A question that
repeatedly arises is that concerning the 'position of women in Islâm'.
Muslim scholars have been able with great success - despite the onslaught
of distortion and misrepresentation - to demonstrate the true position of
Muslim women; especially of women's liberation in the advent of Islâm. The
Islamic ruling on issues such as inheritance, the right to earn, the right
to own property etc. have reinforced this position and have been
prescribed by Allâh - the One True God - long before western nations even
thought of such concepts!
The issue of two women
witnesses in place of one man is the concern of the present treatise. As
will become clear to the sincere and objective reader, the intellectual
status of a Muslim woman is neither marred nor degraded by the commandment
that if two Muslim male witnesses are not available then one Muslim male
and two Muslim females should be invited to witness. Rather, this
injunction is in perfect harmony with the nature and psychology of the
woman as will become evident through quotations from psychologists,
psychiatrists and medical research.
The passage of the Qur'ân
(Baqarah 2:282) in which the above-mentioned requirement is made has
usury, capital and debtor difficulties as its theme. Allâh grants
guidelines in matters relating to monetary obligations. Then business
transactions are dealt with. In this section, the requirement to commit
all transactions into writing is stated most emphatically (Reduce them to
writing...). The section after this describes the responsibility of the
scribe, or in modern parlance, the person responsible for drawing up the
agreement. The following section describes the responsibility and the
obligation of the person incurring the liability. The section after this
explains how if the party that is liable cannot effectively draw up the
contract - out of being deficient or weak mentally, or being unable to
dictate - then his or her guardian should help draw out the contract and
choose two suitable witnesses to observe. It must be understood that this
situation arises if it is not possible for the liable party to draw out
the contract by him/herself. The condition to put things into writing is
still supreme. The next section then explains that two men should be
called to witness and if two men are not available (And if there are not
two men...) then a man and two women. The legislation then continues and
reminds most emphatically that one should not be complacent about putting
ALL agreements into writing - no matter whether these agreements are major
or minor as this is more JUST in the sight of Allâh and more reliable as
evidence. The passage of the Qur'ân further explains that for practical
reasons it may not always be possible to commit on-the-spot agreements
into writing. In this case, it is also recommended that it be witnessed.
The section which follows then lays down the guidelines which should be
followed in the event that no witnesses are present.
The purpose in giving the
above outline is to draw attention to the fact the question of women
witnesses relates, in this instance, to commercial agreements and is
not a statement on their status.
Let's look at the section
under investigation in more detail. Allâh said:
And get two witnesses of your own men, and if there are not two men then
a man and two women such as you choose for witnesses - so that if one of
them errs, the other can remind her... [Baqarah 2:182]
A number of questions (as
well as eyebrows!) are raised when this section of the passage is read.
The questions often posed include:
Do women have weaker
memories than men?
Why should two women be needed in the place of one man?
Are women inferior to men?
One must remember that
Prophet Muhammad sallâllahu 'alayhi wa sallam was neither a
physiologist, a psychiatrist and nor a surgeon. He was an illiterate and
could neither read nor write. He passed on the revelation exactly as he
received it. Allâh, the Creator, with His infinite wisdom gave the
directives best suited to humankind. He is the Creator, therefore, He
knows man better than a man himself.
In this scientific age we
can explore the significance of this legislation. A great deal has been
discovered since the early days of Islâm. And each day of advancement
brings about a better understanding of the the last and final revelation
from the Creator, Allâh to the creation, humankind. As women, we are aware
of the cyclical psychological strains that a woman has to encounter every
month. The symptoms during early pregnancy, ante-natal and post-natal
depressions, the phenomenon of menopause, the physiological and
psychological problems due to infertility and last but not least the
psychological problems faced after miscarriage.
It is under these
situations that women can experience extraordinary psychological strains
giving rise to depression, lack of concentration, slow-mindedness and
short term memory loss. Let us examine these episodes in a bit more detail
and with medical references from the scientific world. PMT is an umbrella
term for more than 140 different symptoms and there is a lot of evidence
that it causes a lot of unhappiness in many women, and consequently, to
their families.
