Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 171
! ! 171 anything , what can we do ? ” B ut they should remember that men cannot act any more compassionately towards women than a mother can act towards her child or Allah acts towards His servants. For a mother feeds her baby only when it cries, and Allah bestows countless rewards when called upon, thus how can it be expected that men will be more compassionate and will help women of their own accord ? Only women’s attention and effort will attract the men’s attention towards this, until the time comes when women no longer need the help of men. Mutual cooperation will continue, but in due proportion. If men do all the work and women do nothing , then it would be a disgrace for women. Similarly, if all the work were done by women and none by men , it would be a disgrace for men. Thus, it should never come to this , however it is also imperative that women are able to carry their own burden. At this time, those who deal with the administration of the Jama'at are also present, s o I wish to direct their attention towards the essential issue that Iblis - ism cannot be eliminated unless special attention is paid to education. It will only be eradicated when we focus our full and complete attention towards the education of women. I recently found out with much dismay, that one hundred and sixty girls are enrolled in the girl’s primary school but how can it be possible for them all to sit in the house where their school is located? It is [so cramped that it is] as though they are trapped within a black hole. I w ould like the department heads to direct the ir attention towards women’s education and show more concern. I also advise the women that they should persevere in their work so that the ill effect s of hope lessness and disappointment disappear , and Allah ’s Mercy and Grace can appear on the horizon. In the end , I pray that Allah shower s blessings up on us , which will be of benefit to our spiritual and worldly lives as well as in the hereafter. May there be no harmful consequences. Rather, may the consequences be a mea ns to achieve Allah ’s pleasure. ( Al - Fazl , March 21, 1925, Volume 12: Number 104)