Change mindset on women leaders

THE appointment of Datuk Hakimah Mohd Yusoff as director-general of Jakim (Islamic Development Department ) on March 21 is a pleasant surprise. Being chosen as the first woman to lead a department that is close to the hearts of many Muslim Malaysians is certainly worth commemorating.

But browsing through the public comments on Facebook in response to her appointment, I was horrified to see so many Malaysian netizens (including women) venting their displeasure at the appointment despite Hakimah’s qualifications and 30 years of sterling service in the relevant fields. If a man was appointed Jakim’s DG, would such unkind remarks be levelled at him?

Most of the keyboard chauvinists and misogynists conveniently quoted certain hadith to support their opinions. One was that women, unlike men, possess nine desires but just one intellect. However, this oft-cited hadith has been found to be unsupported by any credible evidence in Islam by the Federal Territories Mufti’s Office, as published on its website on Feb 28, 2019.

Another hadith cited was al- Bukhari’s “Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their ruler.”

There have been critical discussions about the validity and application of this hadith with many highlighting the need to consider the contextual aspects when interpreting it.

The word “ruler” here likely refers to positions like imam and chief commanders of the Muslim army, which required gender-specific competence for practical reasons.

The long-standing perception that women are the more emotional gender and are thus unfit to be leaders was also cited. If this was true, surely all countries led by female leaders would have responded badly to the Covid-19 pandemic in the past two years. Instead, we have seen the opposite happening.

And can anyone explain why certain male politicians tend to verge on meltdown every time there is a heated debate in the Dewan Rakyat?

The keyboard warriors expressed their unsolicited opinions without truly understanding Jakim’s scope of work, which include formulating, coordinating and evaluating existing policies and laws, implementing community development programmes, and coordinating legal enforcement mechanisms and regulatory Islamic affairs to ensure the purity of Islamic teachings and progress of Islamic affairs.

Some ill-informed netizens seem to think, mistakenly, that the post of Jakim’s DG is like that of a mufti, which is a state-level religious position with some tasks that are understandably more suited for men. A mufti’s work involves issuing fatwa, leading the prayers, and being the khatib in delivering khutbah, and other general duties. These tasks are not the responsibilities of Jakim’s DG. Many Muslim women have proven their leadership qualities when heading Islamic departments and academic programmes in Malaysian universities. Many women have also been appointed judges in Syariah courts.

These appointments have never created an uproar among Muslim Malaysians, so why is the appointment of Jakim’s new DG being perceived differently?

In general, I see Hakimah’s appointment as a refreshing addition to Malaysian civil and religious departments. I am confident of her ability to manage all the important tasks under Jakim’s jurisdictions effectively, and also prevail against the haters.

Most importantly, it is hoped that she can further reinforce and empower women’s involvement as decision-makers in Islamic matters, protect Muslim women’s rights, and ensure fairness to all Muslims regardless of gender or background.

There is definitely a place for competent Muslim women leaders in civil and religious organisations.

DR NORAZRIN ZAMRI

Senior lecturer

Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Pusat Asasi, Universiti Teknologi Mara