mr. Harold Macminan~ the BJ:itish PrICll:l MinWfJT, !!laid whal had bappenm had u.lhctod on him a!. he:ad of admiDiltniliWi ~a ~p and bi lter uud lastLQI_ woood."J (APAJRmlta').

~r .. Huuld WihoDr the OpDQslli(l-n Labour Lcadul laid: 'lit t.ot'li: the lid off ons (:..O.mer or tie Londol1 uw.lecworl.d ~ice and dope, blackmail and . COWlh::r-blackmail. Yio~ :I.11.d petty crime . . . TII~ is :5It'lrnethiJiJ utletly .... I;lU,e:&l Lflg about a. F:.yUc:m of :society which pail a hor1ol_lS t imcs. 3!: much iI~ It

. tC~l'ntd. M.p. 71

Tragf( C(HfseqrM1tccs-lJ

~o,.~d_ from p. j1)J

navs its 'Pdrne MiDi5.t~, 2:50 times 8:!i1 it p-ays Mem bers of h:rltameot. and· 500 t ttnl!!J I.!'i much us it pAys 'ioOIDC of its ministers o-f rciigfon >0.

A~istW:-l ftrjtf ~ Prime M {n1.!itt:r R. A. Butler said ~ .iTha.t never m hi ~ 35 years ln politics had ho:: S:~ ;!nytrullg Iike tho Profurno scandal , . .'''' {AFl'}· Mr. James Callagham, M.P-. said: i~lt is a. re~tjo" on 't.'IW" ;9C03e of .... a1un tha l in 01.( 0 ..... [1 n!::W!rape:l.'S il_hu bee1!l Chrjstine Keeler on the front pDF. lnd tn ~he RU9F..i:!:l n P~pC"r:j. it has been Vaknlina Tereshko .... iIt. ,.

H was pn:didl:d by certajn sectiens cf the British PP"eS~ tbat "nl", Ward would briDi to suriace nm (!lilly most s.qtlaHd as.peets of Profumo aff'air but aho new .' sca:j:l,duh: involvi.ttg- soma noa.obll: political ~r.!'iOI]a.htft:5' •

. De..qp.i~c: all ·~hls.., " . . • there 'WI:l~ a rush of British t6eD-up.r.l (at Q. hair·

d.res~ saloiIJn) t"OeJdug hairdol that would make them lQo.l like: ~U lin eh t'it.;tine K.etlt:l' . • • H (U r 1)

~id" this, a pr .:~s. report ni4: "Q'imc in Btitaia i:i booming . , . The numbor of imlida hle oJ1~s. l.a!'j.t year reached a reeord S,.96A84. This "MIS .a. .n:&li: of 71 per tint ow 196] .. ~ _ More Younptel'! were- in troubt.e. The· aumb'4llr of juve:n.t,es (:l;:Im,rfc:ted or 1n_Uii:tl.bk: l)ffen(:e:i ~nt up by :2 per CCllt in the fir!tt niM montb:i of 1 g.62: ro. (PPA)

Authul' Pet-ct lWwud in hii latad book, iklllJb: lind 1M &m~~ uid : 1Jti[~in has LI~Qld our m..o.ral birth rIght rot. a m$lS of IDllferfaHsm In~.d o~ ~ a cure the pUf8:tng of "r-ela.t!vt SllamiM'dl'.: of .morality that COfd'uR and .c:omproUlisc our Itfe for Iil.bsolut1!!l standardt to whkh there; are no compromise.!': ~,. He~n.ounccd Drrt~r. pII.~fl.llt Eatl RUUl:Il for bei:ll¥ a i~GrMdpa Moset of mat«jaL~ Ism in his J~rctime""'. (UP1)- Tr4

CHAPTER 7

T he DecIsive Question

THE people who oppose Purdah ln our country and in the other Bsstera countries have a somewhat similar concept. of life in thtir minds. Its outward glare has dazzled them, and iU immoTal principles, matf;lial gall1$ and 8 ensua I pleasures have overwhelmed them. They abhor Purdah because the ethics underlying' it is radically

•

epposed to the Western ethics which they have accepted blind1Yr

Moreover, it pmreDtl them from seeking and enjoying those pleas.ure~ 'Of lire for which they have developed 8 craze. Now the question is; Are tnese people prepar e d to face the dark side of this system. -or life and its practical co nsequences also 1 Opinion seems to be

..:l[vided on this point. ..

One section of the people fully understand the possible conseq uences and seem prepared to face th em. They in fact look upon these consequences as reflecting the bright, and not the dark, side or the Western way of life.

The other section, centra T'j to the former ~ look wjtb grave co ncern upon these conseque nces and do not feel disposed to face them. But these peoples h a ve become so enamoured of t 11 e material gains accruin g from the Western 'Way of Ii fe th at they cannot easily ignore it altogether,

There i s a third seen on of the people who neither u nderstand the. underlying concepts nor seem to be aware of the conseq uenccs thereof. They do no I feel even the necessl ty to U nderstand the causa; re~ a tion 9 h ip between the concepts and their resu us. Their only concern seems to be to go 0 n folLowjng blindly the current trends of the world.

These three sections are so mixed up t ogeth er that I t is _often· ~ ~.fficult to d lstinguish the people ODe i~ speaking to. Thi.s confusion is sometimes highly mis.leading. It is, therefore, necessary that the'

The Decisive Que5"rOR

73

tbree sections be clearly distinguished nne from the others and dealt with separately .

. '!be Orielltal '';;Occid~lIt.Js'' II

The first section has in tellectually accepted the philosophy Imoral concepts a nd social prj ncl ples on which Western ci vilization and CUll LIre are based. They consider life and its problems from the same view poi 11 t as was adopted by the architects or modern Europe~ aDd now they want to mould the social pattern of tbeir ~ctiv~ homelands also after the same Western pattern. They 's.inctre1y believe that the real aim of ed uca tion for the woman is to ·enable her to earn her living and to acquire the arts of appearing

a.ttraC'li ve 10 tile Iru11~. Her real position ill the fElmiJy according to them is that lli:.e the man she ~ 11 ou ld aL~o hi: an earning m.em bet so .as to 5U bscribe fu.i1y her sba TC to the 'YOm moo family budaet. They think that woman if;. Dleant tQ add charm and sweetness to community life by her beauty t elegance and attractive manners+ She should warm up pee pte by her sweet m usical words, she should send them to ecstas y by her rhythmic movements, and she should dance them to the highest pitch of pleasure and excitement, They think that ·the woman's role In national life consists in d01n2 social work, .attending municipal councils! partici paling in con ferences and eon. greases, an d dJ:.voting her time and a billties to tackle political, cultural and social problems. She sould tau part in phy~ii.:a1 exercises . and sports, COlllpete in ~wj mming, j 0. rnpin g and race Con tests, and set new records in long distance flights. In sh 0 rt, she should do

anything anti oL..'"Vt:rything outside the house, and concern herself less wi th what ls inside the house. Th is i;l) their id eal for womanhood. I t leads to worldly prosperity and aJI the moral concepts that run counter to it at:e, devoi d of sense and meaningless, To suit the purposes of the new life, therefore, these people have changed the old moral en ucepts with the new ones, j ust as Eu rope did. For them material gains and sensual pleasures are of real worth, whereas the sense of honour, Ch.u.lLtY1 moral purity, matrimonial Ioyalty, undefiled lineage! and the li ke virtues, are not only worthless hut antiquated whims which mus l be destroyed for the sake of mai:iag progress,

14 PurdQh. and the Status 0( W~ iff 151am

These people are indeed true fotlowers of the Western creed, They a TC now trying their utmost to spread and propagate i l in the Eastern countries also by the same tcchniq ues a nd dt:vj~~ as. hcve already heen adopted in the West.

