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©The Star (Used by permission)
by Prof Datuk Zaleha Kamaruddin

It is often said that education is the key to women's equality. This is particularly significant given that the more educated women in a particular country, the more prosperous it is.

WHY is gender mainstreaming important? First, it is an issue of development effectiveness. Women's voice needs to be heard because growing evidence confirms that the inclusion of women's perspectives result in greater equality between women and men and secondly, the Quran mentions repeatedly that women should be treated equally. However, due to limitations of fluency in the Islamic legal discourse, women's objections are simply suppressed though their inner voice shouts for justice.

Thirdly, women were active participants in all aspects during the Prophet's time. This was shown by the efforts of Muhammad Abu Shuqqah in “The liberation of women in the era of the message” which revived a neglected hadith that demonstrated the extent of women's participation during the Prophet's era.

Women who had their voices heard from the beginning of Islam and in later generations have been an inspiration for Muslim women today. An increasing number of Muslim women have been accepted in the field of Islamic scholarship. Confidence that emanates from the knowledge that women possess renewed the spirit of the early Islamic community. However, there are significant challenges in the institutions and leadership through which women can exercise authority today.

One of the key challenges faced by Muslim women who have been marginalised is the persistent scarcity of opportunities and access to decision-making processes. They understand the pluralistic nature of these experiences, their context, and associated problems culminating from these issues.

Women leaders who try to assist these women experience inclusion and exclusion in their communities, especially in social and economic dimensions. They also face cultural barriers. It is often said that education is the key to women's equality. This is particularly significant given that the more educated the women in a particular country, the more prosperous it is.

Access to education is one of the primary indicators of women's status in a given society. It is a positive signthat women make up more than 60% of those studying in Malaysian universities.

Another challenge for Muslim women today is not only to improve their knowledge but also to increase their visibility so as to be able to help others. If women are not seen, their ability to help others besides the people around them would be diminished.

It has often been said that the wellbeing of women is critical to the effective functioning of societies; they are still principally responsible for the upbringing of children and home management. They are the key to the healthy functioning of families, and are essential to the perpetuation of social norms. It is proposed that their contribution be further enhanced beyond their domestic domain to include leadership. However, researches have shown that they can be systematically inhibited from playing their social roles fully due to cultural barriers. For example, they are excluded from structures leading to political decision-making and administration in their own communities and societies.

Understanding the realities of Muslim women today, their families, and the communities that they live in, Muslim woman leaders today could easily appreciate these challenges because they are of the same gender and they face the same situation. They can easily acknowledge the Muslim women's position within the familial, community, and social structures. However, to understand the realities within the context of the Islamic framework makes it quite difficult because this concept has not been well defined.

Camillia Fawzi and Judy Mabro in Muslim Women's Choices - Religious Belief and Social Reality have rightly pointed out that the tendency to explain it solely in terms of the Quran and other Islamic sources, all too often taken out of context, ignores the fact that Islam has been subjected to growth and development, adaptation and change.

The interface between culture and society has resulted in diversity within this framework. The impact of culture brings deep meaning that pervade every aspect of individual and societal processes and concepts, including how gender is characterised in Muslim society.

Social inclusion - which is an evolving concept that captures the ability of people to participate as valued, respected, and contributing members of society - is still vague. The social inclusion agenda, which involves examining the values that characterises a good society and policies and practices that embody these values, are there, but they seem not to be fully implemented.

To conclude, communities must have accountable leadership which incorporate inclusive decision-making bodies that include representation of women for the purpose of good governance. Such a community will, in turn, help develop responsible individuals who will represent their values and concerns to a larger society.

For Muslim women to move forward, they should work with and alongside men, and not against them. The present decade should not be seen as a decade of confrontation, but mutual consultation.