Interpretation Of Religious Texts Concerning Women By Male Scholars: A Textual Analysis On The Selected Malay Writings In The 20th Century
The status of Malay women before the 20th century was secluded domestically, and they were frequently disregarded in the public sphere. However, the emergence of movements, ideologies, and many efforts in defending women’s rights gradually started in the early 20th century. The scholars and intel...
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| Summary: | The status of Malay women before the 20th century was secluded domestically, and
they were frequently disregarded in the public sphere. However, the emergence of
movements, ideologies, and many efforts in defending women’s rights gradually started
in the early 20th century. The scholars and intellectuals in Malaya were also involved in
voicing their opinions on women’s issues, and one of the important mediums used is
producing manuscripts and writings which inspired changes in women’s emancipation
and empowerment. Interestingly, the writings on women which were published at that
time were written by male scholars. Therefore, four research objectives were formulated
as follows: 1) To discuss the historical background of Malay women’s position in the
20th century, 2) To discover the existence of the Malay writings in the 20th century that
concern on women issues, 3) To analyse the religious texts concerning women which
mainly related to the emancipation of women that have been interpreted by the Malay
male scholars, 4) To propose the guideline for the emancipation of women within the
Malay context that is relevant for all generations. Methodologically, this study applied
textual and document analysis on five Malay writings which were published in the 20th
century where the Malay scholars have discussed women’s issues directly or indirectly.
All related Qurʾānic verses and Hadith that addressed women’s issues from these
writings were gathered thematically and analyzed textually. As a result, this study found
that the Malay writings shared significant similarities in reviving the concept of the
emancipation of women which was first proposed after the emergence of Islam to
liberate women from any discrimination. The selected Malay writings also have huge
contributions to empowering women intellectually, economically, socially, and
politically, as strongly embedded in the Islamic teaching which suits the societal
practice of the women without compromising their faith, chastity, and dignity.
Additionally, the guideline provided in this study may offer solutions to all challenges
hindering women’s empowerment and their participation locally and globally. |
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