Occasionally there is a defense of an "Islamic" version of feminism in which a brave soul tries valiantly to defend against "Islamophobic" sentiments shared in the "biased" media. It's a laugh.
The latest is an article titled : "5 Rights Islam Gave Women Before Western Feminism Did"
Apparently it is to point out to "bigots" what the "real Islam" is like and show that Islam granted women "more rights than western women have gained" in the most recent 100 years.
A quick point-by-point rundown
1. The right to vote
2. The right to own property and wealth
Beyond the usual rosy view of cherrypicked scripture, the argument goes that the first of Muhammad's wives wore the pants (and may have been the brains behind both the man and the god) and is revered within the faith.
5. The right to modesty
The hijab, of course, is entirely about what women "should" look like. Instead of freeing women a physical form, it chains them with it - women must cover because of what they look like.
Modernity and innovation in how much energy one can invest into appearances makes a hijab seem like an affordable and liberating alternative. After all, perhaps one can save some money on a hairstyling and earrings!
But it's an empty promise, as hijabs merely define the parameters of accessories. Nowhere in the Quran does it say one can't spend more than a day's pay on fabric, accessories, and shoes. The sky is the limit, it's time to get some product to make those eyes shine.
If Allah wants women in gift wrap, it may as well be gold gift wrap.
The latest is an article titled : "5 Rights Islam Gave Women Before Western Feminism Did"
Apparently it is to point out to "bigots" what the "real Islam" is like and show that Islam granted women "more rights than western women have gained" in the most recent 100 years.
A quick point-by-point rundown
1. The right to vote
The argument is that since the Quran borrowed a few tales of a "Queen of Sheba", (the Quran is mostly plagiarism) that this then means that Islam is fine with women in positions of power.
Therefore, the argument is then, that Islam granted women are granted a "right to vote". However there are absolutely no citations as to which caliphs women helped select, or which women were ever considered to be leaders. Whatever story there is in a holy book about one Queen or another, it simply didn't happen.
Now, as a set:
2. The right to own property and wealth
3. The right to an education
4. The right to work (or not to)
Of course, after Muhammad's first wife died, things became harder for him as he didn't have a sugarmomma to rely on. Eventually he bounced back, and as it turns out one of his rebounds was a 9-year old named Aisha -- but it's a sensitive subject.
Where to even start with this?
It's incomprehensible. In every culture before, since and including Islam, women have been at times regarded as property to dress up or dress down as one desired. The tendency throughout history has been to gift wrap women - Islam merely codified this desire in a religion and gave it the appearance of piety. It is to literally insult god to remove the gift wrap.
The article continues:
"Islam teaches us that a woman's self-worth does not revolve around physical beauty or approval from men. Islam raises women above all that and frees us from the need to conform to the societal definition of what women "should" look like."
The hijab, of course, is entirely about what women "should" look like. Instead of freeing women a physical form, it chains them with it - women must cover because of what they look like.
Modernity and innovation in how much energy one can invest into appearances makes a hijab seem like an affordable and liberating alternative. After all, perhaps one can save some money on a hairstyling and earrings!
But it's an empty promise, as hijabs merely define the parameters of accessories. Nowhere in the Quran does it say one can't spend more than a day's pay on fabric, accessories, and shoes. The sky is the limit, it's time to get some product to make those eyes shine.
If Allah wants women in gift wrap, it may as well be gold gift wrap.