AURORA - With the floodlights cast on the Islamic world since 9/11, the plight of Muslim women has drawn intense media attention. After years of relative obscurity, seemingly they have found themselves showcased on the cover of every major magazine.
But, for Dr. Riffat Hassan, Wells College's guest speaker for "Women in Islam: Beyond the Images," the interest has hardly been above reproach.
Hassan cited First Lady Laura Bush's interest in the liberation of Muslim women. "All this is very good, but where were you five years ago?" she said. "Women are not worth what oil is."
Hassan talked about women's groups in Saudi Arabia doing creative and daring work going unnoticed by Western agencies.
"Do you hear about these women? That's not the fiction being put forth by the prime time media," she said.
Hassan said news and policy makers are not portraying Islam as a multifaceted religion capable of change from within.
Hassan, a native of Pakistan and professor of religious studies and humanities at the University of Kentucky at Louisville since 1976, attracted more than 200 students and community members to Barler Recital Hall Monday night.
Wells College Director of Communication Gwen Webber-McLeod praised Hassan for her work on inter-religious dialogue.
"I can't think of anything better to do at this moment in our history," she said.
One woman's role
Hassan's interest in feminist theology stemmed from her time at Oklahoma State University in the 1970s.
As the only Muslim professor, she was needed by the all-male Muslim Students Association as the requisite faculty advisor.
"You can imagine how thrilled they were, but they were stuck with me," she said.
When asked to speak at a seminar about the role of women in Islam for the first time, she delved into religious text that had been exclusively interpreted by men "without the lenses of patriarchy."
"It dawned on me very quickly the difference between what the Koran says about the right of women and what happens in real life," she said.
She found many of the religious justifications to subjugate and subordinate women were the work of prophets.
"It is regarded as self-evident in Islamic society that men are superior and women are inferior," she said.
Wanting to know why, Hassan traced it back to creation theory, in which Adam was made in the image of God, but Eve was derived from a crooked part of man, the rib. Although secondary in creation, Eve, who was created for man, is also primary in guilt.
"Let me ask you a simple question," she said. "How many women do you know that came from men, and how many men do you know that came from women?"
She said the Koran doesn't mention Eve, but uses "Adam" to stand for humanity. Male interpretation lead to the reduction of women's rights.
"Women got derailed at the point of creation. They have no idea how things got this way. They assume it is the will of God," she said.
Change in Pakistan
For Hassan, a turning point in Pakistan was the Islamic Revolution in the late 1970s. Directed by military governments that considered the populace not Islamic enough, Hassan said it brought archaic punishments against women.
She said Islamic governments were challenged by science and technological modernization - standard of life increases no one could argue against - as well as westernization associated with colonial culture and society.
Hassan relayed a 1983 incident that galvanized the women's rights movement.
A blind teen-aged girl, who worked as a housekeeper, was raped by her employer and his son.
Unwilling to accept the girl's evidence, the court found her guilty of sex outside of marriage. Hassan said their "light" sentence -10 years imprisonment and 100 public lashings - led to an international and domestic public outcry that overturned the ruling.
Hassan said it made her realize that Islam was to be changed from the inside.
Worldwide debate
Hassan said the 1994 U.N. Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, where she served as a spokeswoman, was one of the most important events in history.
A discussion on abortion and family planning turned in a larger direction: Who owns women's bodies?
She said women of all sorts declared they owned their bodies. She quipped that they may someday own their bodies and minds.
But, there was a backlash in Beijing the following year. A divide appeared between two disparate groups of women, extremist Muslims covered from head-to-toe in black garb, and secular humanists arguing women's rights and religion were incompatible.
While this didn't account for what the Koran actually states, Hassan said the latter attitude also held little attraction for most Muslim women, who she described as poor and illiterate villagers who were "faceless, nameless and voiceless."
"It is not relevant to this women's life. God is what sustains her. She believes God is merciful, just and compassionate."
