Freedom or "Freedom"
Apparently after years of 'oppression,' an increasing amount of women are coming out to enjoy their America-given-'freedom'. To do what, you ask?
Drive. (Which would also include learning to drive...I hope, anyway.)
Let me just make something very clear from the get-go. I really don't care that women drive, and I personally dont think that it is forbidden in the Islamic religion. HOWEVER, have you seen some women slowing down the parkway because it takes them like forever to change lanes, or slow down toooo much when they want to take an exit (and the exit is still like a mile-and-a-half away). Just today on my way to the masjid, I saw an auntie backing up on a really busy street...like right in the middle of the road. I wont mention the deluge of comments she got from people, but suffice it to say that they described her driving perfectly.
So the point I'm making is that many women are horrible drivers (as are many men...but women more so). But is that reason enough to forbid them from driving? Yes. Religiously? No.
One issue that irritates feminists all across the world is their 'freedom to drive'.
The recent article on BBC about Afghani women wanting to drive got me thinking. What exactly is freedom of driving? I think the 'freedom' which they've adopted from the intense Western influences creeping into...um, rather bombarding their minds, isn't really freedom.
This is how I see it.
These women want the right to go grocery shopping, to go to the bank, the right to pick up the kids from school and drop them to Sunday school, and to go buy their school supplies, and drive them to the doctor's, and fill-up the prescription, and so on.
That's all "freedom."
This is freedom: having the right to tell your father, brother, son, or husband to take you to do whatever you want!
posted by working4islam @ 12:14 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
word. i agree. its not freedom. its called more work. those sound like actions of a housewife: grocery shopping, picking up the kids, going to the bank.
hey at least the men can just chill and watch some TV. hahaha
right all you modernist femnist females?
i dont think there are many 'modernist feminist female' regulars on this blog
wa alaikum assalaam
i completely agree...like 100%.
sure there is nothing wrong with a mom picking her kids up from school or dropping them to the masjid, but i think there is a tendency for many muslim men to get lazy after marriage and dump most, if not all, of their duties on the women.
i'm not saying that women shouldnt leave the house...rather that when they want to, their spouses/fathers/brothers should take them.
as for the men of the house not having the time to take the women out...all i can say is that they should make time! i wouldnt want my sisters/wife to go out on their own, especially if it's not safe. and if i'm busy, then i'll have to make time.
family comes first.
wa alaikum assalaam
i think the knowledge of medicine is probabaly something like fard kifaaya for women. should every woman be a doctor? no.
but if a sister has the means (mental and financial) to do something with her life, then pursuing a medical degree, for the sake of Allah, is something commendable.
muslim communities in america are continuously growing. mashaAllah, many women wear hijab, and a good chunk of them wear niqab. when they are ill, they are left with no other alternative BUT to go to a male physician.
i think some muslim women (again, who have the means) need to make the sacrifice for the greater good of the community and for the comfort of our women.
"(This is assuming ofcourse that home would still remain the first priority and work would be put on the backburner when neccessary) "
i feel compelled to comment...
i know of many married sisters who are working and their husbands aren't as happy as they would be if their wives weren't working. they get 'real' food only on the weekends, when she's off from work.
some brothers aren't willing to make that sacrifice...unfortuantely. but this is something the sisters need to keep in mind.
asalaamu alaikum,
i believe driving is a privilege not a right. i, too, am a muslim sister who attends college and don't drive to school.
alhamdullilah, ive had my licence for 3 years now, but i don't have a car. alhamdullilah, my reasons are two fold:
1) my parents are looking out for me.
2) if we had the financial means, my parents would probably give me a car to come to and from school.
alhamdullilah, i shouldn't complain about the commute or not having a car. i have 2 older brothers that chauffer me everywhere i need/want to go. and at the same time, i think it is a relationship that most people take for granted. for example, my brother and i sometimes do the crossword on the car ride up to school, or we talk about different things going on in our lives (good and bad) and ask each other how we can change them for the better -- seeing how we would act in each other's shoes. alhamdullilah we get to spend a minimum of 1.5 hours together just commuting to and from school; not many people spend that much time with their siblings as a whole. subhanAllah!
but having a car wouldn't hurt. since our commute is about 30 miles to and from Rutgers, and since our schedules don't exactly match up, I tend to get home later ~ sometime between 11pm and midnight. there's no doubt that its tough, and i've been doing it for three years now, but you have to make sacrifices for the ones you love. patience has been key. yes, i hate coming home late, but you gotta make due with what you are given. Alhamdullilah.
after taking FOL, i've been thinking a lot about school and work. i do think that women should be educated (masha'Allah they were very educated in the time of A'aisha (RA)) and that in case of emergency (for example, the spouse loses his job) that her degree can insha'Allah be a backup. as for driving, i would never demand a car from my husband, but i think it would be something, again, to be used in case of emergency. i believe a woman's place is at home, raising the children and doing her even duties at home.
wallahu alim
"and, don't yell at me...contrary to how it may seem, i AM studying."
i'd love to beleive you...BUT...i think this is way to much 'online time' for someone who's scheduled for a big exam very soon.
so get to it!
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