archive: Fundie, and proud of it
Surayya caught in the eye of a storm
D Jose
Rediff on Net
December 16, 1999
Title: Surayya caught
in the eye of a storm
Author: D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram
Publication: Rediff
on Net
Date: December 16, 1999
The progressive sections
in the Muslim community have viewed the utterances of writer Kamala Das,
now Surayya, about Islam -- following her much trumpeted conversion to
that religion -- with extreme concern. They feel that the opinions expressed
by Surayya on sensitive issues such as the freedom of Muslim women, polygamy
and the Muslim dress code would only strengthen the conservative elements
in the community, who are trying to suppress reform.
Noted human rights activist
advocate Pouran, who has been associated with organisations fighting for
Muslim women's rights, said that the campaign by the Forum of Divorced
Women for a review of the Shariat and for ensuring the freedom of entry
into mosques have suffered a severe setback following Surayya's defence
of Islamic practices.
The comments of a celebrated
writer like Surayya would embolden the obscurantists to ride roughshod
over simple women fighting for justice. He told rediff.com that several
women's organisations in Malappuram, the Muslim heartland in Kerala, have
expressed anxiety over the statements from Surayya. He said that V P Suhra,
who had organised divorced women against the practice of triple talaq,
was still facing death threats.
Tasni, who married a
man of her choice under the Indian civil laws, was hounded by the conservatives.
Her marriage was held under protection ordered by the Kerala high court.
A Muslim youth, who practised Kathakali, a temple art, was forced by the
fundamentalists to abandon the art he loved. His house was set on fire
and his family boycotted until he abandoned Kathakali, Pouran added.
Another Muslim woman,
who married a Christian youth, was forced to leave her husband and has
since been living almost under "house arrest." "When we are living in an
atmosphere where those who stand for reforms are physically threatened
and even eliminated, Surayya, as a responsible writer, should have made
her statements carefully," Pouran exclaimed.
He said that personally
he felt the writer's conversion as only a change of residence in the figurative
sense. "She has shifted to a convenient house where she would get more
comforts," he added. He said that no sensible Muslim would support her
after Surayya has announced her decision to go in for a marriage again.
"Her marriage at the ripe age of 67 would not convince hundreds of poor
Muslim women for whom marriage is still a mirage," Pouran said.
Pouran added that the
progressive organisations based in Malappuram would be meeting shortly
to discuss the situation to come out with an appropriate response to Surayya's
campaign. V P Suhara, who has been campaigning for an end to the abuse
of discriminatory divorce provisions among Muslims, said that statements
made by Surayya after her conversion reflected her ignorance of the tenets
of Islam and the actual condition of Muslim women in India. She wondered
whether Surayya knew about the true nature of her new religion -- many
Muslim women were undergoing torture due to the misinterpretation of Islamic
laws.
"I am sorry to state
that Surayya has not learnt anything about the Muslims even after her 27-year
introspection. She should remember that the male-dominant vested interests
in the Muslim community have denied every right to women. Surayya would
do a big service to Islam if she could take up the cause of the oppressed
women in the community,'' she added.
"Though Islam has sanctioned
freedom to women, the influential males do not give it to them. As a result
several evils such as child marriage, the triple talaq system, polygamy
and the denial of equal property rights are rampant among Muslims," Suhra
pointed out. "Surayya's lack of understanding of such issues could only
help the vested interests and strengthen the obscurantists," Suhra warned.
Meanwhile, several religious
scholars have defended Surayya. Former Kerala Waqf Board chairman Abdul
Gaffar Moulavi said the writer's statement that Islam offered more freedom
to women than any other religion was correct. However, he added that many
of the laws were being misinterpreted by the public due to ignorance of
the tenets of Islam and for individual benefits.
"In a country where religion
does not have political powers, such things are natural. Islam is the only
religion which allows women to say no to their husband. Like the male who
possesses the right of talaq, women too have the same right -- fasakh .
But it is not happening due to the peculiar circumstances prevailing in
India today," he added.
Contrary to what people
believe, it is not very easy for a Muslim to divorce his wife. There should
be sufficient reasons for that, he said.
About the other rights,
he said, "According to the law, women are eligible to get half of what
their brothers get. In Muslim countries the groom is expected to pay a
huge amount as mehr to the bride's father. But in India, the system of
dowry is a hindrance to it."
"A Muslim women is not
even expected to wash her husband's clothes or to breast-feed her baby.
Which religion gives women such freedom?" he asked.
H M Fahurudeen Bakavi,
the Imam of Bima Palli, said the Prophet preached in a dark age when Muslim
women were deprived of freedom. At that time it was impossible for a woman
to travel alone. It is unfair to say that the purdah (veil) takes away
the freedom of women. God had made the body of women very attractive and
if it were not properly covered it could ''lead to disaster,'' Bakavi said.
P K Hamza Moulavi Farookhy,
the Imam of Palayam mosque too shared the same view. He said, if the purdah
takes away the freedom of women, the dress worn by Christian nuns too have
the same effect.
Surayya, who had earlier
refused police protection, saying Allah would guard her, seems to have
wilted under threats from Hindu fundamentalists. She has shifted the venue
of her initiation into Islam from the Palayam mosque to her flat at Kochi.
Surayya had planned to perform the rituals in the Palayam mosque on December
23.
In the meantime, Surayya
has denied media reports that she is going to marry Rajya Sabha member
Abdul Samad Samadhani. She said that Samadhani was like a son to her. "How
can the mother marry the son," she asked. She said she was in love with
a person in America and added that she would marry him. She refused to
disclose the date of the marriage. "I have already discussed the matter
with my children and it would be held soon," was all she would say.
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