Women behind the veil: Women of Excellence
Women behind the veil: Women of Excellence
Women Behind the Veil: Women of Excellence
Women Behind the Veil: Women of Excellence: Women in general are restrained to grow and develop in all the societies and particularly in educational field besides Muslim women are understood to be living under the religious limitations which are either misunderstood misinterpreted as people have far more opinions than information.
The quest for knowledge has always applied to women in Islam as it applies for Men in Islam. God has made no difference between genders in this area. The Prophet (saws) once said: "Seeking knowledge is a mandate for every Muslim (male and female)." (Sahih Bukhari)
There is an embedded value in every Muslim, man and woman alike, to pursue knowledge and to learn about God's truth by studying the surrounding world. Prophet Mohammad (saws), advised his followers to seek knowledge wherever it can be found. "Seek knowledge from Cradle to Grave" In keeping with this value, Muslim women are continuing to make headway in the field of education and science and their graduation ratios often exceed those of western women in pursuing scientific degrees according to figures recently released by UNESCO.
International Herald Tribune Newspaper
Muslim Woman Graduates in countries
Percent of Muslim Women Graduating
Bahrain
74%
Qatar
71%
Kyrgyzstan
64%
Brunei Darussalam
49%
Lebanon
47%
Turkey
44%
U.S.
43%
Japan
25%
Morocco
25%
India
25%
Bangladesh
23%
Pakistan
20%
Eritrea
4%
Yet, very seldom do positive depictions of Muslim women get portrayed by the western mainstream media. In some cases, media profit depends upon a production team's ability to feed the myopic fantasies and stereotypes etched in the minds of many non-Muslims. Westerners are comfortable with stereotypes that Muslim women are oppressed because of Islam, which could not be farther from the truth. The Islamic message, which stresses gender equity and rights for women, is often corrupted by competing cultural values that have no basis in Islam scripture.
During the International Congress on Muslim Women in Science Towards a Better Future, King Mohamed VI stressed that "the integrated development of the principles of Islam and of scientific knowledge must be achieved irrespective of gender", according to a UNESCO report on the gathering that took place in 2000.
Muslim women in Education have become leaders in their fields, receiving awards, earning patents and making contribution that further man's knowledge of the world, and yet the eyes of western cameras see through these women as if they do not exist. A tendency to avoid praise for Muslim achievements hides the seldom explored comparisons.
One great example here is Dr. Mona Musheit, who is Dean of Women's College King Khalid University, Abha Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; She is Practicing Gynecologist as well as a successful administrator, she is commanding and she has a spirit of team building as a result more than 20 Women colleges are successfully operating under her supervision .
This lady behind the veil has broken all presumption of conservative thoughts about cover, she commented "Veil is not a hindrance in the process of learning rather it's an arm of security for a women and have no association with Education, Women feel stronger behind the cover and following the norms of our religion Muslim women are continuously moving towards better future of education."
Veiling did not exist in early Arabia, but Mohammed (Saws) admonished women to cover them modestly, and his own wives were veiled in public. Mohammed's wives set the example, and gradually the veil became a sign of prestige but not an obstacle in taking education.
The region of the Arab peninsula is characterized by gender inequality in literacy and education. Because of their relatively low educational level, female workers are challenged by a more professional men labor force, Until recently; progress in women's education is commendable.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is moving very fast to secure top position in offering wide variety of Education Plans for Muslim Women and Scholarship plans for them to take higher education in countries like U.S. U.K Australia and France. UAE, Qatar, Oman etc are already far ahead in Muslim Women Education.
Dr. Haifa Reda Jamal Al-Lail, Dean of Effat College in Jeddah,is an example of women of excellence while being behind the veil, it didn't stop her to realize the goals that she aspired for herself, she endeavors to design the educational plan to balance Saudi and Islamic culture with a more international approach. She was graduated in Business Administration from King Abdul Aziz University and accomplished her PhD from University of California in United States. Effat College is the first educational establishment in Saudi Arabia to offer engineering courses to female students. Over the past 40 years there has been little
Opportunity for women in the educational sector. For example, they were excluded from Majoring in engineering. Following the education reforms, Effat College became the first educational establishment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to offer this as a major to women. Dr Haifa Reda hard work is showing as a rainbow in the sky after the first rain of dust and heat.
