Question Summary:
Is it permissible for a Muslim girl to study out of state? Question Detail:
I've been selected in a very prestigious Institute for fellowship program. Is it permissible to go out of State and study for a Muslim Girl?
Answer :
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Sister in Islam,
We take note of you being selected in a prestigious institute for fellowship programme. You may feel honoured and even prestigious with such a selection. In Islam, the measure of prestige and honour is to preserve ones Iman and values of Iman.
Sister, the environment in colleges and universities is very challenging for ones Iman. The free interaction between boys and girls causes a fracture in ones Iman. Even a person with strong Iman is prone to eventually fall in for the temptations of one’s desires. It is like placing butter next to fire and expecting the butter not to melt or placing metal next to a magnet and expect it not to react or touching a live wire and expecting not to get shocked.
Furthermore, although you may be sincere in advancing your studies, many sincere girls get caught up in the mixed university environment. Incidents of female abuse, rape, pregnancy, and drugs in university are well known and a common read in prints and electronic media.
Facts and Statistics on Sexual Abuse
Ø 1 in 4 college women will be the victim of sexual assault during her academic career.
Ø 27% of college women have experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact.
Ø The Association of American Universities (AAU) Campus Survey on Sexual Assault, one of the largest studies ever of college sexual violence, drew responses from Campus Climate Surveys of 150,000 students across 27 schools, including most of the Ivy League schools. It found that more than 20% of female and 5% of male undergraduates said that they were victims of non-consensual sexual contact, defined as behaviours ranging from unwanted sexual touching or kissing to penetration, through either physical force or incapacitation, since entering college.
Ø The Sexual Victimization of College Women. National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Findings from this report include: It is estimated that the percentage of completed or attempted rape victimization among women in higher educational institutions may be between 20% and 25% over the course of a college career. Among college women, 9 in 10 victims of rape and sexual assault knew their offender. Almost 12.8% of completed rapes, 35% of attempted rapes, and 22.9% of threatened rapes happened during a date.
Ø Reported Campus Rapes Nearly Double from year to year.
Ø Student pregnancies at tertiary institutions worldwide are increasing every year despite the assumption that students have sufficient knowledge of the risks of unprotected sex.[1]
While you may wish to go to a prestigious college, you may end up losing the prestige and honour which Allah has bestowed on you. You should consider the prestige Islam has bestowed upon you over the calling of the prestigious institute.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Abdullah Syed Sajid
Student Darul Iftaa
Houston, TX, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
_______
[1] https://www.washjeff.edu/asap/facts
https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/clery/10-campus-sexual-violence-facts-you-should-remember/
https://www.winthrop.edu/victimsassistance/default.aspx?id=38994
https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2017/08/04/sexual-assault-on-university-campuses-statistics-facts/
https://www.nsvrc.org/saam/campus-resource-list
https://www.thecrimson.com/image/2015/10/2/sexual-offenses-harvard-type-graph/
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