KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — Beating women for being “disobedient” to their husbands is not allowed in Islam and the focus on female obedience is a misinterpretation of the Quran, Sisters in Islam (SIS) said today.
Head of the Muslim women’s rights group Ratna Osman said the literal interpretation of the Surah An-Nisa (verse 34) has been used to justify domestic violence in Muslim marriages; when in reality, the Quranic verse urged men to treat women fairly at a time when wife-beating was acceptable in patriarchal Arab society.
“The argument justifying beating women who are disobedient (nusyuz) is a gendered interpretation placing the burden of obedience only on women,” Ratna told Malay Mail Online in an email.
“‘Nusyuz’ is the act disruptive to marital harmony, [and] thus should not be restricted to women. The Quran places great importance on a state of harmony between husband and wife in a marriage and the responsibility to maintain this harmony [is] on both husband and wife.
Therefore, the justification to beat your wife on the grounds of disobedience is unacceptable because ‘nusyuz’ cannot mean obedience to a husband as usually assumed,” the SIS executive director added.
According to the activist, Surah An-Nisa (verse 34) states: “As for those whom you fear ‘nusyuz’, admonish them, then banish them to beds apart and strike them. But if they obey you, see not a way against them”.
She said the Quran acknowledges that husbands can cause disharmony in the family and be in “nusyuz” too, noting that wives will then have the right to initiate mediation.
Ratna was commenting on the controversy sparked by a man who slapped his female partner on the head several times at the Kota Kinabalu airport on Monday until she cried, which was witnessed by a filmmaker who posted the alleged assault on Facebook.
Beatrice Leong, whose complaint about how she was the only person who intervened in the alleged beating went viral, said yesterday that several Muslims told her that she did not understand the Quran, claiming the holy book allows a man to discipline his wife by beating her “lightly”.
Ratna stressed today that Islam does not allow any form of violence towards women, pointing out that Prophet Muhammad abhorred spousal abuse.
“An authentic hadith quoted the Prophet as saying, ‘Could any of you beat your wife as he would a slave, and then lie with her in the evening?’” said the women’s rights activist.
“The so-called method of how to handle a disobedient wife as revealed in the Quran came as a guidance to Muslims not to commit violence against their wives as they please. We are talking about a society that accepted beating wives as the right of husbands.
“Today such a practice must not be allowed as it goes against the principle of justice that the modern world has accepted. Muslims today cannot live under the standard of justice of medieval times,” Ratna added.
