On
the 6th of June, the UK Guardian published an article under the title, "The rise of 'breadwinner
moms' is less a win for equality than it looks". It was in relation to
statistics from a recent report by the PEW Research Centre that in 40% of all
US households with children, mothers are the sole or primary breadwinners. The
employment rate of married mothers in the US is 65%. Fifty years ago, the
American feminist Betty Friedan claimed in her well-known book, The Feminine
Mystique that if American housewives embarked on lifelong careers, they would
be happier and healthier, have better marriages, and their children would
thrive. The underlying message, echoed by the voices of many feminists over the
years was that it was employment rather than motherhood that could offer women
true self-fulfillment, value and success in life. However, such predictions
could not have been further from the truth.
Firstly,
it is important to understand that the drive to push women out of their homes
and into the workplace did not have its origins in the 'emancipation of women'
or in improving the quality of their lives but rather it was a vision of
Western Capitalist governments, born out of securing economic gain. This
capitalist agenda of striving to increase female employment, for the sake of
financial interests rather than the betterment of women is exemplified by the
words of the former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton who stated in a speech
at a conference in Peru last October entitled, "Power: Women as Drivers of
Growth and Social Inclusion" that, "Restrictions on women's economic
participation are costing us massive amounts of economic growth and income in
every region of the world. In the Asia Pacific for example, it's more than $40
billion in lost GDP every year". Capitalists exploited the language of
feminism and equality, as well as promoted narratives such as 'empowerment
through employment' for pure financial benefit. This narrative has been nothing
but a capitalist and feminist lie that has cheated women of motherhood, robbed
children of their rights, and had a heavy cost on the wellbeing of women.
Firstly,
the feminist 'gender equality' narrative that the roles of men and women in
life should be the same, and that the value of women comes from work and
financial independence from men, has created societies in the West where women
no longer have the choice to work but are expected to due to social or economic
pressures. This has resulted in many women delaying or avoiding having children
in order to pursue a successful career, or even keep a job. There are now more
women than ever having higher risk pregnancies by having their first child at
40 years old or more from fear that they would face a reduction in their earnings
or lose their career for taking time out to have babies. For many women,
delaying having children to such a late age often means losing out on children
altogether due to reduced fertility, and increased miscarriages and pregnancy-related
complications. Secondly, this drive to push mothers into the workplace has not
only impacted the quality of marriages due to the limited time spent with their
spouse but also led to many women feeling a deep sense of guilt over the lack
of time spent with their children. In the PEW survey, almost ¾ of adults said
that the increasing numbers of women working has made it harder for parents to
raise children and ½ said that it has made marriages harder to succeed. In
2011, UNICEF published a report that warned that British parents were trapping
their children in a cycle of "compulsive consumerism" by showering
them with toys and designer clothes instead of spending quality time with them,
blaming this for contributing to the riots and widespread looting which gripped
the UK in the same year. Others have also attributed the lack of time spent by
working mothers in nurturing their children to some of the delinquent and
anti-social behaviour amongst the youth that plagues many Western societies.
Thirdly, the strain of having to struggle the pressures of work with the
responsibilities of home and family life has caused a significant rise in
anxiety and depressive disorders in women. In a study of 30 European countries,
published in 2011 by the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology,
researchers found that depression amongst women in Europe has doubled over the
last 40 years due to the 'tremendous burden' of having to juggle family duties
with the demands of work. And finally, as a consequence of capitalism and
gender equality that has pushed women to adopt the roles of men and
simultaneously accepted for men to forsake their role as maintainers of women,
many mothers have been left with no financial security, abandoned to fend for
themselves and their families with no one – not the father of their children
nor the state – to provide for them. The Guardian article above states
appropriately, "For single mums in particular, the reality of primary
breadwinner status feels less of a feminist victory than simply being
overworked, under-supported." In truth, capitalism has placed money over
motherhood, and gender equality that places the man, his rights and roles as
the gold standard that women are expected to aspire to has been its hand-maid.
In
contrast, Islam permits the woman to work and pursue a career, and does not
deny her economic ambitions, for the Prophet (saw) said: "O women! You have been allowed by Allah (swt) to go out for your
needs". However, it does not define empowerment based
on employment nor value or describe the success of the woman according to how
much tax she contributes to the economy. Rather the successful woman in Islam
is the one who has the most taqwa and obedience to her Creator. In addition,
Islam prescribes the woman a primary role in life as a wife and mother that is
in accordance with her nature as the child-bearer of societies, rather than in
contradiction with it. It bestows great value upon this position of the woman
and gives great importance to her duty as the nurturer and educator of children
and the future generation. And finally, it obliges that she and her children be
protected and provided for always by her male relatives or by the state,
ensuring that she is financially secured always for Allah (swt) says:
"Men have charge of women because Allah has
preferred the one above the other and because they spend their wealth on
them." (An-Nisa: 34)
All
this ensures true value, happiness, self-fulfillment, and empowerment for the
woman where both she and society embraces and celebrates her nature as a woman
rather than denying, sidelining, or even despising it. This is alongside
securing the rights and effective upbringing of children, and relieving women
of the burden of having to struggle to earn their own living or to be abandoned
to beg on the streets.
Or,
See
this Link:
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