The book is a great lesson for women regarding their fundamental rights. Women are considered the second hand of every nation and the identity of the nation; without them, a nation is like a body without a soul. Pakistan is one of the developing countries in Asia, where women are ignored and humiliated in every part of their lives.
Historically, women have faced numerous problems culturally, politically, traditionally, and educationally and by other means. They have been devastated and decimated by a variety of rites and customs, such as the former Hindu practice of “Sati”, in which a widow throws herself onto her husband’s funeral pyre.
Such catastrophic rites have decimated many lives, with only women being sacrificed and slaughtered in different ceremonies.
In addition, the ruling classes have also pulled them down and disinterested them; in the same way, women were the greatest source of accommodation for wars when the debilitated rulers could not get the victory, so they gave their own wives, sisters, and daughters to the victorious ones in order to prevent the war from continuing.
Generally, women in various areas are still being killed for multiple reasons, such as honor killings and changing religions. In the Arab world, they have also done a lot of injustice and brutality to women. Many women have been deemed enslaved and neglected.
However, peace and justice came to the Arab areas when Islam started to spread to various areas, which not only altered the situation but also grew the justice and fairness doctrine. People began to respect and honor their women, and many misconceptions and misunderstandings were cleared. In addition, Islam brought a huge revolution in the Arab areas, as women were free to do many things, such as worshipping and praying to God.
Meanwhile, women in Greece were also not safe and secure. The situation in Greece was quite different, where women were married to bear children and to clean and save up the houses. They were only confined to their homes. Generally, if a woman did not bear a child, she was considered guilty, and they were enslaved and sold for income. Their due role was ignored and sapped.
Hence, authors have done a lot of injustice to women. If we look at the writers who have written historically about women, they are completely neglected. However, the writers often considered them inferior, and they accused them of many crimes. The writers who wrote books about women are just rumors and fake opinions. They only praised and admired the ruling classes in order to earn money or to be popular.
Furthermore, Dr. Mubarak Ali also envisioned that history writers are only time-passers because the things or events that need to be shown to the world regarding women and their sacrifices are not mentioned in their books and articles. Therefore, why should they be deemed good authors?
If we look at the positive role of women, they are the champions and heroes. They are the best companions; they are fabulous friends and buddies. Their enthusiastic role in every society is remarkable and curious.
According to Dr. Mubarak Ali, being historical writers, we should not perish and kill them through the pen; instead, we need to admire and appreciate them and praise their role in a good way. Finally, he requests every author to have positive proof about women and their due role before writing something about them. He suggests that every event should be true and evident since history has done a lot of injustice to them.
“History and Women” is an informative and significant book about women. It is the duty of every reader to read this book, as after reading this informative book, many doubts and grievances about women will be terminated.
This book deserves praise, as the writer has written everything with events and proof. By reading this book, one can get a lot of uprightness and positive things about women. Therefore, we should not ignore such an influential book.
By Asif Jameel, Awaran