S3-Day 13: Muslim Women: Icons of Strength amidst Oppression

Reflecting Verse: 

Jesus Christ is raging, raging in the streets,

where injustice spirals

and real hope retreats.

Listen, Lord Jesus, I am angry too.

In the Kingdom’s causes

Let me rage with you. 

Jesus Christ is calling, calling in the streets,

‘Who will join my journey?

I will guide their feet.’

Listen, Lord Jesus, let my fears be few.

Walk one step before me; I will follow you. 

My first encounter with this topic was during the recent campaign #ifwedonotrise. As I went through the factsheet on Muslim women produced during the campaign, it left me wondering how many of us who stand with the “marginalized” are aware that the Muslim community and especially Muslim women are among the most marginalized sections in society. 

According to the Sachar Committee report, Muslims possess the lowest average monthly per capita expenditure among all socio-religious groups in the country. Over the past decade the community has been subjected to violence in the form of “beef lynching” and attacks based on accusations of waging “love jihad”. The passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 accelerated the discriminations against Muslims in different parts of the country. With the communalization of the Covid-19 pandemic following the Tablighi Jamaat incident, the discriminations took on new forms. Reports have it that government hospitals designated different wards for Muslim patients, denied healthcare services to pregnant Muslim women, and hospital staff openly spewing hate against Muslims. 

The upsurge in domestic violence amongst women and children became a double oppression for Muslim women. Having a lower representation in the work force than women of other communities, their work goes unrecorded as they are primarily home-based workers - poorly paid, exploited, and under contract with no social security. And yet despite being the most oppressed group, Muslim women and girls led a struggle, when protests erupted against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, demanding for the revocation of the CAA. The backlash and virulent media campaign combined with state repression added to the unprecedented violence that Muslim women and students faced by virtue of being ‘women’ and ‘Muslims’. 

While there have been a good number of people and civil society groups supporting the cause, there are many who look at the protest as purely a communal one - Hindus vs. Muslims. And Muslims are often portrayed to be a “threat” even to most Christians. The Israel-Palestine issue is one instance in which majority of Christians support Israel rather than Palestine even though Israel is the “oppressor” and Palestine the “oppressed”. This makes me question the selective nature of our solidarity as people who profess to be committed to the cause of the oppressed and marginalized. And I think it is high time to break the stereotypes we have of a particular community, religion, gender, and so on and instead focus on the discriminations that they have been subjected to. 

As Christians, how far have we engaged with issues that affect a particular community as much as we do with our own? Is God’s providence confined only to specific communities? If yes, then we need to reread the Bible with new eyes. And if not, then we need to equally engage with the issues affecting all those who are victims of oppression and injustice. ‘God in dirty places’ beckons us to take our faith beyond our limits. It beckons us to imagine God in our immediate situation while drawing inspiration from events that witness to God’s liberative action in history. 

Despite being among the most oppressed groups, Muslim women have been resilient and at the forefront of their struggles - asserting their right to self-determination and equality as women within the community (for instance, the issue of triple talaq which has seen gains), and their right to citizenship as Muslims within the larger body politic. There is much that we can draw inspiration from, and there is a lot more that we can do if we really want to see our society and world transformed. Coming together and joining our voices collectively for a just cause, transcending barriers of gender, religion, community, caste, race, and so on is only the beginning. 

Prayer: 

God our co-sufferer, who delights in justice and truth, make us restless when we see injustice around us. Give us the courage to rage against oppressive and discriminatory power structures. Amen. 

Author: Darkerlin Mukhim 

About the Author: Daker completed her Bachelor of Divinity from the United Theological College, Bangalore (2005-2008) and Master of Arts in Theology from the Protestant Theological University, Groningen (2012-13). She is presently working with Student Christian Movement of India, Bangalore as the Executive Secretary for Faith, Formation and Praxis desk.