The New Nation - Internet Edition

M.T.Hussain

Inequality is a reality in nature. Inequality is a sort of beauty in diversity in creation, as well. Gender inequality is nothing uncommon. In human species, inequality of gender in terms of weight, height etc is universal, and yet some among us wish to make them equal in every aspect. How much the wish realistic to achieve? Or else we may set priorities for attaining equitable goals?

Men and women are created and so born for distinctly different biological functions, never to be interchangeable between the two. Not only this. Nature has made them attitudinally different for physical difference in ability. The difference in ability is such that even the most powerful democratic British Parliament has had long ago admitted its inability to 'make a man a woman and a woman a man'. And that remains as it was then realized long ago. In fact, no parliament could do as yet anything different. The difference remained as the nature had originally made.

I guess that science, medical science, in particular, might in future do something about it. Let us wait and see.

The West in recent times has shown some examples of 'same sex marriage' that might be taken as simultaneous functions both of a female and a male, and so a sort of equality in practice. The matter, however, remains as exception rather than rule or normalcy. Others would term it as sexual perversion, if not sexual incapacity or inability.

Now coming back to the issue of gender equality having the vicious scenario of inequality accompanied by repression of the fairer sex, there are many things that need be done in almost every country for attaining equality between genders. But the fact is that all those demanding end or remedy cannot be done right away overnight, simply because, there have been accumulations from the long past since the first creation and settlement of human beings as in family ties.

First, if we take the reproductive function, it is not only almost exclusive to female partner but also involves burdensome for her both during prenatal period for nearly nine months undergoing chemical changes in painful body functions and post natal until the new born would look after himself/herself in basic health elements.

The male partner has little to do in these matters except that if he would do some baby-seating job. There is thus no scope for attaining equality in such crucial and critical issues.

Second, nature has made female body different so much so that they attain puberty at earlier age, and so emotionally susceptible to male attraction for sexual act.

This is a sort of vulnerability that is manifested in female child trafficking for sex slave markets from the poorer countries to the affluent ones. Even if the question of sex slave is not there as in the permissive society like the USA, is it not horrifying to know, as revealed in a recent survey, that nearly 40% of the teenage girls in the USA got pregnant by their boy friends?

I recall an incident back in 1975 in London, when my Tutor, a sociologist graduated from the Oxford University, Mrs. Frances Ronald pointed out to me to a poster one day published by Women's Lib activists hung in the entrance of the cafeteria of the Garnett College of Education that read, 'Why can't you make abortion if you got pregnant by a boy friend'? That was possibly rightly the demand by a young girl in Britain but also proved her vulnerability to clamor for equality.

The post natal raring of children by mother is only natural that begins from natural capability to give breast feeding that as well made her uniquely different and unequal from male partner. She thus forms core of the family and remains superior but unequal as a partner that nature is not likely to reverse as it remained in the past.

Inequality is more a socio-economic matter created and perpetrated in social system as a legacy primarily of the past. This is thus not natural but man made and so not Islamic as Islam is FITRAT or based on nature. Whatever of inequality is in practice between person to person and between genders is not Islamic but man- made in Muslim society.

The prophet is well known for realizing liberation of Muslim women in human history in the early seventh century A.D. in the formation and framework of the State of Medina compared to what then really existed in other so-called civilized city- states in other parts of the world like Rome, Greece etc.

It was the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) for the first time who made learning compulsory for all men and women that other civilizations did not at all make but just only for the few male 'citizens' of the ruling elite, meaning the PATRICIANS and not for the Plebeians meaning the slaves, much less the women folk.

As regards inequality in inheritance of property rights, the period before the prophet had nothing of any. Furthermore, if one would imagine the example of the Prophet, he left nothing, not a single farthing for his immediate inheritor after his passing away. The provision of father's property half for daughter than a son, I would take that as a token for raising status of woman in Muslim Arabia in the seventh century A.D. In addition, female member not only gets lump sum as dowry during wedding contract but also entitled to inherit husband's property that is likely to make up for the amount she would get compared to her brother as inheritance.

As is well provided in Islam and that is also normal occurrence that marriage should be between equals of socio-economic status, husbands property inheritance in such case should make up for the shortage she would have from father's property to make her equal. Islamic provision thus ensures equity, if not full equality that nature as well does not provide as normal occurrence.

For equity and for attaining maximum social justice, one has to look for other vexing areas like poverty, ignorance, unemployment etc. that made women unequal at socio-economic level. In fact, these vices more often than not have been causes for exploitation and oppression of women in backward and poorer countries.

Bangladesh being one of the poorest countries in the world, apart from unemployment of millions, we have beggars and sex slaves. Beggars are not trafficked out of the country but the young girls and women are. According to a recent report aired in the Indian NDTV 24x7, one third of thousands of the sex slaves of Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad are Bangladeshi nationals trafficked through illegal border routes I would feel that the women's rights group of Bangladesh should set a priority to stop trafficking of the unfortunate victims and for their rehabilitation in honorable vocations towards attainment of equality of opportunity rather than at this stage to clamor for unachievable equality for all in the society that breeds inequality by its own inertia inherent in obvious legacy that needs political surgery at other level.