LETTERS: As conflict rises over women's bodily autonomy in the United States following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs Wade, the discourse on feminism has spilled onto Malaysia's shore.
Recently, there have been claims that feminism is responsible for disrupting the stability of the nuclear family structure and thus is threatening the nation's social fabric. In other words, women asking for equal opportunity has struck fear in the minds of many.
In Islamic history, there are many examples of powerful female leaders. Let's start with the Prophet's wives, such as the business owner Khadijah, the teacher Aisha, the warrior Nusaybah and the market inspector Samra Nuhayk.
A misconception about feminism is the belief that as women choose to work outside the home, they would grovel for their superiors, but not serve the men in their family. However, feminists are women who demand equal opportunity and respect.
In no way would a feminist subject herself to degrading treatment by anyone, including her superiors. Women, feminists included, would gladly serve their husband, father and brothers as long as there is love and equal respect for all at home.
For a millennia, humans have lived in extended family structures to form communities to ensure survivability.
In this extended family structure, household responsibilities such as caring for children are shared instead of being the sole responsibility of the mother. In this scenario, some women are free to work outside (usually on a farm since the Agricultural Revolution began 12,000 years ago), while their children are cared for by other women.
This is the essence of feminism. Women should be given the choice to work outside or inside the home, instead of being dictated to choose one path or the other.
Women, like men, are not homogenous. Some women are nurturing, some are skilled at embroidery and others are better at mathematics. All of these women should be given the chance to achieve their potential.
The nuclear family (just the parents and children) became the norm after the industrial revolution, when young men and women started to leave their family homes to work in cities, and thus the extended family structure was disrupted.
The consolidation of the nuclear family was completed in the early 20th century. When there are only two parents, it makes sense for one to stay home and take care of the children. This has only been the case in the last hundred years or so.
But 100 years is a blink of an eye in the human species' long history on Earth.
Instead of feminism, our real enemy is unsustainable capitalism based on greed. Men and women today are burdened by the undue reality of working far away from home just to make a decent living, while corporations profit off their hard work. At the same time, they are expected to raise their children without sufficient support from the authorities or private corporations.
Feminism and women's desire to work outside the home should not be chided as it is only natural as our ancestors did that thousands of years ago as foragers.
There is nothing unnatural about a woman helping her family by working outside the home. What is unnatural is the expectation that a pair of adults can work while raising healthy and happy children without any assistance whatsoever.
It is perhaps too late to go back to the extended family structure. But with the right policies, we can once again have a thriving community that does not sacrifice women's potential.
SYAZA SHUKRI
Department of Political Science, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times