Women in Islam
Encyclopedia
The study of women in Islam investigates the role of women within the religion of Islam
. The complex relationship between women and Islam is defined by Islamic texts, the history and culture of the Muslim world
. The Qur'an states that both men and women are equal, but also, as in 4:34, that "Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient and guard in the husband's absence what Allah orders them to guard." Although the Quran does say this, the superiority of men is interpreted in terms of strength by the context - men maintain women.
Sharia
(Islamic law) provides for complementarianism, differences between women's and men's roles
, rights, and obligations. However neither the Quran nor Hadith
mention women have to be housewives. Majority Muslim countries give women varying degrees of rights with regards to marriage
, divorce
, civil rights
, legal status, dress code, and education
based on different interpretations. Scholars and other commentators vary as to whether they are just and whether they are a correct interpretation of religious imperatives.
, North Africa
, Somalia
and Djibouti
in the Horn of Africa
, the Anatolia
n region such as Turkey
, and South Asia
as far as Pakistan
, India
, Malaysia
and Indonesia
.
The patriarchal character of pre-Islamic Arabic culture influenced not only the content of the Qur'an
and related doctrine, it persists today in the interpretation and application of Islamic dogma. Theological scholarship and practises vary widely according to the country, region, or sectarian beliefs where an Islamic community is located. The largest groups of Muslim women are in: Indonesia (over 100 million), Bangladesh (over 75 million), Pakistan (over 85 million), India (over 80 million), Egypt (nearly 40 million), Nigeria (nearly 40 million), Turkey (over 35 million) and Iran (over 35 million). These countries total more than 60% of the world's Muslims; there are more than 750 million Muslim women worldwide, including sizeable minorities in several countries of Africa and Europe, and in China.
Islamic doctrine is the product of Qur'an
ic guidelines, as understood by Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh
), as well as of the interpretations derived from the traditions of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (hadith
), that were agreed upon by majority of Sunni Muslim scholars as authentic beyond doubt based on the science of hadith
.
The Sunni Muslims are the largest Islamic sect, comprising approximately 80% of the world's Muslims. The Sunni sect includes many theological schools and doctrines interpreting the Qur'an
. To Sunni Muslims, the hadith constitutes an important source of legislation. The fiqh is the basis of jurisprudence, or legal practise, developed by Muslim jurists during the centuries following the creation of Islam, and largely influenced by the hadith. These interpretations and their application were shaped by the historical context of the Muslim world at the time they were written. Many of the earliest writings were from a time of tribal warfare which could have been inappropriate for the 21st century, but most remain appropriate to how a Muslim following the sunnah
should behave.
The Marxist writer, Valentine M. Moghadam, argues that the position of women is mostly influenced by the extent of urbanization, industrialization, proletarization and political ploys of the state managers rather than culture or intrinsic properties of Islam; Islam, per Moghadam, is neither more nor less patriarchal than other world religions, especially Hinduism, Christianity and Judaism. "The dowry
, previously regarded as a bride-price paid to the father, became a nuptial gift retained by the wife as part of her personal property."
Under Islamic law, marriage was no longer viewed as a "status" but rather as a "contract
", in which the woman's consent was imperative. "Women were given inheritance rights in a patriarchal society that had previously restricted inheritance to male relatives/ family members." Annemarie Schimmel
states that "compared to the pre-Islamic position of women, Islamic legislation meant an enormous progress; the woman has the right, at least according to the letter of the law, to administer the wealth she has brought into the family or has earned by her own work."
William Montgomery Watt
states that Muhammad, in the historical context of his time, can be seen as a figure who promoted women’s rights and improved things considerably. Watt explains: "At the time Islam began, the conditions of women were terrible - they had no right to own property
, were supposed to be the property of the man, and if the man died everything went to his sons." Muhammad, however, by, "instituting rights of property ownership, inheritance, education and divorce, gave women certain basic safeguards."
During his life Muhammad married eleven or thirteen women depending upon the differing accounts of who were his wives. In Arabian culture, marriage was generally contracted in accordance with the larger needs of the tribe and was based on the need to form alliances within the tribe and with other tribes. Virginity at the time of marriage was emphasized as a tribal honor. Watt
states that all of Muhammad's marriages had the political aspect of strengthening friendly relationships and were based on the Arabian custom. Esposito
points out that some of Muhammad's marriages were aimed at providing a livelihood for widows. Francis Edwards Peters
says that it is hard to make generalizations about Muhammad's marriages: many of them were political, some compassionate, and some perhaps affairs of the heart.
in terms of their religious duties (i.e. belief in God and his messenger, praying, fasting, paying zakat (charity), making hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca/ Medina)) and places them "under" the care of men (i.e. men are financially responsible for their wives). In one place it states: "Men are the maintainers and protectors of women, because Allah
hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women)." The Quran explains that men and women are equal in creation and in the afterlife, but not identical. Surah an-Nisa' 4:1 states that men and women are created from a single soul
(nafs wahidah). One person does not come before the other, one is not superior to the other, and one is not the derivative of the other. A woman
is not created for the purpose of a man. Rather, they are both created for the mutual benefit of each other.
's founding of the University of Al Karaouine
in 859 CE. This continued through to the Ayyubid dynasty
in the 12th and 13th centuries, when 160 mosque
s and madrasah
s were established in Damascus
, 26 of which were funded by women through the Waqf
(charitable trust
or trust law
) system. Half of all the royal patrons
for these institutions were also women.
According to the Sunni
scholar Ibn Asakir
in the 12th century, there were various opportunities for female education
in what is known as the medieval Islamic world
. He writes that women could study, earn ijazah
s (academic degree
s), and qualify as scholars
(ulamā’) and teacher
s. This was especially the case for learned and scholarly families, who wanted to ensure the highest possible education for both their sons and daughters. Ibn Asakir had himself studied under 80 different female teachers in his time. In nineteenth-century West Africa, Nana Asma’u
was a leading Islamic scholar, poet, teacher and an exceptionally prolific Muslim female writer who wrote more than 60 works. Female education in the Islamic world was inspired by Muhammad's wives: Khadijah, a successful businesswoman, and Aisha
, a renowned hadith scholar and military leader
. The education allowed was often restricted to religious instruction. According to a hadith
attributed to Muhammad
, he praised the women of Medina
because of their desire for religious knowledge:
While it was not common for women to enroll as students in formal classes
, it was common for women to attend informal lecture
s and study sessions at mosques, madrassas and other public places. For example, the attendance of women at the Fatimid
"sessions of wisdom" (majālis al-ḥikma) was noted by various historians including Ibn al-Tuwayr and al-Muṣabbiḥī. Similarly, although unusual in 15th-century Iran
, both women and men were in attendance at the intellectual gatherings of the Ismailis where women were addressed directly by the Imam
.
While women accounted for no more than one percent of Islamic scholars prior to the 12th century, there was a large increase of female scholars after this. In the 15th century, Al-Sakhawi
devotes an entire volume of his 12-volume biographical dictionary
Daw al-lami to female scholars, giving information on 1,075 of them.
Recently there have been several female Muslim scholars including Sebeca Zahra Hussain who is a prominent female scholar from the Sunni sect.
in the Caliphate
were employed from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, while both men and women were involved in diverse occupations and economic activities. Women were employed in a wide range of commercial activities and diverse occupations in the primary sector (as farmer
s, for example), secondary sector (as construction worker
s, dye
rs, spinners
, etc.) and tertiary sector (as investor
s, doctors
, nurses, president
s of guild
s, broker
s, peddler
s, lenders, scholars, etc.). Muslim women also held a monopoly
over certain branches of the textile industry
, the largest and most specialized and market-oriented industry at the time, in occupations such as spinning
, dyeing
, and embroidery
. In comparison, female
property rights and wage labour
were relatively uncommon in Europe
until the Industrial Revolution
in the 18th and 19th centuries.
In the 12th century, the famous Islamic philosopher
and qadi
(judge) Ibn Rushd
, known to the West as Averroes, claimed that women were equal to men in all respects and possessed equal capacities to shine in peace
and in war, citing examples of female warriors among the Arab
s, Greeks
and Africa
ns to support his case. In early Muslim history
, examples of notable female Muslims who fought during the Muslim conquests
and Fitna (civil wars) as soldiers or generals included Nusaybah Bint k’ab Al Maziniyyah
a.k.a. Umm Amarah, Aisha, Kahula
and Wafeira.
A unique feature of medieval Muslim hospitals
was the role of female staff, who were rarely employed in hospitals elsewhere in the world. Medieval Muslim hospital
s commonly employed female nurses. Muslim hospitals were also the first to employ female physicians, the most famous being two female physicians from the Banu Zuhr
family who served the Almohad
ruler Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur in the 12th century. This was necessary due to the segregation between male and female patients in Islamic hospitals. Later in the 15th century, female surgeon
s were illustrated for the first time in Şerafeddin Sabuncuoğlu
's Cerrahiyyetu'l-Haniyye (Imperial Surgery).
i women were "economically active" (either employed, or unemployed but available to furnish labor), whereas 52% of Indonesia
n women were.
Women are allowed to work in Islam, subject to certain conditions, such as if a woman is in financial need and her employment does not cause her to neglect her role as a mother and wife. It has been claimed that it is the responsibility of the Muslim community to organize work for women, so that she can do so in a Muslim cultural atmosphere, where her rights (as set out in the Qur'an) are respected. Islamic law however, permits women to work in Islamic conditions.
Due to cultural and not religious beliefs, in some cases, when women have the right to work and are educated, women's job opportunities may in practice be unequal to those of men. In Egypt
for example, women have limited opportunities to work in the private sector
because women are still expected to put their role in the family first, which causes men to be seen as more reliable in the long term.
An indicator of the attitude of the Qur'an to women in the workplace can be seen in the quotes regarding working women. These are the examples of two female shepherds Qur'an 28:23, and Khadijah (prophet Muhammad's wife), who was an eminent businesswoman. Khadijah is called up as a role model for females in the Qur'an.
