Though religion per se was never on our agenda,
what does concern us is how people of faith promote or militate
against the principles of freedom, dignity and rights for all human
beings enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (1948). Even as we
continue to interrogate the prevalent male-centric interpretations of
most religions, we applaud the growing tribe of men and women of
different faiths who in recent years have been challenging, as
insiders, what they consider to be male-chauvinist understanding of
their respective holy texts. So much the greater is our respect for
that rare breed of men in robe who braved the wrath of co-believers
and challenged the sexist interpretation of Scriptures long before the
male products of European Enlightenment had spoken a word against
women’s domination.
Maulvi Syed Mumtaz Ali Khan from Lahore (1860-1935)
was one such exceptional male. He published a bold book, Huququn
Niswan (Rights of Women), in Urdu in 1898 which even the
‘modernist’ Sir Syed Ahmed Khan of Aligarh (1817-1898) found hard to
swallow. The very first chapter of his book titled ‘Myth of male
supremacy’ said it all. Listing out the eight "logical" and
"theological’ arguments that the ulema of the time offered (they still
do) in support of their case, he proceeded to demolish them with both
precision and passion. Huququn Niswan was penned at a time when
Muslim women were not supposed to be seen outside the four walls of
their homes and found within only in the confines of the zanankhana
(women’s quarter). Still, for this maulvi with a mission, it was not
enough to establish logically AND theologically that women are in no
way inferior to men. Citing verses from the Quran, he argued that the
female sex is, in fact, the better half of the finest of Allah’s
creation: human beings.
Sir Syed was truly frightened with the mission that
had become a passion for the maulvi, a man much younger than him. He
advised Maulvi Mumtaz not to publish his book, fearing that this bold
venture would create such a storm within the community that it would
further jeopardize his own crusade for men from elite Muslim families
to adopt Western-style education alongside Islamic learning. Though a
staunch supporter of the idea, ‘Maulvi Syed’ was not to be deterred by
the grim warning of ‘Sir Syed’. If modern education for Muslim men
topped the agenda of the latter, gender parity was the former’s first
priority. "If this humble effort of mine results in the protection of
the rights of even a single old woman in the entire country I would
consider my effort to have been worthwhile," he wrote in the preface
to his book. In the chapter on women’s education he announced: "I have
decided to launch a newspaper aimed at girls from June 1, 1898. The
editor will be any educated girl from my family as no article penned
by any male would be included in it. I will make girls from my family
write for the newspaper, regardless of the quality of their articles…
People can mock me if they want to… If there is no one with me at
least my Allah is with me."
An exceptional maulvi though he was even by current
standards, Mumtaz Ali inhabited the cultural landscape of his time.
While arguing that "capacity and competence" should be the only two
limits to women’s education, he added that "this doesn’t mean they
should study subjects like algebra, mathematics or the history of
England"! Why not? Because "they do not serve the purpose for which
women should be imparted education." A problematic proposition for
sure but then Shakespeare and Karl Marx too were not free of the
constraints of their time and gender.
To Maulvi Syed our Sau Salaams! Let alone
others, very few Indian or Pakistani Muslims today are aware of the
man or his work. It is in the fitness of things that Shirkat Gah, a
Lahore-based Muslim women’s group, has recently published English
translations of four chapters from Huququn Niswan. We are happy
to offer to our readers our own translation of its first chapter.
The companion piece in this issue is a paper, ‘Muslim
women and sexual oppression’, presented in recent years by Asma Barlas
at a prestigious international roundtable "to celebrate, and also
critically evaluate, divergent perspectives on international
feminisms". Interestingly, she too is of Lahore origin, the city that
was home and "storm-centre" for Mumtaz Ali. Presently professor of
politics and director, Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and
Ethnicity, Ithaca College, New York, she is a product of the Kinnaird
College for Women, Lahore, counted among the most prestigious
educational institutions in Pakistan. We do not know if Ms Barlas
knows of and if so what she thinks of Mumtaz Ali. But we believe that
in her the good maulvi would have seen the realization of his dream.