M .. dcm Urdu Literature

Let us first tate literature which is by and large the most powerful factor of mouiding people's minds. Every effort Js being made thl"ough this so-called Iiterature to present the new moral philosopby before the new generations in ElS attractive- a manner as pDSll'ble with a view to uprooting the old moral values even from the reader's subconscious, To illustrate this I shall reproduce below a few extracts from the modern Urdu ljtetature.

In a famous Monthly which is held in high esteem in the LLterary circles of the countryjl au articte entitled "Shirin~s Lesson" has been published. The writer is a man of high~ education ~ iii! qui te weU .. know n and wen-placed in the Government. The theme of the article is as fcUo'WS ~

A. young girl is sltting before her teacher. learning ber lesson.

During the lesson she brings out a love-letter from" her boy friend r or toe teacher's perusal and ad vice, She hild ohanood upon this friend in a ~(tea. party" where "a lady had kindly introdUQed him" to her", Since then they had been meeting and ('xchangtng corresponden-ce between them. N ow the girl wants the teacher~s help and guidance Co write "a courteous reply" to the love- Jetter. Tile teacher tries to bring her attention" haeCk to the lesson, hut the girl says:

~II do' want to study but those th:inss only which help me to, realise roy dreams, not those which render me old too soon 1'· The ~ her asks, "Do you have other friends al!t.() 1·· And the pupjl saYSt II J h i& ve, but this friend n;iii! a special rna Oller of" snubbing which i~ simply fascinat iJlg~· .

The teacher IIlYS, "How will you feel if your fa t her comes to, know of t" is correspondence?" ,

The "girl retorts, 'I Migh t Dol father also ha VI:: written such.

lcrters in his youth '! He i!!i fashionable, maybe he still writes, God forbid, he is not y~t old",

The DecfJr,e Qu~stion

15

~he . teacher snyi, ot: ~ Fjfiy yc::ars back nobody could even thiDk of writi Dg II Jcve-letter to a lady·' .

Th.t &ril exclaims"! .~~ Did people in those days· love Jaw-born

women only? Haw f ortunale then must nave been the lflw~ born and bow roguish the nobility of those m..YR ["

The last word!"). of Shinn jndi.c:a.te the ~~high moral" draw n by the au thor; .

u W ~ yOUl"J g people have a do u hie respnnsibllty to shoulder. W e ha ve to revive the moments or joy and bliss lost by ou r el ders, and we have to bury deep the h a hits of ~yi]] g a nd anger that still pen! ist' ~ .

In another fa mous literary magazi ne j a 8'" Oft story ent ltled ~"Remone" was publlshed a year and a half ago. The theme ran thus:

An unmarried daughter of a respectable ramily r::lH~ in love with a ym.mg man, She in ~ ites him home 1 n ttl l: abse nee or ncr father aDd. wi t hout her mother 's 1 now 1 tilgr:. Their relationshi P results in ·the .TU:l.tUral consequence. The SId quietly arKu~£ to justify 11 er sinf ul act:

I-Why am 1 worried ? Why does my hea r t tbrob? . _ ~ Is it the prick of conscience that mil k e~ me 11 neasy? Am I ashamed of my Ilct? Perhaps yes! But the event or that romantic moon-l it night is writ w r tit &Old j n the book or my Ii r 1:. T slill ~ .hoJd precious the memory of those blissful moments of ecstasy. Am I not prepared and wiJ ling to saerilicc my a 1J in order to recepture those moments ?

"\¥hy then does my hea rt throb? IS it due to the sense of guilt ? Did 1 comnut a si 11 1 NOt 1 didn't, Whom did I sin against "]" I only m~de a sacrifice, a sacriftce for him! T w'sll r could mate more sacrifices for him! I am not afraid of si n, but I am surely afraid of this· cruel society, How suspiciously and distrustfully

it looks :at me . . . .

"But why am 1 afraid of this. wretched society? _. ' Perhaps un aeccuet of ~y sin·? ,.U,t wm.t is my sirr ? \\'ili not any ether girl hB"\,C done the sarrie' as I d id ? .. . Tha ~ roma ntic t1jght 3 nd that solit ud~! How handsome he looked! . How he plan ted his li ps tl pon rni ne, pu lled me un to him", pressed me! Huw-.l

16 ' Purdah and the Status of Woman in lsfam '

surrendered myself into hi'S warm scented embrace! I denouneed, the whole world and sacrificed my a 11 ttl the few moments of pleasure. What happened tbeD'? What wou1d any other couple have done? WoUld any woman have rejected him at that moment 1

,uSin ?~I have not sinnal. I am Dot penitent+ I am prepared. to do the same again. . . Chastity 1- Vlhat is cha.suty 1, Is

it virginity or the purity of ideas 1 I am no loD,Jer virgin, but hal'£: I loot my chastity? ...

"Let the in human, cruel society do whatever it plea~e5. It cannot ha rm me, Why should I feel small at its foolishly

suspicious looks 1 Why :should 1 tum pale and fear its whbl.pers 1

" Wby should J hide my race in ~hame at its meaningless" &atirica1 remarks ~ I have a elea r conscience, I am guiltless. Then why should 1 have a ~uiJty conscience "/ Why sho uldn ~t I publ;cly declare that' whatever I did, I'm prond: of .it l"

This . i~ the argument =-nd way of thinkinS which the' modem Urdu writer wanU every g;r1~perh aI's big own gj ster and da ughter also=to Jearn. He ~m:s to suggest that a yo ung girl should readily surrender herse If into an ybody ~~ wann em brace on a moon-lit nigbt, f 0[" that is the only a lte rna tive for her in such a aituation. Any WOman who is thus caught cannot act o the rwi se, This js no sln, it js a ~crifi'~jI and it does not harm ODO"S ch:t9tity. How Can chastity

: be harmed if one wi Ilingly sacrifices one's virginity keeping intact the purity, of thought? It rather glorifies: chastity, and it is an act which Slhould be written in gold h~, a woman's life hi5tory. As regards society it is diabof r.: and wicked, because it ,JoobJ. upon cha-ste ID.di~9 with suspicion. The soci!:ty iR to blame for distI"D%ting such -selftrs!l. girl$" and not the girl who does. not mi nd being )lRlsscd in an open embra-ce on' a moon-lit night. A cruel society whi~~ regards such a noble act as bad does not deserve any respect ~ it does not deserve to:be feared by the one who performs such a charitable act, Nay, -every girl shu uld publicly and fearlessly perform such Ihighly moral acts" and should try to put Society, instead, 'to shame.

