[Muslim Role Models ]    [From Convention to Conviction ]   [Responsibility for Household ]    [Responsibility for Society ]   [Waking up to the Challenges ]   [Search for Knowledge ]   [References ]  Responsibility for Society The responsibility of Muslim women does not, like many are apt to believe, end up in the home. This wrong impression has been propagated and even given semblance of religious support. It is semblant because neither the Qur’an nor the Sunnah really supported the kind of relegation of women that we find today in our Muslim societies. Certainly this was not the case during the time of the prophet when women were involved at every level of the mission. Similarly the period of the Khilafa Rashida did not see any need to keep Muslim women behind, they were actively participating in the exacting and continuos task of establishing Islam. This situation only started to change after the Khilafa Rashida when things began to deteriorate and they were never the same again thereafter. Indeed the position and role of women became and index of the health of the Muslim Community. The relegation of women became an index of decay and stagnation of Muslim societies. This was particularly the case in Hausaland before the Jihad of Shehu Usman Dan Fodio. For Shehu to pull the depraved Hausa society out of the abyss of its rot and revitalized it, he had to address the issue of women education.[11] For until women are educated they cannot play their part effectively in the crucial task of Amr bil-Ma’ruf wal-Nahy an-l-Munkar, without which no Muslim society can remain on its Islamic course much less regenerate after falling into decadence. For the avoidance of doubt we may need to recall what Allah has said (Q. 22:41 and 3: 110) on this very important issue of Amr bil-Ma’ruf wal-Nahy an-l-Munkar. In another place and in more explicit terms the Most high said, "The hypocrites, men and women, (have an understanding) with each other: they enjoin evil, and forbid what is just, and are close with their hands. They have forgotten God; so He hath forgotten them. Verily the hypocrites are rebellious and perverse. God hath promised the hypocrites men and women, and the rejecters, of faith, the fire of hell their in shall they dwell: sufficient is it for them: for them is the curse of God, and an enduring punishment." (Q. 9:67-8) He proceeded to say "The believers men and women, are protectors, one of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practice regular charity and obey God and his apostle. On them will God pour his mercy: for God is exalted in power, wise. God hath promised to believers, men and women, gardens under which rivers flow to dwell therein, and beautiful mansions in gardens of everlasting bliss. But the greatest bliss is the good pleasure of God: that is the supreme felicity." (Q. 9:71-2) Here is a clear and vivid description of Muslims men and women as against hypocrites, men and women. The stress on enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong is unmistakable. That both Muslim men and women are expected, without distinction to be involved in the important work of Amr bil-Ma’ruf .... is also explicit. Thus Muslim women are equally expected to partake in the responsibility of ensuring that society remains on the Islamic course, that justice prevails and that the spread of evil and corruption is blocked. The means as well as the methods of doing these may vary from society to society and from generation to generation. Today for example, the use of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the use of Human Rights groups, the use of Mass Media have become one of the most effective means, far more effective than conventional preaching, by which public opinion is shaped and society influenced. Muslim women cannot lag behind in this task of correcting the wrongs in society, the opportunities in our contemporary society and the new means of achieving this have all made it easier for women to participate even from the comfort and privacy of their homes and therefore giving them no excuse not to. The participation of men alone will never bring the desired results, women also have to take part in no less an extent than that of men. This is precisely why Allah explicitly mentioned men and women. What Allah is saying, for the avoidance of doubt, is that His Jannah will be for only those who took the trouble of correcting the wrongs in society, those who remain indolent and refuse to partake in this important task should not expect anything, if only because they have been forewarned.