Since time immemorial, women have been looked down upon and treated inferior in principle and practice. While one religion considers woman as an instrument of the devil, the other holds the birth of a son essential. The nature of atrocities committed against women varies from time to time and place to place, but it does exit. The news of baby girls being buried alive was common to hear, historically. In this hi-tech era, we have grown up with new ideas. Female infanticide is changed into female foeticide. This is jahiliyya revisited.
Selective abortion of female foetus is causing a dip in sex ratio at an alarming pace. As a result, between 35 and 40 million girls and women are missing from the Indian population. In some parts of the country, the sex ratio of girls to boys has dropped to less than 800:1,000. As females drop in number in a society, society gets destabilised. The United Nations has expressed serious concern about the situation.
The following reasons are attributed to this practice:
The desire for a son, for instance, is deep-rooted in both rural and urban areas. The son is the bread earner in the family, looks after parents in their old age and for all other social security reasons. The problem of dowry has contributed immensely to this malady. The arrangement of dowry for girl children exerts considerable economic pressure on families to avoid having girls, who are seen as a liability.
The question arises if these reasons are enough to turn on human beings so cruel and brutal …?
In this write-up, I wish to make you see things from a different perspective.
Remember the Roman civilization. Slaves were burnt alive to entertain guests, and the later enjoyed dinner in the light of burning. When a riot breaks out, one group of people becomes so wild and ruthless that it, without scruple, goes on attacking and butchering another group of people for no valid reasons. And in day to day life you can see people relishing bullfighting, wrestling and so on in their sitting rooms. I have quoted these incidents to remind you that human beings are born with some amount of love for violence and evil ingrained. And when I remember the great souls who sacrificed their lives for others, it reminds me of great virtues Allah bestowed us with. The point here is that human beings are the blend of two opposite qualities – virtue and evil.
We have two very instrumental forces shaping our thoughts and lives. Materialism and Spiritualism. Materialism is the belief that money, possessions and physical comforts are more important than spiritual values. Spiritualism has to do with religious and ethical values. Two forces; forces of evil and virtue inside and forces of materialism and spiritualism outside are part and parcel of our lives. Unless we learn to subjugate the potential of violence and to promote the potential of virtue, to strike a balance between materialism and spiritualism, we cannot imagine our lives to be peaceful and prosperous.
Female foeticide is an example of the manifestation of ingrained love of violence and result of our untamed sheer materialistic outlook towards life.
Here, I wish to offer two-fold suggestions to fight against this cruel, immoral and inhuman practice carried out by so-called civilized and educated persons.
This practice of female foeticide is far stronger in urban than in rural areas, and more among the literate than the illiterate. It does explode the myth that growing affluence and spread of basic education can help erode gender bias. So, where lies the lacuna?
Syllabi have ever been an important facet of education. Today, our education system is lopsided. Our entire focus has been on professional and vocational training, leaving no space for moral or spiritual teaching. Our immediate need is to make our education value-based.
We need to have a shift in our attitude, especially in our youth. I would like to mention here a small but important incident from my hometown, a small place. Prof. C.P. Singh, working in a local college, is against all social evils in precept and practice. Once he told me how he made a number of students swear, on an occasion, never to take dowry in their marriages. Teachers, professors, and philanthropists can be role models for a large group of people.
Stage activists can help the mass realise the brutality of this crime through street-plays and theatres.
Celebrities can play an instrumental role in advocacy against such practices using print and electronic media.
Doctors, nurses and all others associated with this profession must be given moral lessons through seminars or symposiums, helping them realise this evil practice and the potential role they could play in the erosion of it.
Males should pick up courage to fight against any kith and kin who comes out with the nefarious idea of aborting the female foetus.
NGOs can play a very important role. In addition to launching a campaign against it, they can also organise groups of people who can exert social pressure on anyone who goes for female foeticide.
Another part of my suggestion is based on the teachings of the Qur’ān and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless and greet him). One may find this part of my suggestion applicable to Muslims only, but I say, the Qur’ān is not only for Muslims, but for humankind. In many places, the Qur’ān addresses us as ‘O Human beings’.
Islam not only prohibits female infanticide, but it forbids all types of infanticide, irrespective of whether the infant is a male or female.
“Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin.” Surah Al-Isra Chapter 17, Verse 31 (17:31).
The Qur’ān regards the murder of a single soul as murder of the whole humanity. Islam not only prohibits female infanticide but also rebukes the thought of rejoicing on the news of birth of a male child and not rejoicing on the news of the birth of a female child. In Islam the girl child is entitled to equal love and affection, support and upbringing and good treatment. There should be no partiality in bringing up of sons and daughters.
According to the saying of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless and greet him), “Whoever brings up two daughters properly and treats them kindly and justly shall enter paradise.”
Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless and greet him) always spoke about justice and kindness towards a child whether it be a daughter or a son. Once a person in the presence of Prophet Muhammad kissed his son and put him on his lap and did not do the same for his daughter who was with him. The Prophet (may Allah bless and greet him) objected and told the man that he was being unjust and that he should have also kissed his daughter and placed her on the other lap. The Prophet (may Allah bless and greet him) not only preached about equal justice to sons and daughters but also practised it himself.
Let me move a step further. Slogan of freedom made us resist any kind of restraint, especially religious. Many societies have removed both God and religion from their lives. What happens after death or what is the purpose of life, is not an issue to them. Therefore, if this is the only life, why not make hay while the sun shines. But, despite all material gain, one is restless. The USA, which has made the greatest materialistic progress and has given its citizens numerous rights, almost 60 per cent of the population consult psychiatrists. Sweden and Switzerland that provide utmost welfare to their citizens have the highest suicide rates. So, what makes one restless and leads to suicide? The answer is that man is not necessarily content with material well-being and needs something more.
We must not forget that our existence is based on body and soul. There must be a balance between the two. What feeds the human soul is religion and not science. In the absence of religion, immorality progresses rapidly. We are witness to it. In addition to inhuman practices like female foeticide, gay marriages, racism etc, the greatest loss of modern generation is the loss of ‘family life’. In the UK, the divorce rate is 60 per cent, while it is estimated that there are over 35 per cent single mothers. We can imagine the disastrous impact of such families on the emotional development of children.
But unfortunately, there is no study of the human soul in modern psychology. While we have made a lot of progress giving much comfort to our body, we have neglected the need of our soul like anything. It is high time we realised the importance of religion in our lives, the only source that can give us peace of mind and food to our soul. Without maintaining the balance between the requirements of body and soul, we can’t grow as a civilized society.
[This writer is a Lecturer in King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.]