Jordan Times
Wednesday, December 9, 1998
Islam 'unequivocal' on women's participation in society — Princess Sarvath
WASHINGTON (Petra) — HRH Princess Sarvath has stressed that Islam fully encourages the education of women and their participation in society, saying that “the religion is unequivocal” on this issue.
“Islam is a religion in which the quest for knowledge is imperative for men and women,” she said, citing the Hadith of the Prophet Mohammad. “Searching for knowledge is the duty of every believer, male and female,” Princess Sarvath said in a lecture she delivered at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies on Monday.
Princess Sarvath underlined the fact that the first Muslim converts were women in a lasting testimony to how Islam challenged the previous demanding status of women and elevated them to a status equal with men. “That women and girls are in no way regarded as inferior by Islam or treated as such by its Prophet is perfectly clear,” said Princess Sarvath in the lecture entitled “The Education of Women in the Muslim World.”
Princess Sarvath pointed out that in Jordan, women have access to all forms of education and that the country has had compulsory education for both boys and girls since 1951. She added that the Educational Reform Programme started in 1987 revised the curriculum with a view to ensuring that it does not contain gender stereotyping.
The Princess explained that school enrolment in the compulsory cycle is almost 100 per cent and that the female illiteracy rate now stands at around eight per cent, having markedly dropped from 36 per cent in 1960.
“Not only are our school enrolment and literacy rates amongst the highest in the Middle East, but 49 per cent of the enrolment of all Jordanian college and university students are women,” Princess Sarvath said.
Princess Sarvath also pointed out that Jordanian laws help women attain a status that is in keeping with the essence of Islam and the aspirations of the leadership of the country. She explained that women serve in senior government positions and actively participate in every aspect of life.
Unfortunately, as is the case in other countries, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, many women in Jordan do find difficulty in reaching higher positions, which have been passed over in favour of men regardless of merit, said Princess Sarvath.
But a number of Jordanian NGOs, with the direct involvement of HRH Princess Basma, are working towards the revision of certain laws as well as the drafting of new ones that protect and enhance women's rights, particularly in the labour and personal status areas, Princess Sarvath explained.
Pointing out that the status of women differs from one Muslim country to another due to historical, political and social differences among these countries, Princess Sarvath said that the only standard by which to judge the educational patterns for Muslim women in different Muslim societies is the established position of the religion itself in support of education for women.
“The validity and enormous benefits of even a minimal education for women, Muslim or not, are irrefutable, as is the positive stand Islam takes on education and pursuit of knowledge in general,” Princess Sarvath stressed.
“By virtue of the liberal attitude of the religion towards their education and participation in socio-economic development, Muslim women have the right and opportunity to be modern women in the full sense, with control over their own lives, and contributions to make to the life of their communities and nations,” she said.
Princess Sarvath said that only through education can women be empowered to take advantage of new opportunities and to widen their horizons, adding that women should be entitled to have a say in what directly affects their welfare and that of their particular community. Princess Sarvath said the real moving force behind any attempt to improve the status quo of women is the priority that leaders and governments give to education.
She rejected attempts to justify the limitation of the participation of women in the educational process or other process in society by claiming that religion requires so. Such justifications are untrue, she emphasised. “The challenge Muslim governments face today is how to live up to the requirements of their religion concerning women's rights, whilst acknowledging their particular historical, cultural and nationalistic biases and needs,” she said.
Princess Sarvath arrived in Washington from Detroit, where she received Jordanian women representing the Arab-American and Chaldean Council as well as the wife of Michigan's governor, Michelle Engler.