What Does the Future Hold For Little Girls?

Sep 01, 2024

Keeping in mind that sharia is currently being practiced in non-Islamic countries every day with sharia councils functioning as parallel legal systems – child clothing mannequins on a street in Kabul offer us a glimpse into what the future may hold for little girls in non-Islamic countries as well.

Photo Collage - description in story below — Photo Collage: sources below

Let us begin with introductions: Who are these little girls in the Photo Collage? The first are little girls we will likely never see, instead, these are street mannequins in Kabul, Afghanistan – demonstrating how little girls may be clothed – hair veiled and with their faces fully covered. Next to them, we see Aqsa Parvez of Canada, age 16 grade eleven. Killed by her family because she wanted to wear Western clothing and go unveiled. Lower left, two Iranian men and their child brides – veiled as well – and on the right, instead of standing with the women of Iran who are fighting with their lives to cast off the veil that was forced on them in 1979 – we see Vancouver schools in Canada ‘Celebrating World Hijab Day’. A concept favoured by the religious leaders in Pakistan who called for replacing International Women’s Day with ‘International Hijab Day’[1].

So what does the future hold for little girls everywhere under fully implemented sharia – the ordained way of Islam (Koran 45:18)?

According to ‘Reliance of the Traveller, a Classic Manual of Islamic law (ROT) She needs to be taught only what is obligatory "it is adequate for one to believe everything brought by the messenger of Allah [Mohammed]". To fast at Ramadan (food & water) and pray at age 7 and be beaten for not doing so by age 10. If there is only one chair and she is on it, she must get off and give it to her brother. She can be married at age 6 because Mohammed married Aisha at that age (Koran 65:4), her husband may have 4 wives and if he wants to divorce her he has only to say three times 'I divorce you' - she cannot have a divorce without his permission [2].

There are conditions that entitle a wife to receive support from her husband:

The husband is only obliged to support his wife when she gives herself to him or offers to, meaning she allows him full enjoyment of her person and does not refuse him sex at any time of the night or day. She is not entitled to support from her husband when:

She is rebellious (O: meaning when she does not obey him) even if for a moment;
She travels without his permission, or with his permission but for one of her own needs.
She assumes ihram [pilgrim status] for hajj or `umra’;
Or when she performs a voluntary fast* without her husband's permission (O: though if he allows her to fast and does not ask her to break it, he must provide her support). (ROT m11.9)

* Note that fasting means abstaining from sex as well as from food and drink. That is why she needs his permission to fast.

A woman has no right to custody of the children if she remarries "because married life will occupy her with fulfilling the rights of her husband and prevent her from tending the child."

If her husband does divorce her three times, thus leaving her with no means of support, and she wants to remarry him so she can return to her children - she must first marry, have sex with and be divorced by some other man (Koran 2:230) - there are men who sell this service to women at a high price [3]. A man doesn't even have to divorce his wife personally, he can appoint an agent to do it for him.

If her husband dies and there is no child she is entitled to 1/4 of the estate - shared between the 4 wives - if there is a child, they share 1/8.

Her husband has the right to beat her if he "fears arrogance" (Koran 4:34)

She must be veiled and can only leave the house with his permission and some scholars have interpreted Koran 5:32 to mean women should only be able to speak with non-marriageable 'mahram' men in the privacy of their home for fear of creating a type of 'fitna' meaning undue sexual excitement in other men [4]. If she is found guilty of adultery — which may seem to be the case if she is raped, afraid to admit it for fear of being jailed [5] and becomes pregnant — she may be stoned to death (Bukhari 6827). If she is found guilty of fornication (not married) ‘…shut them up in the houses until death comes to them or Allah gives them a way.’ Koran 4:15

She will not be taking piano lessons either: Mohammed said “Allah ordered me to do away with musical instruments, flutes, strings, crucifixes and the affair of the ‘pre-Islamic period of ignorance’.” (ROT r40.1)

And yet, in non-Islamic countries sharia councils are popping up offering ‘Legal or Islamic’ marriages etc like mushrooms after a rain. The EU in 2019 warned against these sharia councils in non-Islamic countries enforcing sharia on women – often through ‘considerable social pressure’, in Sweden, a brother beat his sister with a baseball bat for refusing to wear a hijab [ 6-8]. Yet nothing is done.

When I was a little girl, schools in non-Islamic countries were not celebrating sharia in any way. Why are they doing it now? If nothing is done to correct the current trajectory – what does the future hold for little girls?

SOURCES:

Photo Collage:

Aqsa Parvez Canada: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/muhammad-parvez-killer-daughter-hijab-clash-1.4002891
Dr. Fayez - child mannequins Afghanistan: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fayezafayez_on-aug-21-the-taliban-codified-its-morality-activity-7235364374700298240-fTMj?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Vancouver schools celebrate ‘World Hijab Day’: https://www.vsb.bc.ca/_ci/p/70620
Iran child marriage: https://independentpress.cc/11-year-old-iranian-girl-marriage-highlights-the-issue-of-child-marriage-in-iran-video/2019/09/07/
Iran child marriage: NCRI Women Committee ‘Iran Registers 172 marriages of young girls between 5 and 9 years old’. https://women.ncr-iran.org/2022/01/17/172-marriages-of-young-girls/

[1] Pakistan religious leaders seek to replace International Women’s Day with World Hijab day: https://thefridaytimes.com/08-Mar-2023/another-women-s-day-in-pakistan-but-where-do-women-stand

[2] Reliance of the Traveller, a Classic Manual of Islamic Law (a4.2)(i1.1-5){m2.8-11, 3.7, 6.1, m11.9)(n1.0; n1:1) (r40.1) (w23.1) Umdat al-Salik trans by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Amana Publications 2015 https://archive.org/details/relianceofthetravellertheclassicmanualofislamicsacredlaw

[2] Child brides Iran video: https://independentpress.cc/11-year-old-iranian-girl-marriage-highlights-the-issue-of-child-marriage-in-iran-video/2019/09/07/

[3] ‘Halala, the men who sell divorce’ BBC video: