Muslim Women

Not only Muslim men contributed towards development of India.Many Muslim women's name come to mind who are now forgotten.The queen of Deccan Hayat Bakshi Begaum .The first woman to bring out a diwan or compendium of Urdu poetry Mahlaqa Chand a.The warrior princess of Ahmednagar Chand Bibi.And many others. How Muslim women have come out of the chains they have wore since centuries. A r ecent example not from India but New York had shaken the Mullahs & the Ulama.A c enturies old custom has been challenged.A woman has led a mix gender congregatio n for Friday prayer in NY.The woman is Amina Wadud.She was teaching at the Inter national Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur.She has authored 'Women in the Quran '.Her argument is simple.There is nothing in the Quran or the Life of the Prophe t that prevents women becoming Imams & leading the prayers.Indeed , the Prophet actually asked Umm Waraqah , who had collected the Quran to lead the people in p rayer where she lived. Amina Wadud is only the tip of the iceberg.Almost every Muslim community now has a leading female scholar of Islam determined to challenge every unjust custom , every oppressing tradition , perpetuated in the name of Islam.Morocco has the o utspoken Fatima Mernissi , author of 'Women & Islam'.Pakistan has the articulate Riffat Hassan.She has established an institute to rework the whole issue of wom en's rights in Islam.Egypt has Laila Ahmed author of 'Women & Gender in Islam'.I n Malaysia , few can stand up to the 'Sisters in Islam' who have successfully ch ampioned the reformulation of the Shariah.