Is Arab women's work a matter of "prestige" or a real necessity?
Author: Haya Al-Aqeel
In all societies, women are among the most important elements and human resources, whether we like it or not. They are both producers and consumers simultaneously. Women are the bearers of men, women, and their counterparts. Recently, women have freed themselves from many of the restrictions that Islam had already liberated them from nearly fourteen hundred years ago. They have liberated themselves from the humiliation and disrespect they faced simply for being women, from being looked down upon (if we compare the present to the past), from being seen merely as objects for pleasure and entertainment, and from the ignorance that prevented their education and confined them to the home. Even if they received education, it was often minimal. Women have also freed themselves from the injustice of being unequal to men in all aspects. They no longer inherit or are inherited, they can choose their life partners and decide their futures. In other words, they have been freed from meanings of enslavement and trading in a manner befitting the language of the twenty-first century.
But have women truly freed themselves in both heart and form from some of these restrictions, or have they merely changed the form while neglecting the heart? Was the status of women in pre-Islamic times truly worse than now, or are we living in a colored version of the old, unclear black-and-white era? If we look back to the pre-Islamic era, we see that women were the weakest link. They were deprived of many rights. As the scholar Sayyid Abu Al-Hasan Al-Nadwi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "In pre-Islamic society, women were subjected to injustice and deprivation. Their rights were consumed, their wealth usurped, they were denied inheritance, they were prevented from remarrying after divorce or the death of their husbands, and they were treated as inheritable property like objects or animals."
However, we also see a strong and clear presence of women in public life during the pre-Islamic era. Women went to markets, participated in composing and reciting poetry, worked in the fields, collected firewood, milked cattle, and fetched water from springs. They followed men into battles and wars, encouraging them, boosting their morale, treating the wounded, and providing water. If necessary, they fought alongside men. This indicates that women's work during that era was with strength, dignity, and pride. They did not work merely for money but for higher and stronger purposes. Women were poets, healers, and motivators in wars. They were called "sisters of men" because they lived among true men, not mere males. They worked powerfully when they chose to and raised generations with dignity and firmness at home. Armies would be mobilized for them if they sought help. Hind bint Utbah is just one example of the strength, presence, and dignity of women in pre-Islamic times, both inside and outside their homes.
Some people acknowledged women's importance, freedom, strength, and engagement in all aspects of life. Others saw women as worthless and deprived them of their most fundamental right: the right to life. When a girl was born, it was considered a catastrophe, and they didn't know whether to bury her alive or leave her. Additionally, some women were helpless slaves or captives treated as commodities, with no right to inheritance, choice, or decision-making. Many women today are slaves to work, which has become more of a trend than a necessity, diminishing their status rather than enhancing it. Women have abandoned their homes, which need them, for jobs that add nothing but money. They don't need it at all to provide for excessive luxuries, buying expensive designer bags while their children are in the care of hired nannies. They pay nannies to compensate for their absence, depriving their children of their presence. The priorities of Arab women, especially in the Gulf, are highly problematic today. Society's perception has become overly significant. Even if they don't need the income, they work to prove themselves, as if their identity is negated if they focus on their primary role rather than jumping to the secondary role, which is society's perception and blind imitation.
If one of a married woman's important roles, should she desire children, is to bear and raise them, how will she balance this with the significant task of working? Men are not tasked with pregnancy and childbirth; they work outside and return exhausted, often with no energy to talk or work. What about women, the delicate beings who inevitably tire, especially if they strive for perfection in everything and believe they can balance all tasks flawlessly? Let's show mercy to ourselves as women. This message is not for those who must work to support themselves and their families, as these women are resilient and deserve all respect, appreciation, and support for their efforts. This message is for those who work for "prestige," because everyone around them works. Why shouldn't they?
Work and contribute, but do so because you decided with conviction and happiness, not to prove to others that you can, while neglecting those under your care. If children are raised by servants, the streets, or the internet, they are missing the most crucial element: you, with your presence and essence. You are irreplaceable at home, whereas at work, a thousand women could replace you. If you leave, hardly anyone will hold onto you, except in rare cases. But your family will always hold onto you because you are the foundation, the nurturing womb that blossoms and grows. You are the irreplaceable true love. But if you aren't that, then perhaps it's better to work, as your presence or absence at home will make no difference, and your absence might be better for everyone, including yourself. A working woman provides money, but a woman at home provides unparalleled security and affection.
Let's free ourselves from society's constraints that are unfulfilling and irrelevant. These imaginary constraints portray working women as modern and housewives as backward, emphasizing money as the most important thing, which supposedly buys everything. In the West, women often wish they had the option to stay home. In our societies, we adopt practices that set us back instead of pushing us forward. Work, but make it an internal decision, a beautiful feeling without guilt for neglecting essential duties like children, leaving them to servants. Balance, harmonize, and proceed, but don't imitate just because you've lost your natural compass guiding you correctly without external influences. Work without forgetting your duties, examine the true purpose behind your work, and fear God regarding those under your care. They are too weak to demand affection forcefully. Work to fulfill yourself and offer the best to your community and those around you, not to buy designer bags or dress your child in luxury brands they don't recognize. Work and be strong, fulfilling your inner satisfaction with internal motivation. Then you will be productive, effective, successful, and deeply content simultaneously!