Such bold shamefacedness was never espected even 0 r the prostlt~'" ~ 'Yretched &.Oui~ in faCt were never acquainted wi tb. tbe -,~ia1 ~~PhY that could turn evil into 800 d a nd ~ol1 ,into. evll'~

, ,

"_ ._ I

77

The prot. titu te would sell her body but with a sense of guilt and sin. But the new literature wants every girl in every home to ou tstrip even the prostl tute by means of the nl1:w moral philoso phy which 1 t is propagnting to support obscenity and sexual lawlessness

in another magazine wh ieh l ~ quite popular in our literary circles, a short story, entitled ""'Tbe Brother-In-law", ha.s been pub. lished, The wr Iter's fa.ther wa s a man who had earned distinction for producing the best moral literature in Urdu for the womenfolk of the Indo- Pak SU bcontinen t, an d was h i,g h 1y esteemed by them as

. a fa vouri toe author .--1 n ·this short :!i. tory the young wri ter has taken pains to present the character of a youn g girl, as a model for her sisters, who even he fo re her marriage used to get "e.x.cite(f ~ merely by ima gin ing ~'the yo uthlu 1 charm sand pa$!i;iOl1a toe behav iou L of her financcts younger brother". This girl! while still unmarried, firmly held the view that 'youth that paases calmly and quietly does not differ much from old age. Youth must be riotous, it must grow exubera n t by drawing inspiration from the conllict between love and beauty." With such notions she was married, and when she saw her bearded husband ~. she feU emononally shocked". At this, accordi ng to pJan, 8 he made up her mind to pay partie ular at ten tion to the I 'brother-in-fa w! t ~ For this an apport u.nity soon came her way. The husband len. rnr England fur higher studies! and in his absen-ce abroad I the wife and the ~~ brother-i n-la w' t passions tdy enjoyed each other to their hearts ~ content. The details of their promiscuous indulgence are written by the wife herself to one of her unmarried girl friends ill a note in which she' describes f uny he r I.: X periences through all 9la_ges.. till the culmination of her sex ua 1 relation with her" love. Her description is; 50· complete that DO feeling and no experience of the sexual act has been left unrecorded. Only she ha s not painted a wordpictu re of the actual union, which has been Ieft to the reader's imagination.

If this litera turc is compa red W L th th E;! F rcnch J itera ru re extracts from which have been rcprod U ced in t he forcgoi n g pa ges, it will be ..... ccn t hat it is hi.:aui IlS r or t he sa me des li ua tion, It is prcpa ri ng cur people mentally and rnorully for the same system of tifL:1 with partlcu iar .a uenti on to l he womenfolk, s 0 a So to dest roy t3:H sense of me dest~ ..

i~ nd h ('ID OU r ev-en from the i T ;"oj U bcon sc i 0 us,

18

Purdah and the SiQ.~us of Woman in Islam

Modern Cil'ill:l8.lion

This moral philosophy and concept of life is not working alone, it is being reinforced by the capital istic system and the Western democracy I AU these fow.."2i. lin: operat i ng togethe r to produce the pa t.tcrn of] ire that has o.lready been esta bl i shed in the West. Highly otrnxn~ Iiteralure 01\ sex is being pubIi$hed which is. fru~y fall ill gill the hands of the male and the female stu dents. Nude

. pict.u res .an d photographs or igllO ble women are printed in newspapers and jo'UmaJ~and pasted on the walls of every house and every shop. Gramophone records containing cheap, rlhhy songR are bei ng p~ a.Yl:d in every house and E:Very street. The who Ie business of cinema is run by playing upon base emotions, and by presentin g oil the screen every evening higbly 0 bscene nod immoral scenes wh ich ~o mu ch fasci na te the youn g boys and gir Is that they take actors an d actresses as rnodela [or lml ta lion. After- witnessing such exciting pel"forman~ in the cinema halls the young people P38!jilQ.D." ately st:l ahoul looking for opportunities of'love-maklng and romance, Due to the capitalistic devices to make money, conditions jn the hig t.:1 ti L:S arc Tapidly cbangiOi and it iw becoming more and more pressing for women .a·1 so to earn their living with the iCS u It that the need of propaga nda fQ.r eontraceptl ve drugs and devices is becoming all the mort necessary.

Th I:: modern democratic system whose so-cal led blessings have reached the Eastern countnes also. main Ii through England and France ~ has, on the one han d OPl:TJed new a venues for women of pa rticipat ing in pol itical and social aeti vities, and on the other, it has established lnstitu tlons tba t have created co lUI tless opportunities for the f fee i uterm in_gling of the sexes. Besides, it has undered law '"0 tlexible that in mo-st cases expre!oiRiort of obscenity, even the practical comrnjssioll of sin, is not held as a crime,

Li \PeS of the people who have intelh::t::tualLy ado pied this way IOf lift: have "bellO. almost wholly revolution izcd in so far as moral, and social aspects of Jife are concerned. The dress their women arc weari ng is such that they can casi Jy be mistaken for :til m actresses+ They hJ:i ve given up ~edesty. Thei T' semi-n ude attire r their fondness for showy colours, and their keenness for make-u P reveal that they

\ -have noother object before: them than to become sex magnets. They

"-- .. -- .

79

h a.VI.: become so immodest that new it i:;;· no more a rna tter of shame for them to bathe along wi1.ll men in bathing-costumes and get them·seJves photographed for news pa pers. This is now no question of shame for accord i ng to modern concepts of moral i ty no part of tbe 11 u rna n body is private, If the palm of the hand an d the ~n le of the roo t can be: d i ~ pia red jo what harm is ther-t ill uncovering tbe thjgh~ and the brea sts ? Heel on ism that manifest s itsetf in ~ "art' ~ is above morality an~ has s moral criterion of its own. It is on this a..,:count tha l fa thers and brothers feel deli ghtcd w 1"1 en they s c 'C t hei r young daughters. and !-1i sters gi vc mil sica] and da nci n g perf orma nces Oil the stage and will appla L1~ from exei ted a udiences of h undreds and thousands. Material succcas which for these pc.:oplt:: i:o: the .... oTe object of life is more- valuable than anything else In the 'WOrM, A .g~d who has acquired this ohjcd and has mastered the art of winning pop ularl ty j 11 wciety has attained gn.."ti t ~1J.~~e~~ j n ti f c ~ lnoug-h she rna y have lost her chastity. That "is why these peo ple ca n n ot un dC1"'Stand why a young girl 's stu dying J j ong with boys j n a school or college, Or her go i llg to Eu rope by hersei f for studies be held El.S objection able.

