Women in Islam: Some Rights, No Equality

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Religious Context
Modern Developments
The Barriers of Islamophobia
Discussion
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Feminist discourse aims to discover why women become subjects to a great deal of oppression. Even in instances when women are given rights, they are often not on par with the rights granted to their male counterparts, which creates a vicious circle of struggling to attain more rights, which, again, do not meet the desired standards. In the Islamic context, the oppression, marginalization, and silencing of women have deep roots in religious history, with Sharia being the primary source of both law and ethics regarding the treatment of women. However, modern feminist research considers the treatment of women in the Muslim tradition from a negative standpoint, specifically, forcing submissiveness and mistreatment (Shizleen, 2018).

The complete experience of women in Islam is veiled by myths and misconceptions that have embedded into the feminist narrative and fail to be addressed time in time again (European Network Against Racism, 2016). Even though Muslim women do experience severe limitations that hinder their equality of opportunities, the Islamophobic agenda significantly influences their lives, leaving limited capacity to express one’s religious and traditional values freely. In addition, what many fail to recognize is that the current rights given to Muslim women are just ‘rights,’ and with the pressure from the Islamophobic agenda, they do not guarantee equality.

The Religious Context

In the Islamic religion, men and women are considered morally equal in God’s sight and are expected to fulfill the same duties of prayer, worship, faith, fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca. As mentioned in the Quran (3: 195), God said that he would “never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female – you are equal to one another.” According to historical records, Mohammad himself consulted women and took his opinions into consideration. In addition, at least one woman, Umm Waraqah, was made imam over her household. Women were allowed to pray in mosques unsegregated from men and, in the early Islamic period, were both instructors and pupils seeking knowledge and education.

Notwithstanding the principles of equality of men and women in Islamic tradition, women’s low status should be attributed not to the ideals set in the Quran but to the cultural norms of the patriarchal society (Abu-Lughod, 2013). As a result, the improvement in the women’s position became a significant problem for modern reforms embedded in Islam. Under such norms, women were greatly restricted in terms of education, seclusion, veiling, polygyny, and concubinage, which were intended to be limited by Islam and not facilitated.

Modern Developments

The Quran is considered the sourcebook for the Islamic principles and values; although, it does not constitute a comprehensive codebook. It replaced, changed, and substituted earlier tribal laws with such practices as the infanticide of females, the poor’s exploitation, murder, fornication, and adultery (Esposito, 2016). The majority of the reforms brought by the emergence of the Quran include regulations or moral guidance that limits and redefines the existing practices, with slavery and the status of women being the most prominent examples.

Even though slavery was not abolished, slaveowners were asked to allow their slaves to earn freedom. Forcing women slaves into prostitution was condemned, and women became entitled to their dower in marriage, where polygamy became restricted (Esposito, 2016). In addition, the Quran established an ethical norm of giving women rights of inheritance in a patriarchal society that used to limit it only to the relatives of male sex. Therefore, the establishment of the Quran as the religious ‘guidebook’ by which the Muslim society shall live significantly reduced the mistreatment of vulnerable members of society, although not eliminating it altogether.

The modern legislation of the Arab world regarding women’s status has undergone further changes. According to Nasir (1990), “far from being a subordinate and powerless follower of the man […] the woman under Islam, whether she is Muslim or not, has the last word, and the ultimate power to choose her life-partner. She enjoys full autonomy as far as her property is concerned, and is the beneficiary of securities that must be the envy of her western sister” (p. 2). These findings suggest that there has been significant progress made toward ensuring the rights of Muslim women, although not necessarily their equality.

A critical difference between the traditional practices and the current codes is the tendency of newly-developed standards to adhere to different law schools instead of focusing on one (Long-Bas, 2015). Examples of the modern principles of women’s rights include the minimum age requirement for marriage, the guarantee of a proper dower in all marriages, adequate compensation, and more (“Islamic family law: Egypt, Arab Republic of,” n.d.). However, Nasir (1990) makes it clear that awarding the abovementioned rights to women does not guarantee their equality to men in the Islamic tradition. The Quran clearly states that men are to be the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah gave them strength over the other and because they support them from their means (Quran 4:34). Thus, a righteous Muslim woman is devoutly obedient, which, by default, makes her unequal to a man.

The Barriers of Islamophobia

Considering the deeply-embedded issue of inequality within the Islamic patriarchal society, the bias and misconceptions of Islamophobia limit the opportunities of Muslim women to reach equality. Throughout history, Sunni researchers have taken excursive views on how they can interpret the Quran and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad, which resulted in the creation of the four approaches of legal thought (Elbasnaly & Sanders, 2020). Among the strictest are the Hanbali schools, the Saudi’s ultra-conservative Wahhabism and Salafism variants, which women’s rights in the eyes of the law where Sharia is practiced and enriched. Such schools of thought that significantly restrict women’s rights in Islam led to the emergence of negative attitudes toward the religion in general, which fail to consider the positive aspects.

