Much of what I have already said is common to both men and women. Now, I will say something exclusively for the women who ate in any way attached with our organisation.
The first and foremost requirement for you is to acquire as much knowledge of Islam as possible. Study not only the Quran but also Hadith and (Fiqh Islamic Jurisprudence) with full understanding.
Limit not yourselves only to the basic knowledge of Islam and requirements of faith (lman) but try to know Islamic injunctions regarding your personal life, family life, and general social living. One of the main causes of un-Islamic customs and practices becoming common in Muslim families is the ignorance of our women folk about the teachings of Islam and Islamic injunctions.
Next thing for you to do is to try to mould your practical life, your morals and your character as well as the life and atmosphere at your home according to your knowledge of Islam.
A Muslim woman must be so firm and strict that she should stick to what she considers right despite the opposition and hurdles from her family or other relatives.
She should not concede to anything wrong under any sort of pressure.
No doubt, the parents, the husband and other elders of the family do deserve obedience, respect and regard and they must never be treated with insubordination and arrogance. But the rights and will of Allah and His Holy Prophet reign supreme. Whosoever presses you to adopt the path of disobedience to Allah and His Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) flatly refuse to obey, be he your father or your husband. Never bow to anyone in this respect. Rely on Allah and bravely face the worst of the consequences, even if it leads to the destruction of your worldly life.
The stronger your determination to adhere to Islam, the better shall be its effect on your family environments by the grace of Allah. You shall, thus, get a golden opportunity to reform the problem of homes. On the contrary, if you yield to unwarranted and anti-Islamic demands, your own personal life will be deprived of the blessings of Islam, as much as you submit to ungodly pressures. Nevertheless you will set a bad example of weakness in faith (lman) and morals for the people around you.
Your third responsibility is to give priority to your near and dear ones in the matter of reform and grooming in Islamic way of life. Those of our sisters, whom Allah has gifted with children, are in fact put to a hard test, which if not cleared successfully cannot be compensated in any other way whatsoever.
Their own children deserve their best attention. It is their prime responsibility to groom their children well in Islam and its etiquettes. Married ladies carry an extra responsibility of keeping their husbands on the right path and to assist them in remaining steadfast in their march if they are already on the right path.
A daughter can also convey the truth to her parents observing due respect and regard for them. The least she can manage is to offer them good books to read.
Fourthly, spend as much time as you can spare from your household duties to convey the knowledge of Islam, to the women folk around you. Impart education to young girls and uneducated elderly women. Provide useful Islamic literature to ladies who are literate. Arrange women gatherings and explain the teaching of Islam to them. If you cannot speak in public, just read out relevant and useful extracts from literature to them. In short, try your level best, using all possible ways and means to eliminate ignorance and illiteracy in the ladies around you.
Our educated ladies have another important task before them that supersedes other duties in the present situation.
The fair sex in Pakistan is very systematically and energetically being lured by the western oriented women to moral and sexual anarchy, licentiousness and confusion under active government patronage with all the national resources at its command.
All the right thinking and the Islam-loving women should resist this campaign with all their might. Men alone cannot tide this storm. Their struggle is easily labeled as an attempt to keep the fair sex under their constant subjugation. The simple women fall an easy prey to the nefarious propaganda that the stronger sex does not afford to see the fair sex breathing fresh air of liberty and that they want to keep women imprisoned in the four walls of the house.
We badly need the help of our women to counter this mischievous campaign. There is no dearth of such noble and god fearing ladies, by the grace of Allah, who are highly educated, and are by no means less competent in academic learning and intellect, expression and writing than the’ so called progressive APWA[1] ladies.
Hence it is the duty of such talented women to come forward with a deserving rebuttal. They should openly declare that a Muslim woman hates such progress and advancement that goes against the limits prescribed and ordained by Allah and the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).
They should as well organise themselves and perform all those imperative duties efficiently, fully observing the limitations ordained by Islam, which the so called progressives make a forceful excuse for violating Islamic precepts. This practical demonstration on their part would work as a silencer to all the hue and cry of those men as well as women who are busy distracting Muslim women from the path of Islam.
[1] ‘All Pakistan Women Association’ which popularised and patronised mixed gatherings, Meena Bazaars and other un-Islamic trends in Pakistani women.