There are two extremes. On one side are apparent liberals and on the other side is everyone else. For last some days, some cruel comments on past figures are being thrown without seeing the historical norms of that time. But history isn’t as clueless as these commentators.
Aisha RA was born in 613 AD. Some say she was married at 9. Some mentioned 12. According to various other sources, she was 15. Some even point to 18.
In an article by Nilofar Ahmed (Dawn, 2012), who has done some extensive research on this topic, the age of Aisha RA is widely mispresented. Hisham is the narrator with Aisha RA married at 9-years of age. Many believe that his narrations are weak and not according to historical facts. Long story short, according to the findings of Nilofar Ahmed, Aisha RA was 18 when she got married, and moved with the Prophet PBUH at the age of 21. You can read her article for more substance.
Even if not, the debate is useless. Because that was 14 centuries ago. The world was different. There was no 16-year education at that time. Not HEC for verification. No schools and colleges selling degrees. People used to get married early. Very early. Average life span was decades shorter than today.
By the way, do you know there was not a single woman alive at that time in New Zealand? Yes. Because it was not founded yet. Just giving you some substance for future idiotic theories.
Another idiotic content on the internet is regarding Jinnah’s marriage. He’s also being labeled with ugly words. Well, according to major sources, he married thrice, and all his wives were around 18 at the time of marriage. But again, those times were different. For example:
Gandhi’s wife was 14 at the time of marriage.
Nehru’s wife was 17.
Prem Chand’s wife was 11.
Rabindranath Tagore – the voice of women rights and writer of national anthems of India and Bangladesh – married when his wife was 10.
So? Should we burn all their words and books and their entire countries? No. You may disagree. But you should know the times were different. The whole human race didn’t move directly to 2020s with Harvard in the West and nothing in the East.
All those using words like “pedophiles” have biased hate for those they are labeling. Nothing more than that.
Almost forgot, next time you move your bum like Elvis Pressley, remember that he married Priscilla Presley when she was 14. But don’t bother. You may disagree and keep shaking your bums. At least bums don’t lie.
Aristotle believed that women were inferior to men. Same were the ideas of Rousseau and Schopenhauer. With complete disagreement with them on this, you cannot throw their rest of their works.
To be clear, one thing is certain that women have suffered for ages. Today’s roar for women rights and feminism definitely have substance. And such roar has taken turns to rationality, equality and modernism with time. Still, you can have disagreement at certain points and instances. But nothing can be dismissed as a whole. Not any historical personality. Not any philosophy.
Usual deviations. And trespasses.
By the way, people also use right words for wrong reasons. Like philosophy of Nietzsche was used by his sister in collaboration with Nazi regime to support their brutal war on other races. They even used the idea of Nietzsche’s Übermensch for their Aryan race.
By the way, someone has overused this Übermensch so much that I am refraining from Nietzscheism these days. Remember those golden days when His Highness himself was Zarathustra? Forget it.
Now a question of etiquette – as I pass, do I give you the ass or the crotch? As Zarathustra must leave now for another sermon in another village.