“Peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice.”
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
“They Have Betrayed Allah!,” from AFP, September 1:
New family legislation giving more rights to Mali’s women which was passed by parliament has caused an outcry among Muslim conservatives and forced President Amadou Toumani Toure to order a review.
“Muslim conservatives” as opposed to simply, “conservatives.” Bold and true. Rare, if not extinct, are secular, Christian, or Jewish “conservatives” who organize “rallies” against women’s rights. Perhaps Muslim conservatives can learn from their secular, Christian, and Jewish “conservative” counterparts?
Toure sent the legislation back to parliament after some 50 000 people rallied at a football stadium in the capital Bamako recently, backing the view of the country’s High Islamic Council that the proposed law was an “insult to Islam”.
“Western Civilisation is a Sin!” said banners held aloft in the crowd. Others said: “No to a law which divides Malians.”
Who is the culpable divider? Is it not those who oppose rather than those who stand for human rights?
The anger was enough to stop Toure signing the law into force, on the grounds that he needed to “preserve social peace and calm.”
Appeasement!
A second reading would allow the legislation to win the “support and understanding” of fellow citizens, the president said in a radio address last week.
The draft legislation has been in the offing for a decade, held up by a string of amendments until it was finally voted through with a huge majority at the beginning of August.
The president took his decision after consultations with parliamentarians and party representatives over the wisdom of signing in the new law.
Toure “is slowing things down…”
“Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
“I wonder at men who dare to feel that they have some paternalistic right to set the timetable for another man’s (or woman’s) liberation.”
“The time is always ripe to do right.”
–Martin Luther King, Jr.
…he wants to put national unity above everything else,” explained a presidential advisor.
“Unity” as dictated by “conservative Muslims?” What would this “unity” be, and at what price?
The proposed law strengthens the rights of women by replacing the words “paternal power” with “parental authority” and protects their role in the household by stating that “no marriage can be renounced”.
Well, that settles it!
Crucially, it recognises civil marriages only, raises the legal age for marriage to 18 and would permit divorce only if a husband and wife have lived apart for three years.
Previously, there was no stipulated marriage age, which in Mali is often subject to custom, and girls sometimes marry from the age of 13 or 14.
Could their perception of Muhammad’s example in marrying Aisha have anything to do with it?
“On close examination, there are no real advantages given to women which pose a problem but the debate is being coloured by cultural and religious themes,” said sociologist Mamadou Samake, pointing out that 90 percent of Malians are Muslim.
Unity!
Imams have led outrage against the new legislation, threatening to wield their power against supporters of the law.
“We are asking all the mosques to return to religious marriage, as if nothing has changed,” the religious leaders said in a statement, rejecting the idea of state-sponsored civil marriage and threatening to boycott lawmakers who voted for the reform…
Another point which is being vehemently contested is the stipulation that children born outside marriage are also entitled to a share of any inheritance.
“We may live in a secular society, but every law in our context must reflect the point of view of the majority, if not, we are going to have a terrible crisis,” political scientist Amadou Keita says of the protests…”In our country, everyone is for the promotion of women…
Except for the country’s high Islamic Council, and 50,000 strong rallies, and “conservative Muslims,” and those delaying legislation with “strings of amendments,” and citizens in need of “support and understanding,” and Imams leading “outrage…against supports of the law.”
…But when there is misunderstanding, you must sit down to talk about it,” said the president of FENACOF, Dembele Oulematou Sow. “You have to explain further the contents of the law to avoid biased interpretations.”