What 110 tile i~Occideutm ~, My '!

These are the people who mostly object to Purdah. Th ey look. upon Purdah as something detestable, to be s traigh ta wa y rejectedT.h.ey t hint. tha t ridiculing Purdah and talking of it in a J.i!i.par'1ging manner is enough to refute the' a rg 1.1 men t supporting it. But this attitude is similar to the atutude of a person who does; not recognize the necessity of the nose. on the human face, and who therefore starts r:i dicul ing every person whom he Hods ha ving a nose on his fac.e:, Such an attitude can im pre~ ignorant people only. These people, if they have any sc nse, S hou ld rea J ize tha t the val ucx they recognize differ radicaUy from t 11 c values we cher j sh, Thi ng!-1 i hat we value, have no value for them, As a result, the way of rifr.: that we cherish accordi ng to OU r sta ndards n f va I ues should be absolu tely woftftless from the] r po i ut (If view, B u.l in the presence of such bask differences only ~ f oolish person wu II ld d i:oj ~ gard the real rs sue ~rl.d ehoose to attack t~ e side-iss ues, The ouly c ritcri OIl thu t ca TI h-alp determine human val ues are the La WSi of Nat u re. A value which

80

Purdah and the SWIllS oj W ~ til Islam

. ace ordi1lS·- to these Laws sat.isJies the demands of human nature and loads: mati to real S\'I.CCeSS and wall .. being will be the: real value worthy of out' regard, Let us) thereron:::, judge our respective val U ell aga; 091 this criterion and see who is in the ri8ht~ Let uQ present our respective: argumeete and decide impartially and rationally which it rgu mcnts are weightier. Th us, if We prove our set of values to be of real standard, people .may accept them I.\S: rationally and scientifically founded, OT they may continue to foUolY those values which they have adopted aolely on account of base motives, In this case .. however, they· will soon realize that their own position has become: ridicu 1 nus,

De cU Ll:p.-Senke: '1 Mus!lms

The first section comprises the non-Muslims and the so-called Muslims only, but trus section consists w boll y of the professed Muslims r Women of these people neither observe full Purdah nor are wholly unveiled, Thei r beba viou r is ill ustrati ve or the menta l[ty of ~Ithe irresolute people who neither follow this way nor rnat, •. ~~

On the one hand, these people claim to cherish the Islamic standa rds of morality, culture and nobility of character r They want thei I'" women to be chaste and modest, and their homes free from immorality r They are also not prepared to Face tbe consequences thal should oatotally follow from the principles of :western civilization and pattern of life. But, on the other hand, th~ are violating the priJ1l:ip lcs of the r slamic way of 1 i fe a:nd taking their wi ves, sisters and daughters, thou gh hesitatingly t on the 'W3.y or W extern eivilization, These peopie in fact. are: harbouring the rnosconception that by combining half- W estern and haU:'lsJamic way!": Lhe)' wdl be gaining the advaa tages of bOoth the civilizaf ons, J n other words, they will be able to preserve I siamic morals; in their homes. keep intact the family d isci pi ine, and :t t the same time, bene fit by the charms and pleasures and material gains of the Western way of 1ir~ also, remaining immune from Jts cbuses. But this attitude is irrational in more than one way. In the first place, it is wro·ng to graft together mutilated parts of two civilizations which are diamet ric.aU)' oppo~ed to e \1ch other 1 n ideals and struc lure! for such an urm~.turo":!.l c(!nlbinaticn is more likely to gather the demerits of

Tlte Decisive Q lresliolZ

Sf

botb rather than their rneri Is. Secondly pit is equally wrt)ng toallow relaxati un in the S ou.nd moral pri nciples of Islam! give people the habit of violatmg the law, and then try to. slop them within the ~~hl1rm less" bounds. The prev a lenee of semi-nude dresses and craze for beautification, the Initiation ceremonies, and the increasing interest in the ci nema ~ nude pic t LIres and love romances, and the educa tion of gi ris on the Western pattern rna y not entail Immediate conseq ucnces ; these may 11 oJ e ven seem to har ill the present generation. But cherishing the hope that the future generation also will remain i mm II ne from t heir evil r: rt..:c ts j i;;; it grave folly, AU wrong . customs have an j nnocent beginning in th e community life. B ut as. they arc ha nded down by one genera ti on to the other they assume unusual dimens i on s. Even in Europe II n d A rncrica, conseq uences of tho reo rg all I za tj c n of comm unity life on wrung bases did not appear forth wi th : they .!lave fully appea ~ed now aftcl" three or four genera tious, Theref ore, t he blend or the Western an.d Islamic ways and 0 b servancc n f the so-called Purdah is no so 1 utj on at all, I l indeed reflec:« a strong inclination towards extreme Westerni:-.;m. People who are treading lhl!". path should clearly understand that the beginning ~hey have made may not bring them to grief, but lr will su rel y lead their chiklrcn (J r the children of their chi idren to gra ve consequence s,

Tile Deelslve QtI~stiQn

In a situation :U this , these people should pause for Of while and consider as best as they can the following basic question: Are they prepared tn face the. natural and Jt"~fcal consequences oftbe Western way of Ijfe which have already appeared In Europe and America? Do they really want: that their social environment also should be eharged with sexual and emotional excitcments ? that their nation also she uld ~ bou nd in im mod es t~ ... , corru p tio n and sexual prorni scu ity '! that ve nercal d i senses s he uld thrive a nu fam il y sys tern be d i srupted 1 Ina t div ')fCC!-: and separa tions .shoul~ become corn mon '! that men and women should freely indulge in the gratlficatlon of their sexual desires 't that new generation should be prevented by contraceptive devices, :1 bortion a nd genocide? tha t yo~ng boys UJHl g' rho: !-: h ould . c.i iss i P LL te thci r e nergies and r uin their health '1 that y II LIng c h ildrc n

Purdah arfd the Status of Woman: in blam

.should ~evtlop sexual a pp !tite prem:\ t11 rely, and that their mental and physical growth should be hampered in th e very begin ning ?

