Sometimes their status as a human being has been diminished...

Sometimes their status as a human being has been diminished, and at other times, their very nature of being considered a human being has been called into doubt![^2] At other times they had been thought of as being nothing more than a mere slave; in other instances, they were considered as the superior sex and the concept of ‘female domination’ of society was brought forth as the ideal notion!

In regards to each of these views, it can be said that all of these extreme interpretations have had immense repercussions on one another. In today’s society, especially in the Western societies, or those who emulate “The West” and claim to follow democracy, we see the same sorts of discussions in regards to women.

During election times, politicians realized that they needed to gain the vote of the women, as men and women tend to vote in similar patterns; in addition, the capitalist system heavily required that women enter the workplace - especially considering the fact that most often, women are paid less than men and are given less opportunities than men to excel in the work environment.

As well, the entire system of marketing and advertising which makes up a large part of the political and economic propaganda also requires the use of women [to market and sell their products].

It is due to all of these reasons that in their speeches, various nations continuously “defend” women’s rights and do their utmost to elevate the character of women; however in their practical actions, we don’t see any attempt in sincerely and honestly working to elevate their honour and status; thus the women of today have been caught up in many levels of frustration and disappointment – the same things which they were also deprived of in the past.

This same thing can also be seen when you wade through the religious texts in which some groups maintained women’s rights as merely slogans to promote and defended them due to some act of pretension; they interpreted the religious texts in such a way as to paint a picture that a majority of the women would relate to and would – albeit in a dishonest way – show the women as having some predisposition [which they do not possess].

*** The sermon narrated above and other similar limited statements which are contained in Nahjul Balaghah have not remained un-touched from being discussed and commented upon.