Much of how Westerners consume information about Islam comes via the most unflattering and biased outlets. The media, television programs, and films have often focused on the plight of Muslim women by selecting stories that stand out due to their instances of abuse and marginalization in the communities. It is rare, however, to find a separation or distinction being made between the women in question’s religion, society, tradition, culture, and family. It is easier for the stories to focus on lumping everything that makes a person unique together into one amorphous entity–that is, Islam. Muslim women living in or interacting with those in the West have surely felt pressure to “fight the man,” both literally and figuratively, by leaving the Hijab behind and fighting Islam as though it were in and of itself the oppressive structure in which they live. The problem with this frame of understanding is that it takes away any analysis required of the structure in which these women live.
Countries with a high population of Muslims are often called “Muslim countries” and usually refer to the Middle East, Central Asia, and a smattering of countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. (It is interesting to note that countries with a predominantly Christian population are not referred to as “Christian countries” by Western media). The tendency to refer to this collection of states as “Muslim” causes the reader to assume that these states are entirely controlled by the religion. This is false. Nearly all of the countries in the Middle East have a mixed system of government whose civil code incorporates European tradition with particular applications of Islamic law. Iran, Sudan and Saudi Arabia alone claim to rule their countries entirely by Islamic law, but there are differences even within their codes and application. To note, “Throughout history and throughout the Muslim world, sharia has been shaped and reshaped, influenced by local customs, reconstructed by colonial law, and more recently by national legislatures, administrators, courts and international treaties.” Just like laws around the world, the creation and interpretation of laws for society changes over time and this reflects the negotiation and renegotiation of issues in society among members of the communities.
In regards to women and their rights, this distinction is important to make because when we assume that a country is “Islamic” we are assuming that it enacts laws and policies against women because the state has the ultimate authority and wisdom to know what is right and what is wrong. However, all of these countries are led by autocratic institutions–whether they be kings, presidents, or religious leaders–who claim they and those they employ have more knowledge or say-so into interpreting women’s roles and rights in society. Below the level of government, these issues are being negotiated among Muslim women and men, much in the same manner that men and women demanded rights and changes in their societies in Europe and North America.
Topics such as needing male chaperones, driving cars, female genital mutilation (FGM), honor killings, and arranged marriages are all topics brought up when claiming Muslim women are oppressed and without agency in their own lives. It is true that in many cases these restrictions and expectations are placed upon women and horrific violence has happened against women–this cannot be denied at all, and those who carried it out must be brought to justice. The instances of these women, however, should not be assumed and applied to all Muslim women and that all of these practices are applied across Muslim countries. In many cases, these practices that are assumed to be “Islamic” are more cultural and existed in the culture even before Islam and practiced even among non-Muslims (like FGM).
In 2013, Egypt ranked as the “worst” country for women’s rights in the Arab world out of 22 countries. Egypt, like most “Muslim” countries, prides itself on its large Muslim population and its incorporation of Shari’a law into the civil code. Two of the reasons Egypt made the top of this notorious list is due to 2 particular issues. Sexual harassment and FGM is very high in Egypt, but we cannot attribute this to Islam. In fact, most of the Egyptian women who reported harassment were wearing Hijabs or Niqabs. Sexual harassment is not condoned in Islam and FGM was actually practiced prior to Islam’s institutionalization in the Arabian peninsula. It is practiced among non-Muslims in Egypt and beyond as well, as it was a traditional practice and has been condemned by Al-Azhar’s Grand Mufti.
Egyptian women are constantly negotiating changes within their society, whether it be religious or nonreligious topics. The main thing to note is that it must be negotiated by the women themselves and not imposed and enforced from outsiders looking in. People who do not live in Egypt (or any other country heavily populated by Muslims) and judge these women as powerless do not understand the complexities of these society by merely reading news articles or jumping between Quranic verses supposedly claiming this or that. As readers and supporters of women’s rights, it is important that we be available to assist if called upon, but realize that imposing anything on anyone never works. When people demand their rights or try to change things in their culture, gradually those changes happen. When has imposing anything on anyone ever worked out–long term?
