UN Makes Big Strides in Campaign to Abrogate Shariah
By Khalid Baig
September was a very good month for the UN officials who have been busy with their
agenda of social engineering in the Muslim world ---controlling births, destroying family
life, undermining morality and haya, and creating social upheavals. On 7 September 2000,
Saudi Arabia became the latest Muslim country to sign the anti-Shariah convention on
women, a.k.a. Convention On the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Around the same time Bangladesh became the second Muslim country to ratify the less known
Optional Protocol that gives the UN powers to receive and investigate complaints from
individuals, and prohibits the signing countries from expressing any reservations
regarding this Convention. Further, at the same time, eight Muslim countries signed the
Optional Protocol.
So far about 43 Muslim countries have been "persuaded" to sign the Convention
and everywhere it has been done the same way: with total disregard for the opinions of the
people, the legal experts or the religious scholars.
The Convention is rooted in the UN vision --- alien to Islam, of course--- of a unisex
world. It is a vision under which men and women are to be equal cogs in the production and
consumption machinery designed for the benefit of global capitalism. It defines (article
1) discrimination against women as "any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on
the basis of sex...in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other
field". By accepting the Convention, States commit themselves to undertake a series
of measures to end "discrimination" against women in all forms as defined by the
UN, including the incorporation of the UN dictates in their legal system.
The agenda for "equality" is specified in fourteen subsequent articles.
Article 15 asserts the "full equality" of women in civil and business matters,
demanding that all instruments directed at restricting women’s legal capacity
"shall be deemed null and void". Article 16 asserts the equal rights and
obligations of women and men in marriage. This means, among other things, that a woman can
divorce her husband (Article 16.c). That she is not entitled to financial support from her
husband but both must earn a living and both must equally share the household work
("The right to work as an inalienable right of all human beings." Article 11.a
). That Islam’s laws of inheritance are to be considered an injustice that the new UN
Shariah is out there to end. That Islam’s teachings regarding hijab and segregation
of sexes are to be considered an anachronism.
What about the essential biological differences between men and women? Well, this is a
discrimination designed by "nature" but the UN pundits are still intent to do
what they can to overcome it. For example, they advocate, in article 5, "a proper
understanding of maternity as a social function", demanding fully shared
responsibility for child rearing by both sexes.
The Convention affirms the "reproductive rights of women," the UN-speak for
birth control, abortion and other assorted "virtues." The UN leaders gleefully
point out that the Convention is the only human rights treaty to mention birth control.
States parties are obliged to include advice on birth control in the education process
(article l0.h) and to develop family codes that guarantee women’s rights "to
decide ... on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the
information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights" (article
16.e). Thus men and women have been given the "right" to receive interference
from their governments in the most intimate of their affairs, so the UN goal of
restricting the numbers of undesired people in the world can be achieved.
But is there nothing good in the Convention? Sure the women of the world today face
many problems that do need to be addressed. Unfortunately the real problems of women are
not high on the priority list of the UN. And even when the document does mention them, it
does so in a strange UN way. The number one global problem facing women is their
degradation through pornography. Pornography creates the atmosphere in which other crimes
against women become possible. The Convention --- the UN boasts it is the women’s
bill of rights --- says not a word about this despicable practice. Nothing, nil, zilch.
What about the exploitation of women to act as models to peddle goods by selling their
looks? Again the Convention is silent on this subject. What about prostitution? The
Convention has been generous to allocate one sentence to this. Here it is in its entirety:
"States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to
suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women."
(Article 6). Read this language carefully. The problem is not prostitution but
"exploitation of prostitution." Hence the need to safeguard the
"rights" of the "sex workers" as UN pundits have expressed elsewhere!
Another common problem faced by women is the inadequacy or non-existence of health care
services meeting their special needs. A very large number of women in the world, including
unfortunately the Muslim majority countries, face harassment and exploitation at the hands
of male staff at hospitals. Many refuse treatment or seek it only in case of emergencies
because of this. The Convention addresses this, but in the strange UN way. "States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in
the field of health care in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women,
access to health care services, including those related to family planning." (Article
12.1.) Again read it carefully. First, birth control is the real agenda and it is
mentioned in every clause where it can be inserted. Second, women have been given a right
to healthcare based on equality of men and women. This is a denial of their special needs
and requirement for special treatment. If a women demands to be treated by female staff
only, it could be denied on the basis of "equality" of men and women.