The focus on women’s invisibility in Islam limits attempts to empower women in Muslim societies. Through the lens of Islamophobia, all societies that live under Sharia law are seen as the same, with women being subjected to the same levels of oppression. For example, in Saudi Arabia, women have become one of the most adamant fighters for their rights in the country, using all available methods, such as the media, to speak publicly of their mistreatment and the need to be awarded more rights. An instance of such success is the overturning of the ban on women’s driving in 2018, thanks to the Women2Drive campaign (Göl, 2018).

In addition, the example of Noor Tagouri, the first woman wearing a hijab in Playboy, shows the breaking of social limitations of Islamic patriarchy (Shapiro, 2016). However, conservative clerics disagree with the social reforms and newly-attained freedoms, pointing out that they erode cultural boundaries between men and women. The proponents of Islamophobia underlined the opposition of conservatives, thus suggesting that a Muslim society can never reach equality because of Islam’s deeply rooted inequality.

Islamophobia, therefore, dehumanizes Muslim women and denies their agency and accomplishments. Through the sole focus on the disadvantages of Islam and the limitations that it imposes, Western Islamophobic views ignore the political and patriarchal structures that enable women’s oppression. Activists are being silenced while the new and improved regulations are disregarded (Göl, 2018). Such an approach significantly reduces the success of feminist movements aimed at empowering Muslim women on their path to attain equality (Shaarawi, 1990). The urgency of gender equality in Islam is high at the moment; although, it is imperative to recognize the difference between granting rights and having equality.

Discussion

Because Islam and its principles are continuously being used against women and their rights, the current feminist movement must engage with the religion to clarify any misconceptions and misunderstandings. Importantly, since the majority of Muslim women aim to act in accordance with Islamic teachings, the understanding of religious principles is important for their liberation (Seggie & Neisler, 2010).

The cases of framing and stereotyping, such as the Homeland Season 4 campaign, reinforce the long history of Western media and the public misinterpreting Islam, contributing to Islamophobia (Karim, n.d.). In the campaign poster, the main character is seen wearing a red headscarf. In contrast, the rest of the women surrounding her wear burqas, implying that their covered appearance leads to their emphasized passivity (Karim, n.d.). The popularization of the stereotypical interpretations limits the opportunities to advocate for gender equality in Islam and through the means of the religion itself.

Considering the issues expressed in regard to the rights of Muslim women within their faith, significant attention should be given to the separation of religion and government. The solution offers great advantages to either party: while women can be given full rights and freedoms that guarantee equality, the critics of Islam can no longer equate state policies in Muslim societies to religious dogmas. Although achieving this is easier said than done, the starting point was marked by the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1979, with all Arab countries signing it, with significant reservations (Kharroub, 2015). As long as Arab countries continue imposing discriminatory practices against women, Islamophobic individuals will have the grounds to continue dismissing the positive aspects of the religion for women, which defeats the purpose of Muslim women’s liberation and equality.

Conclusion

Muslim women have rights, and some of such rights, especially property and monetary, exceed the ones awarded to women in Western societies. The religion of Islam implies the equality of men to women, with individuals of both genders being viewed the same in the eyes of God. However, the main challenge lies in the misconception of the religion as oppressive while it is the patriarchal structure of Muslim societies that is oppressive.

Any rights that women are given are just opportunities, which do not grant equality per se. The Islamophobia prevailing in the Western world adds to the problem – the misconceptions and misinterpretations of the religion limit Muslim women’s capacity to fight for their equality. Therefore, there is a need for the complete reevaluation of Islam’s treatment in the eyes of the media and the public for Muslim women to have the support they need to have equal rights to men.

References

Abu-Lughod, L. (2013). Do Muslim women need saving? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Elbasnaly, D., & Sanders, L. (2020). Women’s rights in Islam: Fighting for equality before the law. Web.

Esposito, J. (2016). Islam: The straight path (5th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

European Network Against Racism. (2016). Debunking myths on women’s rights, Muslim women, feminism and Islamophobia in Europe. Web.

Göl, A. (2018). Islamophobia is preventing the empowerment of Muslim women repressed by political agendas. The Conversation. Web.

Islamic family law: Egypt, Arab Republic of. (n.d.). Web.

Karim, M. (n.d.). Framing Muslim women: The problem with Homeland’s season 4 campaign. Web.

Long-Bas, N. (2015). The status of women under Islamic law and under modern Islamic legislation. By Jamal J. Nasir. Journal of Law and Religion, 15, 499-502.

Nasir, J. (1990). The status of women under Islamic law and under modern Islamic legislation. Graham and Trotman.

Seggie, F., & Neisler, G. (2010). Perceptions of female Muslim students who veil: Campus religion climate. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 13(1), 59-82.

Shaarawi, H. (1990). Pan-Arab feminism. The opening speech. In M. Badran & M. Cooke (Eds.), Opening the gates: A century of Arab feminist writing (pp. 338-340). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Shapiro, R. (2016). Noor Tagouri becomes the first woman to wear a hijab in Playboy. Huffington Post. Web.

Shizleen, A. (2018). Muslim veiled women and religious discrimination: A strength perspective. Web.

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