She offered a reconciliation of democracy and religion that could work for the silent majority.
"Religion can be a tool for empowerment. I've seen it happen. I know it works," she said.
Hassan cited First Lady Laura Bush's interest in the liberation of Muslim women. "All this is very good, but where were you five years ago?" she said. "Women are not worth what oil is."
Hassan talked about women's groups in Saudi Arabia doing creative and daring work going unnoticed by Western agencies.
"Do you hear about these women? That's not the fiction being put forth by the prime time media," she said.
Hassan said news and policy makers are not portraying Islam as a multifaceted religion capable of change from within.
Hassan, a native of Pakistan and professor of religious studies and humanities at the University of Kentucky at Louisville since 1976, attracted more than 200 students and community members to Barler Recital Hall Monday night.
Wells College Director of Communication Gwen Webber-McLeod praised Hassan for her work on inter-religious dialogue.
"I can't think of anything better to do at this moment in our history," she said.
One woman's role
Hassan's interest in feminist theology stemmed from her time at Oklahoma State University in the 1970s.
As the only Muslim professor, she was needed by the all-male Muslim Students Association as the requisite faculty advisor.
"You can imagine how thrilled they were, but they were stuck with me," she said.
When asked to speak at a seminar about the role of women in Islam for the first time, she delved into religious text that had been exclusively interpreted by men "without the lenses of patriarchy."
"It dawned on me very quickly the difference between what the Koran says about the right of women and what happens in real life," she said.
She found many of the religious justifications to subjugate and subordinate women were the work of prophets.
"It is regarded as self-evident in Islamic society that men are superior and women are inferior," she said.
Wanting to know why, Hassan traced it back to creation theory, in which Adam was made in the image of God, but Eve was derived from a crooked part of man, the rib. Although secondary in creation, Eve, who was created for man, is also primary in guilt.
"Let me ask you a simple question," she said. "How many women do you know that came from men, and how many men do you know that came from women?"
She said the Koran doesn't mention Eve, but uses "Adam" to stand for humanity. Male interpretation lead to the reduction of women's rights.
"Women got derailed at the point of creation. They have no idea how things got this way. They assume it is the will of God," she said.
Change in Pakistan
For Hassan, a turning point in Pakistan was the Islamic Revolution in the late 1970s. Directed by military governments that considered the populace not Islamic enough, Hassan said it brought archaic punishments against women.
She said Islamic governments were challenged by science and technological modernization - standard of life increases no one could argue against - as well as westernization associated with colonial culture and society.
Hassan relayed a 1983 incident that galvanized the women's rights movement.
A blind teen-aged girl, who worked as a housekeeper, was raped by her employer and his son.
Unwilling to accept the girl's evidence, the court found her guilty of sex outside of marriage. Hassan said their "light" sentence -10 years imprisonment and 100 public lashings - led to an international and domestic public outcry that overturned the ruling.
Hassan said it made her realize that Islam was to be changed from the inside.
Worldwide debate
Hassan said the 1994 U.N. Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, where she served as a spokeswoman, was one of the most important events in history.
A discussion on abortion and family planning turned in a larger direction: Who owns women's bodies?
She said women of all sorts declared they owned their bodies. She quipped that they may someday own their bodies and minds.
But, there was a backlash in Beijing the following year. A divide appeared between two disparate groups of women, extremist Muslims covered from head-to-toe in black garb, and secular humanists arguing women's rights and religion were incompatible.
While this didn't account for what the Koran actually states, Hassan said the latter attitude also held little attraction for most Muslim women, who she described as poor and illiterate villagers who were "faceless, nameless and voiceless."
"It is not relevant to this women's life. God is what sustains her. She believes God is merciful, just and compassionate."
She offered a reconciliation of democracy and religion that could work for the silent majority.
"Religion can be a tool for empowerment. I've seen it happen. I know it works," she said.
The Citizens' Say
There are No comments posted.