If they are prepared to face aU this only fLJ! the sske of material -sa in and sensual pl-easures, they may freely fol!ow the Western way a 1"1 d lea ve r slam alone. But before they go the Western wa.y they will ha ve, to declare their dese: tion of Islam so th a.l they may no Ionge r use It to deceive people and their misdeeds do no l reflect on Islam and the M usl ims,

But if they are [to ~ prepared to face these conseq uences ~ if they want to have a dean and pure comm unity lite. they should not even look towards the Western way, For the Western wn)' leads just to the oppc, !\it~ d i rcct ion (111 d cannot take the m to "t~ e desi red go a I. Indeed it is nn ly Islam which can provide whok:somt: atmosphere for the development of ~igh morals and noble traits of character, w hie h C~ n gua ran tee true progress 0 f m fin \i in tellcc L u al ~ s piritual a L1 d phys ical a bili t ies. Agai nit is. the IsJ a mic a trn osph ere alone III w hleh men a nd women CJ 11 perform thei r soci al f u.r:c110:1:-i to the best of thei r ~ b i 1 ity, un i n terrupted by the 1 u sts of th e f es h, ] n whicl I family system, t he ell T n er-st one of civil i zati on, "all be li.rmly established, in which lineage Cut I remain pure aoj uncor.uoted, in which the family Ute can be n. SOU rce of peace and comto ~·t f O( rna -~, a crad le of cducxt i onal t r ~i Il ~ ng f I) r h [:3 offspr i "!. g and an n ssoc i at i,-:'! n fo r co-ope rative action for i41; the members of the r.~mUy- If they really cherish these objectives, they should sincerely follow the- WilY of Islam

But before they choose the way of Islam they will have to give up

£1.11 desire f,.H material grl rs and sensual ple.xurcs t.hat hrs been crea tc d by the rase; na tions of the W estern c i vi ~ iza ti OU ~ t hey wi U have to c lea nse t heir mind of all t hose C om .. repts a nd I.: eas tha t t hey have borrowed fr.rm F ir('lp~; and they will have to cast off all those: pr inci p les all d ide-l! 5 t l1M they ha ve im bi bed r ro m the Western cult ure ~ nd W;l Y of .j fe _ 1 sla ill has its ow n prl nciples and id eals E! nd i ts Dv,' L1 soci a I conee pt~ in acco rda I1Ct: W ith whic hit has hu iT t Its. own ~y~tem of life, Jt protects and safecuards thrs system by a ~ pee i fit: d: :~I,;i p I i Ill! l h at has been dev j sed wi 1 h urm (}st wi sdom and with full consideration for human psychology. H L:::I O() Utopia like p~ u to 's Repub' c _ I t ha~ stood the test of time Lhn) ugh me re Ebun thi nee n and i.~ balf cen tunes. . Du ri ng t r, i ~ 10 ng period j ts

The Decisive Q uestian

impact has Dot produced even one-tenth of the evils. and abuses that have been caused by ths W estern civiliza tiou d urinE a century or so, Therefore. if they want to benefit by thi s stroll g and tried our system of tife, they will haV1'! to a bide fll lly by the disci pH De that it briogs. Th en they wiU not be allowed the ch oice to transplant in it half- baked ~ untested W::")'~ which arc the product of their own lhought 01:' have been borrowed from others and are wholly oppnsed to it 10 content ali d spirit.

A OJ. fo r the th i rd section, i l co usists of the fooli sb ~ nd th oughtless p:mple who cannot think and form jndependent opinion. These pcnJl~ (in not deserve attention and may, therefore, be ig"tmred~

CHAPTER 8

Laws of Nature

1

NATURE bas erea ted man, like all other s pecies, a:-:; male and' female, each pn!-:Ht:8~ing a strong natural urge for 111e other, The stud~ of other an~mal s pedes has she WI"! that their divis.jon into male and f emale and the na rural urge in them for the oppusi te sex

is confined to the propagation of the particula r species cOnly. Tha t is why their sexual 'l rge is just proporti ona fe to req uirements to that end. Moreov~r, this; urge has been su controlled in them

- .

instinctively that th~y never transgress sexually the limits set for

thci r :n at u rc, Contrary to this, man has bern endowed with thia u rgc in a Ii bcra tun rm ra 11 L:: led measure ~ knowing no l1 isci pline whatever. Man kDOWS no restriction of time: and eli me and there is, no discipline that may control him. sexually, Man and wnm an have a perpetua I appeal fOT each other, They have been endowed wi th a power r u 1 urge for 3CXU al love ~ with a n unlimited capacity to attract and be attracted sex ually, Thei r ph ysical constitu tion, its properdons .and :oLba pc, its complc x ion, even its con tlguity and touch, ha ve a strange spell for th{IJ opposite sex, Their voice, their galt, their manner and a ppearance, each he. s a magnetic power. On top of tha t, the world around them a bounds j n factors that perpetually arouse their sexual impulse and make oue inclined to the other, The soft murm U Tin S breeze, t he ru nning wa ter, the natural 11 ues of vcge lati OIl, the sweet smell of [luwers I th c chirping of birds, the dark clo lith ~ the charms _ of the ruoon-li i. J! igh t, in short ~ all the beauties and all the graces 0 f nat ure, s ti mula te di rectly OT ind irectly the sexual urge bet ween t he male and female.

Then if ",,1.: examine the physical system of man we shall find that nat urc 11 as reserved in it. a gre 11 t store of energy w 11 ich ~ ~ at once the so urce Of vita lity for J ifc, fur act i 011 and fer sex ua I coitus. The s~me g! a nd So which provide II o rm ( mcs for his Ii mbs and £L(.1J v li te them

Laws 0/ Nature

85

also produce for him sexual energy. Moreover, they develop tin bim the impulse to utilize this energy, lend special charm, elegance and grace to his body to excite this impulse, and furnish his eyes, I his ears and his senses of smell and touch, even his imagination, with the quality of being stimulated and allured by these enchant-

•

ments. '

The same endowments of nature can be seen at work in the psychic life of man. All his mental forces seem to be governed by two main urges of his self: the urge for self-preservation, and the

.

. urge for establishing relationship with the opposite sex. In youth

when the practical powers of man are at their zenith. the latter urge, being the stronger one, generally dominates the former. Sometimes it so overwhelms man that he would be prepared even to lay down

hjs very life in order to satisfy it.

Role of 'Sex Appeal in Cil'ilization

,The question arises : What is all this for? Is it .merely for the propagation of the species?-No, for the human species has not 'to depend on sexual intercourse as much for its propagation as fish and goats and other animals do. Why then has nature endowed man with an extraordinary inclination to sex and also provided

around him means which arouse and excite it continually 1 Has this all been arranged for the pleasure and enjoyment of man 1-

, ...

NOt not evert that. Nature has nowhere made pleasure and enjoy-

ment as an end in itself. It has always had some higher and nobler end in view for the achievement of which it impels man and animal

~

10 strive from within. Pleasure and enjoyment are there, but these in

fact serve as an allurement so that effort is made earnestly and with devotion. Let us then consider what is that noble object before nature in this regard. The more one thinks the more will one be convinced that nature intends to make the human race, unlike other .species, a civilized race used to community life.

