For almost all of human history women were disadvantaged with respect to men in their control of material resources. The evolution of social and sexual relationships, however, permitted complementarity and even harmony in many societies. In fact, while many see societies and states as driven strongly by conflict, gender relationships appear to have been driven primarily by cooperation. Strong evidence suggests that cooperation has been a better adaptive force than conflict in human society over recent centuries. We have conquered the earth and are aiming for the heavens.

A major factor in this evolution has been the dramatic increase in wealth beginning with the industrial revolution. A chart of global wealth with a horizontal base line of 3000 years would show very little change in a horizontal line rising only slightly over that whole period until the last 200 years. Then the line rises almost vertically from the 1800s to the present.  This jump which began in England and quickly spread across Europe and into North America has developed in an extremely uneven manner over our planet. Today one of the major causes of disharmony between countries is the maldistribution of wealth between states.

Broadly speaking, even within the industrializing states traditional limitations on women began to recede only slightly. Socially, women began to participate more but their economic activity expanded little and political rights almost not at all. It was not until the 20th century that women even gained the right to vote in the United States and most other industrialized states. While women could move about more freely in these societies their economic autonomy remained severely limited.

Today the pace of economic acceleration grows more rapidly than ever.   Technology adds new drive to industrial societies, skipping around the globe and helping to jumpstart pockets of modernization and wealth even in the poorest parts of the planet. This extraordinary drive also creates extraordinary dislocations. Inevitably there are conflicts, some amenable to adaptation, others leading to war and the use of force as symbolized in our new century by the numbers 9/11.

Where are women in all this? Today women in the wealthier countries have improved their economic and social status significantly. They participate almost as much as men in the work force although wages have advanced only to about 75% of wages paid to males for equivalent work. Studies show that in the U.S., 28% of women now earn more than the man they marry.   This almost certainly suggests a far greater degree of autonomy and equality for women. Yet, it is widely understood that while women participate far more in the formal economy they continue to be the main caregivers for children and bear an undue portion of the unpaid work in the home. Despite the extraordinary burden that even married women with good jobs carry, it seems that women in modern societies have gained the formal economic, social, political and legal rights to function as fully autonomous beings.

However, when viewing global society as a whole the degree of difference between the norms of behavior in gender relations are staggering. This generalization has become a point of issue at the state level in the form of disputes over “human rights” while at the individual level gender-specific acts as different as child marriage and gay marriage are accepted in some societies but are incomprehensible in others.

Values are tricky and must be interpreted with care. For example, Americans have traditionally prided themselves on a sense of family and “community.”  However, in our rapidly changing society less than half of Americans today live in family units with a mother, father and their own children living together. And increased social and job mobility which may be seen as very positive has put pressure on the ties of community.

American Muslims may be seen as a variant of this pattern. American Muslims, in general, have arrived in the United States more recently and they tend to maintain closer ties to their traditional communities and norms.  The family remains a stronger social unit and undergirding and guiding these ties is a much stronger commitment to religious faith than exists in the larger society. These traditional values are seen as a source of strength in the Muslim community whereas job, social and residence mobility statistics indicate that the exercise of choice is more favored in society as a whole.  These overall and varied patterns of choice are seen as exhibiting a desirable diversity for our whole society.
 
Al-Rawiya has been formed to defend and enhance certain universal values as well as to address issues that specifically affect Muslim women living in America.  For example, the defense of married women against domestic violence is both a universal value and a value of specific concern within the Muslim community in the United States. Widespread domestic violence is a universal phenomenon. The Global Fund for Women estimates that one in three women suffer significant abuse at some point in their lives. That is probably not significantly different for women, including Muslim women in the United States.  

Domestic violence is of special concern to Al-Rawiya, however, because it appears that Muslim women in America are less willing to seek help than many others. Reasons suggested include the strong role of the male in the family life, including that of being principal breadwinner. Additionally, some contentious interpretations of the Q’uran advantage males significantly. Al-Rawiya will actively help to defend women who request assistance against domestic violence and it will also work to strengthen women’s capacities to reduce the possibility of being subject to inappropriate behavior. Greater economic independence is especially important to women in this context.

“Through life’s rush
never forget compassion”