Mouood Mouood English Edition
Woman’s Natural Constitution
Man, being a spiritual, materialistic and intellectual animal, in addition to his individual characteristics, his social relations must also be considered. Therefore, a comprehensive disct1ssion on the rights of the woman should include studies in physiology, psychology, sociology and other related sciences.
An attempt to explain the basics of each of these may prove too much time, consuming. But for a proper under¬ standing of our discussion, a brief explanation of these disciplines is deemed necessary.
That both man and woman are human beings is indisputable. Likewise, they both possess common human characteristics and values. But these cannot be taken as yardsticks in measuring the differences which exist between their rights and duties. Such differences do exist because of their peculiar characteristics on the basis of which they can be distinguished. To begin with, we must consider those differences present in the physical constitution of both the man and the woman. In other words, we must find out what does the concept of womanhood mean and what is its basis.
The most pointing difference between a man and a woman is their sex. They do differ of course in their nervous systems as well as their other systems, but a study of such differences lies within the confine of physiology.
Man differs from the woman to a large extent from a psychological viewpoint. Women are normally more emotional, while in man, the intellect dominates over the emotions. This difference is directly related to their nervous systems and a critical psychological and physiological examination can prove very fruitful here. From a sociological viewpoint, studies in the emergence of the family unit as a strong factor and the role it plays in uniting the married couple must be undertaken.
Though the difference in sex of both the male and the female may seem normal and be regarded as a weak factor in determining their rights and duties, careful examination will prove that this very difference may determine to a high degree, their social status, material rights and duties. To even claim that other differences in their nervous systems, in their psychological set-up and so on are basically rooted in this basic difference will not be an exaggeration.
Between the woman and the man, there exists a reciprocal love and affection. A strong mutual sexual attraction and the pleasures that come with it help to lay the foundation of their union, enabling nature in this way to arrive at its goal, which is man’s survival. Yet the man and the woman do not play an equal role in realizing this goal.
For instance, if man has to some extent, a certain degree of freedom in sexual activities, (like he cannot be forced into sexual intercourse), with the woman, the opposite holds true. Again, man’s reproductive role is instantaneous, while the woman has to bear the burden of pregnancy for several months. If we add to it the time she must spend on suckling, nurture, cherishing and bringing up her child, then we see that her role is much longer than the man’s.
Oddly enough, a certain woman representative in the ex-regime’s Senate had stated: “Childbirth is the simplest of things coming naturally to women, the same way as man would make a simple move to meet his needs.” But as we all know, pregnancy and childbirth are sacred duties which are arduous, time consuming and momentous, and should not be compared in any way to ordinary daily activities or discussed so crudely as done by this woman senator.
A pregnant woman has to bear the indispositions and cravings that come with pregnancy and needs rest and medical treatment like does a sick person. As the doctors say, the pregnancy period resembles an illness. All through that period, the woman must see to it that she remains in good physical and mental shape, while at the same time, and avoid getting nervous, excited or exhausted. A neglect of these might prove detrimental to both the mother and the foetus.
Childbirth must also by no means be regarded as something instantaneous. Rather, it is preceded, accompanied and followed by pains, indispositions and possible side-effects. It is further known that after delivery, the woman needs rest for the first few weeks, so as to regain her normal disposition.
Now, it is fitting to note that the reason as to why the Quran has restricted the woman’s role in social affairs is not because it looks upon her as a means to procreating more people. Neither do we intend to argue to the contrary. We rather want to stress the more important reproductive role of the woman. We mean that man’s role in the reproduction process cannot be compared to that of the woman, which entails a long period of pregnancy, pains of delivery and the sufferings that follow it.
Thus, we should recognize the woman’s natural and innate role and duty in society and consider why has she been endowed with such natural characteristics and what are her natural demands and capabilities.
Since the burden of reproduction is the woman’s only, Almighty God has bestowed on her such a power as to enable her to perform this important natural task, while at the same time to derive pleasure in the performance of it. This divine gift is the spiritual force of motherly affection.
No doubt, man would have found it unbearable had he been the one to bear the burden of motherhood. But this is the greatest ambition of a woman possessing a sound morale and a healthy temperament. In fact, there are many barren women who are ready to spend a fat sum so that they can be impregnated through medical treatment.
Usually, man does find it a pleasurable experience to have children, but is he ready to bear the same troubles as does the woman for her child’s sake? Is he ready to wash his young child as affectionately as would do a mother? Will he sacrifice his rest, comfort and leisures for the child or more important still, does he derive satisfaction in such arduous, exhausting tasks?
If you do come across such a man, then rest assured that he is an exception to the rule. And as we know, while framing social regulations, such exceptions cannot be considered. Furthermore, the mentalities of the man and the woman about concepts like child bearing differ basically.
Can we rightly claim that both sexes manifest an equal, natural inclination towards the duty of child rearing and it’s like? Here we can say that the difference between the man and the woman in their psychological and physical make-up is very well-defined.
Man is usually more aggressive and quarrelsome, which qualities do not accord with motherly sentiments and care. On the contrary, woman is more convivial and peaceable in her feelings, in particular, motherly affection which can be regarded as the main source of her other emotions, the driving force behind her most willing acceptance of these heavy duties, of which she makes ideals in life.
Here, it must be pointed out that to argue (taking into consideration man’s physical and psychological make-up) that man should shoulder equally the duties of motherhood with the woman (which duty is considered a most sacred one for the woman and a determining factor in maintaining the existence of man), would be wrong.
Likewise, one cannot argue that the woman should engage in certain tasks which have been designed especially for man by creation and act shoulder to shoulder in cooperation with him. This reality becomes more pointing after a study of man’s anatomy, which study would show how the apparatus of creation has constituted and built man so that he can naturally perform certain tasks, which fact will be discussed in the pages to come.
Physiologists and anatomists have also pointed to the difference which exists between the autonomic nervous system of the male and that of the female. For example, man’s brain has been found to be anatomically larger than the woman’s and is, .on the average, one-hundred grams lighter than a man’s. So also, the front half of the woman’s brain is more than fifty cubic millimeters smaller than the man’s. In addition, as far as the brain structural components of both sexes go, physiologists have proved that the male’s brain is anatomically distinguished from the female’s, showing signs of superior intelligence and mental growth.
These were some of the most remarkable differences between a normal man and a normal woman. There might be exceptions, like in cases where a woman’s brain proves to be larger than a man’s. But as already mentioned, such exceptional cases cannot be taken into account while framing regulations and rules for society.
