WOMEN IN ISLAM

MARRIAGE IN ISLAM successfully, someone with authority and responsibility is needed at its helm. The Quran gives an example of the Queen of Sheba, who ruled over men (27:23) without disapproving of her rule. This shows that rulership or ‘Qawwamiyat’ is not man’s monopoly. A woman can be a ruler over men if she has the capabilities to do so, and the Quran has testified to it. A capable woman can be in charge and shoulder such responsibilities. Similarly, a home is also an institution. Likewise, a head or a boss is required to run this institution successfully. In this regard, the Quran has called the man a Qawwam. The ‘Qawwam’ of a household acts as an administrator among its equal members. Not acknowledging this principle will only result in every home falling into anarchy. Being a Boss means having responsibility for, not superiority over another. Similarly, Qawwamiat is also a responsibility. It fulfills administrative needs rather than exercising superiority over others. If the difference between this practical need and ideological authority is fully understood, then the concept of Qawwamiat will be easy to understand. THE BOSS AT HOME On a journey to the USA, I learned of an American lady who married a Pakistani Muslim, Naseer Ahmad Mirza, living in Utah. In the course of an interview she gave to an American journal, she made the following observation: