Degradation of Civilization and Modesty

In this day and age we see that from the market place to the office, from clubs to amusement parks, in theaters and even in sports grounds, a woman�s projection of her beauty is being equated with open-mindedness and advancement. Moreover, today we see a male being covered from head to toe, and to top it off, he even wears a coat and a tie, whereas a woman�s revealing clothes are considered to be a part of her beauty. In such a society it is totally worthless to advise someone that the best place for a woman is her home, because it would be considered foolish and backward.

But this advice is not that of any old fashioned teacher of morality or of a backward person, but it is that of a famous Western movie star, Kate Hudson. After traveling through a long career as an actress and constantly by revealing her body, she gave the following statement:

�I think the greatest thing when you are a female who is always out and about�. to remember that your place is the home� (Hindustan Time, Delhi 23-07-2004).

In her recent interview in Britain, apart from giving women this advice, she also revealed her wish to lead her life as a loyal wife and an affectionate mother.

Today we see young boys and girls ready to sacrifice their lives on film stars, they decorate their rooms with their posters. They feel pride in following their footsteps and in making them their role models. They are ever ready to meet with them at least once in a lifetime. In such a glamorous world full of attraction, if a film star reveals her wish to be a loyal wife and an affectionate mother and advises women to be a light of their house, it totally negates the propaganda of the media and the Western way of thinking. There is no other way for the media but to associate this with old-fashioned thinking and this is exactly what they did. They titled Hudson�s interview an �old fashioned view; apart from this they also printed a highly revealing photograph of hers right next to her interview. By doing this they tried to portray the view that the old fashioned view is no match to the demands of this new era.

In a lustful society of voyeurs where a woman�s natural status is ignored, where she is seen as nearly a sex symbol, where she is pressurized to become the girlfriend and call girl instead of the dignified. Another figure where she is forced out of her home to be seen near nude in hotels, clubs, amusement parks , movies and on the internet to be enjoyed by all. How would such a society understand a woman�s true desire and wishes? They, who have forced her into becoming a mere means for sexual fulfillment, cannot see the anxiety and internal anguish she goes through; they have sight for her outward physical beauty, but not they insight to see understand her soul.

As long as a woman is involved in the glamour of this world she is unable to comprehend the dignity and respect she deserves, nor can she feel the purity of her purpose of life. However, if she does hear the internal voice of her soul at any point, she realizes what her actual status should be. At this point in life, she is willing to give up her artificial life for her actual life. Instead of being an actress and displaying her body she wants to lead a life of loyalty and love within a family. However, it is a totally different thing as to how successful she is in getting out of her web of miseries and whether the lust loving society gives her freedom from her bodily slavery.

This situation is not only prevalent in the world of Bollywood and Hollywood, but is evident in all types of jobs, whether she be a civilians or she be serving in the armed forces, she has been forced to give up her feminity and come out bare. She has deviated from her role as a mother. In the beginning she is really attracted to the new glamorous life, loves the new income she is earning. However, when she becomes a prey of sexual abuse, and has to face the lust lovers, then her view becomes similar to those of Hudson.

Not only Europe but also America has a big hand in forcing woman out of their houses. They have even forced them to participate in wars. There are more than two hundred thousand females in the USA army, where their basic duty is to fulfill their role as a soldier, but apart from that they are also compelled to fulfill the sexual desires of the men and officers. We can determine the spiritual anguish they go through by looking at the statement of Maryanne Buda who is a soldier in the US Army.

�Before whenever I looked at the USA flag I saw red, white and blue, but now I see blood all over it. Red color is the indication of the blood that has flown out of my body, the blue color stands for the wounds that my body has received, and the white color represents my fearful face. For the sake of my country have been brutally hit and sexually abused, what more can happen?

The story of Maryanne Buda is a stain on the freedom of woman�s culture but this is not the only incident. In another city in the USA, an inquiry was carried out in 2003 at an armed forces medical center. Out of 558 woman, 28% said that during their tenure of service they were either sexually abused or harassed.

This is the statement of those woman who actually spoke out. A survey at the Pentagon in 1988 revealed that in the army 90% of the women, who were abused or harassed, were unable to speak out and prove their innocence due to various reasons.

The American society and the Western world has snatched woman�s dignity from her and values to such an extent that one can see how innocent citizens were disgracefully a tortured in the American controlled Abu Gharaib Jail. (Details have already been seen on the media). On one side are the slogans of equality and independence of woman, but on the other side are the hideous acts of the lust loving people who have raised these slogans. These seemingly beautiful slogans have forced women to come out of their houses, but they have been exploited and put into spiritual anxiety. In such a situation if the thought of being a housewife and leading a life of respect and dignity comes to them, then it is natural because it is the voice of her inner soul and not something that is backward or something belonging to medieval times.
In order to see how women are being exploited we do not have to go to the battlefields, we can see it happening in our own schools, colleges and universities, where your girls and forced to give up their dignity and adopt near- nakedness. The slogan that �boys and girls are equal�, may seem harmless, but it has not made the birth of a female child acceptable, nor has it given the woman her share in inheritance. However, it has eradicated shame and modesty from these institutes, and turned humanity into barbarism.

If such things are taught in our educational institutes then this drifts them away from reality and it�s demands, they actually live in a virtual world. The result of this can be seen openly. For example, we see degradation of modesty becoming common, not only voluntary but also forced prostitution also becomes common. Peace and discipline is erupted and police offices blame it all on the woman, saying if the girls dress up properly that there can be an improvement in peace and discipline.

In practical life the effects of such an education and customs can be seen in an article published in India�s daily newspaper �TIMES� published from Delhi on 9th May 2004. this issue has printed interviews of around 503 woman, aged between 25 to 35 years. The way these woman have described their sexual feelings and experiences makes it seem as if they have no idea of what a loyal wife or a loving mother is. Instead they consider the glamour of the world as their only aim in life. Hence, when I glanced over the statement of Hudson, it seemed if the light of Quran had illuminated her heart and she was repeating the words revealed to Mohammad (PBUH). Allah (SWT) says in Surah Al-Ahzab, verse no. 33.

�And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the time of ignorance.�

Allah (SWT) created human beings and laid down the laws that regulate a pure society. In this society woman have a very significant role. If woman fulfill their role as a wife and as a mother then men can devotedly fulfill their duties of progress and development of the society. But when women are irresponsible in their duty and go out of the house displaying their beauty, then they cause hindrance in the progress of the society and much mischief is created. According to a Hadith narrated by Abdullah Ibn Masood, if a woman goes out of her house then Satan ogles her, but if she stays in her house then she is close to the Mercy of Allah (SWT) (Tirmidhi). It is the responsibility of men to fulfill woman�s monetary needs, therefore there is no need for her to go out and look for a job. If a woman under certain circumstances has no one to provide her protection then she can go out and earn her own living, but there is a lot of difference between going out because it�s a necessity and going out just for the sake of fun and fashion. On one hand you are fulfilling your needs and on the other hand you are satisfying your lust. Similarly, in one case you are taking charge of your responsibilities and in the other case you are running away from them.

In times of need, Islam has not stopped the woman from serving in the armed forces, but Allah (SWT) has not made this compulsory for them. It is the duty of men to defend and fight for Islam. When the mind of men is at peace regarding their house then they can fulfill their duty of defending and fighting more efficiently.

Islam gives woman the peace and comfort of a home, she is the dignity of her family and gets the same reward as Mujahid even by staying at home and fulfilling her role as a wife and a mother. But there is no way that a society that has forced the woman out of her house and made her an ornament of beauty, would understand this beautiful truth.