That is why the heart of man has been infused with an unusual urge for sexual love and attachment which demands not only physical "union and mating but also an enduring and sincere spiritual

, ........

fellowship. That is why man has been endowed with sexual inclir '-

(ion' in a degree greater than what is requisite for the purpose of

86

Purdah and the Status of Woman in Islam

mating. The sexual urge and appeal in him is so great that if hebegins to gratify it in the sexual act even in the ratio of 1: 10, he will soon ruin his health and exhaust his energies prematurely. This is a clear indication" of the design of nature that the great measure in which sexual urge and appeal has been placed in man is not meant" to enable him to perform the sexual act more often than animals, but it is meant to unite man and woman in a lifelong companionship"

That is why woman has men endowed, besides sexual desire and appeal, with modesty, resistance and escape more or less generally ..

This quality of resistance and escape is found in the females. of other species too; but in the human female it is stronger and keener by far and it has been rendered all the more intense by the feminine

sense of modesty. This also shows that the" real object of sex magnetism in man is to secure permanent companionship between

I man and woman, and not that every sexual impulse in them is meant

to lead to and culminate in a sexual act. "

That is why the human child has been created the tenderest and

weakest of all young ones in the animal kingdom. The human baby, unlike the young ones of other species, has to· depend on its parents for protection and upbringing for quite some years, 'and it takes a considerably longer time to develop self-sustenance. This also implies that the relationship between man and Woman should not only be of a sexual nature, but as a consequence of this relationship they should develop mutual regard' and co-operation in thewider sphere of life.

That is why love of offspring is strongest ' in man. Animals

nurse their young ?nes for a brief period only, and then break all" relations of love and blood with them, so much so that they do not even recognize each other. Contrary to this, man remains emotion ... ally attached to his offspring even after its early stage of development. He transfers his love even to the offspring or his offspring." and in most cases it so overwhelms his selfish animality that he gladly sacrifices his perso nal desi res to the desi res 0 f hi s ch i I d ren.. He wishes from his innermost heart that he may provide the best possible means of life for them and leave behind the fruits of his labours for their comfort and enjoyment. The existence of this intense -entiment of love in th.e human heart clearly shows that nature

·

Laws 01 Nature

wants the sexual urge between man "and woman to bind them in an enduring fellowship, to 'make this fellowship the basis for family life, to knit several families together by the love of blood relations, to lay foundation for co-operation and mutual dealings by common loves, and finally to create a society and system of community life.

Basic Problem of Civilization

This shows that the sexual desire that has been infused in each nerve-cell of the human body and soul for the motivation of which stimulants have been scattered throughout the world, aims at turning his egoism into collective channels .. Nature has made this desire

the chief motivating force for the purpose of establishing community life. It [cads to companionship between the sexes, which in turn results in the social life of man on the earth.

It must by now have become clear that the problem of man and" woma n's mutual relationship is indeed the most f undamen tal problem of civilization, and on its right and rational solution depends the well ... being, prosperity and stability, or otherwise, of man's community life on the earth. One kind of relationship between the sexes is of animal or purely sexual nature: its only object is the propagation of the race. The other relationship is the human one which aims at bringing the two sexes together for co-operation in attaining the common goals of life according to the inherent abilities of each. To secure this co-operation sexual love acts as a binding force between the male and the female ; and, thus, the animal and human factors not only impel man to work for the advancement and preservation of civilization but also to supply individuals to continue this function. Hence, the prosperity and stability, or otherwise, of civilization wholly depends on a balanced and proper co .. ordination of the two elements ..

Requirements of a Clean Community Life

Now let us examine and analyse the question : What is the right and rational proportion in which the animal and human elements in man and woman's relationship can be combined to

I

create a pious and clean community life, and what arc the disruptive

factors which generally corrupt it?

88 Purdah and the Status of Woman in Islam

Control of Sexual Urle .

In this regard the foremost problem is how to keep a check

on the sexual urge and appeal, As bas been pointed out above, the urge for sex, is strongest in man. Not only are the internal motives in man for sex stimulation very powerful but the world .around him also abounds in all sorts "of sex stimulants. for him,

"Ihis urge for the stimulation of which nature herself has extensively arranged did not indeed stand in need of further stimulation by him .. But if man also starts devising means of promoting it by use of his ingenuity, and adopts a way of life in which the sexual appetlte goes .on increasing and to satisfy it facilities are also multiplied, it will surely transgress . all limits. In such a case the human side of his nature will soon be dominated by his animal side, and his animality will eventually suppress both his bumanity and civilization.

The sex relation along with each of its preliminaries and motives has been made pleasure-yielding by nature. But as has been pointed .out above, the element of pleasure has been provided to allure man into the service of the real ideal; vtz., the creation of a civilized ,c.ommunity life. On the contrary, if pursuit of pleasure becomes a craze with man it may result, as it always has resulted in the past,

in his ruin. Historical and other evidence about nations which .have met their downfall clearly shows that pursuit of the pleasures

of the body among them had transgressed all. limits. Their literature abounds in sensational themes; their concepts, their legends, their poetry, their paintings, their sculpture, their places of worship, their palaces, all bear evidence of the same trend. The nations which are heading for a similar "catastrophe present a similar phenomenon.

, .

They may conceal sexual perversion under cover of art, romantic

literature, aesthetics and such other fine and innocent labels, but reality does not change with the change of interpretation. After all, how is it that in modern society a woman feels more at home in the company of men than of women, and a man more at home in the company of women than of men? Why is the craze for make-up and beautification among men and women on the increase? 'Why~ in the present-day mixed society, is the woman gradually

Laws of Nature .

89

..

casting away her clothes and becoming more and more. inclined. to expose each part of her body before man who is becoming more and more crazy about female nudity 1 . Why are nude pictures and images and semi-nude dances becoming more and more popular? How is. it that a cinema picture is not appreciated unless it contains a love romance punctuated with dialogues and actions concomitant of sex relations? What do such affairs indicate if not sexuality ,and sex hunger? A civilization that abounds in such affairs and trends cannot but be destined to a tragic end.