, hadith
and fiqh
are codified by sharia
law, which attempts to set down rules for collective conduct, even including behaviour and attitudes of individuals within society. In some Muslim countries, sharia
has become the sole legal prescription on which judges base their rulings. In Saudi Arabia, for example, practises such as severing the hand of a thief or the tongue of a liar persist as they are set in sharia
law. Similarly, the death penalty is codified for offences such as murder, rape, apostasy, drug trafficking, and homosexuality. In some theocratic states, it is in practise impossible for legal officials to question the articles of the sharia
. In orthodox countries such as Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, and Pakistan, perceived moral weakness by individuals is punished as aggressively as desecrating a tomb or a mosque.
This legal framework has resulted in human rights and women's rights groups worldwide condemning and protesting convictions and sentences of women under sharia
law, as in the case of Amina Lawal
. Lawal is a Nigerian woman who was sentenced to be stoned to death in 2002 for bearing a child outside of marriage. Her sentence was based on a fetwa, issued by an imam
, a recognized religious authority, citing ancient rules, a right promulgated in the name of sharia
.
The status of women's testimony in Islam
is disputed. Some Islamic jurists have held that certain types of testimony by women may not be accepted. In other cases, the testimony of two women can equal that of one man (although the Qur'an says two women and two male are needed but if a male cannot find another male he may carry this testimony out himself). The reasons put forward for such attitudes include: women's temperament, women's lack of interest in legal matters, and also the need to spare women from the "burden of testifying". In other areas, women's testimony may be accepted on an equal basis with men's. The verse itself however relates to finances only.
Controversial tribal customs such as diyyat or blood money remain an integral part of Islamic jurisprudence. By implementation this also discriminate against women. Diyya existed in Arabia since pre-Islamic times
. While the practice of diyya was affirmed by Muhammed, Islam does not prescribe any specific amount for diyyat nor does it require discrimination between men and women. The Qur'an has left open to debate, its quantity, nature, and other related affairs to be defined by social custom and tradition. However in practice, the killing of a woman will generally invoke a lesser diyyat than the killing of a man. Commentators on the status of women in Islam have often focused on disparities in diyyat, the fines paid by killers to victims' next of kin after either intentional or unintentional homicide, between men and women.
Women's rights in the Qur'an are based around the marriage contract. A woman, according to Islamic tradition, does not have to give her pre-marriage possessions to her husband and receives a mahr
(dowry) which she is allowed to keep. Furthermore, any earnings that a woman receives through employment or business is hers to keep and need not be contributed towards family expenses. This is because the financial responsibility for reasonable housing, food and other household expenses for the family, including the spouse, falls entirely on the husband. In traditional Islamic law, a woman is also not responsible for the upkeep of the home and may demand payment for any work she does in the domestic sphere.
In Islam, women are entitled to the right of inheritance
, Qur'an 4:7. In general, Islam allows females half the inheritance share available to males who have the same degree of relation to the deceased. Qur'an 4:11. This difference derives from men's obligations to financially support their families.
The Qur'an contains specific and detailed guidance regarding the division of inherited wealth, such as Surah Baqarah, chapter 2 verse 180, chapter 2 verse 240; Surah Nisa, chapter 4 verse 7-9, chapter 4 verse 19, chapter 4 verse 33; and Surah Maidah, chapter 5 verse 106-108. Three verses in the Qur'an describe the share of close relatives, Surah Nisah chapter 4 verses 11, 12 and 176.
However, many Islamic majority countries have allowed inherently unfair (towards women) inheritance laws and/or customs to dominate.
During the time of the Prophet (saw) punishment was inflicted on the rapist on the solitary evidence of the woman who was raped by him. Wa'il ibn Hujr reports of an incident when a woman was raped. Later, when some people came by, she identified and accused the man of raping her. They seized him and brought him to Allah's messenger, who said to the woman, "Go away, for Allâh has forgiven you," but of the man who had raped her, he said, "Stone him to death." (Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud)
According to a Sunni
hadith
, the punishment for committing rape is death, there is no blame attached to the victim.
Marriage customs vary in Muslim dominated countries. Cultural customs are sometimes implemented under the cover of Islam. However Islamic law allows limited polygyny under strict conditions.
According to Islamic law
(sharia), marriage cannot be forced
.
Islamic jurists have traditionally held that Muslim women may only enter into marriage with Muslim men, On the other hand, the Qur'an allows Muslim men to marry women of the People of the Book
, a term which includes Jews
and Christians, but they must be chaste
. However, fiqh law has held that it is makruh (reprehensible, though not outright forbidden) for a Muslim man to marry a non-Muslim woman in a non-Muslim country. Notable scholar Bilal Philips
has said the verse that permits Muslim men to marry non-Muslim women is not valid anymore today due to several reasons including its misunderstood interpretation. One explanation for marriage restrictions is that they are pursuant to the principle that Muslims may not place themselves in a position inferior to that of the followers of other religions.
Marriage within some predominantly Muslim countries still retains practises from pre-Islamic times. Endogamy, virilocality and polygyny are common in some Islamic countries. Everywhere, however, polygamy is outlawed or restricted by new family codes, for example the Moudawwana in Morocco.Polygamy
is permitted under restricted conditions, but it is not widespread. However, it is strongly discouraged in the Qur'an, which says, 'do justice to them all, but you won't be able to, so don't fall for one totally while ignoring other wife(wives)'. This also must be taken in historical context, as this was actually a restriction on the number of wives men of the Arabian tribes can take. Sometimes Pre-Islamic men could have up to eight wives. Women are not allowed to engage in polyandry
, whereas men are allowed to engage in polygyny
.
A marriage of pleasure, where a man pays a sum of money to a woman or her family in exchange for a temporary spousal relationship, is an ancient practise that has been revived in Iraq in recent years. Its practitioners cite sharia
law as permitting the practise. Women's rights groups have condemned it as a form of legalized prostitution.
considers the love
between men and women to be a Sign of God. Husbands are asked to be kind to their wives and wives are asked to be kind to their husbands. The Qur'an also encourages discussion and mutual agreement in family decisions.
Muslim scholars have adopted differing interpretations of An-Nisa, 34
, a Sura of the Qur'an. In the event where a woman rebels against her husband, Muslim scholars disagree on what is prescribed by the Sura. According to some interpretations, it is permissible for the man to then lightly beat his spouse. However, this is disputed by many scholars who contend that the expression used alludes to temporary physical separation.
A high value is placed on female chastity
(not to be confused with celibacy
). To protect women from accusations of unchaste behaviour, the scripture lays down severe punishments towards those who make false allegations about a woman's chastity. However, in some societies, an accusation is rarely questioned and the woman who is accused rarely has a chance to defend herself in a fair and just manner. This is always due to the local cultural customs and not a result of Islamic teachings.
Female genital mutilation has been erroneously associated with Islam. In fact it is practiced predominantly in Africa, where in certain areas it has acquired a religious dimension due to the justification that the practise is used to ensure female chastity. A UNICEF study of fourteen African countries found no correlation between religion and prevalence of female genital mutilation. In Mauritania
, where "health campaigners estimate that more than 70 percent of Mauritanian girls undergo the partial or total removal of their external genitalia for non-medical reasons", 34 Islamic scholars signed a fatwa
banning the practice in January 2010. Their aim was to prevent people from citing religion as a justification for genital mutilation. The authors cited the work of Islamic legal expert Ibn al-Hajj as support for their assertion that "[s]uch practices were not present in the Maghreb countries over the past centuries". FGM is "not an instinctive habit, according to the Malkis; therefore, it was abandoned in northern and western regions of the country," added the authors.
, both partners must unanimously agree to the divorce in order for it to be granted. To prevent irrational decisions and for the sake of the family's stability, Islam enjoins that both parties observe a waiting period (of roughly three months) before the divorce is finalized.
Sharia Law states that divorce has to be confirmed on three separate occasions and not, as is commonly believed, simply three times at once. The first two instances the woman and the man are still in legal marriage. The third occasion of pronouncing divorce in the presence of the woman, the man is no longer legally the husband and therefore has to leave the house. The purpose of this procedure of divorce in Islam is to encourage reconciliation where possible. Even after divorce, the woman should wait three monthly cycles during which her husband remains responsible for her and her children's welfare and maintenance. He is not permitted to drive her out of the house. This process may leave the woman destitute should her family not take her back or the ex-husband fail to support her and possibly his children.
After the third pronouncement they are not allowed to get back together as husband and wife, unless first the wife is divorced in another lawful and fully consummated marriage. This rule was made to discourage men from easily using the verbal declaration of divorce by knowing that after the third time there will be no way to return to the wife and thus encourage men's tolerance and patience.
Usually, assuming her husband demands a divorce, the divorced wife keeps her mahr (dowry
), both the original gift and any supplementary property specified in the marriage contract. She is also given child support
until the age of weaning, at which point the child's custody will be settled by the couple or by the courts.
In actual practice and outside of Islamic judicial theory, a woman’s right to divorce is often extremely limited compared with that of men in the Middle East
. While men can divorce their wives easily, women face many legal and financial obstacles. In practice in most of the Muslim world
today divorce can be quite involved as there may be separate secular procedures to follow as well.
In some instances, a Sharia
court may pronounce a marriage dissolved as a punitive measure against a woman who they have deemed to be haram, or sinful. In a 2005 case in India, a Muslim woman named Imrana turned to a Sharia
court to complain of being raped by her father-in-law, Ali Mohammed, and her marriage was dissolved by the court on these grounds. Although India is a secular country, Muslim communities in rural India generally make use of the Sharia
judicial system rather than the secular one. The Sharia
verdict was upheld by the Indian Muslim seminary Darul ul Uloom Madrasa, which issued a fetwah in support of it. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, consisting of 41 Muslim scholars, also upheld the verdict. In this instance, Imrana refused to accept the verdict of the Sharia
court. Her case was heard in a secular court, which resulted in Ali Mohammed receiving an eight year sentence and a fine.
This contentious area of religious practice and tradition is being increasingly challenged by those promoting more liberal interpretations of Islam
.
In contrast to the Western world
where divorce
was relatively uncommon until modern times, and in contrast to the low rates of divorce in the modern Middle East
, divorce was a more common occurrence in certain states of the late medieval Muslim world
. In the Mamluk Sultanate
and Ottoman Empire
, the rate of divorce was higher than it is today in the modern Middle East. The Qur'an
is explicit in addressing zawaj al-hall, or a disrupted marriage, where a man intends to remarry a former wife for a second time; (2:230) indicates that for the second marriage to be lawful for the former husband, the former wife must have been remarried during the intervening time to a second man since the renunciation of the previous marriage. The intention behind this Qur'an
passage was to end abuses of the right to marital renunciation dating from ancient customs.
