Stand up for yourself

Women since a very young age are taught to behave in a certain manner, are highly discouraged to express what they feel and are not allowed to stand up for something they believe in. Islam has never asked us to suppress women folk. Men sure are the caretakers but women are a symbol of vitality and dignity in Islam.

Then why do we ask women to stay silent when they feel the need to talk about something they believe in? Why do we not support and encourage women who take a stand against injustice?

The most unfortunate thing is that there is no unity in the ummah today. We want to be present in the happy chapters of someone’s life but when it comes to being there during the difficult times, we take a backseat. We do understand the importance of our rights as Muslim women, but when a fellow lady takes a stand for herself, we normally don’t encourage it. World today has reached the bountiful landscape of tech and ‘everything is available at a single click’ but the mindsets of so many of us are still in those old stale gardens of insensitivity and lack of empathy towards fellow humans. People across the globe are thriving in the fields that were non-existent decades ago, but the way we think is still not progressive. The world is not going to change till we change our principles. Islam has elevated the status of women, then why do we demean them and make them feel vulnerable and feeble?

Women please speak up when you have to. We see women around getting abused and exploited but we prefer to remain voiceless which certainly gives an authority to the offenders of ill-treatment; who rightly carry on with their discrimination and oppression. Take responsibility for things happening around and try to eliminate the problems instead of being all hushed about it. Being mute neither solves the crisis nor make the abuser realize his mistake. Instead it makes a woman feel helpless and completely frail in herself which could shake her self-confidence.

Also the world today needs an example of a dynamic confident woman who speaks her mind and does not liberate prejudice. We have taken illustrations from Quran and hadith on how men are strong and competent, but unfortunately inspite of knowing things; we have never considered how Islam has explicated the significance of women.

We have had such great examples of women in Islam who have been strong, knowledgeable and independent, who represented the whole society, who were leaders, thinkers and decision- makers. Unfortunately today women are not allowed to take their own decisions and are forced to live in a certain way by society. This doesn’t fall under the guidelines of Islam. Instead it’s a reign of flaws totally dominated by few insecure men or women who are either unaware about their own rights or have accepted in themselves that they are powerless and fragile.

Society will not change its outlook until you talk about it. Women were never secondary and their status is definitely very high in Islam. We need to identify with what is holding us back, unite among ourselves and stand up against what is wrong. If not now then when?

PC: https://www.rawhide.org/blog/wellness/standing-up-for-what-is-right/