Woman and her Rights

Declaration of Human Rights is a
Philosophy and Not a Law

    It is ridiculous to say that as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees equality of rights between man and woman, has been ratified officially by the Parliament of a particular country, men and women of that country are supposed to have equal rights.

    After all, it is not within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of any country to ratify or reject the text of the Declaration, for its contents, not being of such contractual nature, do not fall within its legislative authority.

    The Universal Declaration deals with the inherent, inalienable and indefeasible rights of the human beings and, as claimed by the Declaration itself, these rights are an integral part of human dignity and have been determined by the powerful hand of nature itself. In other words, these rights have been granted to human beings by the same source which gave them intellect, will and dignity.

    If it is so, the nature of the contents of the Declaration is such that a human authority can neither lay them down nor do away with them. Then how can the question of their ratification by a legislative body arise?

    In fact, the Declaration of Human Rights is a philosophy and not a law. As such, it should be ratified by the philosophers and not by the legislators. No Parliament can, by debating and voting, lay down a philosophy. Otherwise, why should a bill enunciating Einstein's theory of relativity or the theory of the existence of life on some other planets not be introduced in some Parliament and passed by that august body? In reality, a natural law cannot be passed or rejected like a contractual law. To pass a natural law will be tantamount to the passing of a law to the effect that the grafting of a pear-tree on an apple-tree will be successful, but on a mulberry-tree it will not be successful.

    Whenever any declaration of rights is issued by a group of philosophers, every nation should refer it to its own thinkers and philosophers, and if it is approved by them only then all members of that nation are bound to abide by its provisions as extra legal facts. The legislative authority will also be bound not to enact any law which is inconsistent with them.

    But other nations will not be bound to observe them as long as it is not proved, according to their own view, that such a right exists in nature. Further, as this question is not subject to test and trial, it does not require any such equipment or laboratory etc. as may be available to the Europeans only. It is a question of philosophy whose tools are the brain, reason and an argumentative power.

    Even if some other nations are compelled to follow the majority of other nations in the matter of logic and philosophy and do not feel that they are competent enough to do any philosophical thinking themselves we Muslims must not follow their example. We have shown in the past that we are highly capable of dealing with logical and philosophical questions. Why should we follow others today?

    It is amazing that while the Muslim intellectuals attach so much importance to the principle of justice and inherent rights and accept as religious law, without any hesitation and without any further argument, all that stands to reason, today things have deteriorated to such extent that we want the members of a legislative body to ratify the acknowledgement of human rights!

Philosophy Cannot be Proved by Filling Coupons

    More ridiculous than this is to try to decide the question of human rights by arranging the opinion polls of young boys and girls. Is it sensible to print coupons and ask young boys and girls to fill them, to find out what is the nature of human rights and whether they are of one or two kinds?

    Anyhow, we want to study the question of woman's rights in a systematic and philosophical way, and in the light of inherent human rights. We would like to see whether the principles, which demand that all mankind should enjoy inherent and God-given rights, make it necessary or not that man and woman should have the same position in respect of their rights. We request the intellectuals, the thinkers and the lawyers of our country, who may be the only competent authority to express an opinion on such questions and to look into our arguments with a critical eye. We shall be highly obliged if they make authoritative comments in their favour or against them.

    To deal with this question, it is necessary first to discuss the basis of human rights. The rights of man and woman will be discussed subsequently. In this context, it will not be out of place to refer briefly to the liberal movements of the past few centuries, which have led to the idea of equality between the rights of man and woman.

A Brief Glance at the History of
Women's Rights in Europe

    The talk of human rights began in the 17th century. The writers and thinkers of the 17th and the 18th centuries, with great perseverance, gave publicity to their ideas about natural and indefeasible rights. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu belong to this group of thinkers and writers. The first practical result of the spread of their ideas was a long-drawn struggle between the rulers and the people of England. In 1688 the English people succeeded in making the King agree to grant them certain political and social rights advanced by them in the Charter, known as the Bill of Rights.

    Another outstanding result of the spread of these ideas was the American War of Independence against England. Thirteen English colonies in North America revolted, following the imposition of heavy taxes, and eventually gained their independence. In 1776 a conference was held in Philadelphia which issued the Declaration of Independence. Its preamble said: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their justice power from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organising its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness".

    As regards what is known as the Declaration of Human Rights, it was issued after the French Revolution. It contains certain universal principles which are considered to be an integral part of the French Constitution. The Declaration consists of a preamble and 17 clauses. The first clause says that all human beings are born free and remain free throughout their life. They are equal to one another in the matter of rights.

    In the 19th century new developments took place and new ideas emerged in the field of human rights in economic, social and political matters. These resulted in the emergence of socialism, participation of the workers in the profits, and the shifting of the government from the hands of the capitalists to the labour.

    Up to the beginning of the 20th century all discussions on human rights were centred upon the rights of the people versus the governments, or the rights of the labouring classes as against the employers and the landlords.

