1. Every Thursday will be "womens' day" at Change Square in front of Sana'a University. This womens' participation is strictly a non-partisan event (as in established parties such as Islah etc) but it is pro-Islam and pro-Yemen without Ali Abdullah Saleh and enterage (or non-terage!).
2. Al-Qaeda who have declared Abyan an Islamic State and warned women not to go out unnecessarily or without mahram.
This statement is scaring people and making them feel al-Qaeda is oppressing women. LPOY would like to put forward these thoughts to even out the argument. Islamically women should not go out without need and when they do go out to do so with a mahram (where possible). This does not mean that they are prohibited from going out at all.
I would hazard a guess that in Abyan as in many parts of rural Yemen, women go out without mahram to do chores such as collecting water and attending to their flocks of sheep and goats. There is not much need other than that for women to go out in these areas, obviously in a city where culture is different there would be exceptions. The situation in Abyan is also far more dangerous than in other urban parts of the country, so we should also keep this in mind.
I would like to say to al-Qaeda in relation to womens' issues to remember the importance of education and health opportunities for women and not to restrict them from these opportunities so long as the subject content is compatible with Islam and needed by the ummah. The leaders of an Islamic state should not waste the talents of half the population - this is bad human resource management.
Allahumma barik fikum.
No comments:
Post a Comment