“‘Islam‘as
Prophet Mohammed preached is a wonderful religion but unfortunately it is being
turned into a disgraceful one by none other than its followers”.
‘That day I saw my mom cry out loud. I saw her
going mad in front of us’. I was 12. I didn’t know what the fuss was all about
then. It was the first time I saw mom and dad fight. Later on I realised it was
just the beginning of many more of such horror filled days and sleepless
nights. Over the years we have accustomed ourselves to this fight. We were left
out in most family occasions. And soon I began losing touch with my so called
‘cousins’! Only a few years back I began asking mom what is all this about.
That was when I first came to know of something called Islamic laws of Sharia.
For those who don’t know; Sharia law is the
body of Islamic law. One amongst the many laws of Sharia is that a female heir
inherits half of what a male heir inherits because of the common belief that
the gents takes care of the financial needs of the family. Okay it might seem unfair when u know it first
but believe me there is no other religion that considers the welfare of women
greater than Islam. The only fault is ; as always; people tend to bend the rules.
For
instance Islam is never against girls education and yet there are millions of Muslim
girls deprived of even this basic right. Why? For a boy, higher his education
more is his demand in the marriage market but for girl higher her qualification
more difficult for her to find her match. Things get even worse if the girl has
ventured enough to go outside the state for studies. Why? It seems these days ,
the only thing that a Muslim girl requires is a good family inheritance and of
course she should be white as milk!
Now, I was not born into an ‘orthodox’ Muslim
family and many a times I have considered myself lucky for that. But over the
years I have found many including some of my relatives slowly turning orthodox.
I would never find fault in learning more about one’s religion but what the use
of learning is if there is no intention of following it! The summer of 2008, I
found myself attending my first Quran class . I went along with my ‘aunties’.
One of the first lesson they taught was to not gossip; for gossiping was
considered to be one of the biggest sins in Islam! After class I look around
and I found almost all the ladies gossiping! Another important lesson they
taught was to not to talk at the time of ‘adan’. I looked around and I saw them
gossiping during the time of adan!!
Coming to property rights. What if the rules
are bend so much so that the ladies are not even given half of their
property.??! How can they be cheated upon by their own family! A little
research on this matter from my side, and I have identified ‘n’ number of
similar cases all around!! At the beginning I used to blame my parents for
fighting for property, I have called them greedy but not anymore. For now I
believe at least someone must start questioning such cruel deeds that have
continued for so many decades now!! Someone should be brave enough to stand up!
Every day I see number of posts everywhere
encouraging ladies to cover up but I never see posts encouraging gents to give
women what they deserve rightfully! There are so many women who give up their
lawful property rights for their brothers, sons or husbands. Dear ladies, you
are not doing anything great by giving away your property but hurting your own
kind! My intention behind writing this
is not to trigger any religious arguments or not to hurt anyone. I used to be
and I still am proud to be born in this religion. But please ,everyone , know
your rights! Stand up for it! You are not becoming any less by doing so!