    In the 20th century, the question of the rights of woman vis-a-vis those of man cropped up. It was only in the beginning of the 20th century that Britain, which is known as the oldest democracy, recognised the equality of rights between man and woman. Though the United States had, in general terms, recognised human rights in the 18th century in the course of the Declaration of Independence, yet universal suffrage was granted only in 1920. France also extended suffrage to woman only from the 20th century.

    Somehow or the other in the 20th century large sections of people throughout the world came to support a deep change in the relations between man and woman, from the viewpoint of rights and obligations. According to them the purpose of social justice could not be achieved by change in the relation between the nations and between the workers and the employers and capitalists so long as the relations of man and woman with regard to their rights were not considered.

    That is why the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, issued by the United Nations in 1948, says:

    "Whereas the peoples dignity of individual and equality of rights between man and woman ... ."

    The crisis caused by the development of machines in the 19th and the 20th centuries, and the consequent pitiable condition of the workers, especially the female workers, focused the attention on the plight of woman and that is why attention was paid to the question of their rights. A historian says: "As long as the governments did not pay attention to the plight of the workers and the behaviour of their employers, the capitalists did whatever they liked. The mill-owners used to employ women and children at very meagre wages and, as their working hours were too long, most of them suffered from various diseases and died at a young age".

    This was the brief history of the Movement for Human Rights in Europe. As we know, all those clauses of the Declaration of Human Rights, which are new to the Europeans, had been visualised by Islam 14 centuries ago, and some Arab and Iranian intellectuals in their books have made a comparative study of the teachings of Islam and the provisions of these declarations. There still exists some difference between certain parts of these declarations and what Islam has taught. This is an interesting subject. For example, Islam accepts equality between the rights of man and woman, but it does not accept similarity or uniformity of their rights.

Human Dignity and Human Rights

    "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world."

    "Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief, and freedom from fear and wants has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people".

    "Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law."

    "Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations".

    "Whereas the people of the United Nations have in the Charter, reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women, and have determined to promote social progress and a better standard of life in larger freedom".

    "Whereas ... The General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping the Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the people of member states themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction ...".

    As we have observed earlier, every word and every sentence of this Declaration is well-calculated. It is a manifestation of the ideas of the world's liberal-minded philosophers and legists of several centuries.

Important Points of the Rreamble of the
Declaration of Human Rights

    This Declaration consists of 30 articles, though certain articles are superfluous and some points have been repeated in several articles.

    The important points of the preamble are as under:-

    (i) All human beings enjoy inherent dignity and inalienable rights.

    (ii) Human dignity and human rights are universal and indivisible. They pervade all human beings irrespective of race, colour and sex. All human beings are members of a family, and hence none is superior to anyone else.

    (iii) Full recognition of human dignity and inalienable human rights is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace.

    The contents of the Declaration imply that the source of all the troubles, wars, acts of tyranny and barbarous acts committed by the individuals and the people against each other, is the non-recognition of human dignity and human rights. This non-recognition compels some to revolt against some others, and thus endangers peace and security.

    (iv) The highest aspiration, for the materialisation of which all must strive, is the emergence of a world in which freedom of belief, security and material welfare may be ensured and freedom from suppression, fear and poverty may be guaranteed. The 30-article Declaration has been framed to achieve this purpose.

    (v) Belief in human dignity and respect for inalienable human rights must be inculcated gradually in the minds of all, through teaching and education.

Respect for Human Dignity

    As the Declaration of Human Rights has been framed on the basis of respect for humanity, liberty and equality with a view to reviving human rights, it should be respected by every conscientious person. We, the people of the East have been believing in human dignity and respect for humanity for a long time. Islam attaches great importance to human dignity and respects human rights, liberty and equality. Those who have really inspired them, deserve our appreciation. Anyhow, it is a philosophical text written by human hands, and not by angels. Hence, every philosopher has a right to analyse it and to point out its weak points.

    The Declaration of Human Rights definitely has its weak points, but at present we have no intention to lay our finger on them. Instead; we point out its strong points.

    The basis of this Declaration is the inherent human dignity, because of which man is entitled to certain rights which are not enjoyed by other living beings, for they lack that dignity. This is the strong point of the Declaration.

Western Philosophy Depreciates Man

    Here we are again faced with an old philosophical question:

    What is the nature of the human dignity which distinguishes man from a horse, a cow and a pigeon?

    It is here that the contradiction between the basis of the Declaration of Human Rights and the Western evaluation of man becomes evident.

    The Western philosophy has since long depreciated man. The source of all that used to be said previously about man and his distinguished position was in the East. Now most of the European systems of philosophy ridicule all that.

    Man, from the Western point of view, has come down to the position of a machine. The existence of a soul and the magnanimous origin of man have been denied. The belief that nature has an ultimate goal is considered to be a reactionary idea.

    Now nobody in the West can talk of man as the crown of the creation. According to the current European theory, such a belief was only an offshoot of the now obsolete Ptole-maic astronomy, according to which the earth was believed to be the centre of the Universe and all the stars were believed to be revolving round it. Now that theory has gone, and, with its disappearance, no room is left for man to claim that he is the crown of the Universe. According to the Europeans, even in the past it was only because of his selfishness that man made this claim. Now man is a modest creature. He does not consider himself to be superior to other living beings. His life is only physical. After a man dies, his body is decomposed and there the matter ends.

