Every day should be Woman’s Day

 Yesterday was National Women’s Day in South Africa. The country went all out to honour women, focus on their achievements and celebrate their uniqueness. Parades were held against the abuse of women, speeches were made talking about gender equality, women’s rights and the fair treatment of women were emphasized. All that is great, really, but I wonder if people have still remembered that today, or have people simply gone back to their normal everyday lives, thankful for the public holiday yesterday and have they already forgotten all about women and the issues they have to deal with?

I’m not saying that Women’s Day is unnecessary, but I think that Women’s Day should be celebrated every single day. There should be no need for a special day, because the celebration of women should be in everyday actions. The way women are treated, cared for, the work they have to do, the issues they have to deal with, the abuse they should not be suffering, these things should be dealt with everyday.

I’m busy reading a lovely book called “Enjoy Your Life”, and in this book the author talks about the type of person you should be and how you can foster positive relationships with others. He specifically uses examples from the Sunnah to illustrate his points. One chapter is dedicated to the treatment of women and it really is beautiful when you understand the true Islamic way of how women should be treated. In today’s times people have many things to say about women and how Islam “proposes” women should be treated. All this negativity is contrary to the teachings of Islam and with a proper understanding of the Quraan and Sunnah, one will easily understand that women are celebrated all of the time, when Islam is practiced properly.

Men are cautioned about respecting a woman’s feelings, they are warned that a woman’s ways cannot easily be changed, they are asked to have patience, and they are forbidden from causing bodily harm to a woman. In addition, it is their duty to care for women, and protect them physically and financially. Yes, these are the teachings of Islam, which is really much more comprehensive than this. In a nutshell though, when people practice Islam properly, then truly every day is Woman’s Day.

So while it’s great for the country to recognise the importance of women in society, it doesn’t help to have one special day dedicated to women, but the rest of the year women and their issues are forgotten. Indeed Women’s Day should be every day, and Islam shows us exactly how this is possible, if we only follow the true way in completion!

Image from: http://funkydoodledonkey.blogspot.com/2009/08/womens-day-in-south-africa.html