Advancing the Rights and Position of Women in Islam

FNF partner Sisters in Islam hosted a two day workshop for journalists on “Advancing the Rights and Position of Women in Islam” on 29-30 May 2004 in Petaling Jaya. The aim was to engage and inform Malaysian journalists and writers about issues facing Muslim women in Malaysia so that they disseminate better and fairer information with regards to Islam and women’s place within it.

Attending journalists were drawn from various media organizations including Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times, the Star (Penang), Star Publications (M) Sdn Bhd, the Menara Star, the Edge Communications Sdn Nhd (for Sun Weekend), Minda, NBN Media Sdn Bhd, Sunday Mail, and AL-ISLAM.

In this workshop, it was mentioned that “sensitivity” and “supremacy” are often used by journalists as reasons not to write on issues related to Islam and the law. Professor Shad Saleem Faruqi and Malik Imitiaz Sarwar, both academic experts, have argued that Islam is perceived to be supreme, as it is the religion practiced by the Malay majority and, according to the constitution, the official religion. According to the professors, by law Islam is on the same footing as all other religions, in reality it often extends beyond its legitimate authority. Related to this, the role of a journalist in Malaysia to tell the truth and to present information to the public was also mentioned. More directly it was brought to attention that the proficiency of a journalist in Malaysia to write on particular issues related to gender, and women and Islam needed much more scrutiny. To this extent Toni Kasim, a principle facilitator/ and women activist, concluded that there appears to be three main obstacles that prevent well-informed writing on issues related to Islam: lack of information and knowledge, the sensitivity of issues, and the final authority to present the information lies with the editor.

As to the question of the rights of non-Muslims to write on issues related to Islam, Astora Jabat, an expert on Islamic issues, argued that there should not be only one view on Islam as there is freedom of opinion in Islam and as such, differences of opinion are normal. In this sense people of all faiths should be able to talk and comment on Islam. Furthermore SIS scholar Nik Noriani Nik Badli Shah discussed that the notion such as “in Islam”, “Islam says” and “in the Koran” should not be accepted unquestionably and agreed upon unchallenged. In this case one must seek the reasons for the revelation of Koranic verses, especially since the ambiguities of Arabic and the way the language was translated can vary widely.

Today, women in general still find themselves facing battles within the home, school and workplace, largely due to gender discrimination. Although men and women are equal in term of sex, gender discrimination is related more to the expectations associated with a particular sex. Men are expected to fend and provide for the family while women are not expected to go out and work. However, today we see an increasing number of Muslim women in the workplace.
When participants were given newspaper article on gender, and women and Islam, and asked to comment, they expressed skepticism over the authority with which claims were made and were critical of how the articles represented opinion as fact. The key obstacle to writing a story was the authority and the decision of the editor to select the story. In many cases editors will run the story that can be sold and can generate public interest. On the other hand, they are probably fearful of the consequences of running possibly sensitive issues. Zainah Anwar, Executive Director of SIS, added that there was significant laziness on the part of some journalists who simply transcribe press statements. Therefore alternative points of view do not make it into articles simply because they were not sought in the fist place.

Taking into consideration the issues facing Muslim women in Malaysia together with all above explanations and views, journalist should perhaps start to ask themselves if they should produce writing that is better informed and fairer with regards to Islam and the role of women within it.

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