Manama: Arab and Muslim women’s societies and associations should work together to correct wrong interpretations of Quranic verses and the Prophet’s (PBUH) sayings on women and children in order to rectify erroneous jurisprudence, a Saudi human rights activist said.
The joint work will help rewrite religious speeches about women according to the genuine values of Islam and will do away with the male-dominated interpretations that have plagued discourses and texts in the last few centuries, Sohaila Zain Al Abdeen, from the Saudi National Centre for Human Rights, said.
"There is an urgent need to reassess the religious speeches and sermons about and for women and base them on the true values and legislation of Islam and not on the masculine interpretations that have belittled women and turned them into inferior beings," she said.
"Men have been keen on excluding women from any religious position in the justice and fatwa systems so that common people are denied the opportunity to gain insights into the genuine values of Islam," Sohaila said in Manama at a meeting discussing the situation of women.
"In fact, we see that men invariably attack any woman who tries to clarify or correct the erroneous explanation of Islamic legislation or sayings by the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) promoting the rights of women," she said. "Islam has clearly stated that women were human beings who are equal to men. Several verses in the Quran clearly indicate that women are as responsible as men in matters related to life and religion," she said.
According to the activist, the notion requiring women to follow their husbands and live with them wherever they wanted was not Islamic. "Many people in Arab countries claim that this notion is an Islamic tenet when in fact it was based on Article 214 of the French Law. It was first taken up by Arab countries that followed the French law and has nothing to do with Islam. Islam does not force any woman to live with a husband she does not like or does not want to live with," she said. Earlier this month, the activist blasted a Saudi judge for saying that a man had the right to slap a wife who spent money wastefully.