Vanuatu

Women and Religion

So, it won't be any surprise to any of the Muslim readers of this blog that coming to Vanuatu was a bit of a struggle, in terms of getting permission from the parents and the general approval of the extended family and general society. That's obviously not to say that all the forces-that-be are happy with my current decision to be here, but fact remains that I am here in the country and so somehow half the battle was in my favor.

Just recently, I've been reading a book by an American journalist about her experiences in India. The books called "May You be the Mother of a hundred sons." And this is what I've been thinking since:

- For those women or daughters who decide to not make their mothers unhappy by not taking career or personal decisions that are too much in contrast to the socially/culturally accepted standards, how much of this self-sacrificing is chosen and how much of it is forced? In addition, how much of a Muslim women's decisions are based on the true want to make somebody else and how much is based on the expectation that, she, as a woman, is automatically expected to give in to whatever the mainstream and regurgitated rationale is to keep women from being the best that they can be?

Also, another question: being dutiful to one's parents is highly regarded in Islam. But, what if the request being made by your parents are coming from a cultural mindset rather than an Islamic one? Or what if their interpretation of religous text or selection of religious opinions is coming from a cultural perspective that you believe to be majorly oppressive to certain groups of people? How much are you still responsible of remaining "dutiful" to your parents? More importantly, do you even get "Sawab" (i.e. brownie points in God's eyes) if you are making certain sacrifices out of compulsion rather than out of true choice?

posted by faa-T @ 5:01 PM