    The European does not believe that soul has any independent existence. In this respect he does not consider himself to be in any way different from a plant or an animal. According to him, there is no essential difference between the nature of man's intellectual and spiritual capabilities and other properties of matter such as heat, emanating from coal. All these are various manifestations of energy and matter.

    Life for all living beings, including man, means a constant struggle for existence. This is the basic principle of life. Man has always been striving to be victorious in this struggle, and to save his position he has invented such moral rules as justice, virtue, co-operation, sincerity etc.

    From the standpoint of certain powerful Western schools of thought, man is just a machine which is actuated only by the motives of economic gains. Religion, morality, philosophy, science, literature and the arts are all superstructures. Their infrastructure is the mode of production and distribution of wealth which determines all aspects of human life.

    Not only that, some western thinkers are of the view that sexual factors are the real motivating force behind all human activities. Morality, philosophy, science, religion and the arts are all modified and rarefied forms of sex.

    We wonder how we can talk of human dignity and inalienable rights and how we can make them the basis of all our actions, if we deny that nature has any ultimate aim, if we think that the struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest are the only laws which govern life, if we believe that man is only a machine just like any machine made with human hands, if we maintain that the soul has no existence and all that is attributed to it is mere spiritual exaggeration, if we hold that either the economic or the sexual factors are the motivating force behind all human activities, if we assert that good and evil are only relative conceptions, if we are of the opinion that natural and intuitive inspirations are absurd and if we say that man is a slave of his desires and passions and can submit to force only.

    Western views about man are contradictory to his dignity and have lowered his position from every angle - from the angle of the causes which have brought him into existence, from the angle of the purpose for which he has been created, his structure, his motives and his conscience.

    Having done all this, the Western countries have proclaimed a high-sounding Declaration about human dignity and position and inalienable and sacred rights and have called upon mankind to enforce it.

    The West, before issuing a high-sounding Declaration about sacred and natural human rights, should have revised its interpretation regarding man.

    We admit that all Western philosophers do not hold the same views. Many of them think in this respect on the same lines as we do in the East. We have in view that way of thinking which has gripped most of the people in the West and which is now influencing the people all over the world.

    The Declaration of Human Rights should have been issued by those, who consider man to be higher than a robot, who think that his motives are not limited to his personal and animal instincts and who have faith in human conscience. The Declaration of Human Rights should have been issued by the people of the East who believe man to be the vicegerent of God on the earth. The Holy Qur'an says: Surely I am appointing a vicegerent on the earth. (Surah al-Baqarah, 2 : 30) Only those who believe that man has a goal and a destination can talk of human rights. 0 men! Surely you have to labour and labour toward your Lord, and then you shall meet Him. (Surah al-Inshiqaq, 84 : 6)

    The Declaration of Human Rights befits those systems which believe that man has a natural leaning towards virtue. By the soul and Him who perfected it and inspired it with knowledge of evil and piety. (Surah as-Shams, 91 : 7 - 8)

    The Declaration of Human Rights should be issued by those who are optimistic about the nature of man. Surely we have made man in the best proportion. (Surah at-Teen, 95 : 4)

    The Declaration of Human Rights does not befit the Western way of thinking. What befits it is only the practical behaviour of those Western people who kill all human sentiments, play with human characteristics, give preference to money over man, worship machinery, regard wealth as almighty and exploit other human beings. Capitalism has acquired such an unlimited power that if by chance a millionaire bequeaths his wealth to his dear dog, it is respected more than human beings, and several men serve it as its secretaries and clerks and show utmost respect to it.

    Today's most important social question, in the words of the Holy Qur'an, is: Has man forgotten himself? He has not only forgotten himself, but has forgotten his God also. He has confined his attention to the material world and has totally ignored introspection. He thinks that he has lost his soul. This way of thinking is most disastrous, and may completely ruin humanity. Modern civilisation can produce everything of the highest grade, but it cannot produce a real man.

    Gandhi says that the European deserves to be called the lord of the earth. He possesses all earthly resources and can do things which other nations believe only God can do. But there is only one thing which a European cannot do and that is introspection. That alone is enough to prove the futility of the glitter of the modern civilisation.

    If Western civilisation has plagued the European with liquor and sex, it is because instead of seeking himself he is after forgetting and wasting himself. His practical ability to discover, to invent and to produce war material is due to his self-escape and not due to his exceptional self-control.

    His fear of loneliness, his reticence and his pursuit of money have made him unable to listen to his internal voice. His inability to rule himself is his incentive to conquer the world. That is why the European spreads confusion and chaos wherever he goes. If one loses his own soul, it is no use conquering the world. Those who have been taught by the Gospel to be the missionaries of truth, love and peace, roam about in search of gold and slaves. Instead of seeking forgiveness and justice in the Kingdom of God, as the Gospel teaches, they use their religion only to absolve themselves from their sins. Instead of preaching the Divine message, they drop bombs on the innocent people.

    That is the reason why the Declaration of Human Rights is being violated by the West. The philosophy which is followed by the people of the West in their practical life makes the failure of the Declaration inevitable.