Status of Women in Islam

From WikiIslam

Many have asserted that "women are not treated as equal members" of Muslim societies ^[1] and have criticized Islam for condoning this treatment.^[2] The term "Muslim apartheid" has been used to highlight religious isolation in France as well as gender segregation practices.^[3][4] The Catholic Church has warned Christian women about marrying Muslim men because of the "inferior" status of women in Muslim countries and the non-existence of maternal rights to children. ^[5] Critics argue that women have an inferior status in Islam based on verses found in the Quran and Hadiths. Some of the main points of contention are:

A woman's witness is worth half of a man's: ^[6]

• The sharia law based on Sura 2:282 regards the witness of a woman to be worth half of a man. This has been a major point of discrimination in Muslim society. Critics argue that to be a witness to a crime, a woman is not deficient in her intellectual capabilities as compared to a man.

Women can be beaten for disobedience: ^[7]

• Based on Sura 4:34 the Quran clearly states that a woman can be scourged for disobedience. This has led to higher levels of abuse against women in Islamic societies.

A woman is cursed if she refuses to sleep with her husband:

• The hadiths state that a woman is cursed by angels if she refuses to sleep with her husband. This is equivalent to a woman's sex life being enforced by her husband. Critics argue that marriage is a compromise between two people in any culture. This clearly gives woman a subordinate status in Islam.^[8]

A wife may remarry her ex-husband if and only if she marries another man, they consummate the marriage, and then this second man divorces her: ^[9]

• The need for a pointless ritual to marry a second husband and then hope to get divorced before being allowed to remarry the first husband has been called a tribal practice that has nothing to do with divine inspiration.

According to Muhammad, a woman lacks common sense because their minds are deficient: ^[10]

• Muslim apologists like to rationalize this by the false claim that the ratio of women to men is 3:1, hence the rationale that hell is filled with more woman. No society exists at this time or has been proven to historically exist with a 3:1 ratio of women to men. On closer observation of the verse, this has nothing to with biology. In fact when the prophet himself answers in this verse that the reason for hell being filled with woman is because a) they curse, b) they are ungrateful to their spouses. Another key point to note here is that there are no verses that explain what happens to a man who is ungrateful to his wife. In any case the prophet goes on with more comments like a) they lack common sense, b) they all fail in religion, and c) they rob the wisdom of the wise. Lastly women are accused of not fasting in Ramadan. This is a reference to women not fasting when they experience their monthly periods, however this directly contradicts the Quran when it explicitly allows Muslim women to not fast at such times based on this verse ^[11].

4 witnesses are needed to convict a rapist:^[12]

• Muslim apologists like to claim that Sure 4:15 has been misinterpreted in Arab countries. However this happens in most fundamentalist Islamic societies that follow the letter of the Quranic law. It is extremely difficult to get 4 witnesses in a rape case which explains why since 1947, only 2 women have won rape cases in the entire nation of Pakistan.

Heaven for Men vs. Women:

• Heaven for men is 72 big breasted virgins to do their bidding. ^[13]However the Islamic heaven for woman does not promise women any similiar sexual rewards. Among various quotes that Muhammed said about women in after life was that majority of inhabitants in Hell will be women.^[14]

Islam permits the marrying of 4 wives: ^[15]

• Polygamy in Islam is permitted for men but not for women. Apologists have argued that this verse was sent down at a time when there was a shortage of men because so many of them were dying in the wars waged during the early days of Islam. However this has not stopped a widespread practice of Muslim men taking multiple wives all over the Muslim world.

Muhammad's lack of respect for women can be seen from other examples in his life:

• There are atleast 20 different verses in different Hadiths that say that Muhammed Married Aisha when she was 6 and consummated that marriage when she was 9. ^[16]

• Muhammed forced his adopted son Zaid to divorce his wife Zainab so he could marry her by conveniently getting a revelation from Allah that Zainab was going to be his wife now.^[17]

• Based on the hadiths, slave girls were the sexual property of their male owners. They could be raped and then sold off. One hadith narrates a story where the Muslim warriors find excellent arab women that they not only want to sleep with, but later sell off. Also they do not want to impregnate the women (According to Islam, they are required to take care of the women if they do) so they perform Al-Azl. Upon approaching the prophet, he does not rebuke them rather he sanctions it saying that it makes no difference whether they do al-azl or not. ^[18]In another verse, Ali performs this act, someone complains to the prophet and the response he gets is that Ali not only deserves this slave but more than that from Al Khumus(this is the Arabic word for One Fifth (1/5), its 1/5th of the war booty). The Pakistani army raped thousands of women in Bangladesh during the separation of East Pakistan citing this verse as scriptural basis. ^[19]

• A man may suckle an adult woman to make them related in an Islamic sense, hence preventing them from ever being married. This was the basis of the famous breast feeding fatwa issued in Egypt that was reported in the media^[20] where a person was ordered to suckle the adult women in his office to make it Islamically legal for him to work with unrelated women in his office.^{[21] [22]}

[edit] See also

• Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Women
• Mahr (dowry)
• Hijab (veil)
• Rape in Islam

[edit] References