Accidental Blogger

I came across this post at Immanent Frame (via 3 Quarks Daily). It refers to  Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women are Transforming the Middle East by Isobel Coleman who argues that feminist advances in Islamic nations in the middle east is only possible through arguments found in the religious tenets.

One question I get is why is there a need for Islamic feminism – isn’t secular feminism sufficient to push for women’s rights? Well, the most conservative countries of the Middle East do not now have, nor will they in the near future, secular systems. Moreover, secularism – meaning the separation of mosque and state – is not viewed in a positive light by millions of Muslims. If Muslim women in these countries must wait for a secular system to improve their status, they will be waiting a long time indeed. That does not mean that secular feminism and Islamic feminism cannot work together. Indeed, some of the most effective women’s rights campaigns in the Middle East in recent years have seen a blended approach between secular and Islamic feminism.

Further down,an excerpt from the review of the same book in the Economist :

Cracking down on women’s rights has often been an easy way for governments, secular or not, to placate their more extreme allies or enemies. But many Middle Easterners, both men and women, chafe at attempts to introduce Western-style feminism. An activist in Afghanistan gently berates do-gooding foreigners: “When they come here and start teaching the women about their rights, the women often go home and criticise their husbands and their life just gets worse.”

Ms Coleman makes the case for Islamic feminism. Far from oppressing women, Islam endows them with plenty of rights; the problem lies in implementing those rights. Riffat Hassan, a Pakistani-American, argues that though the Koran treats women with respect, centuries of patriarchy have turned them into chattels. She and other Islamic feminists believe that by fighting for women’s rights within Islam, using the very same texts and doctrines that have proved so oppressive, women may be able to push through reform without being told that they have been indoctrinated by Western infidels.

At the same time, for many Middle Eastern women, Islamic feminism is a tactical choice, a stepping stone to something better. Shirin Ebadi, Iran’s Nobel-prize-winning campaigner for human rights, concedes that she would rather that the fight for women’s rights did not involve interpreting musty religious texts. “But is there an alternative battlefield?” she asks. “Desperate wishing aside, I cannot see one.

I didn't think secular feminism amounted to "going home and criticizing one's husband." But that aside, can a movement for equal civil rights within societies where inequalities are sanctioned by religion and tradition, be successful only by working from inside the system? Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar debated  Hindu scriptures with the orthodox to gain sanction for widow remarriage in India. Gandhi had to evoke Hindu mythology while  advocating the abolition of the caste system. The anti-slavery and civil rights activists in the  US repeatedly pointed to the Bible to make their case. Similarly, Shireen Ebadi the Nobel Prize winning social activist from Iran reluctantly agrees that there is no "alternative battlefield" other than "interpreting musty religious texts" to ensure the rights of women.

This post reminded me of an anthology of poems by Pakistani feminist writers I read some years ago. I am not much of a poetry person but some of the powerful statements relating to women's lives in  male dominated Asian / Islamic cultures both touched and invigorated me. I have often wondered how these brave women are doing now and if they are still in Pakistan. A google search of three of the names revealed that at least two have left – one now lives in Houston and another in London. I could not locate the current whereabouts of the third, the most controversial of the the trio.

Here is one sample of feminist poetry from Pakistan. I am transcribing the original Urdu phonetically in English followed by my feeble attempt at translation. My Urdu is not fluent (my poetic abilities are worse). I may have messed up the exact pronunciation of some words. 

 “Aklima”

—— by Fahmida Riaz   

Aklima

jo Habil aur Kabil ki maa jaani hai

maa jaani,

magar muqtalif

muqtalif beech raano ke

aur pistanon ki ubhaar mein

aur apne pait ke andar

aur kokh mein

is sab ki kismet kyun hai

ek farba bher ke bachche ki qurbani

woh apne badan ki qaidi

taptee hui dhoop mein jalte

teele par khadi hui hai

patthar par naksh banee hai

us naksh ko ghaur se dekho

lambee raano se upar

ubharte pistanon se upar

paicheeda kokh se upar

Aklima ka sar bhi hai

Allah kabhi Aklima se qalam karain

aur kuchh puchhain. 

(Translation)

Aklima..

Born of the same mother as Abel and Cain

Born of the same mother but different

Different between her thighs

Different in the swell of her breasts

Different inside her stomach

And her womb too

Why is the fate of her body

Like that of a well fed sacrificial lamb

She, a prisoner of that body

See her standing in the scorching sun on a smoldering hill

Casting a shadow that burns itself into the stones

Look at that shadow closely

Above the long thighs

Above the swelling breasts

Above the coils in her womb

Aklima also has a head

Let Allah have a conversation with Aklima

And ask her a few questions.

(Aklima was the lesser known offspring of Adam and Eve, the sister or Cain and Abel)