Dr. Haifa has been involved in education reform in Saudi Arabia since 1991 and her work was recognized in 2005 when she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, as part of the 1,000 Peace Women campaign, a global movement to recognize women's involvement in peace and social justice work. The movement is now called Peace Women Across the Globe and is working to make women's roles as peace builders more visible, recognized and better supported globally. "Female awareness of education is increasing in Saudi Arabia and women now want to take advantage of the greater opportunities there are for them in education," says Dr. Haifa. Two years ago the Saudi Arabian government introduced educational reforms aimed at enhancing the Islamic values of students and promoting moderation and respect for others' opinions. The reforms are also aimed at addressing skills shortages such as scientific qualification in labor market. All these details clearly validate that veil cannot stop the progress of education advancement.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is progressing at a high pace for offering wide educational opportunities for Muslim women and motivates them to understand real essence of learning as an objective of Islam for promoting education for both man and woman as the same.
Dr. Rufaida H. Khashoggi, creditable example of woman of excellence, she is Dean of the Women's Campus, King Abdulaziz University and the Head of the Permanent Committee for the Development of University Education, Female Students Section KAAU. She is qualified Doctor of Public Health Ph.D., P.H. College of Public Health, Tulane University, USA .Master of Science in Public Health, College of Public Health, Tulane University, USA. She is an Advisory Council for "Training and Hiring National `Project", in Makah region. She believes her conviction in Islamic rules for women has always motivated to effort for improvement in women tutoring.
Baroness Afshar Haleh Afshar She was born in 1944 in Tehran, Iran. Her father was late Hassan Afshar, a Professor of the Faculty of Law at Tehran University. She was an undergraduate at the University of York, (a campus university in York, England) in the 1960s. She worked as a journalist before and after her initial studies at York, where she was to return after receiving her PhD from Cambridge University. Haleh Afshar has served on the British Council and the United Nations Association of which she is Honorary President of International Services. Haleh Afshar is now a Professor in Politics and Women's Studies at the University of York. She is also Visiting Professor of Islamic Law at the International Faculty of Comparative Law, University of Strasbourg. Haleh Afshar is the founder and Chair of the Muslim Women's Network, and she is an advisor to the British Government on public policy relating to Muslim women and Islamic law.
In addition to working in the fields of development studies and women's studies Haleh Afshar has also been teaching and researching on issues concerned with Islam and Politics, women and conflict as well as race and equality. On October 18, 2007, Haleh Afshar, an Iranian Muslim professor joined the BHL as a non-party political peer and as the First Iranian Muslim Woman and later who got a Non-Political Seat in BHL, UK. She is an esteemed illustration of women of excellence.
Rehab Eman, a Muslim woman with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering, and a Masters degree in Islamic Studies on Jerusalem credits Islamic values for what inspired her to pursue knowledge in a scientific field. Muslim men in her life, including her father and brother, encouraged her to work hard for her education. "My lecturers were men, my supporters were men, and my sponsors were men.
Traditionally, Muslim women have not been discouraged in the sciences to the extent that Western women have, which might be why statistics show such high ratios of Muslim women graduates as a percentage to the total graduate women population. However, in Muslim countries the real hurdles that affect women's education are the very same hurdles that affect men's education. These hurdles take the form of illiteracy, political instability and the policy of foreign powers not religious limitations or conservative societies or rigid ethics and norms for women.
The most stringent known Muslim country Kingdom of Saudi Arab is an excellent for preserving Women rights in all the ways, Saudi Government releases aids for higher education for women, scholarship programs for women to pursues higher studies in countries like U.S, U.K, Australia, France, etc just with a condition that woman will be accompanied by a mehram, can be her father, brother or her husband for security reasons for the women only.