In medieval Egypt
, Al-Sakhawi
recorded the marital history of 500 women, the largest sample
of married women in the Middle Ages
, and found that at least a third of all women in the Mamluk Sultanate
of Egypt and Syria
married more than once, with many marrying three or more times. According to Al-Sakhawi, as many as three out of ten marriages in 15th century Cairo
ended in divorce. In the early 20th century, some villages in western Java
and the Malay peninsula
had divorce rates as high as 70%.
Although no limitation or prohibition against women's travelling alone is mentioned in the Qur'an, there is a debate in some Islamic sects, especially Salafis, regarding whether women may travel without a mahram (unmarriageable relative). Some scholars state that a woman may not travel by herself on a journey that takes longer than three days (equivalent to 48 miles in medieval Islam). According to the European Council for Fatwa and Research
, this prohibition arose from fears for women's safety when travel was more dangerous. Some scholars relax this prohibition for journeys likely to be safe, such as travel with a trustworthy group of men or men and women, or travel via a modern train or plane when the woman will be met upon arrival.
Sheikh Ayed Al-Qarni, a Saudi Islamic scholar, has said that neither the Qur'an nor the sunnah
prohibits women from driving and that it is better for a woman to drive herself than to be driven by a stranger without a legal escort. (He also stated, however, that he "personally will not allow [his] wife or daughters or sisters to drive.") Women are forbidden to drive in Saudi Arabia
per a 1990 fatwa
(religious ruling); Saudi Arabia is currently the only Muslim country that bans women from driving. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan
, they issued a 2001 decree that also banned women from driving. John Esposito
, professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, has argued that these restrictions originate from cultural customs and not Islam.
24:31, which says, "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts and not to display their adornment except that which ordinarily appears thereof and to draw their headcovers over their chests and not to display their adornment except to their[ maharim] ..."
There are regional and sectarian variations of the veil associated with hijab. Depending upon local views regarding female modesty, they may or may not cover the face or the eyes, or the entire body. These variations include:
The hijab, and the veil in particular, have often been viewed by many as a sign of oppression of Muslim women. The wearing of the hijab has become controversial in countries where Muslims are a minority, and where majority secular opinions regard the hijab as violating women's freedom, especially in Europe amid increasing immigration of Muslims. The 2006 United Kingdom debate over veils
and the 2004 French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
are two notable examples. However, it is argued that if it is acceptable for a Christian Nun to cover her head and body for religious reasons, then why is it not for a Muslim woman? In France, the law banning the wearing of a face veil in public is being enforced. Sentencing includes a 150 euro fine and a citizenship course. Two women were detained in April 2011 when the law came into force.
In some countries where Muslims are a minority, there is much less public opposition to the practise, although concerns about it are discussed. Canadian media, for example, have covered controversies where concerns have been raised over the veil being a possible security risk, as in cases where Muslim women have refused to remove their niqab or burka veil for voter identification at polls. In 2007, the federal government of Canada introduced a bill to ban face coverings for voter identification, but this bill was dropped as not required:
According to a saying attributed to Muhammad, women are allowed to go to mosques. However, as Islam spread, it became unusual for women to worship in mosques because of fears of unchastity caused by interaction between sexes; this condition persisted until the late 1960s. Since then, women have become increasingly involved in the mosque, though men and women generally worship separately. (Muslims explain this by citing the need to avoid distraction during prayer prostrations that raise the buttocks while the forehead touches the ground.) Separation between sexes ranges from men and women on opposite sides of an aisle, to men in front of women (as was the case in the time of Muhammad), to women in second-floor balconies or separate rooms accessible by a door for women only.
In Islam's earlier history, female religious scholars were relatively common. Mohammad Akram Nadwi
, a Sunni religious scholar, has compiled biographies of 8,000 female jurists, and orientalist Ignaz Goldziher
earlier estimated that 15 percent of medieval hadith scholars were women. After the 16th century, however, female scholars became fewer, and today — while female activists and writers are relatively common — there has not been a significant female jurist in over 200 years. Opportunities for women's religious education exist, but cultural barriers often keep women from pursuing such a vocation.
Women's right to become imams
, however, is disputed by many. A fundamental role of an imam (religious leader) in a mosque is to lead the salah (congregational prayers). Generally, women are not allowed to lead mixed prayers. However, some argue that Muhammad gave permission to Ume Warqa to lead a mixed prayer at the mosque of Dar.
Hui
women are self aware of their relative freedom as Chinese women in contrast to the status of Arab women in countries like Saudi Arabia
where Arab women are restricted and forced to wear encompassing clothing. Hui women point out these restrictions as "low status", and feel better to be Chinese than to be Arab, claiming that it is Chinese women's advanced knowledge of the Qur'an which enables them to have equality between men and women.
is believed to have been created by a female holy woman, Rabiah al-Basri (d. 801). She created the doctrine of "disinterested love of God".
Sufi Islam teaches the doctrine of tariqa, meaning following a spiritual path in daily living habits. To support followers of this concept, separate institutions for men (ta'ifa, hizb, rabita) and women (khanqa, rabita, derga) were created. Initiates to these groups pursued a progression of seven stages of spiritual discipline, called makamat (stations) or ahwal (spiritual states).
, the traditions of the Prophet and early Islamic history. Some notable Muslim women scholars are: Azizah al-Hibri, Amina Wadud
, Fatima Mernissi, Asma Barlas
, Riffat Hassan
, Leila Ahmed
, Aisha Abdul-Rahman, and Merryl Wyn Davies
.
The only hadith relating to female political leadership is , in which Muhammad is recorded as saying that people with a female ruler will never be successful.(Muhammed was referring to the Persian people. He said, "Such people as ruled by a lady will never be successful." (The al-Bukhari collection is generally regarded as authentic, though one Muslim feminist has questioned the reliability of the recorder of this particular hadith.) However, many classical Islamic scholars, such as al-Tabari, supported female leadership. In early Islamic history, women including Aisha, Ume Warqa
, and Samra Binte Wahaib took part in political activities. Other historical Muslim female leaders include Razia Sultana
, who ruled the Sultanate of Delhi from 1236 to 1239, and Shajarat ad-Durr, who ruled Egypt
from 1250 to 1257.
In the past several decades, many countries in which Muslims are a majority, including Indonesia
, Pakistan
, Bangladesh
, and Turkey
, and Kyrgyzstan
have been led by women. Nearly one-third of the Parliament of Egypt
also consists of women.
According to Sheikh Zoubir Bouchikhi, Imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston’s Southeast Mosque, nothing in Islam specifically allows or disallows voting
by women. Until recently most Muslim nations were non-democratic, but most today allow their citizens to have some level of voting and control over their government. The disparate times at which women’s suffrage was granted in Muslim-majority countries
is indicative of the varied traditions and values present within the Muslim world
. Azerbaijan
has had women's suffrage
since 1918.
Saudi women have been allowed to vote in some elections.\\
Within the Muslim community, conservatives and Islamic feminists have used Islamic doctrine as the basis for discussion of women's rights, drawing on the Quran, the hadith
, and the lives of prominent women in the early period of Muslim history
as evidence. Where conservatives have seen evidence that existing gender asymmetries are divinely ordained, feminists have seen more egalitarian ideals in early Islam. Still others have argued that this discourse is essentialist
and a historical, and have urged that Islamic doctrine not be the only framework within which discussion occurs.
The nebulous revivalist movement
termed Islamism
is one of the most dynamic movements within Islam in the 20th and 21st centuries. The experience of women in Islamist states has been varied. Women in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan
faced treatment condemned by the international community. Women were forced to wear the burqa
in public, not allowed to work, not allowed to be educated after the age of eight, and faced public flogging and execution for violations of the Taliban's laws. The position of women in Iran, which has been a theocracy
since its 1979 revolution, is more complex. Iranian Islamists are ideologically in favour of allowing female legislators in Iran's parliament
and 60% of university students are women.
Liberal Muslims
have urged that ijtihad
, a form of critical thinking, be used to develop a more progressive form of Islam with respect to the status of women. In addition, Islamic feminists have advocated for women's rights
, gender equality
, and social justice
grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam, pioneers of Islamic feminism have also used secular and western feminist discourses and have sought to include Islamic feminism in the larger global feminist movement. Islamic feminists seek to highlight the teachings of equality in Islam to question patriarchal interpretations of Islamic teachings. Others point out the incredible amount of flexibility of shariah law, which can offer greater protections for women if the political will to do is present.
After the September 11, 2001, attacks, international attention was focused on the condition of women in the Muslim world. Critics asserted that women are not treated as equal members of Muslim societies and criticized Muslim societies for condoning this treatment. Some critics have gone so far as to make allegations of gender apartheid
due to women's status. At least one critic has alleged that Western academics, especially feminists, have ignored the plight of Muslim women in order to be considered "politically correct
."
The Indonesian Islamic professor Nasaruddin Umar
is at the forefront of a reform movement from within Islam that aims at giving women equal status. Among his works is a book "The Qur'an for women", which provides a new feminist interpretation.
Some Muslim women exposed to the growth in civil rights accessible to secular or non-Muslim women have protested to strengthen their own rights within Islamic communities. One example is Malaysia, where 60% of the population is Muslim, and where there are separate parallel legal systems for secular law and sharia
law. In 2006, Marina Mahathir, the daughter of Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, published an editorial in the Malaysia Star newspaper to denounce what she termed "a growing form of apartheid" for Malaysia's Muslim women: She pointed out that polygamy was illegal in Malaysia for non-Muslims but not for Muslims, and that child custody arrangements for Muslims were biased towards fathers as opposed to the shared-custody arrangements of non-Muslim parents. Women's groups in Malaysia began campaigning in the 1990s to have female sharia
judges appointed to the sharia
legal system in the country, and in 2010 two female judges were appointed.
Political topics
Related topics
Books
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. The complex relationship between women and Islam is defined by Islamic texts, the history and culture of the Muslim world
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
. The Qur'an states that both men and women are equal, but also, as in 4:34, that "Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient and guard in the husband's absence what Allah orders them to guard." Although the Quran does say this, the superiority of men is interpreted in terms of strength by the context - men maintain women.
Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
(Islamic law) provides for complementarianism, differences between women's and men's roles
Gender roles in Islam
In Islam, the sexes are considered equal before God in the complementarian sense. Allah says in verse 13 of chapter 49 in the Holy Qu'ran: "O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of...
, rights, and obligations. However neither the Quran nor Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
mention women have to be housewives. Majority Muslim countries give women varying degrees of rights with regards to marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
, legal status, dress code, and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
based on different interpretations. Scholars and other commentators vary as to whether they are just and whether they are a correct interpretation of religious imperatives.
Sources of influence
The Islamic Prophet Muhammad was in a precarious position as he began to spread his teachings to his disciples. As an abtar (a man without male offspring), in a natalist and patriarchal culture, his proclaimed identity as the creator of a new religion was viewed as an affront by many who attached authority to a man with a proliferation of wives and children, and in particular, a male heir to ensure the descendance of his authority. Nonetheless, Islam spread to become the dominant religion in the Arabian PeninsulaArabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
, North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
and Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
in the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
, the Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n region such as Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
as far as Pakistan
Islam in Pakistan
Islam is the official religion of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which has a population of about 174,578,558. The overwhelming majority of the Pakistani people are Muslims while the remaining 3-5% are Christian, Hindu, and others. Pakistan has the second largest Muslim population in the world...
, India
Islam in India
Islam is the second-most practiced religion in the Republic of India after Hinduism, with more than 13.4% of the country's population ....
, Malaysia
Islam in Malaysia
Malaysia is a multiracial country with Islam being the largest practiced religion, comprising approximately 61.4% Muslim adherents, or around 17 million people, as of 2010. Islam is declared as the "religion of the federation". Though there has been much debate on whether Malaysia is a secular...
and Indonesia
Islam in Indonesia
Islam is the dominant religion in Indonesia, which also has a larger Muslim population than any other country in the world, with approximately 202.9 million identified as Muslim as of 2009....
.
The patriarchal character of pre-Islamic Arabic culture influenced not only the content of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and related doctrine, it persists today in the interpretation and application of Islamic dogma. Theological scholarship and practises vary widely according to the country, region, or sectarian beliefs where an Islamic community is located. The largest groups of Muslim women are in: Indonesia (over 100 million), Bangladesh (over 75 million), Pakistan (over 85 million), India (over 80 million), Egypt (nearly 40 million), Nigeria (nearly 40 million), Turkey (over 35 million) and Iran (over 35 million). These countries total more than 60% of the world's Muslims; there are more than 750 million Muslim women worldwide, including sizeable minorities in several countries of Africa and Europe, and in China.
Islamic doctrine is the product of Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
ic guidelines, as understood by Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
), as well as of the interpretations derived from the traditions of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
), that were agreed upon by majority of Sunni Muslim scholars as authentic beyond doubt based on the science of hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
.
The Sunni Muslims are the largest Islamic sect, comprising approximately 80% of the world's Muslims. The Sunni sect includes many theological schools and doctrines interpreting the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. To Sunni Muslims, the hadith constitutes an important source of legislation. The fiqh is the basis of jurisprudence, or legal practise, developed by Muslim jurists during the centuries following the creation of Islam, and largely influenced by the hadith. These interpretations and their application were shaped by the historical context of the Muslim world at the time they were written. Many of the earliest writings were from a time of tribal warfare which could have been inappropriate for the 21st century, but most remain appropriate to how a Muslim following the sunnah
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
should behave.
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
, previously regarded as a bride-price paid to the father, became a nuptial gift retained by the wife as part of her personal property."
Under Islamic law, marriage was no longer viewed as a "status" but rather as a "contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
", in which the woman's consent was imperative. "Women were given inheritance rights in a patriarchal society that had previously restricted inheritance to male relatives/ family members." Annemarie Schimmel
Annemarie Schimmel
Annemarie Schimmel, SI, HI, was a well known and very influential German Orientalist and scholar, who wrote extensively on Islam and Sufism. She was a professor at Harvard University from 1967 to 1992.-Early life:...
states that "compared to the pre-Islamic position of women, Islamic legislation meant an enormous progress; the woman has the right, at least according to the letter of the law, to administer the wealth she has brought into the family or has earned by her own work."
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt was a Scottish historian, an Emeritus Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh...
states that Muhammad, in the historical context of his time, can be seen as a figure who promoted women’s rights and improved things considerably. Watt explains: "At the time Islam began, the conditions of women were terrible - they had no right to own property
Property
Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
, were supposed to be the property of the man, and if the man died everything went to his sons." Muhammad, however, by, "instituting rights of property ownership, inheritance, education and divorce, gave women certain basic safeguards."
During his life Muhammad married eleven or thirteen women depending upon the differing accounts of who were his wives. In Arabian culture, marriage was generally contracted in accordance with the larger needs of the tribe and was based on the need to form alliances within the tribe and with other tribes. Virginity at the time of marriage was emphasized as a tribal honor. Watt
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt was a Scottish historian, an Emeritus Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh...
states that all of Muhammad's marriages had the political aspect of strengthening friendly relationships and were based on the Arabian custom. Esposito
John Esposito
John Louis Esposito is a professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University...
points out that some of Muhammad's marriages were aimed at providing a livelihood for widows. Francis Edwards Peters
Francis Edwards Peters
Francis Edward Peters , who generally publishes as F.E. Peters, is Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and History at New York University.Peters studied at St...
says that it is hard to make generalizations about Muhammad's marriages: many of them were political, some compassionate, and some perhaps affairs of the heart.
Gender roles
The Quran expresses two main views on the role of women. It both stresses the equality of women and men before GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
in terms of their religious duties (i.e. belief in God and his messenger, praying, fasting, paying zakat (charity), making hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca/ Medina)) and places them "under" the care of men (i.e. men are financially responsible for their wives). In one place it states: "Men are the maintainers and protectors of women, because Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women)." The Quran explains that men and women are equal in creation and in the afterlife, but not identical. Surah an-Nisa' 4:1 states that men and women are created from a single soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
(nafs wahidah). One person does not come before the other, one is not superior to the other, and one is not the derivative of the other. A woman
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
is not created for the purpose of a man. Rather, they are both created for the mutual benefit of each other.
Female education
Historically, women played an important role in the foundation of many Islamic educational institutions, such as Fatima al-FihriFatima al-fihri
Fatima al-Fihri was the daughter of Mohammed al-Fihri, with whom she migrated to Fes, Morocco from Qairawan, located in present-day Tunisia and came earlier from west Arabia of Fihrids family origin...
's founding of the University of Al Karaouine
University of Al Karaouine
The University of Al-Karaouine or Al-Qarawiyyin is a university located in Fes, Morocco which was established in 1947. Its origins date back to 859, when it was founded as a mosque school or madrasa...
in 859 CE. This continued through to the Ayyubid dynasty
Ayyubid dynasty
The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they...
in the 12th and 13th centuries, when 160 mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s and madrasah
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
s were established in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, 26 of which were funded by women through the Waqf
Waqf
A waqf also spelled wakf formally known as wakf-alal-aulad is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The donated assets are held by a charitable trust...
(charitable trust
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
or trust law
Trust law
In common law legal systems, a trust is a relationship whereby property is held by one party for the benefit of another...
) system. Half of all the royal patrons
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
for these institutions were also women.
According to the Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
scholar Ibn Asakir
Ibn Asakir
-Name:His full name was Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Hibat Allah ibn `Abd Allah, Thiqat al-Din, Abu al-Qasim, known as Ibn `Asakir al-Dimashqi al-Shafi`i al-Ash`ari.-Works:...
in the 12th century, there were various opportunities for female education
Female education
Female education is a catch-all term for a complex of issues and debates surrounding education for females. It includes areas of gender equality and access to education, and its connection to the alleviation of poverty...
in what is known as the medieval Islamic world
Islamic Golden Age
During the Islamic Golden Age philosophers, scientists and engineers of the Islamic world contributed enormously to technology and culture, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations...
. He writes that women could study, earn ijazah
Ijazah
An ijazah is a certificate used primarily by Sunni Muslims to indicate that one has been authorized by a higher authority to transmit a certain subject or text of Islamic knowledge...
s (academic degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
s), and qualify as scholars
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
(ulamā’) and teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s. This was especially the case for learned and scholarly families, who wanted to ensure the highest possible education for both their sons and daughters. Ibn Asakir had himself studied under 80 different female teachers in his time. In nineteenth-century West Africa, Nana Asma’u
Nana Asma’u
Nana Asma’u was a princess, poet, teacher, and daughter of the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, Usman dan Fodio. She remains a revered figure in northern Nigeria...
was a leading Islamic scholar, poet, teacher and an exceptionally prolific Muslim female writer who wrote more than 60 works. Female education in the Islamic world was inspired by Muhammad's wives: Khadijah, a successful businesswoman, and Aisha
Aisha
Aisha bint Abu Bakr also transcribed as was Muhammad's favorite wife...
, a renowned hadith scholar and military leader
Battle of Bassorah
The Battle of Bassorah was a battle that took place at Basra, Iraq in 656 between forces allied to Ali ibn Abi Talib and forces allied to Aisha , who wanted justice on the...
. The education allowed was often restricted to religious instruction. According to a hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
attributed to Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, he praised the women of Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
because of their desire for religious knowledge:
While it was not common for women to enroll as students in formal classes
Class (education)
A class in education has a variety of related meanings.It can be the group of students which attends a specific course or lesson at a university, school or other educational institution, see Form ....
, it was common for women to attend informal lecture
Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
s and study sessions at mosques, madrassas and other public places. For example, the attendance of women at the Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
"sessions of wisdom" (majālis al-ḥikma) was noted by various historians including Ibn al-Tuwayr and al-Muṣabbiḥī. Similarly, although unusual in 15th-century Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, both women and men were in attendance at the intellectual gatherings of the Ismailis where women were addressed directly by the Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
.
While women accounted for no more than one percent of Islamic scholars prior to the 12th century, there was a large increase of female scholars after this. In the 15th century, Al-Sakhawi
Al-Sakhawi
Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Rahman al-Sakhawi was a reputable Shafi'i Muslim hadith scholar and historian who was born in Cairo. "Al-Sakhawi" refers to the village of Sakha in Egypt, where his relatives belonged. He was a prolific writer that excelled in the knowledge of hadith, tafsir,...
devotes an entire volume of his 12-volume biographical dictionary
Biographical dictionary
Biographical dictionaries – a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information – have been written in many languages. Many attempt to cover the major personalities of a country...
