Author: Alia Hogben

Why is violence against women and girls accepted by so many people and why by us Muslims?

Is it part of Islam? If not, then why do some Muslims continue to interpret Islam so that their cultures and traditions tolerate such violent actions against their mothers, daughters, and wives?

Violence against women is a universal phenomenon. A recent analysis of the World Health Organization found that globally 35%of women have experienced either physical and /or sexual intimate partner violence. Along with risk factors such as past history of violence, or lower level of education, the other factors are: “attitudes that are accepting of violence and gender inequality; beliefs in family honour and sexual purity; and ideologies of male sexual entitlement.”

It is patriarchy which insists on gender inequality and male entitlement. As women and girls we are not below males, we are not subordinate and we are not only complementary to men. The male is not the standard of being human.

As a believing woman. I take comfort in these verses of the Quran.

“For Muslim men and women- for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in God’s praise for them has God prepared forgiveness and a great reward.” 30:35.

When anyone came to the Prophet to become a Muslim, he would ask them if they understood what they were committing to and never did he ask a man to take the oath of belief on behalf of a woman. So if women are responsible, accountable, and independent before God, how come we are seen as less than males?

Islamic scholar Asma Barlas addresses whether patriarchy is integral to Islam: “The most theologically problematic assumption Muslims make is that God is a male since the Quran refers to God as “He/Him”.

This she says is merely the limitations of the human language. The Quran categorically asserts that God is uncreated and incomparable. Because of our own limitations we give God characteristics which are human.  God is all knowing, all seeing, God is merciful and beneficent.

What we need to remember is that God is beyond our understanding as God is more than what we can comprehend. Of course we have to use language to grasp some sense of God, but should be aware that by calling God “Him” does not make him male.

Allow me to focus on femicide – a controversial issue.

My organization, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, is strongly opposed to the use of the term “honour killing” to describe the murder of women and girls.

The murders of the Shafia women and girls by their own mother, father and brother attracted a lot of public and media attention. Because the most recent murders were committed by Afghans who are also Muslims, the media discussed these as foreign to Canada, against Canadian values, and an issue only amongst immigrants and Muslims.

No one can dispute the facts that murders were committed and the rationale had to do with patriarchy’s power and control over women, but the framing of the murders was mostly racist, sensationalized and made exotic. Often the public reaction was that this was done by “those people” and would not have been done by “Canadians.”

Our argument is that no murder of a woman should be categorized by the rationale provided by the murderer, or by society itself, whether it be so called honour killing or crimes of passion.

We urge that all murders/killings be identified as femicide – the killing of women and girls simply because they are females. This term does not separate women and girls into distinct groups based on race, culture or religion, and murders are the crimes committed against anyone of them.

As Canadians, we must uphold the U.N’s recommendation that there be no invocation of custom, tradition or religion to justify violence against women and girls.

We are encouraged that U.N organizations are now using the term femicide. In its 2013 report, the Academic Council on the U.N System, have defined femicide as

“The ultimate form of violence against women and girls and takes multiple forms… Included in femicide are: domestic violence; killing in the name of honour; dowry related femicide; targeted killing of women at war; female infanticide and gender based sex-selective; and female genital mutilation/cutting.”

Please can we agree to use the more appropriate term of femicide and discard honour based violence?