Samira Shah Recently at the international Workshop on Machine Learning in Canada, Samira Shah, presented an innovative algorithm in computerized cognitive leaning that she and a team of colleagues developed at IIT Delhi, India. Her previous academic contributions include a "Global Optimizer" for which a patent is pending. She is currently pursuing a doctorate degree from IIT Delhi. Being Muslim she has lifted her faith in her religion, proud to her family and prestige to her country, this is real women of excellence yet behind the cover.
Dr. Siddiqui has made significant contributions to medicine and agriculture through her study and classification of indigenous plant materials. She has been awarded several patents for anticancer constituents and bio pesticides and has written more than 250 research articles. Pakistan Academy of Sciences elected her as a Fellow and she co-founded the Third World Organization for Women in Science. She received her Ph.D. and D.Sc. from the University of Karachi, Pakistan. She has been honored with several prestigious awards including the Khwarizmi International Award of Iran and Salam Prize in Chemistry.
Historic records show that women participated in science and medicine in Muslim societies. By contrast, in America, during the 1890's women could not be doctors, and yet, Muslim women doctors were seen as equals to their male counterparts hundreds of years earlier, they were even responsible for written contributions in the field. Also, women like Ijliya, an astro lab builder, were employed as skilled scientists in Muslim courts. Others made progress in pharmacology like Ishi Nili, Seeking knowledge is one of the most rewarding ways to connect to Al-Alim (The All Knowing) besides prayer. The believing faithful hold a deep love for Allah in their hearts. Perhaps it is this deep love that inspires believing men and women to strain and reach with their minds, through scientific learning in order to bring themselves closer to the One to whom they are so thankful.
"Iqra!" (read) was Allah's first command to Mohammad (peace be upon him) and its implications are numerous to Muslims living today. Read, be literate, seek and learn, discover and use the gifts and talents that Allah has granted us above animals. Use the mind to move closer to Al-Haadi (The Guide), as the Muslimah. Allama Muhammad Iqbal's finds 'Ijma' as an inherent principle for change in formal religious interpretations. He proclaimed women's rights are human rights and his philosophyis most relevant for Muslim community because of his understanding of the spirit of Islam as being essentially humanistic and reformative and for his formal arguments that satisfy the principles of Islamic jurisprudence. Iqbal finds Ijma' is both a principle of movement and reform to adjust with anever-changing reality. It is also a democratic principleas it is based on the popular opinion of Muslim community. One Educated women can educate the whole society. In a Hadith the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that "Indeed! Verily women are the twin halves of men." This Quranic verse clearly declares that for God a man and a woman are essentially equal as human beings, and God judges them both based on their piety alone. And the Hadith presents the same view that humanity is shared equally both by men and women equally. Quranic discourse on womenis mostly based on the rights of women instead of the duties of women. Therefore, according to Quran and Hadith, both men and women share the same aim in life and are expect the same reward as human beings, and the most imperative right of women is to take education as it is bound for men to take education.
After the death of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), his wife Hazrat Aisha became most significant in spreading the message of Islam by narrating most of his statements (Hadith), explaining the meanings of verses of Quran and the statements of the prophet and giving religious pronouncements and religious verdicts. Islamic teachings sufficiently uplifted Arab women to participate in the fields, independently carry on trade and business andat times nurse soldiers and carry prevision for them. Muslim Arab women educated themselves and educated others, owned property and conducted business andgave religious verdicts. Theyexcelledin times of peace as well as in times of war. Contribution of Sir Syed Ahmad cannot be unobserved if it's about women education, he was a founder of women education in India, he gave knowledge a new perspective to reach a new sphere to work a new station to stand and see the limitless sky of success. Aligarh Muslim University is not a school for education rather a sanctuary and a temple of learning where both man and woman shared equal opportunities for knowledge and wisdom. Sir Syed Ahmad gave origin to women of excellence in every street, every house and in every woman as scientist, professors in different academics, scholars, engineers, business executive, entrepreneurs and with his dream for women, every woman dream herself to reach to success.
Women behind the veil, women of excellence is an attempt to discover the hidden talent amongst the women and struggle to reach to success, while taking examples and making these women as our principles and morals. To break the myth about our limitation and religious boundaries and to make clear vision about the significance of our convention of religion and objectives of education for Muslim woman in Islam.
Arshi Naim
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