Speaking the other day at a conference on "Women's Universities as Agents of Change" at the Islamic International University in Islamabad, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira noted that no society can progress without the active participation of women in nation building.
He lamented that during the last three decades this society has regressed "into extremism with obscurantist elements imposing their ideas and impeding women's education." Therefore, he argued, that the greatest challenge we face today is from the 'forces of monologue' which want to impose their brand of religion over the entire society.
Unless we defeat them, and encourage diversity, averred the minister, we cannot make real progress. Few will disagree with this analysis. It goes without saying that education - a building block of development - is a key agent of socio-economic change. The obscurantist elements who destroy girls' schools in Fata, and others in the big cities and who oppose higher education for women, act out of ignorance of Islam which lays a lot of emphasis on education for men as well as women.
They remain in denial too of the importance of the economic empowerment of women. Notably, Islam gave women the right to own property more than 14 centuries ago, whereas until the 19th century women in the US, Britain and much of Europe had no such right, and men controlled any property their wives brought in at the time of marriage. It was only in 1840 that a change began to occur in those countries.
Then there is the example of Prophet Mohammad's (PBUH) first wife who was a successful businesswoman. It is plain from these examples that in Islam, women's place is not confined to the four walls of her home; they can acquire knowledge, own and manage inherited property, and undertake independent economic activity.
It is worth noting also that one thing that has remained unchanged since the days of early Islam is women's garb during the Hajj. Unlike the present-day restrictive forms of veil or 'burqa' that the obscurantist elements insist on, women pilgrims are required to keep their faces, hands and feet uncovered.
Kaira rightly identified a linkage between the spread of obscurantism and events of the last three decades. What happened during this period was that the US waged a proxy war against its rival, the erstwhile Soviet Union, using religion to incite the 'Mujahideen' to oust the 'infidel' invaders. The 'forces of monologue' sprang from that foreign-inspired upheaval rather than a genuine scholarly discourse.
In other words, they are political in origin and hence need to be tackled politically. The government should formulate enlightened policies towards women's social, economic, legal and political empowerment, without seeking approval from any quarter. There is no need for starting a process of "open dialogue" at different levels, as the minister promised. These rights are non-negotiable.