To continue with the marital spiels:
I never discourage marrying conservative Muslim men.
(You may never have guessed it, but I am in fact married to a spectacularly conservative Muslim man. *gasp*shock*horror*. He posits himself as pro-women's-rights-but-anti-feminist-paradigm.)
Here's the thing. A conservative Muslim man is not automatically misogynistic, though he may very well represent the patriarchy in its somewhat more annoying forms.
There are conservative Muslim men who do *not* accept or make excuses for abuse; there are conservative Muslim men who care deeply about being #TrueQawwam, responsible leaders and loving, respectful, considerate husbands and partners who genuinely take their wives seriously.
There are conservative Muslim men who are kind, intelligent, willing to listen to other views, and even change their opinions for the better.
There are conservative Muslim men who are funny, charming, make excellent friends-who-are-awesome-husbands, and are genuinely concerned with improving themselves as individuals.
There are conservative Muslim men who will stand up for women in their families, in their masaajid, and in society at large.
They may abhor the idea of feminism as it is spoken about and debated and discussed, but they are the very first allies and advocates for women.
As a woman whose previous marriage involved the nightmare idea of "conservative Muslim man," I can tell you that there is a world of difference between the type that uses religion to hold you back and hurt you, and the type that believes in religion as a means for *everyone* to flourish and improve.
Having had that previous experience, I appreciate more than ever that the husband I have now is someone who sincerely tries his best to do right by me, and by the others whom he is responsible for.
Having had that previous experience, I appreciate more than ever that the husband I have now is someone who sincerely tries his best to do right by me, and by the others whom he is responsible for.
It also puts into perspective what one's marital priorities should be - certainly, one should never marry a misogynist (get the hell out ASAP if you are), but neither do we need to pull out certain specifically "feminist" checklists to compare every man against.
Rather, focus on the deeply important things: whether he is someone who will respect you as a human being, as a woman, as a partner, as a wife, as possibly a mother; how he conducts himself in times of anger as well as times of peace; whether he despises abuse in all its forms.
Is he someone who will support you, encourage you, and be at your side when you need him to be? Will he be able to handle differences of opinion, no matter how heated they might get? Will he put his family as a priority above the bro's club and social norms and expectations?
There will never be someone who is 100% perfect. All people suck, including ourselves.
Sometimes the greatest growth in a marriage is learning how to identify the things that really matter, vs things which are far more surface level but which we've given too much importance to.
Again, differences of opinion are not always bad - in fiqh or in marriage. Rather, it is how one handles those differences, and giving each other the space to learn and grow and respect one another, is the greatest priority.
(Unless, of course, they're abusive jerkfaces.)
(Unless, of course, they're abusive jerkfaces.)
Obviously, no one is perfect - neither men nor women. There will always be growing pains in marriage, conflicts of both the personal kind as well as the ideological. There will be times when you simply won't agree, when there is no resolution to the matter, and when you just have to agree to disagree and/or troll them for eternity.
Debate is healthy. It's totally okay to have robust, hours-long (sometimes days-longs) arguments about SJW buzzwords and feminist ideas and bro's club triggers. Just don't let it affect the rest of your marital life for the worse.
That was a good read, thanks for sharing. I also happen to be married to patriarchy, one of its sergeant at least, but the toxic one of the toxic ones. Alhamdulillah I noticed the toxicity before it was too late, thanks to therapy. I woke up and stood up, promising I would never be stepped on ever again. Still married as we have kids, but the struggle is real. Conservative + kindness is the perfect combo. Simple kindness, no need for perfection. When there is kindness, there is always room for respect, empathy and support.
ReplyDelete