Equality & Peace No Individual Stands Alone Nahid Angha, Ph.D. Nature in her wisdom and intellect has selected male-sperm and female-egg as equal partners for the continuation of human life. Further, in that great scope of life, nature has entrusted the female species with that life, and granted her the potentiality to receive, to hold, to grow, to give birth, and to care for the generations of humankind; and, thus, become the mother of all humanity. However when equal partnership and the great scope of life fall into the dimensions of cultures, religions and political ideologies, the scenario may change most of the time. When that equal partnership falls into the dimensions of religions, what we begin to practice has not much to do with the teachings of those great teachers of religions. If the recorded history is accurate, Moses, who was raised in the pharaoh’s royal family, having the same lifestyle and probably following the same Egyptian religion as pharaoh, accepted and followed his mother’s religion when he found her; he leaves the life of power and luxury behind and travels to his mother’s promise land. However, when we come across some of the old Jewish prayers, we may be surprised to hear: praise be to the Lord, our God, who has not created me a woman.
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Sufism: An Inquiry Vol XVIII, No. 4
In a most difficult environment, Mary gives birth to Jesus. She nourishes, educates and plants the seed of spirituality and morality in his heart. However, we continuously praise the Father, and even though the mother is holy, she cannot compete with the Father figure. We honor male disciples of Jesus but hardly mention the significance of Mary Magdalene, a female disciple of the same teacher. Muhammad was raised by a single mother (Ameneh) 1400 years ago in Arabia. When he begins his prophecy he immigrates to Yathrib, the birthplace of his mother. He calls Yathrib, Madinat-al-Nabi, the City of the Prophet; the Illuminated Medina; the City of Light; and Yathrib/Medina becomes one of the three most important cities in the world of Islam. His generation continues through his daughter; he remains one of the most powerful advocates and supporters of women’s rights and equality. Yet those historical records hardly became the foundations of equality in Muslim lands. When nature’s equal partnership falls into the dimensions of political ideologies, women have to fight for their rights, whether rights to vote, to equal pay, to land ownership, to financial freedom, and more. In one land a woman is demoted from her position as judge to a simple