Psychiatry in Practice,
April 1983 issue states:
"Forty percent of women
suffer from pre-menstrual syndrome in some form and one in if our women
have their lives severely disrupted by it. Dr Jill Williams, general
practitioner from Bury, gives guidelines on how to recognise patients at
risk and suggests a suitable treatment." [Psychiatry in Practice,
April 1993, p.14]
In the same issue, George
Beaumont reporting on the workshop held at the Royal College of
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London on pre-menstrual syndrome,
says:
"Some authorities would
argue that 80 percent of women have some degree of breast and abdominal
discomfort which is pre-menstrual but that only about 10 percent
complain to their doctors - and then only because of severe tenderness
of the breasts and mental depression... Other authorities have suggested
that pre-menstrual syndrome is a new problem, regular ovulation for 20
years or more being a phenomenon caused by 'civilisation', 'medical
progress', and an altered concept of the role of women." [Psychiatry
in Practice, April 1993, p.18]
In its examination of the
occurrence of physical and psychological change during the period just
prior to the onset of menstruation we read in Psychological Medicine:
"Many studies have
reported an increased likelihood of various negative affects during the
pre-menstrual period. In this affective category are many emotional
designations including irritability, depression, tension, anxiety,
sadness, insecurity, lethargy, loneliness, tearfulness, fatigue,
restlessness and changes of mood. In the majority of studies,
investigators have found it difficult to distinguish between various
negative affects, and only a few have allowed themselves to be
excessively concerned with the differences which might or might not
exist between affective symptoms." [Psychological Medicine, Monograph
Supplement 4, 1983, Cambridge University Press, p.6]
In the same article
dealing with pre-menstrual behavioural changes we read:
"A significant
relationship between the pre-menstrual phase of the cycle and a variety
of specific and defined forms of behaviour has been reported in a number
of studies. For the purpose of their review, these forms of behaviour
have been grouped under the headings of aggressive behaviour, illness
behaviour and accidents, performance on examination and other tests and
sporting performance." [Psychological Medicine, Monograph Supplement
4, 1983, Cambridge University Press, p.7]
The lengthy review
portrays how female behaviour is affected in these situations. In 'The
Pre-menstrual Syndrome', C. Shreeves writes:
"Reduced powers of
concentration and memory are familiar aspects of the pre-menstrual
syndrome and can only be remedied by treating the underlying complaint."
This does not mean, of
course, that women are mentally deficient absolutely. It just means that
their mental faculties can become affected at certain times in the
biological cycle. Shreeves also writes:
"As many as 80 percent
of women are aware of some degree of pre-menstrual changes, 40 percent
are substantially disturbed by them, and between 10 and 20 percent are
seriously disabled as a result of the syndrome."
Furthermore, women face
the problem of ante-natal and post-natal depression, both of which cause
extreme cycles of depression in some cases. Again, these recurring
symptoms naturally affect the mind, giving rise to drowsiness and dopey
memory.
On the subject of
pregnancy in Psychiatry in Practice, October-November 1986, we
learn that:
"In an experiment 'Cox'
found that 16 percent of a sample of 263 pregnant women were suffering
from clinically significant psychiatric problems. Eight percent had a
depressive neurosis and 1.9 percent had phobic neurosis. This study
showed that the proportion of pregnant women with psychiatric problems
was greater than that found in the control group but the difference only
tended towards significance." [Psychiatry in Practice,
October-November, 1986, p.6]
Regarding the symptoms
during the post-natal cycle Dr. Ruth Sagovsky writes:
"The third category of
puerperal psychiatric problems is post-natal depression. It is generally
agreed that between10 to 15 percent of women become clinically depressed
after childbirth. These mothers experience a variety of symptoms but
anxiety, especially over the baby, irritability, and excessive fatigue
are common. Appetite is usually decreased and often there are
considerable sleep difficulties. The mothers lose interest in the things
they enjoyed prior to the baby's birth, and find that their
concentration is impaired. They often feel irrational guilt, and blame
themselves for being 'bad' wives and mothers. Fifty percent of these
women are not identified as having a depressive illness. Unfortunately,
many of them do not understand what ails them and blame their husbands,
their babies or themselves until the relationships are strained to an
alarming degree." [Psychiatry in Practice, May, 1987, p.18]
" ... Making the
diagnosis of post-natal depression is not always easy. Quite often the
depression is beginning to become a serious problem around three months
postpartum when frequent contact with the health visitor is diminishing.
The mother may not present with depressed mood. If she comes to the
health centre presenting the baby as the patient, the true nature of the
problem can be missed. When the mother is continually anxious about the
baby in spite of reassurance, then the primary health care worker needs
to be aware of the possibility of depression. Sometimes these mothers
present with marital difficulties, and it is easy to muddle cause and
effect, viewing the accompanying low mood as part of the marital
problem. Sometimes, only when the husband is seen as well does it become
obvious that it is a post-natal depressive illness which has led to the
deterioration in the marriage." [Psychiatry in Practice, May, 1987,
p.18]*
Again there is a need to
study the effects of the menopause about which very little is known even
to this day. This phase in a woman's life can start at any time from the
mid-thirties to the mid-fifties and can last for as long as 15 years.
