Talk discusses the struggle of Muslim women in Pakistan
Dr. Fawzia Ahmad wove Pakistani women’s tradition and modernity together in a lunch talk titled “Muslim women caught between dogma and distinction,” Tuesday afternoon.
A crowd gathered around sandwiches at the Center for Asian Studies in Eaton Humanities to learn more about the struggles of Muslim women in Pakistan.
“Muslim women must live as faithfully as possible to Islamic presets and their worldly emancipation,” Ahmad said.
Ahmad, a Pakistani native and professor with the French and Italian Department, teaches a course titled “French and the Muslim World.”
Ahmad’s talk focused on discussing the disjuncture between what Islam calls “din” and “dunyia.” Din is the spiritual, dogmatic self, and dunyia is the worldly, non-spiritual self.
Ahmad said the contemporary Muslim woman in Pakistan must find harmony between the two.
“Her test would be harmonizing between Islamic tradition, code, din and dunyia, and her perception of her status in 99 percent of Muslim society,” Ahmad said.
She presented historical female figures who resided with Pakistani young women, citing Eve Hawa, Haggar, women of Muhammad’s household and Mary Mahram. Mary has the same role in the Koran as she does in the Bible. Ahmad said in the Koran, Mary had an immaculate conception and serves as a model for girls because of her purity.
Ahmad went on to explain that Mary is the only woman in the Koran who is named as is, and not mentioned merely as “mother,” “wife,” or other impersonal terms. She said motherhood is an inalienable right in Islam, which automatically puts women on the highest of pedestals. Ahmad referenced a well known verse in the Koran: “heaven lies at the feet of the mother.”
Ahmad said that according to the Islamic interpretation of the Koran, two female witnesses equal one male witness in the legal sphere. The law is not only for rape, but for women who testify in all legal proceedings.
Ahmad also made mention of a report released by Human Rights Watch entitled “Crime or Custom: violence against women in Pakistan.” The 50 page report, created in 1999, examined violence toward women, which directly affects women’s social status.
The study found that while violence is less prevalent in higher socioeconomic classes, 75 percent of Pakistani’s female population is rural. To read the full report,click here.
“The average Pakistani woman is beset with the crippling handicaps of illiteracy, constant motherhood and poor health,” the report reads. “Despite the relative privilege of some, all Pakistani women remain structurally disadvantaged and second-class citizens as a result of legal and societal discrimination premised on social and cultural norms and attitudes.”
Ahmad also accounted for the diverse socioeconomic factors that intersect with a woman’s status. She said 36 percent of women in Pakistan are educated to the extent where they can read and write, in comparison to 60 percent of men in Pakistan.
In terms of the spiritual realm of the Muslim woman in Pakistan, Ahmad said women are already given rights, explaining that both male and female children, although separate, go to Islamic training schools. However, Ahmad reminded attendees that steps still need to be made for women in the public sphere.
“A lot of work has to be done towards securing women’s social and political rights,” Ahmad said.
The talk was the last of a monthly lunch series sponsored by the Center for Asian Studies. The lunches are hosted once a month throughout the academic year and are open to all students, staff and faculty.
Sara Thompson, events coordinator for the CAS, helped to organize the event.
“There is so much to explore [in Islam],” Thompson said. “There is so much interest in the U.S.A., especially because we don’t have much knowledge or background.”
Beth Osnes, a part-time faculty member in the theatre department, said she loved the lunch talk and has always been interested in different cultures and religions.
“I enjoyed all the different historical figures and myths, the differences of [Islamic history] and how we view it,” Osnes said. “Seeing all the different perspectives and how that affects women’s lives.”
Ahmad said she is hopeful about the future of Muslim women in Pakistan, and encourages further discourse on the subject.
“The discussion is very fresh and vital in Islam,” Ahmad said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Monica Stone at Monica.stone@colorado.edu.