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Marriage, Divorce, and Women’s Rights in Islam
As we continue our discussion of women’s rights in Islam, it is important for us to pay attention to context and history in order to understand the way women’s rights were understood during the time of the Prophet. By doing this, the role of women in the religion will make more sense in modern times. Generally, this is how religious scholars and academics study religion because, while the information and practice should be applied in any time period, the context in which the different practices and principles came about developed out of a need for the community of believers at the time. If the principle is taken out of context and applied in modern times without concern for its original application, the soul and true intention is lost. Sometimes we can see this in predominantly Muslim societies of the Middle East and South Central and Eastern Asia wherein women’s rights are sometimes sidelined or the religious interpretation is out of the sync with Quranic principles. Unfortunately, this perpetuates the stereotype that women are treated as second-class citizens in Islam. In order to address this problem and create important distinctions, comparing and contrasting using the original sources such as the Quran will allow readers to understand women’s rights as they were initially intended within the religion. The best way to begin this discussion is by comparing particular topics regarding women within pre-Islamic Arabian society as well as after Islam was revealed to the Prophet. For this blog post, we will explore the topics of marriage and divorce and women’s rights and responsibilities.
Before Islam was revealed to the Prophet and his community, a women’s position in the society of the Arabian peninsula was much different. Due to the tribal basis of Arabian society at this time as well as the traditional patrilineal custom of inheritance, men’s rights and desires almost always trumped those of women. Infanticide was common for female babies and in general, women were considered a burden on the family. The pride of the family and weight of responsibility lay with the males. This led to men marrying as many women as they chose, a lack of inheritance for women, and no choice for women whether or not to marry or divorce. Women’s status in pre-Islamic society is often described as harsh and lacking in very basic rights unless the woman was of high-status and from a well-respected family within the tribe. Women were usually referred to as a type of property and an item with which to use in trade and financial transactions. Indeed, a woman’s worth was seemingly not acknowledged, particularly in relation to a man’s value.
When the Quran was revealed to the Prophet and he recited the verses to his community, it became clear that Islam had a particular focus on improving the status of women and that this issue was something of concern for the Prophet. “In Islamic marriage, a legal contract is the basis of the union, with the rights and duties plainly laid out and mutually agreed upon by both parties.” There are many sayings and stories about the Prophet concerning women’s rights and attitudes toward women in general. His relationship with his first wife Khadijah was seen as a model for the relationship between husbands and wives. As the Quran was revealed, several verses discussed women’s rights and their choices when it came to marriage. For example, in Surat Al-Rum 21, God makes it explicit that He created humanity as man and woman and they were intended to be together and provide tranquility and affection. In Surat Al-Nisaa 1, we find: “O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.” In essence, admitting that men and women were created from one was radical–especially to even compare women with men, the previously exalted figure of seventh-century society. There are other verses of the Quran reiterating this idea about the special relationship between men and women in marriage which reflects the importance of marriage in Islam. These verses and others mention how men and women should respect each other in marriage, no doubt reflecting the idea that stability in the marriage relationship leads to the foundation of strong societies.
In those instances, where marriage does not work out, women do have options. There are various verses in the Quran dealing with divorce. They deal with topics such as parting on good terms, appointing a mediator, allowing for remarriage, providing support to divorced women, and allowing for reconciliation if they change their minds on divorce after the fact. These verses explicitly lay out women’s rights and responsibilities when she requests a divorce and the assistance she receives when this procedure takes place. In pre-Islamic societies, such a notion of supporting a woman after divorce occurs was unheard of. Indeed, divorced and widowed women were unsupported and considered a societal burden. By creating a basis by which women could obtain a divorce and be supported afterwards, the society begins to institute the normalization of women requesting the same rights that men ask for and that allow women to maintain a normal role in society instead of divorce leading to her shame in society.
As discussed, the rights of women concerning marriage and divorce are fairly explicit and further guidance can be taken from the Hadith of the Prophet himself. Much of the stereotypes about women’s rights in Islam often come from news clippings and scattered media coverage of sensationalist and unfortunately occurrences happening in the Muslim world. As Frederick Matthewson Denny suggests,
“As was suggested above, the original teachings of Islam, as contained in the Quranic revelation, may be seen to be quite liberating to women, whereas the subsequent history of the Umma saw the triumph of absolute male domination, not only of the institutions of Islamic civilization but also of the sources principles, and procedures of its discourse.”
The institutions and practice of the religion that has developed in Muslim-majority countries and societies may not reflect the aforementioned understanding of marriage and divorce when it comes to men and women, but this debate and discussion must be had by Muslims themselves since.