Empowering Mothers Against A Malaysian Societal Convention: An Islamic Perspective

Abstract

A significant way-forward to Malaysia’s development is to increase economic opportunities for women. Having greater women participations in the workforce potentially enhances the country’s prospects for growth. Various agencies work towards increasing women’s participations in the labour force. Malaysian society has also grown to expect that women ‘work’ to contribute to the family’s economy, and to the nation’s—the belief that has somewhat become a convention. However, it is observed that the race to get women to ‘roll-up her sleeves’ economically, is not without worrying downside trends, even at the current rate of only 55.5% of Malaysian women in the labour force. Are we overlooking an important and crucial factor in the equation for Nation-building? Material and Methods. This paper attempts to examine the fundamental aspects of motherhood, especially early motherhood, as an important and crucial factor that is under-emphasized. The paper will also deliberate on how the above has affected individuals’ and families’ well-beings, thus putting constrains and conflicts in the family, society, and the Nation at large. The paper employs analyses of relevant news and journal articles, observations of day-to-day realities and social media feeds to discover the situation at hand. Finally, it draws guidance from references in the Qur’an and Prophetic tradition to propose a more realistic, well-balanced approach. Conclusion. The demand to get women’s economic participation towards National growth is real. However, this must be in such ways as to not endanger and threaten personal, familial, and societal holistic well beings. The roles of motherhood, especially early motherhood must be included in the equation. Thus, the necessity to empower women to reconsider their priorities—be it against societal convention. Afterall, Nation-building requires far more than economic prosperity.