In such an emotional and sexually charged environment it is inevitable that new generations become physicany weak, their intellectual development be retarded, and their mental energies ·dissipated; it is Inevitable that obscenity prevails, venereal diseases spread, movements for contraception. abortion and genocide thrive

and men and women begin mating like animals, Such a sensual craze cannot but ruin all human civilization, even man himself eventually. and lead the PfOP)e involved in It into such depths of moral depravity as may not allow them a second opportunity of

rising again. (Jr

Similar will be the fate of the civilization which follows the

...

other extreme. Just as dissipation of sexual energy is harmful. so

. .

is the tendency to curb and suppress it unduly. The civilization

that leads man into retirement. towards celibacy and monasticism, fights against nature. But nature has never been defeated by any opponent ; it has rather crushed its opponents. Pure monasticism can never become the basis of a civilization; it is Indeed the negation of civilized and community life. However, it is possible to create a civilization with a non-sexual atmosphere by inculcating monastic ideas in the minds, and by educating the people to look upon the sex reh t10D as something base, despicable and fihhy, keeping away from-which may be a cruerion of morality and curbing which by all possible means an act or piety <I But curbing the sexual urge is in fact curbing humanity itself. If we suppress that urge we are suppressing along with it the intellectual as well as the practical power of man, his ability to reason and think .. his courage and willpower. hjs valour and perseverance. Thus, th~ suppression of

the sexual urge is tantamount to. suppression of the intellectual :

90 Purdah and the Statu.; of Womon In Islam

, '

and physical power! of man. It is subduing and crushing aU his

capabilities leaving 'no hope of their repneration, (or the chief' motivating force in man is his sexual power and abUitYiI

Thus the primary function of a clean community life is to prevent the sexual urge froEp running wild; to moderate and regulate it in a system. The social system should, on the one hand, curb, motives leading to abnormal and sensual ttpdencies. On the other" it should open ways for the satisfaction of the' normal urges in accordance with the requirements of nature.

II

FoundiDl tbe Family

Now the question arises: What are the objects and require.ments of nature? Has man just been left in darkness in [his regard

'~, so that whatever he lays his hands on blindly becomes the object of nature? Or has it been made possible for him to find out the real object, of nature from its manifestations 1 Most people see~ to hold the first view. That is why they do not heed the indications of nature even in passing .. and declare whatever they please as the object of nature. That is, however, not the way of a seeker after truth, When he goes out in search of truth ,he takes but a few steps in the right direction and he finds nature itself pointing clearly by its manifestations to its own aims and objects.

We know that man 'has been created as male and female like the other species 'and endowed with sexual appeal which clear~y aims at the propagation of the race. But that is not the only demand

" .

nature makes upon' man; it also makes other demands. A little

thinking will show whnt these other demands are and what ts their specific natu re.

The first thing is that the human baby, unlike the young ones of other species, needs much longer lime and far more care and attention for its proper upbringing. Even If we consider it merely as an organism we shallfind that it takes quite a number of years to develop the ability to satisfy its animal needs, like the acquisition of food and self .. protection. Duri~g the first two or three years of ,its Iife il is so helpless that it constantly needs the care and attention of its. mother for its very survival.

Laws of Nature

But man, though be may still be in the primitive stage, cannot be regarded as merely an animal. He must be civilized to some extent and used to some sort of community life. This naturally adds two more demands to the initial demand of bringing up the offspring: (a) making use of all available means of civilization for the proper development of the child, (b) bringing up the child in a manner and with a view to enabling it to carry on the functions and affairs of existing civilization arid to replace the former

•

workers.:

Then, as the civilization goes on advancing, these two .demands also go on becoming more and more heavy, On the one hand, the essential requirements necessary for the upbringing of child reo increase; on the other, civilization itself not only demands well trained and well educated workers for its survival but also it requires every new generation to excel its predecessor so that it may work, for its' growth and progress. In other words, it requires that every guardian should make an effort to enable his child to excel himself, an ideal demanding the extreme sacrifice of one's sentiment of self .. regard !

Such are the demands of human nature, and their first addressee is the woman. The man meets the woman for a short while and then affords to desert her and escapes the consequences of that meeting for ever. But the woman cannot do so ... She is bound more or less for life in cons __ equence of the union. After conception has taken place, she cannot evade the consequences at least for a period of five years. If, however; she has to satisfy all .the demands of civilization she will. have to shoulder responsibilities of her short, pleasurable

. : . union with man for another fifteen years or so. The question is, how can one party alone be prepared to accept all the responsibility accruing from an act performed by two parties jointly? Unless a woman is freed from the fear of her co-partner's infidelity, unless she is ensured her child's proper upbringing, unless she is secured against the worry of procuring for herself the necessities of life, she cannot be persuaded to shoulder this heavy responsibility by

. .

herself. Fora woman who has no protector. and provider (rl_,;

Qavvam in the Quranic language) pregnancy' is r an accident, '-

. . ,

tragedy, a calamity getting rid ofwhich will naturally become an urge

92 Purdah and the Status 0/ Woman in Islam

with her. Obviously, she cannot be prepared to welcome itt!

Thus if survival of ,the race and perpetuation and growth of civilization are important, the man who impregnates a woman must

jointly shoulder the responsibility of the consequence with her. But selfish as he is by nature, he cannot be easily induced for the desired co-operation. In so far as the function of making the race survive

is concerned, he accomplishes his part of it as soon as be bas impreg .. nated his female partner, After that, the whole burden of responsi .. bility has to be borne by the female alone without any assistance from him. The sexual appeal also cannot force him to remain

attached to the same woman: He may desert her and have relation with the second, and the third woman, and thus go on sowing his wild oats. So, if it is left to his choice, there is no reason why he .should come forward willingly to shoulder the responsibil.ity. Indeed, nothing can compel him to spend the fruits of his labour on that particular woman and her child. After all" why should he prefer this unshapely woman to another charming lady? Why should he bring up and maintain ~ useless lump of flesh and spend sleepless nights amidst its cries and suffer loss upon loss at the hands

.of this little devil who breaks things" spreads filth and heeds not 1

Nature itself has solved this problem to some extent. It bas endowed the female with a rare . charm and sweetness of manner, with a supreme quality of making sacrifice in the way of love, so that she may enchant the male by breaking down his selfish egoism. It hag also filled the child with a captivating force so that it may attract the hearts of its parents in spite of its highly annoying,

. destructive and foolish habits. But these factors by themselves are not strong enough to induce man to suffer losses, face troubles and make sacrifices for years together in the way of performing his

1.. Dr. Van de Velde emphasizes the paint as follows: -The dependence of the woman on the man" and in coneequence, his supremacy in rnarria ge and in society, is l:ased on biological and natural facts ..• But it is ridiculous to try, as is being done increasing~y by certain people, to reverse the parts played in life, by man and woman. Society is bound to suffer from thls. both men and women.

. i r

and, ~ .. the end, women most of all. .. • . If the primary processes or life, which

are baSeQ on biological factst are ignored time will have its revenge. . . .. One cannot· a~~lt N B.tUre with impunity"".. (Sex Hostility in Marriage, p. 78).- ~- T ( I

..

. Laws of Nature

93

natural, moral and social duties. . Then man is not wholly free to act as he likes; he is being closely followed by his eternal enemy, the Devil, who is constantly trying to turn him away from the path of true nature by endless, ingenious devices and temptations cleverly designed to appeal to people of all ages and races.