Countries that have ratified or acceded to the Convention are legally bound to put its
provisions into practice. They are also committed to submit national reports, at least
every four years, on measures they have taken to comply with their "treaty
obligations." Well, the UN is serious about its Shariah; it means to enforce it.
Twenty Muslim countries have signed the Convention with reservations. That is already
less than half of the Muslim countries that have signed it. Further, one Muslim country
(Malawi) has taken back all the reservations it first took in signing the Convention.
While two others (Senegal and Bangladesh) have rescinded the reservations through the
backdoor--- by signing the Optional Protocol. As the pressure is now applied to the rest
of the Muslim countries to sign the "Optional Protocol, " more and more will
succumb to it, thereby throwing away their reservations and inhibitions. The whole
business was designed like this from the beginning. The idea was to bring everyone on
board first and then work on them one by one.
Although this campaign of social engineering by imperialism started soon after the
Second World War, and an unceasing propaganda campaign has been going on since then, it
has gained momentum recently. The Beijing Plus 5 conference that took place last June, was
a major step forward for the UN leaders. There, while the Muslim representatives opposed
the most extreme of suggestions regarding legalizing of homosexuality, they accepted most
everything else. They praised and fully supported the UN doctrine on the Unisex world and
displayed commitment to bring it about. The most despicable --- yet representative---
statement came from the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Ambassador Mokhtar
Lamani,Permanent Observer of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to the United
Nations, said: " I speak on behalf of the Islamic Group at the United Nations which
comprises fifty-six Member States and four Observer States of the Organization of the
Islamic Conference... I pledge to you the fullest cooperation and collaboration of the OIC
with the United Nations in the time ahead towards the fulfillment of the worthy and noble
objectives that have brought us together here at this Special Session."
Similar was the contribution from Pakistan, a country where because of opposition from
religious organizations as well as a threat of legal action, the government had pledged
that it would endorse nothing un-Islamic in the conference. Despite some comments
regarding Islamic values meant for home consumption, Pakistani representative Mrs. Zobaida
Jalal, had this to say about the gist of the matter: "The Fourth World Conference in
Beijing provided a major impetus to international and national efforts aimed at the
advancement and empowerment of women. This Special Session will reinforce and reinvigorate
the process that we collectively initiated five years ago." Subsequently the
government has been obediently carrying out the wishes of the UN charlatans.
Pakistan’s ruler, General Pervaiz Mushharaf, announced his determination recently to
carry on the campaign to reduce Pakistan’s population on a war footing. He may have
been the first general in history to declare war on his own population in order to improve
their condition! While other Muslim governments may not have expressed the desire to carry
on the UN dictates on a war footing, in reality they have been doing the same thing.
Thanks to their compliance, the UN has been moving rapidly toward a world government where
its dictates would be the supreme law. The latest fall of Saudi Arabia should be alarming
to everyone as it is an indication of the momentum this campaign has picked. The religious
scholars and Muslim political leaders have a huge, un-discharged, responsibility in this
area. The UN juggernaut is moving with full force. It would not be stopped by an
occasional show of concern. It requires concerted, well organized, ummah-wide response.
There is urgent need for one body of knowledgeable people dedicated to the task of
articulating Muslim position on this issue, studying and countering UN machinations, and
guiding the Ummah. Women face problems in the Muslim world because of ignorance and
deviation from Islamic teachings. They face even bigger problems because of the
proliferation of a pop culture that has no regard for dignity, morality, decency, or
justice. Muslim societies are like a sick person who has the perfect medicine for his
ailments but he simply won’t take it. He is now being approached by quacks that want
to serve him poison. "It is good medicine," they assure him with their
characteristic chicanery. Should we be signing our own death warrants?
Women & Family 