Essay/Term paper: Women in muslim society

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Social Issues

Women in Muslim Society


Muslim society over the centuries has treated women as second class
citizens. It's been this way since the beginning of time. Women are treated in
this manor for a number of reasons, but all leading back to the Quran. Women
are considered inferior to men, are treated unfairly in marriage, and even are
oppressed legally, but all are approved of in the Quran. It describes in detail
the way that a women is to be treated and the way a women should treat her
husband.
The Quran expresses the equality of the sexes in the following. "And
their Lord answereth them, `I will not suffer the work of him among you that
worketh, whether of male or female, to be lost. the one of you is the issue of
the other."(Q 3:195) So while the Qur`an holds the works of men and women in
equal regard and acknowledges that they are completely interdependent to their
very existence, They are not regarded as having equal worth as people. The fact
that men are a step above the women and superior to them is evident in the
following verses. "And it is for the women to act as they (the husbands) act by
them, in all fairness; but the men are a step above them."(Q 2:228) "Men have
authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the
other."(Q4:34) Women are thought of as being lower in intellect and spirituals
in comparison to men. In the Quran it states, "And of His signs is that He
created for you, of yourselves, spouses, that you may repose in them."(Q 30"21)
This causes many Muslims to look at women as creations like the animals and
plants and other useful things created by Allah. Muslims believe that women are
lacking many of the traits that men possess. The believe that women are lacking
gratitude as well as intelligence. The Hadith speaks of this subject saying,
"Women are ungrateful to their husbands and are ungrateful for the favours and
the good (charitable) deeds done to them. If you have always been good
(benevolent) to one of them and then she sees something in you (not of her
liking), she will say, `I have never received and good from you." Also women
are not reliable witnesses due to their lack of intelligence and their emotional
state. It is said that, "Women was made to bear and feed children. Therefore
she is very emotional. And she is forgetful, because if she did not forget how
it is to give birth she would not have another child. That is why she will not
be as reliable a witness as a man."
Women have so many things separating them from men in the Muslim society.
It is believed that every woman has ten awrah. (translation: the external
genitals, especially of the female, Latin-something to be ashamed of ) It is
perceived that women are awrah and that is one reason that all women must not
show any part of their body along with staying in the house. It is believed
that the woman's place is in the home and that she shouldn't even leave the
house to pray at the mosque, but rather she is closer to Allah while inside the
home. Some groups such as the Malikiyah and Hanafiyah do allow the woman's face
to be shown, but only if the face is not naturally beautiful and makeup is not
worn. It is thought that Allah decreed that the face be veiled not for the
chastity of the woman, but for the chastity of the men who might look at her.
For this defeats the woman's biggest evil her sexuality.
It is believed that a woman's way to paradise is through her husband.
All the man's needs must be met before anything else may be completed. If a
woman is cooking and her husband desires sexual pleasures it is better to let
the food burn than to deny her husband. This is true because if the husband is
not satisfied then he be cannot at peace to pray to Allah therefore the woman is
in bad favor with Allah and all the angels until she satisfies her husband again.
There is never anything that a woman can do to repay her husband for taking her
as his wife. It is a noble sacrifice for a man to share his life with a woman;
she being deficient in mind, religion, and gratitude. There is no sacrifice she
can make to repay the favour he has done for her.
The rights of Muslim women and men are as you might expect them to be.
The women's rights are very simple as stated in the Quran, "It is that you shall
give her food when you have taken your food, that you shall clothe her when you
have clothed yourself, that you shall not slap her on the face, nor revile her,
not desert her except within the house. Other than that she has no rights, he
has the right to beat her if she does one of four things. One if she doesn't
wear the fineries wanted by the husband. Two if she refuses sexual intercourse.
Three when she is told to bath and she refuses. Fourth when she goes abroad
without permission of her husband. These are all legal caused for a man to beat
his wife.
It is also the right of the man to marry up to four wives and to have as
many slave girls as he sees fit. Adultery is one of the worst sins a man can
commit so Allah allows him to have four wives and as many slave girls as needed
to satisfy his lust. Again freeing him from his lust allows him to be more at
peace and better able to pray to Allah. There is one provision dealing with
slave girls though, a man is only allowed to have sexual intercourse with a
slave girl if he has paid the extra amount of money to the seller for that
benefit.
Men also have all the rights after a divorce in matters dealing with the
custody of a child. "The conditions of the custody of the children is as
follows. First the wife should not reject Islam. If she rejects Islam, she has
no right to the custody of the children. Second, she must be of good character
for if it was proven that she is corrupted by illicit sex, or theft, or has a
low trade such as a professional mourner, or a dancer, she loses her right to
custody. Third, she is not allowed to marry anyone except the father of the
child. If she remarries, she has no right to custody, unless her new husband is
related to the child as a paternal uncle. But if she marries a foreigner she
has no right to custody. fourthly, she must not leave the child without
supervision. Especially if the child is a female, because females need
protection. So if the mother had to go outside for a long period and so neglect
her child, she has no right to the custody of the child. Fifthly, if the father
is poor, and the mother refused the custody of the child except for payment, and
his aunt said "I will look after him for free,"then the aunt will have the right
to the custody of the child. To follow the religion of Islam is not a condition
to the right of custody, for if the husband is married to one of the people of
the Book, she has the right to custody as long as he is safe from apostasy, or
corruption. But if that is not so, such as he say her taking the child to a
church, or feeding him pigs meat, or giving him wine, then the father has the
right to take the child from her, and sanity is a pre-requisite that is agreed
upon by all"
A husband may be one of the only things a woman may choose under Islam.
Marriages are no longer forced by fathers and this practice is actually
discouraged. If a man knows that a father is trying to force a marriage it is
his obligation not to marry the woman. Every woman must marry of her own free
will or the marriage is null and void. This is also true if a dowry isn't
included in the marriage. A dowry is given to the father for the securing of
the sexual rights of the woman. This is also true outside of marriage. If a
man has sexual intercourse with a married woman, by mistake, thinking that she
was his wife, then he must pay to her and not to her husband a dowry equal to
her social worth. This is even stated in the Quran in 4:24 when it is said,
"Such wives as you enjoy thereby, give them their wages apportionate."
Under Islam when a couple are married the property and everything on it
don't belong to the couple as a whole, but rather remains the husbands. This
forces the wife to rely on the husband for her daily needs. (i.e.
food,clothing,sexual pleasure) This gives the man a very large advantage
because the woman cannot survive without his support and a man may refuse
support for a number of reasons.

1. If she leaves the house without his permission
2. If she refuses to give herself to him
3. If the woman is a renegade
4. If the woman who obeys the husband's son or his father
or kiss either with lust or anything that might put her
relation with her husband on a prohibited degree.
5. If the marriage contract is imperfect (i.e. if she had sex
with someone by mistake, the man thinking she was his
Wife)
6. If the wife is too young to have sex
7. If the wife is imprisoned even if innocent
8. If the wife doesn't surrender herself in his home on the
day due to illness.
9. If a wife was raped
10. If a wife goes to perform a pilgrimage (she in this case
would not be under her husbands care at this time)

These instances of inequality among men and women of Islam where not the
isolated or uncommon examples. I found that for the most part this is the way
the Islamic women live their day to day lives. Unusual to Americans this is the
norm for that part of the world and many people both men and women are fighting
to keep it that way. Many of their beliefs are suprising, but are their results
justified? Their goal is to secure a descent wholesome family free of adultery
and divorces. However unusual they believe their means are justified.