Daw al-lami to female scholars, giving information on 1,075 of them.
Recently there have been several female Muslim scholars including Sebeca Zahra Hussain who is a prominent female scholar from the Sunni sect.
History
The labor forceLabor force
In economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce, including both the employed and unemployed.Normally, the labor force of a country consists of everyone of working age In economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce,...
in the Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
were employed from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, while both men and women were involved in diverse occupations and economic activities. Women were employed in a wide range of commercial activities and diverse occupations in the primary sector (as farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s, for example), secondary sector (as construction worker
Construction worker
A construction worker or builder is a professional, tradesman, or labourer who directly participates in the physical construction of infrastructure.-Construction trades:...
s, dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
rs, spinners
Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
, etc.) and tertiary sector (as investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
s, doctors
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, nurses, president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
s of guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s, broker
Broker
A broker is a party that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller, and gets a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal...
s, peddler
Peddler
A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a canvasser, cheapjack, monger, or solicitor , is a travelling vendor of goods. In England, the term was mostly used for travellers hawking goods in the countryside to small towns and villages; they might also be called tinkers or gypsies...
s, lenders, scholars, etc.). Muslim women also held a monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
over certain branches of the textile industry
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
, the largest and most specialized and market-oriented industry at the time, in occupations such as spinning
Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
, dyeing
Dyeing
Dyeing is the process of adding color to textile products like fibers, yarns, and fabrics. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular chemical material. After dyeing, dye molecules have uncut Chemical bond with fiber molecules. The temperature and time controlling...
, and embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
. In comparison, female
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
property rights and wage labour
Wage labour
Wage labour is the socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer, where the worker sells their labour under a formal or informal employment contract. These transactions usually occur in a labour market where wages are market determined...
were relatively uncommon in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
until the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
in the 18th and 19th centuries.
In the 12th century, the famous Islamic philosopher
Early Islamic philosophy
Early Islamic philosophy or classical Islamic philosophy is a period of intense philosophical development beginning in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar and lasting until the 6th century AH...
and qadi
Qadi
Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
(judge) Ibn Rushd
Averroes
' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
, known to the West as Averroes, claimed that women were equal to men in all respects and possessed equal capacities to shine in peace
Peace In Islamic Thought
As in other religions, peace is a basic concept in Islamic thought. The Arabic term "Islam" itself is usually translated as "submission"; submission of desires to the will of God. It comes from the term aslama, which means "to surrender" or "resign oneself".The Arabic word salaam has the same...
and in war, citing examples of female warriors among the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s, Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
ns to support his case. In early Muslim history
Muslim history
Muslim history is the history of Muslim people. In the history of Islam the followers of the religion of Islam have impacted political history, economic history, and military history...
, examples of notable female Muslims who fought during the Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
and Fitna (civil wars) as soldiers or generals included Nusaybah Bint k’ab Al Maziniyyah
Nusaybah Bint k’ab Al Maziniyyah
Nusaybah bint Ka’ab was an early convert to Islam, and the first female to fight in defence of the religion....
a.k.a. Umm Amarah, Aisha, Kahula
Kahula
Kahula bint Azwar was a Muslim Arab warrior, sister of Zirrar ibn Azwar, the legendary Muslim soldier and commander of the Rashidun army during the 7th century Muslim conquest. She fought side by side with her brother Zirrar in many battles, including a decisive Battle of Yarmouk in 636 against the...
and Wafeira.
A unique feature of medieval Muslim hospitals
Bimaristan
Bimaristan is a Persian word meaning hospital, with Bimar- from Middle Persian of vīmār or vemār, meaning "sick" plus -stan as location and place suffix...
was the role of female staff, who were rarely employed in hospitals elsewhere in the world. Medieval Muslim hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s commonly employed female nurses. Muslim hospitals were also the first to employ female physicians, the most famous being two female physicians from the Banu Zuhr
Ibn Zuhr
Abū Merwān ’Abdal-Malik ibn Zuhr was a Muslim physician, surgeon and teacher in Al-Andalus.He was born at Seville...
family who served the Almohad
Almohad
The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...
ruler Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur in the 12th century. This was necessary due to the segregation between male and female patients in Islamic hospitals. Later in the 15th century, female surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
s were illustrated for the first time in Şerafeddin Sabuncuoğlu
Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu
Sabuncuoğlu Şerafeddin was a medieval Ottoman surgeon and physician.Sabuncuoğlu was the author of the Cerrahiyyetu'l-Haniyye , the first illustrated surgical atlas, and the Mücerrebname .The Cerrahiyyetu'l-Haniyye was the first surgical atlas and the last...
's Cerrahiyyetu'l-Haniyye (Imperial Surgery).
Employment patterns today
Patterns of women's employment vary throughout the Muslim world: as of 2005, 16% of PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i women were "economically active" (either employed, or unemployed but available to furnish labor), whereas 52% of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n women were.
Women are allowed to work in Islam, subject to certain conditions, such as if a woman is in financial need and her employment does not cause her to neglect her role as a mother and wife. It has been claimed that it is the responsibility of the Muslim community to organize work for women, so that she can do so in a Muslim cultural atmosphere, where her rights (as set out in the Qur'an) are respected. Islamic law however, permits women to work in Islamic conditions.
- The work should not require the man or the woman to violate Islamic law (e.g., serving alcohol), and be mindful of the woman's safety.
- If the work requires the woman to leave her home, she must maintain her 'modesty' just as with men.
Due to cultural and not religious beliefs, in some cases, when women have the right to work and are educated, women's job opportunities may in practice be unequal to those of men. In Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
for example, women have limited opportunities to work in the private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
because women are still expected to put their role in the family first, which causes men to be seen as more reliable in the long term.
An indicator of the attitude of the Qur'an to women in the workplace can be seen in the quotes regarding working women. These are the examples of two female shepherds Qur'an 28:23, and Khadijah (prophet Muhammad's wife), who was an eminent businesswoman. Khadijah is called up as a role model for females in the Qur'an.
Sharia law
The cumulative doctrines contained within the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
and fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
are codified by sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law, which attempts to set down rules for collective conduct, even including behaviour and attitudes of individuals within society. In some Muslim countries, sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
has become the sole legal prescription on which judges base their rulings. In Saudi Arabia, for example, practises such as severing the hand of a thief or the tongue of a liar persist as they are set in sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law. Similarly, the death penalty is codified for offences such as murder, rape, apostasy, drug trafficking, and homosexuality. In some theocratic states, it is in practise impossible for legal officials to question the articles of the sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
. In orthodox countries such as Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, and Pakistan, perceived moral weakness by individuals is punished as aggressively as desecrating a tomb or a mosque.
This legal framework has resulted in human rights and women's rights groups worldwide condemning and protesting convictions and sentences of women under sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law, as in the case of Amina Lawal
Amina Lawal
Amina Lawal Kurami is a Nigerian woman. On March 22, 2002, an Islamic Sharia court sentenced her to death by stoning for adultery and for conceiving a child out of wedlock...
. Lawal is a Nigerian woman who was sentenced to be stoned to death in 2002 for bearing a child outside of marriage. Her sentence was based on a fetwa, issued by an imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
, a recognized religious authority, citing ancient rules, a right promulgated in the name of sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
.
The status of women's testimony in Islam
Status of women's testimony in Islam
The status of women's testimony in Islam is disputed.In cases of hudud, punishments for serious crimes, 12th-century Maliki jurist Averroes wrote that jurists disagree about the status of women's testimony. According to Averroes, most scholars say that in this case women's testimony is unacceptable...
is disputed. Some Islamic jurists have held that certain types of testimony by women may not be accepted. In other cases, the testimony of two women can equal that of one man (although the Qur'an says two women and two male are needed but if a male cannot find another male he may carry this testimony out himself). The reasons put forward for such attitudes include: women's temperament, women's lack of interest in legal matters, and also the need to spare women from the "burden of testifying". In other areas, women's testimony may be accepted on an equal basis with men's. The verse itself however relates to finances only.
Controversial tribal customs such as diyyat or blood money remain an integral part of Islamic jurisprudence. By implementation this also discriminate against women. Diyya existed in Arabia since pre-Islamic times
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabic civilization which existed in the Arabian Plate before the rise of Islam in the 630s. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam.-Studies:...
. While the practice of diyya was affirmed by Muhammed, Islam does not prescribe any specific amount for diyyat nor does it require discrimination between men and women. The Qur'an has left open to debate, its quantity, nature, and other related affairs to be defined by social custom and tradition. However in practice, the killing of a woman will generally invoke a lesser diyyat than the killing of a man. Commentators on the status of women in Islam have often focused on disparities in diyyat, the fines paid by killers to victims' next of kin after either intentional or unintentional homicide, between men and women.
Financial matters
Historically, many scholars maintain that women in Muslim societies had more property rights than in many other parts of the world. However, as the world has modernised, women's rights in many Muslim dominated countries are comparatively restricted. As Valentine M. Moghadam argues, "much of the economic modernization [of women] was based on income from oil, and some came from foreign investment and capital inflows. Economic development alters the status of women in different ways across nations and classes."Women's rights in the Qur'an are based around the marriage contract. A woman, according to Islamic tradition, does not have to give her pre-marriage possessions to her husband and receives a mahr
Mahr
In Islam, mahr is an amount of money paid by the groom to the bride at the time of marriage which she can spend as she wishes. The English concept of "dower", the gift of funds to the wife in the event she becomes widowed, closely approximates mahr. The terms "dowry" and "bride price" are...
(dowry) which she is allowed to keep. Furthermore, any earnings that a woman receives through employment or business is hers to keep and need not be contributed towards family expenses. This is because the financial responsibility for reasonable housing, food and other household expenses for the family, including the spouse, falls entirely on the husband. In traditional Islamic law, a woman is also not responsible for the upkeep of the home and may demand payment for any work she does in the domestic sphere.
In Islam, women are entitled to the right of inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
, Qur'an 4:7. In general, Islam allows females half the inheritance share available to males who have the same degree of relation to the deceased. Qur'an 4:11. This difference derives from men's obligations to financially support their families.
