Abdullah Munawar Al-Jamili Al-Madinah newspaper A certain group in society has recently said women should be employed in jobs that put them in direct contact with men and are unsuitable to their natures. This group has claimed this will help lower women's unemployment and ensure that they can be financially independent. In reality, however, this group wants to confine women in a place where they can take advantage of them. I hope no one will object to me citing the example of women in the West. Despite the openness and liberty enjoyed by Westerners, sexual harassment of women is a rising phenomenon regardless of the countless laws and punishments that await perpetrators. Such is the plight of women in these countries that they appear in sexually provocative advertisements and even as bartenders serving men! Here is another example that is close to us. During the end of the 20th century, there were calls in Egypt to attract the “honorable and chaste” Egyptian woman to work. These calls culminated in an event in which women demonstrators publicly burned the Hijab (veil) on March 20, 1919. Further calls for women's employment continued through movies and other media outlets always under the slogan of “freedom and sustenance.” The latter was used to employ women in pornographic activities. Today Muslim Egyptian women are returning to the Hijab but they are still suffering from alarming high levels of verbal and physical harassment. According to a report recently issued by the Egyptian Center for Women Rights, 2010 witnessed a remarkable rise in assault and sexual harassment cases involving women. The report said out of a total of 1,300 crimes committed against women, 933 or 71 percent were physical harassment crimes. Not only this but 72 percent of married and 94 percent of unmarried women were reportedly subjected to sexual harassment on public transportation, streets and other crowded places. Women no doubt represent half of society and the breeder of its other half. She is an effective partner in the development and progress of society. We absolutely respect her right to work but asking her to do jobs not suitable to her nature will make her an easy prey for human wolves. We should not copy the examples of societies which called for the employment of women at any cost only to suffer the painful consequences years later. Lastly, the renowned British academic and feminist Germaine Greer, who was a staunch supporter of equality between men and women, recently backed off from some of her ideas. She admitted that there were basic differences between the two genders and said giving a woman her rights did not mean sacrificing her femininity. Why don't we benefit from the experiences of the others and start from where they ended?
