Shamima Shaikh

Shamima Shaikh (14 September 1960 – 8 January 1998) was a South African Muslim women's rights activist, notable Islamic feminist, and journalist. Quotes The premise that women ‘distract’ men from their spiritual endeavours and that they stimulate sexual urges rests on a certain understanding of what it means to be human, and a certain understanding of what constitutes maleness and femaleness. ** In order that we the believing men and believing women, God-conscious men and God-conscious women, can reclaim our full humanity, reclaim our Islam, we need to revolutionize our categories of maleness and femaleness. We must reject the idea of uncontrollable male sexuality and evil women. ** For those men and women who view each other only as sexual beings, the mosque precinct - a holy precinct - can be therapeutic. On seeing women in the holy precinct, the depraved soul has to recognize that women are not just sexy beings but spiritual beings, members of the ummah, their sisters in faith. ** The role of woman, her position and status in society, and her nature have been issues of debate and discussion informed by religion, tradition and culture, misogyny, feminism and - many times - downright ignorance and bigotry. ** "We Muslim women can walk into the modern world with pride, knowing that the quest for dignity, democracy, and human rights, for full participation in the political and social affairs of our country, stems from no imported Western values, but is a true part of Muslim tradition. ** External Links