The Qur'an contains specific and detailed guidance regarding the division of inherited wealth, such as Surah Baqarah, chapter 2 verse 180, chapter 2 verse 240; Surah Nisa, chapter 4 verse 7-9, chapter 4 verse 19, chapter 4 verse 33; and Surah Maidah, chapter 5 verse 106-108. Three verses in the Qur'an describe the share of close relatives, Surah Nisah chapter 4 verses 11, 12 and 176.
However, many Islamic majority countries have allowed inherently unfair (towards women) inheritance laws and/or customs to dominate.
Rape
According to the sunnah, a woman should not be punished for having been coerced into having sex. This is made clear by the following hadith:During the time of the Prophet (saw) punishment was inflicted on the rapist on the solitary evidence of the woman who was raped by him. Wa'il ibn Hujr reports of an incident when a woman was raped. Later, when some people came by, she identified and accused the man of raping her. They seized him and brought him to Allah's messenger, who said to the woman, "Go away, for Allâh has forgiven you," but of the man who had raped her, he said, "Stone him to death." (Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud)
According to a Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
, the punishment for committing rape is death, there is no blame attached to the victim.
Muslim marriage customs
According to Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
(sharia), marriage cannot be forced
Forced marriage
Forced marriage is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or both of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will...
.
Islamic jurists have traditionally held that Muslim women may only enter into marriage with Muslim men, On the other hand, the Qur'an allows Muslim men to marry women of the People of the Book
People of the Book
People of the Book is a term used to designate non-Muslim adherents to faiths which have a revealed scripture called, in Arabic, Al-Kitab . The three types of adherents to faiths that the Qur'an mentions as people of the book are the Jews, Sabians and Christians.In Islam, the Muslim scripture, the...
, a term which includes Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and Christians, but they must be chaste
Chastity
Chastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....
. However, fiqh law has held that it is makruh (reprehensible, though not outright forbidden) for a Muslim man to marry a non-Muslim woman in a non-Muslim country. Notable scholar Bilal Philips
Bilal Philips
Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips is a contemporary Islamic scholar, teacher, speaker, and author, resident in Qatar...
has said the verse that permits Muslim men to marry non-Muslim women is not valid anymore today due to several reasons including its misunderstood interpretation. One explanation for marriage restrictions is that they are pursuant to the principle that Muslims may not place themselves in a position inferior to that of the followers of other religions.
Marriage within some predominantly Muslim countries still retains practises from pre-Islamic times. Endogamy, virilocality and polygyny are common in some Islamic countries. Everywhere, however, polygamy is outlawed or restricted by new family codes, for example the Moudawwana in Morocco.Polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
is permitted under restricted conditions, but it is not widespread. However, it is strongly discouraged in the Qur'an, which says, 'do justice to them all, but you won't be able to, so don't fall for one totally while ignoring other wife(wives)'. This also must be taken in historical context, as this was actually a restriction on the number of wives men of the Arabian tribes can take. Sometimes Pre-Islamic men could have up to eight wives. Women are not allowed to engage in polyandry
Polyandry
Polyandry refers to a form of marriage in which a woman has two or more husbands at the same time. The form of polyandry in which a woman is married to two or more brothers is known as "fraternal polyandry", and it is believed by many anthropologists to be the most frequently encountered...
, whereas men are allowed to engage in polygyny
Polygyny
Polygyny is a form of marriage in which a man has two or more wives at the same time. In countries where the practice is illegal, the man is referred to as a bigamist or a polygamist...
.
A marriage of pleasure, where a man pays a sum of money to a woman or her family in exchange for a temporary spousal relationship, is an ancient practise that has been revived in Iraq in recent years. Its practitioners cite sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law as permitting the practise. Women's rights groups have condemned it as a form of legalized prostitution.
Behaviour within marriage
The Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
considers the love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
between men and women to be a Sign of God. Husbands are asked to be kind to their wives and wives are asked to be kind to their husbands. The Qur'an also encourages discussion and mutual agreement in family decisions.
Muslim scholars have adopted differing interpretations of An-Nisa, 34
An-Nisa, 34
In the Qur'an, verse 34 of Surah an-Nisa concerns the issue of marital relations in Islam. This verse is interpreted by some Muslims as giving women complete control over their own income and property, while obliging men to be responsible for maintaining their female relatives...
, a Sura of the Qur'an. In the event where a woman rebels against her husband, Muslim scholars disagree on what is prescribed by the Sura. According to some interpretations, it is permissible for the man to then lightly beat his spouse. However, this is disputed by many scholars who contend that the expression used alludes to temporary physical separation.
Sexuality
Some hold that Islam enjoins sexual pleasure within marriage; see Asra Nomani's polemic "Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Bedroom". Some examples of this influence are set out below.A high value is placed on female chastity
Chastity
Chastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....
(not to be confused with celibacy
Celibacy
Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...
). To protect women from accusations of unchaste behaviour, the scripture lays down severe punishments towards those who make false allegations about a woman's chastity. However, in some societies, an accusation is rarely questioned and the woman who is accused rarely has a chance to defend herself in a fair and just manner. This is always due to the local cultural customs and not a result of Islamic teachings.
Female genital mutilation has been erroneously associated with Islam. In fact it is practiced predominantly in Africa, where in certain areas it has acquired a religious dimension due to the justification that the practise is used to ensure female chastity. A UNICEF study of fourteen African countries found no correlation between religion and prevalence of female genital mutilation. In Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
, where "health campaigners estimate that more than 70 percent of Mauritanian girls undergo the partial or total removal of their external genitalia for non-medical reasons", 34 Islamic scholars signed a fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
banning the practice in January 2010. Their aim was to prevent people from citing religion as a justification for genital mutilation. The authors cited the work of Islamic legal expert Ibn al-Hajj as support for their assertion that "[s]uch practices were not present in the Maghreb countries over the past centuries". FGM is "not an instinctive habit, according to the Malkis; therefore, it was abandoned in northern and western regions of the country," added the authors.
Birth control
Islam, as the pre-Islamic Arabic culture before it, is natalist, and promotes the birth of as many children as a Muslim couple can produce. However, under certain circumstances, it is permissible according to Islamic doctrine to limit (tahdid an-nasl) or at least control (azl) reproduction, without suffering the fate of a penalty for the gesture. Limiting the number of children is recommended when a family lacks the resources to provide for them. General opinions among Muslims can sometimes be lenient with women who, being weakened, seek to end an unwanted pregnancy, particularly if her health is endangered or if she has given birth many times. These conditions were supplemented in the writings of Al-Ghazzali (1058-1111), with the clause, "if the woman fears for her beauty" ("ida khafat al-mar'a 'ala jamâliha"). However, these permissive attitudes are contrary to some teaching of current Islamic theologians. Abortion (isqât al-ham or ijhadh) is not outlawed in itself, on the condition that the embryo is less than 120 days in gestation, the point at which Muslim teaching considers the pregnancy to have progressed too far for an abortion to be permissible.Divorce
In Islam, in some circumstances, a woman can initiate a divorce. According to Sharia Law, a woman can file a case in the courts for a divorce in a process called Khal'a, meaning "release from". However, under most Islamic schools of jurisprudenceFiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
, both partners must unanimously agree to the divorce in order for it to be granted. To prevent irrational decisions and for the sake of the family's stability, Islam enjoins that both parties observe a waiting period (of roughly three months) before the divorce is finalized.
Sharia Law states that divorce has to be confirmed on three separate occasions and not, as is commonly believed, simply three times at once. The first two instances the woman and the man are still in legal marriage. The third occasion of pronouncing divorce in the presence of the woman, the man is no longer legally the husband and therefore has to leave the house. The purpose of this procedure of divorce in Islam is to encourage reconciliation where possible. Even after divorce, the woman should wait three monthly cycles during which her husband remains responsible for her and her children's welfare and maintenance. He is not permitted to drive her out of the house. This process may leave the woman destitute should her family not take her back or the ex-husband fail to support her and possibly his children.
After the third pronouncement they are not allowed to get back together as husband and wife, unless first the wife is divorced in another lawful and fully consummated marriage. This rule was made to discourage men from easily using the verbal declaration of divorce by knowing that after the third time there will be no way to return to the wife and thus encourage men's tolerance and patience.
Usually, assuming her husband demands a divorce, the divorced wife keeps her mahr (dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
), both the original gift and any supplementary property specified in the marriage contract. She is also given child support
Child support
In family law and public policy, child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other relationship...
until the age of weaning, at which point the child's custody will be settled by the couple or by the courts.
In actual practice and outside of Islamic judicial theory, a woman’s right to divorce is often extremely limited compared with that of men in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. While men can divorce their wives easily, women face many legal and financial obstacles. In practice in most of the Muslim world
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
today divorce can be quite involved as there may be separate secular procedures to follow as well.
In some instances, a Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
court may pronounce a marriage dissolved as a punitive measure against a woman who they have deemed to be haram, or sinful. In a 2005 case in India, a Muslim woman named Imrana turned to a Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
court to complain of being raped by her father-in-law, Ali Mohammed, and her marriage was dissolved by the court on these grounds. Although India is a secular country, Muslim communities in rural India generally make use of the Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
judicial system rather than the secular one. The Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
verdict was upheld by the Indian Muslim seminary Darul ul Uloom Madrasa, which issued a fetwah in support of it. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, consisting of 41 Muslim scholars, also upheld the verdict. In this instance, Imrana refused to accept the verdict of the Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
court. Her case was heard in a secular court, which resulted in Ali Mohammed receiving an eight year sentence and a fine.
This contentious area of religious practice and tradition is being increasingly challenged by those promoting more liberal interpretations of Islam
Liberal movements within Islam
Progressive Muslims have produced a considerable body of liberal thought within Islam or "progressive Islam" ; but some consider progressive Islam and liberal Islam as two distinct movements)...
.
In contrast to the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
where divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
was relatively uncommon until modern times, and in contrast to the low rates of divorce in the modern Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, divorce was a more common occurrence in certain states of the late medieval Muslim world
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
. In the Mamluk Sultanate
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
and Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, the rate of divorce was higher than it is today in the modern Middle East. The Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
is explicit in addressing zawaj al-hall, or a disrupted marriage, where a man intends to remarry a former wife for a second time; (2:230) indicates that for the second marriage to be lawful for the former husband, the former wife must have been remarried during the intervening time to a second man since the renunciation of the previous marriage. The intention behind this Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
passage was to end abuses of the right to marital renunciation dating from ancient customs.