Writing about the
pre-menopausal years, C.B. Ballinger states:
"Several of the community
surveys indicate a small but significant increase in psychiatric symptoms
in women during the five years prior to the cessation of menstrual
periods... The most obvious clinical feature of this transitional phase of
menstrual function is the alteration in menstrual pattern, the menstrual
cycle becoming shorter with age, and variability in cycle length become
very prominent just prior to the cessation of menstruation. Menorrhagia is
a common complaint at this time, and is associated with higher than normal
levels of psychiatric disturbance." [Psychiatry in Practice,
November, 1987, p.26]
On the phenomenon of
menopause in an article in Newsweek International, May 25th 1992,
Dr. Jennifer al-Knopf, Director of the Sex and Marital Therapy Programme
of North-western University writes:
" ... Women never know
what their body is doing to them ... some reporting debilitating
symptoms from hot flashes to night sweat, sleeplessness, irritability,
mood swings, short term memory loss, migraine, headaches, urinary
inconsistence and weight gain. Most such problems can be traced to the
drop-off in the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone, both of
which govern the ovarian cycle. But every woman starts with a different
level of hormones and loses them at different rates. The
unpredictability is one of the most upsetting aspects. Women never know
what their body is going to do to them ... "
Then there are the
psychiatric aspects of infertility and miscarriage. On the subject of
infertility, Dr. Ruth Sagovsky writes:
"Depression, anger and
guilt are common reactions to bereavement. In infertility there is the
added pain of there being nobody to grieve for. Families and friends may
contribute to the feeling of isolation by passing insensitive comments.
The gynaecologist and GPs have to try to help these couples against a
backdrop of considerable distress." [Psychiatry in Practice,
Winter, 1989, p.16]
On the subject of
miscarriage the above article continues:
"Miscarriage is rarely
mentioned when considering abortion. However, miscarriage can at times
have profound psychological sequelae and it is important that those
women affected receive the support they need. Approximately one-fifth of
all pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion and the effects are poorly
recognised. If however, the miscarriage occurs in the context of
infertility, the emotional reaction may be severe. The level of grief
will depend on the meaning of pregnancy to the couple." [Psychiatry
in Practice, Winter, 1989, p.17]
Also, the fact that women
are known to be more sensitive and emotional than men must not be
overlooked. It is well known, for example, that under identical
circumstances women suffer much greater anxiety than men. Numerous medical
references on this aspect of female behaviour can be given but to quote as
a specimen, we read in 'Sex Differences in Mental Health' that:
"Surveys have found
different correlates of anxiety and neuroticism in the two sexes. Women
and men do not become equally upset by the same things, and being upset
does not have the same effect in men as in women. Ekehammer (1974;
Ekehammer, Magnusson and Ricklander, 1974) using data from 116
sixteen-year-olds, did a factor analysis on self-reported anxiety. Of
the eighteen different responses indicating anxiety (sweating palms,
faster heart rate, and so on) females reported experiencing twelve of
them significantly more often than males. Of the anxiety-producing
situations studied, females reported experiencing significantly more
anxiety than males reported in fourteen of them." [Katherine Blick
Hoyenga and Kermit T. Hoyenga in Sex Differences in Mental Health,
p.336]
It is in light of the
above findings of psychologist, psychiatrists and researchers that the
saying of Allâh, the Exalted:
And get two witnesses of your own men, and if there are not two men then
a man and two women such as you choose for witnesses - SO THAT IF ONE OF
THEM ERRS, THE OTHER CAN REMIND HER ... [Baqarah 2:182]
can be understood. One
must also bear in mind that forgetfulness can be an asset. A woman has to
be put up with children presenting all kinds of emotional problems and a
woman is certainly known to be more resilient than man. The aim of
presenting these research findings on a number of aspects related with the
theme is to indicate that a woman by her biological constitution faces
such problems. It does not however make her inferior to man but it does
illustrate that she is different. Viewed in this way, it can only lead one
to the conclusion that Allâh knows His creation the best and has
prescribed precise laws in keeping with the nature of humankind.
Allâh, the Creator is -
as always - All-Knowing and man (or the disbeliever in Allâh and the
final, perfected, revealed way of life, Islâm) is - as usual - either
ignorant and arrogant.
* As has been mentioned
above the Prophet Muhammad sallâllahu 'alayhi wa sallam was neither
a psychologist nor a psychiatrist. Rather, he merely conveyed the truth
that was revealed to him. It is in the context of this quotation and the
one before it that the following saying of the Prophet Muhammad
sallâllahu 'alayhi wa sallam can be understood:
"Treat your women kindly. The woman has been created from a rib, and the
most curved part of a rib is its upper region. If you try to straighten it
you will break it, and if you leave it as it is, it will remain curved. So
treat women kindly."
And in another narration:
"If you try to straighten her you will break her and
breaking her means divorce." [Reported by al-Bukhârî and
Muslim]. This is very important advice for the man - for him to have
patience and not to try to 'reform' the behavioural pattern of the woman
during these times i.e. 'to straighten her'. He will not be able to do
that, as it is biological in origin. Instead, he should maintain and
protect his relationship with her by showing kindness.
