The barbaric honour killing of five Pakistani women, who wished to exercise their right to choose their husbands freely, is no surprise. They were buried alive for committing the cardinal sin of challenging one of the Qur’an’s fundamental commandments making women a mere tilth to their husbands, to be approached when and how their husbands will..
“ Your wives are as a tilth unto you;
So approach your tilth when or how ye will;
But do some good act for your souls beforehand;
And fear God, and know that ye are to meet Him (in the Hereafter),
And give (these) good tidings to those who believe”
Al- Bakara ll:223
Over and over again, the idea of the inferior status of women and her subjugation to men is hammered into the Islamic culture by the Qur’an. Rulings by the Qur’an allowing a husband to strike a disobedient wife is but another example of the inferior status of women in Islam.
It is no wonder that Averroes (1126-98), one of the most notable Muslim philosophers, fiercely criticised the deplorable condition of women in the then Islamic world. His comment: ‘ The ability of women is not known because they are only taken for procreation,’ continues to ring true today.
He also noted that women in Islamic states are not being fitted for any of the human virtues and, as such, they resemble plants! It is, thus, fitting that five Pakistani women would carelessly be buried alive in a hole in the ground.
Marc Valdes
6 minutes ago
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5 comments:
Interesting blog. I'm not sufficiently familiar with the Qu'ran to comment on how representative the excerps are but, if the story you are quoting is as you recount it, that is clearly shocking and any time, and certainly entirely inappropriate and unacceptable in modern times. I cannot imagine that Mohammad, or any other human being - man or woman - with a modicum of compassion and decency would condone such actions. Do you have a link for the story, by any chance?
Dear Kewbridge,
Thank you for your comment.
The story of the five Pakistani women that were buried alive was reported by all major news agencies.
The (Waed)tradition that saw Arab nomads bury their daughters alive in pre-Islamic era was condemned by the Qur'an.
However, the teachings of the Qur'an, especially in the latter Medina era, subjugate women to men in a manner that allows the latter to descend on their wives at any time and to strike them, when disobedient.
Over and over again, the Qur'an repeats a very disturbing message which makes women the object of men's pleasure which can be disposed of at men's whim. This is why it is possible at this day and age to kill women and bury them alive if they fail to disobey men.
Correction: the last line should read if they fail to obey men
Please check
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/2660881/Pakistani-women-buried-alive-for-choosing-husbands.html
Report of Pakistani Human Rights Organisation
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2008/2969/
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