In medieval Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Al-Sakhawi
Al-Sakhawi
Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Rahman al-Sakhawi was a reputable Shafi'i Muslim hadith scholar and historian who was born in Cairo. "Al-Sakhawi" refers to the village of Sakha in Egypt, where his relatives belonged. He was a prolific writer that excelled in the knowledge of hadith, tafsir,...
recorded the marital history of 500 women, the largest sample
Sampling (statistics)
In statistics and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population....
of married women in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, and found that at least a third of all women in the Mamluk Sultanate
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
of Egypt and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
married more than once, with many marrying three or more times. According to Al-Sakhawi, as many as three out of ten marriages in 15th century Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
ended in divorce. In the early 20th century, some villages in western Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
and the Malay peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
had divorce rates as high as 70%.
Movement and travel
European Council for Fatwa and Research
The European Council for Fatwa and Research is a Dublin-based private foundation, founded in London on 29 March - 30 March 1997 on the initiative of the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe...
, this prohibition arose from fears for women's safety when travel was more dangerous. Some scholars relax this prohibition for journeys likely to be safe, such as travel with a trustworthy group of men or men and women, or travel via a modern train or plane when the woman will be met upon arrival.
Sheikh Ayed Al-Qarni, a Saudi Islamic scholar, has said that neither the Qur'an nor the sunnah
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
prohibits women from driving and that it is better for a woman to drive herself than to be driven by a stranger without a legal escort. (He also stated, however, that he "personally will not allow [his] wife or daughters or sisters to drive.") Women are forbidden to drive in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
per a 1990 fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
(religious ruling); Saudi Arabia is currently the only Muslim country that bans women from driving. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, they issued a 2001 decree that also banned women from driving. John Esposito
John Esposito
John Louis Esposito is a professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University...
, professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, has argued that these restrictions originate from cultural customs and not Islam.
Dress code
Hijab is the Qur'anic requirement that Muslims, both male and female, dress and behave modestly. The most important Qur'anic verse relating to hijab is suraSura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
24:31, which says, "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts and not to display their adornment except that which ordinarily appears thereof and to draw their headcovers over their chests and not to display their adornment except to their
There are regional and sectarian variations of the veil associated with hijab. Depending upon local views regarding female modesty, they may or may not cover the face or the eyes, or the entire body. These variations include:
- HijabHijabThe word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
- A scarf covering the hair. - ChadorChadorA chādor or chādar is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many Iranian women and female teenagers in public spaces. Wearing this garment is one possible way in which a Muslim woman can follow the Islamic dress code known as ḥijāb. A chador is a full-body-length semicircle of fabric that is...
- A cloak covering the head and body, but leaving the face uncovered; worn by many women in Iran when outside the home. - Shayla - A long rectangular scarf, pinned or tucked at the shoulder, leaving the face uncovered; worn by many women in the Persian Gulf region.
- Khimar - A long rectangular scarf, covering the head, neck and shoulders, but leaving the face uncovered.
- BurkaBurqaA burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
- Covers the entire head and body, including the eyes; the wearer sees through a cloth mesh eye veil sewn into the burka. - Al-Amira - A two-piece veil that includes a close-fitting cap and a tube-shaped scarf covering the head and neck, but leaving the face uncovered.
- NiqabNiqabA niqab is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb...
- A veil that leaves the eye clear (although it may be worn with an eye veil), and worn with a headscarf.
The hijab, and the veil in particular, have often been viewed by many as a sign of oppression of Muslim women. The wearing of the hijab has become controversial in countries where Muslims are a minority, and where majority secular opinions regard the hijab as violating women's freedom, especially in Europe amid increasing immigration of Muslims. The 2006 United Kingdom debate over veils
United Kingdom debate over veils
The British debate over veils began in October 2006 when the MP and government minister Jack Straw wrote in his local newspaper, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, that, while he did not want to be "prescriptive", he preferred talking to women who did not wear a niqab as he could see their face,...
and the 2004 French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
The French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools bans wearing conspicuous religious symbols in French public primary and secondary schools...
are two notable examples. However, it is argued that if it is acceptable for a Christian Nun to cover her head and body for religious reasons, then why is it not for a Muslim woman? In France, the law banning the wearing of a face veil in public is being enforced. Sentencing includes a 150 euro fine and a citizenship course. Two women were detained in April 2011 when the law came into force.
In some countries where Muslims are a minority, there is much less public opposition to the practise, although concerns about it are discussed. Canadian media, for example, have covered controversies where concerns have been raised over the veil being a possible security risk, as in cases where Muslim women have refused to remove their niqab or burka veil for voter identification at polls. In 2007, the federal government of Canada introduced a bill to ban face coverings for voter identification, but this bill was dropped as not required:
Women in religious life
In Islam, there is no difference between men and women's relationship to God; they receive identical rewards and punishments for their conduct.According to a saying attributed to Muhammad, women are allowed to go to mosques. However, as Islam spread, it became unusual for women to worship in mosques because of fears of unchastity caused by interaction between sexes; this condition persisted until the late 1960s. Since then, women have become increasingly involved in the mosque, though men and women generally worship separately. (Muslims explain this by citing the need to avoid distraction during prayer prostrations that raise the buttocks while the forehead touches the ground.) Separation between sexes ranges from men and women on opposite sides of an aisle, to men in front of women (as was the case in the time of Muhammad), to women in second-floor balconies or separate rooms accessible by a door for women only.
In Islam's earlier history, female religious scholars were relatively common. Mohammad Akram Nadwi
Mohammad Akram Nadwi
Mohammad Akram Nadwi is a scholar of Islam from the Indian city of Jaunpur. He is currently a research fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.-Education:...
, a Sunni religious scholar, has compiled biographies of 8,000 female jurists, and orientalist Ignaz Goldziher
Ignaz Goldziher
Ignác Goldziher , often credited as Ignaz Goldziher, was a Hungarian scholar of Islam. Along with the German Theodore Noldeke and the Dutch Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, he is considered the founder of modern Islamic studies in Europe.-Biography:Born in Székesfehérvár of Jewish heritage, he was...
earlier estimated that 15 percent of medieval hadith scholars were women. After the 16th century, however, female scholars became fewer, and today — while female activists and writers are relatively common — there has not been a significant female jurist in over 200 years. Opportunities for women's religious education exist, but cultural barriers often keep women from pursuing such a vocation.
Women's right to become imams
Women as imams
There is a current controversy among Muslims regarding the circumstances in which women may act as imams—that is, lead a congregation in salah...
, however, is disputed by many. A fundamental role of an imam (religious leader) in a mosque is to lead the salah (congregational prayers). Generally, women are not allowed to lead mixed prayers. However, some argue that Muhammad gave permission to Ume Warqa to lead a mixed prayer at the mosque of Dar.
Hui
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
women are self aware of their relative freedom as Chinese women in contrast to the status of Arab women in countries like Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
where Arab women are restricted and forced to wear encompassing clothing. Hui women point out these restrictions as "low status", and feel better to be Chinese than to be Arab, claiming that it is Chinese women's advanced knowledge of the Qur'an which enables them to have equality between men and women.
Sufi female mystics
The Islamic mystic movement known as SufismSufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
is believed to have been created by a female holy woman, Rabiah al-Basri (d. 801). She created the doctrine of "disinterested love of God".
Sufi Islam teaches the doctrine of tariqa, meaning following a spiritual path in daily living habits. To support followers of this concept, separate institutions for men (ta'ifa, hizb, rabita) and women (khanqa, rabita, derga) were created. Initiates to these groups pursued a progression of seven stages of spiritual discipline, called makamat (stations) or ahwal (spiritual states).
Current female religious scholars
There are a number of prominent female Islamic scholars. They generally focus on questioning gender-based interpretations of the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, the traditions of the Prophet and early Islamic history. Some notable Muslim women scholars are: Azizah al-Hibri, Amina Wadud
Amina Wadud
Amina Wadud is an American scholar of Islam with a progressive focus on Qur'an exegesis . As an Islamic feminist, she has addressed mixed-sex congregations, giving a sermon in South Africa in 1994, and leading Friday prayers in the United States in 2005...
, Fatima Mernissi, Asma Barlas
Asma Barlas
Asma Barlas is an academic educated in Pakistan and the United States. She is the Director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity of the department of politics at Ithaca College, New York. Her specialties include comparative and international politics, Islam and Qur'anic...
, Riffat Hassan
Riffat Hassan
Riffat Hassan is a Pakistani-American theologian and a leading Islamic feminist scholar of the Qur'an.-Early life and career:Hassan was born in Lahore, Pakistan to an upper-class Sayid Muslim family. Her grandfather was Hakim Ahmed Shuja', a Pakistani poet, writer and playwright...
, Leila Ahmed
Leila Ahmed
Leila Ahmed is an Egyptian American writer on Islam and Islamic feminism as well as being the first women's studies professor at Harvard Divinity School.- Background :...
, Aisha Abdul-Rahman, and Merryl Wyn Davies
Merryl Wyn Davies
Merryl Wyn Davies is a Welsh Muslim scholar, writer and broadcaster who specializes in Islam, and the co-author of many books and articles with Ziauddin Sardar. A leading exponent of Islamic anthropology, she is Director of the , London.-Biography:...
.
Women and politics
Ume Warqa
Umm Warqa was a companion of the prophet Muhammad. Muhammad allowed her to lead mixed prayers at the Mosque of Dar. She was appointed by the Caliph Umar to lead the market committees of Medina and Mecca.-References:...
, and Samra Binte Wahaib took part in political activities. Other historical Muslim female leaders include Razia Sultana
Razia Sultana
Razia al-Din , throne name Jalâlat ud-Dîn Raziyâ , usually referred to in history as Razia Sultan, was the Sultan of Delhi in India from 1236 to May 1240. She was of Seljuq slave ancestry and like some other Muslim princesses of the time, she was trained to lead armies and administer kingdoms if...
, who ruled the Sultanate of Delhi from 1236 to 1239, and Shajarat ad-Durr, who ruled Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
from 1250 to 1257.
