حقوق نسواں کے تعین میں عرف و عادت کا کردار (فکر اسلامی کے تناظر میں تجزیاتی مطالعہ)

THE ROLE OF CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS IN DEFINING WOMEN’S RIGHTS (AN ANALYTICAL STUDY IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF ISLAMIC THOUGHT)

Abstract

Customary practice (urf) in society serves as a fundamental source for any traditional or legal framework, and it plays a meaningful role in the formulation and regulation of laws. This ʿurf is shaped collectively by both men and women, and together they lay the foundation of a better society. In other words, the way of life and conduct of a community is what is termed as ʿurf and practice.

On one hand, there are the rights granted to women by divine religions; on the other, there is society itself, which acts as a living laboratory for safeguarding and implementing these laws. The legislative literature of Islam, particularly the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), makes it very clear that the position, status, and constitutional as well as legal rights of women are truthful, enduring, and without any form of discrimination at any level.

However, the contemporary world has undergone drastic changes in terms of family, social, economic, and cultural structures, bringing with it significant transformations in the personal roles and responsibilities of men and women. This raises a pressing question before us: Has this social transformation ensured the protection of women’s rights, or has it, instead, made women more vulnerable to exploitation? And what is the practical situation of applying the rights granted to women by Islam in today’s world? These lines aim to discuss precisely this issue.