Women in Islam
There are extensive misconceptions of the Quran regarding the position of women in Islam. The international media for example, has augmented this view, portraying Islam as oppressive to women. This issue however is controversial as some argues that the Quran grants women some rights which they never had in pre-Islamic times. These rights however, were later compromised, after the death of Prophet Mohammad, whose doctrines uplifted women to a higher rank. For instance, the unwanted female newborns would be buried by the pagan Arabic society prior to the establishment of Islam. Moreover, women were seen as assets to their men and were classified into social classes depending on their economic status. As a result Islam banned these traditions by allowing women to secure education as well as the rights to possess properties (Daraye, 2006). This paper shall address the role of women in Islam in relation to Quran (mis) interpretations meant to dent the face of Islam and the changes that are being undertaken to change this.
Prophet Mohammad advocated for sexual satisfaction for women in marriages although this has been misinterpreted in Sura 2: 223, which says “Your women are your fields, so go into your field whichever way you like.” Moreover, Sura 4:24 and Sura 33:50 is taken to mean that captives are to become sex slaves to Muslim men. Women were supposed to be involved in the public sphere rather than being confined at homes, an example Prophet Mohammed set with his wives. Nevertheless, ancient developments don’t necessarily mean that women in Islam are liberated. Muslims have applied religion to facilitate inequality than liberalizing women. “The Taliban, with its fanatical subjugation of the female sex, occupies an extreme, but it nevertheless belongs on a continuum that includes, not so far down the line, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and the relatively moderate states of Egypt and Jordan. Where Muslims have afforded women the greatest degree of equality–in Turkey–they have done so by overthrowing Islamic precepts in favor of secular rule” (Beyer, 2001).This concept is asserted by Professor Riffat Hassan of the University of Louisville who points out that “The way Islam has been practiced in most Muslim societies for centuries has left millions of Muslim women with battered bodies, minds and souls” (Beyer, 2001).
The recordings of the Quran, Sura 2: 228 states; “Wives have the same rights as the husbands have on them in accordance with the generally known principles. Of course, men are a degree above them in status” which is taken to mean that females have to acquire half of the inheritance the males acquires in the family. Additionally, according to Sura 2: 282 “The share of the male shall be twice that of a female” while Sura 4; 11 points that “the male shall have the equal of the portion of two females”. The Quran is taken to verdict that a female’s testimony in legal financial matters values half that of a male, which is taken to be a directive from Sura 4: 11. Under the Muslim law or the Sharia, recompense for killing a woman is half that of men. These directives are included in laws of most Muslim countries. For instance, for a woman to affirm rape in Pakistan, there has to be four mature males of flawless traits to witness penetration, a directive put forward by the Sharia (Beyer, 2001).
The family law according to Muslims strictly adheres to the Quran. In countries such as Egypt, this is strictly followed even though they have secularized number of their legal codes. According to this law, women are required to have a single marriage partner unlike men where polygamy is advocated of up to four partners in Sura 4: 3 (Daraye, 2006). In addition, females’ legal marriage age is very tender for instance as referred from Prophet Mohammed’s wife Aisha, who was only six years of age when she wedded him and nine on consummating the marriage. In Iran, legal age for females to marry is nine years while that of males is fourteen years. This law is taken advantage of by the pedophiles who take wives from impoverished families only to later desert them. However, some countries like Yemen have their females acquire a legal age for marriage at fifteen although conservatives claim that puberty onset is the required period to consummate marriage according to 65: 1-4 thus, they have tried to abolish Yemen’s legal age (Beyer, 2001).
In Islam Wives undergo tiring produces when they have filed for divorce while men don’t undergo such procedures, a regulation taken from Sura 4: 129. Muslim women fear poverty and being separated from their children and that’s the reason they persist in oppressive marriages. Fathers acquire custody over his children at six years for sons and at puberty onset for daughters. Although a woman has rights to divorce, they are often held up by the aftermath of having to lose guardianship of her children. The rights, which women have are affected by the Quran directive (Sura 4:34), which has been wrongly interpreted to mean that men are supposed to be women’s overseers. It has also been taken to encourage wife beating. Women die of violence from men whose punishment is light or isn’t present at all. Some Muslim countries also advocate for female genital mutilation to maintain women’s chastity. Besides they have to cover most of their body not to trigger lust of other men as the Quran directs them “to guard their modesty and not to display their beauty and ornaments and to draw their veils” (Quran 24: 30) (‘PowerPoint’). However some countries have neglected most of these oppressive laws such as wearing a veil, which is made optional although families and cultures may pressurize then to due to Hijab directives, which limit women’ development (‘PowerPoint’).
Mechanism within Islam
Both Shia and Sunni Islam have common Islamic laws on faith and belief, however, they differ in that they split due to political and not spiritual differences after Prophet Mohammad’s death. A spiritual importance however is reflected historically due to difference in position and practices regarding family, politics and culture in reference to Muhammad. Sunni Islam is the largest group globally while In Iran and Yemen for instance has its majority as Shia. Practically, the Shia differ with the Sunni in that they allow muttah or ‘fixed-term temporary marriage’ over a certain period particularly for distant relationships to maintain chastity, a concept that is highly disregarded by Sunni (Morin, 2007). This concept is however being highly advocated for in Iran by Islamic feminist and conservatives. They have drafted means of controlling undue interest with female virginity which exist in Sunni and Shia Islam. To affirm this, they emphasize that out of the 13 wives that Prophet Mohammad possessed, only a single one was a virgin when she wedded him.
In addition, the women veiling differs in that the Sunni covers the entire body and face while in public although this is changing where some scholars asserts that there is no need to cover the face. On the other hand, the Shia Islam wears a black Hijab and emphasize that it should form a pendulum around the face to the chin although this is being replaced where women may hold the chador with hands to conceal their face in public similar to Sunni (‘PowerPoint’). Women have instead become liberated especially in politics to vote and vie for positions and in education to study abroad especially in Turkey, which has reformed the family law. In conclusion, in the eyes of Allah, a man and a woman are equal according to Sura 3: 195.
References
Beyer, Lisa. (Nov. 2001). “The Women of Islam”. Time: In Partnership with CNN. Retrieved on April, 5, 2011 on http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,185647-1,00.html
Daraye, Minoo. 2006. “Women After Islam.” In Gender equality in Iranian History: From Pre- Islamic Time to Present.
Morin, K. M. (2007). Women, Religion, & Space: Global Perspectives on Gender and Faith. New York: Syracuse University Press.
PowerPoint. Hijab. MESA20PowerPoint1_0.ppt
Quran. Quran Explorer. Retrieved on April, 2, 2011 from http://www.quranexplorer.com/quran/
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