In the past several decades, many countries in which Muslims are a majority, including Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
have been led by women. Nearly one-third of the Parliament of Egypt
Parliament of Egypt
The Parliament of Egypt is the currently dissolved bicameral legislature of Egypt. The Parliament is located in Cairo, Egypt's capital. As the legislative branch of the Egyptian government, the Parliament enacts laws, approves the general policy of the State, the general plan for economic and...
also consists of women.
According to Sheikh Zoubir Bouchikhi, Imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston’s Southeast Mosque, nothing in Islam specifically allows or disallows voting
Voting
Voting is a method for a group such as a meeting or an electorate to make a decision or express an opinion—often following discussions, debates, or election campaigns. It is often found in democracies and republics.- Reasons for voting :...
by women. Until recently most Muslim nations were non-democratic, but most today allow their citizens to have some level of voting and control over their government. The disparate times at which women’s suffrage was granted in Muslim-majority countries
Timeline of first women's suffrage in majority-Muslim countries
This timeline lists the dates of the first women's suffrage in majority-Muslim countries....
is indicative of the varied traditions and values present within the Muslim world
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
. Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
has had women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
since 1918.
Saudi women have been allowed to vote in some elections.\\
Modern debate on the status of women in Islam
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
, and the lives of prominent women in the early period of Muslim history
Muslim history
Muslim history is the history of Muslim people. In the history of Islam the followers of the religion of Islam have impacted political history, economic history, and military history...
as evidence. Where conservatives have seen evidence that existing gender asymmetries are divinely ordained, feminists have seen more egalitarian ideals in early Islam. Still others have argued that this discourse is essentialist
Essentialism
In philosophy, essentialism is the view that, for any specific kind of entity, there is a set of characteristics or properties all of which any entity of that kind must possess. Therefore all things can be precisely defined or described...
and a historical, and have urged that Islamic doctrine not be the only framework within which discussion occurs.
Conservatives and the Islamic movement
Conservatives reject the assertion that different laws prescribed for men and women imply that men are more valuable than women. Ali ibn Musa Al-reza reasoned that at the time of marriage a man has to pay something to his prospective bride, and that men are responsible for both their wives' and their own expenses but women have no such responsibility.The nebulous revivalist movement
Islamic revival
Islamic revival refers to a revival of the Islamic religion throughout the Islamic world, that began roughly sometime in 1970s and is manifested in greater religious piety, and community feeling, and in a growing adoption of Islamic culture, dress, terminology, separation of the sexes, and values...
termed Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
is one of the most dynamic movements within Islam in the 20th and 21st centuries. The experience of women in Islamist states has been varied. Women in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan
Taliban treatment of women
While in power in Afghanistan, the Taliban became notorious internationally for their treatment of women. Their stated aim was to create "secure environments where the chasteness and dignity of women may once again be sacrosanct," reportedly based on Pashtunwali beliefs about living in purdah.Women...
faced treatment condemned by the international community. Women were forced to wear the burqa
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
in public, not allowed to work, not allowed to be educated after the age of eight, and faced public flogging and execution for violations of the Taliban's laws. The position of women in Iran, which has been a theocracy
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
since its 1979 revolution, is more complex. Iranian Islamists are ideologically in favour of allowing female legislators in Iran's parliament
Majlis of Iran
The National Consultative Assembly of Iran , also called The Iranian Parliament or People's House, is the national legislative body of Iran...
and 60% of university students are women.
Liberal Islam, Islamic feminism, and other progressive criticism
Liberal movements within Islam
Progressive Muslims have produced a considerable body of liberal thought within Islam or "progressive Islam" ; but some consider progressive Islam and liberal Islam as two distinct movements)...
have urged that ijtihad
Ijtihad
Ijtihad is the making of a decision in Islamic law by personal effort , independently of any school of jurisprudence . as opposed to taqlid, copying or obeying without question....
, a form of critical thinking, be used to develop a more progressive form of Islam with respect to the status of women. In addition, Islamic feminists have advocated for women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
, gender equality
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
, and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam, pioneers of Islamic feminism have also used secular and western feminist discourses and have sought to include Islamic feminism in the larger global feminist movement. Islamic feminists seek to highlight the teachings of equality in Islam to question patriarchal interpretations of Islamic teachings. Others point out the incredible amount of flexibility of shariah law, which can offer greater protections for women if the political will to do is present.
After the September 11, 2001, attacks, international attention was focused on the condition of women in the Muslim world. Critics asserted that women are not treated as equal members of Muslim societies and criticized Muslim societies for condoning this treatment. Some critics have gone so far as to make allegations of gender apartheid
Gender apartheid
The term gender apartheid, like sex apartheid, is a term used to describe economic and social sexual discrimination against women, including strict sex segregation, as well as an "absence of justice for women in much of the non-Western world." It is used especially to describe treatment of women...
due to women's status. At least one critic has alleged that Western academics, especially feminists, have ignored the plight of Muslim women in order to be considered "politically correct
Politically Correct
Politically Correct may refer to:*Political correctness, language, ideas, policies, or behaviour seeking to minimize offence to groups of people-See also:*Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, book by James Finn Garner, published in 1994...
."
The Indonesian Islamic professor Nasaruddin Umar
Nasaruddin Umar
Professor Dr. Nasaruddin Umar is the founder of the Indonesian interfaith organization Masyarakat Dialog antar Umat Beragama and is a director in the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs...
is at the forefront of a reform movement from within Islam that aims at giving women equal status. Among his works is a book "The Qur'an for women", which provides a new feminist interpretation.
Some Muslim women exposed to the growth in civil rights accessible to secular or non-Muslim women have protested to strengthen their own rights within Islamic communities. One example is Malaysia, where 60% of the population is Muslim, and where there are separate parallel legal systems for secular law and sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law. In 2006, Marina Mahathir, the daughter of Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, published an editorial in the Malaysia Star newspaper to denounce what she termed "a growing form of apartheid" for Malaysia's Muslim women: She pointed out that polygamy was illegal in Malaysia for non-Muslims but not for Muslims, and that child custody arrangements for Muslims were biased towards fathers as opposed to the shared-custody arrangements of non-Muslim parents. Women's groups in Malaysia began campaigning in the 1990s to have female sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
judges appointed to the sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
legal system in the country, and in 2010 two female judges were appointed.
See also
Religious topics- Female figures in the Qur'an
- Muhammad's wives
- Islamic feminismIslamic feminismIslamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework...
- Sex segregation and Islam
Political topics
- Female political leaders in Islam and in Muslim-majority countriesFemale political leaders in Islam and in Muslim-majority countriesWomen in Islamic societies have held many positions of political significance. The legitimacy of these positions, from a religious and cultural perspective, is debated.-Islamic texts:...
- Timeline of first women's suffrage in majority-Muslim countriesTimeline of first women's suffrage in majority-Muslim countriesThis timeline lists the dates of the first women's suffrage in majority-Muslim countries....
Related topics
- Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in IslamCairo Declaration on Human Rights in IslamThe Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam is a declaration of the member states of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference adopted in Cairo in 1990, which provides an overview on the Islamic perspective on human rights, and affirms Islamic Shari'ah as its sole source...
- NamusNamusNamus is the Arabic word of a concept of an ethical category, a virtue, in Middle Eastern patriarchal character...
- Women in Arab societiesWomen in Arab societiesWomen in the Arab world, as in other areas of the world, have throughout history experienced discrimination and have been subject to restrictions of their freedoms and rights. Some of these practices are based on religious beliefs, but many of the limitations are cultural and emanate from tradition...
- List of Muslim reformers
Further reading
ScriptureBooks
- Bernadette AndreaBernadette AndreaBernadette Andrea is a Professor of English at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she was also the chair of the Department of English, Classics, and Philosophy. Her research focuses on women's writing from the sixteenth through the eighteenth century, with emphasis on Western European...
, Women and Islam in Early Modern English Literature, Cambridge University Press, 2008 Amazon.com: Women and Islam in Early Modern English Literature (9780521867641): Bernadette Andrea: Books - Leila AhmedLeila AhmedLeila Ahmed is an Egyptian American writer on Islam and Islamic feminism as well as being the first women's studies professor at Harvard Divinity School.- Background :...
, Women and Gender in Islam: Historical roots of a modern debate, Yale University Press, 1992 - Karen ArmstrongKaren ArmstrongKaren Armstrong FRSL , is a British author and commentator who is the author of twelve books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic nun, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical faith...
, The Battle for GodThe Battle for GodThe Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam is a book by best-selling author Karen Armstrong published in 2000 by Knopf/HarperCollins which the New York Times described as "one of the most penetrating, readable, and prescient accounts to date of the rise of the...
: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, London, HarperCollins/Routledge, 2001 - Alya Baffoun, Women and Social Change in the Muslim Arab World, In Women in Islam. Pergamon Press, 1982.
- Nonie Darwish, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic LawCruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic LawCruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law is a book authored by human rights activist Nonie Darwish and Thomas Nelson....
, Thomas Nelson, 2008. ISBN 9781595551610 - John EspositoJohn EspositoJohn Louis Esposito is a professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University...
and Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Islam, Gender, and Social Change, Oxford University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-19-511357-8 - Gavin Hambly, Women in the Medieval Islamic World, Palgrave MacmillanPalgrave MacmillanPalgrave Macmillan is an international academic and trade publishing company, headquartered in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom and with offices in New York, Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong, Delhi, Johannesburg. It was created in 2000 when St...
, 1999, ISBN 0-312-22451-6 - Suad Joseph, ed. Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures. Leiden: Brill, Vol 1-4, 2003-2007.
External links
- Oxford Islamic Studies Online - numerous entries dealing with the role of women in Islamic societies.
- www.IslamsWomen.com Muslim Woman Status, Rights, Hijab, Marriage, and More – Official Website.
- The Rights And Duties of Women In Islam
- Women and Islam A set of essays discussing women in Islam, including polygamy, inheritance, marriage to non-Muslims, birth control, and Islamic dress. Also highlighting Quranic and Biblical references concerning women.
- Women in Muslim History: Traditional Perspectives and New Strategies
- My Mother and My Religion: Mothers in Islam
- WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST: PROGRESS OR REGRESS? Middle East Review of International Affairs, Volume 10, No. 2, Article 2 - June 2006
- The Status of Women in Islam by Dr. Jamal Badawi
- Women in Islam vs. Women in the Judeo-Christian Tradition
- Women in Islam
- The Noble Women Scholars of Hadeeth
- Division of Inheritance in Islam