It is the miracle of religion that it induces both man and woman to make sacrifices for the race and civilization by curbing their selfish animality and turning them into selfless human beings, Only the Prophets of God understood the real object of nature and devised marriage as the right form of relationship between man and woman for sexual as well as social purposes, It was under the influence of their teachings and guidance that marriage became an institution among all nations in all the four corners of the world. It was under the impact of the moral princi pies preached by them that man could gather enough spiritual strength to endure hardships and suffer losses in the way of serving humanity" whereas a child could have no greater enemy than its own parents. Again, it was the social discipline brought in by them that gave birth to the family system whose grip makes mere boys and girls co-operate with each other and understand their responsibility as' husband and wife, otherwise the demands of their animal nature would be too vigorous to be prevented from indulging in free sexual gratification by the mere sense of moral responsibility without any external discipline, Sexual lust is an anti-social urge which tends to produce selfishness; egoism and anarchy. It lacks stability and sense of responsibility and urges man ~o temporary pleasure only. It is. therefore, no easy job to subdue it and press it into the" service of community life, which demands patience and perseverance, devotion and sacrifice, constant toil and responsible behaviour. It is the law of marriage and family system alone which can tame this monster and turn it into-an agent for lifelong co-operation between the husband and wife" and thus

•

help in the building up of community life, Without it there can be

no community life whatever. Man may start living like animals, and eventually the human race may cease to exist on the earth.

~

Thus, the. way that nature wants to open for the satisfaction

of man's natural urges, preventing at the same time his sexual urge from running wild, is of marriage between the man and the woman.

94

Purdah and the Status 0/ Woman in Islam

leading to the establishment of the family system. All the machinery

. ,

·that is required to run the great factory of civilization is produced

-in the small workshop of the family. As soon as boys and girls· attain puberty, administrators of the workshop become anxious to pair them off as suitably as possible, so that their union may 'bring forth the best possible generation. Each child is looked after

.and bred with unusual care and sincerity by each worker in the workshop so as to mould it into as good a shape as possible. As soon as the child opens its eyes in the world it is provided with an atmosphere of love, protection and care within the family. Indeed, only the family circle can provide for it the people who not only love it but also desire from their innermost heart that it should attain

. a higher status: in life than that of its birth. Only a mother arid father in the world can cherish the desire that their child should excel them in all the possible ways, So they make unintentional, unconscious

-

efforts to shape the next generation better than their own

and thus pave the way for human progress. There can be no question of their being selfish in this regard as their only ambition is to see that their child is shaping well. That it should emerge as a successful, fine human being is the only reward they expect of their care and labour. How can one find such selfless and sincere worker outside the family workshop ?-workers who would not only work without .reward for the betterment of humanity but also would spare their time, forgo their comfort and spend their energy and capabilities in the service of mankind" who would sacrifice their all for the sake of the one who is going to benefit others, and who think their only reward is the consolation that they have provided good workers to others. Is there a holier, more exalted institution than this for humanity 11 •

In order that the human race may survive and civilization develop hundreds of thousands of such couples are needed- every

1. The part playecfby the mother in this regard has been beautifuny summed up by Dr. Van de Vc~ He says: "Maternity means to sacrifice ~eself for the coming generation" and thus for others. It means to look a fter otherl~ to think of others and to find one's own well-being, one's own happiness" only in the -weU-beinS andin the happiness of others", .~ (Sex Hostility In MtJnillge, p. 88).-Tr.

f

Laws of Nature

95

year as may volunteer to shoulder the responsibi li ties of such a .service, and marry with a view to establishing more and more 'workshops of this kind. The great factory of the world can continue to function and devel;p only if such volunteers continue coming forward to provide suitable workers for it. If new workers do not come forth, and the old workers are rendered useless by natural factors~ useful men will become day by day rare and ultimately the

whole gamut of life will cease to exist. Every man who is working in this factory has not only to go on working till his death 'but has also to provide men 1ike himself who will fill the place vacated by him.!

Ifwe consider marriage from this point of view we shall find that it is not only 1he only lawful way of satisfying the sexual desire but indeed it is also a social obligation, Therefore, the individual cannot reserve the right to marry or refuse to marry according, to his own sweet will. A person who declines to marry without a good reason is disloyal to the community, its parasite and robber .. Every man who has been born on the earth has benefited by former generations right from his birth to attaining maturity+ He has been able to survive, develop and shape as a human being solely because of the institutions and traditions evolved by them. During this period he has all along been receiving but has given nothing. The· community has spent all its resources and all its energies on developing his innate faculties in the hope that when he grows up he will repay the debt in cash and kind. Now if after 'attaining ad ulthood he demands for himself personal freedom and liberty of action and wants to satisfy his personal desires : only, without accepting the responsibility entailed by his acts) he is in fact being disloyal and deceitful to the community. Every moment that he thus lives is being spent in perpetrating cruelty and injustice. If the community had sense it would regard this culprit, this black sheep of society as it regards thieves and robbers and forgers, and not as a gentleman

1.. Dr. Grasser says; "In order to carryon his kind, man must Dot only prod uce ch ild ren, but men-; to this e nd, it is not enou ah for rna Ie and fema 'e to be united for a moment; they must, if they are to fulfil their duty to race, found a family) for outside the (arrtily it is impossible really to produce men", (To: "·J,.d~ 'Moral BQn~ruptCYt pp .. 33o.31).---Tr.

96 Purdah and the Sla!US of Woman in Islam

or a respectable lady.. Whether we wanted or not we have inherited ~ the heritage bequeathed by former generations. Now we cannot be free to decide whether we sbould or should not fulfil the demands of the law of nature in accordance with which we have received this-

.. .

heritage; whether we should or should not bring forth a generation

that may inherit all the wealth of human heritage and traditions; whether we should or should not rear and train individuals who may take our place as ~e were reared and trained for the purpose by others I

III

Prevention of Sexual ~awlessness

.Besides providing the facility for marriage and founding the family, it is also necessary that people should be strictly prohibited from satisfying their sexual desire outside marriage, For without such a measure the object of nature, viz.; marriage leading to the founding of the family, cannot be fulfilled.

Like the former un .. Godly people, perverted people of the modern times also look upon fornication as, a natural act and regard marriage as an unnecessary innovation of civilization, They seem to think that just as nature has created every ewe for every ram and every bitch for every dog, so it has created every ~oman for eveiy man, It is, therefore, perfectly natural that whenever one feels the urge, whenever one finds the opportunity, and whenever two members of the opposite sexes mutually agree, sexual intercourse should take place, just as it takes place between animals. Butthis is indeed an utterly wrong .view of human nature. These people look upon man as a mere animal. So whenever they talk of nature they always mean the. animal and not the human nature. The uncontrolled, unregulated sexual .relation that they call natural, is perfectly so in the animal kingdom, but quite unnatural for man. It not only runs counter to human nature ilut in view of its ultimate consequences it . als·o goes against man's animal nature. For the animality and

..

the humanity of man are not two separate, independent traits of·

his character, but the two have to merge together to make up his 'personality. Indeed, these two sides of his character are so closely --.. inter-linked that it is not possible to reject the demands of tIie one