In the current era, women's
rights have truly made great gains when compared with the societies of ancient
civilizations, though a number of basic similarities still remain. Western women
have justly earned the rights to own property, to work for themselves and keep
their own earnings, to go out freely and without permission, to choose their
spouses, and the right to be involved in the political process. Challenges
still remain though in the Western world especially in regards to equal pay for
equal work, equal opportunity for job selection and job promotion, and dignity—most
prominent in the recent #MeToo movement.( Smartt, Nicole. (2018). Sexual Harassment in the Workplace in A
#MeToo World. Forbes.) It is in regards to this last point, the general dignity of the
woman
that this discussion will
now proceed.
As will be later presented
in detail, one of the greatest criticisms leveled at Muslim women today is in
regards to their dress code. In the minds of many people today, freedom—or
women's liberation—somehow equates with a reduction in clothing; the more skin
that a woman shows, or is allowed to show, is apparently an indicator of how
“liberated” she is. Yet, the oppressed and lowest classes of women of ancient
societies were often encouraged, if not outright coerced, to display their
bodies in public, and to dress as provocatively as possible. This of course did
not represent liberation or the attainment of any rights for them, but it
represented only the actualization of the carnal desires of the men around them
who sought to gaze lustfully at women's bodies in much the same way that they continue
to do today.Author Laurie Shrage
gathers several revealing historical perspectives on the general status,
condition and early objectification of women, noting:
… [The historian Gerda
Lerner] argues that to understand how prostitution evolved historically, we
need to understand “its relationship to the sexual regulation of all women in archaic
states and its relationship to the enslavement of females” (Lerner 1986, 124).
Lerner writes,
“It is likely that
commercial prostitution derived directly from the enslavement of women and the consolidation
and formation of classes. Military conquest led, in the third millennium B.C.,
to the enslavement and sexual abuse of captive women. As slavery became an
established institution, slave-owners rented out their female slaves as prostitutes,
and some masters set up commercial brothels staffed by slaves” (Lerner 1986,
133).
Lerner suggests that
prostitutes and concubines were used by rulers as symbols of wealth and power,
and this practice was then emulated by other men of wealth and status (Lerner
1986, 133). Also, paupers were often forced to sell children, adding to the
supply of labor for this purpose. Furthermore, “As the sexual regulation of women
of the propertied class became more firmly entrenched, the virginity of
respectable daughters became a financial asset for the family.”
Lerner's account connects
modern forms of prostitution to oppressive social practices: the enslavement of
women and the treatment of non-slave females as sexual property to be exchanged
both in and out of marriage. By contrast, rather than attribute the rise of
commercial prostitution to slavery and capitalist class formation, Gayle Rubin
traces the origins of prostitution to kinship systems in which women are
exchanged as gifts among families to cement social bonds (Rubin 1975, 175).
Rubin writes,
If women are the gifts,
then it is men who are the exchange partners. And it is the partners, not the presents,
upon whom reciprocal exchange confers its quasi-mystical power of social
linkage. The relations of such a system are such that women are in no position
to realize the benefits of their own circulation. As long as the relations
specify that men exchange women, it is men who are the beneficiaries of the
product of such exchanges —social organization. (Rubin 1975, 174)
In other words, in the very
creation of society, women were allegedly subordinated through ritual exchange
in order to create bonds of kinship among men as the foundation of the social
order … Rubin writes
The “exchange of women” is
a seductive and powerful concept. It is attractive in that it places the
oppression of women within social systems, rather than biology …. (Rubin 1975:
175)
On both Lerner's and
Rubin's accounts, prostitution (women engaging in sexual activities for
extrinsic rewards) and trafficking in women (control over women's sexual capacities
by others) predates the commodification of things, and it is a transhistorical,
transcultural phenomenon that takes on different forms in different contexts. (Shrage, Laurie. (2004).
Feminist Perspectives on Sex Markets. The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta (ed.), Retrieved from:
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2016/entries/feminist-sex- markets)
So this “commodification”
continues today where the sexual objectification of women has supposedly taken
more subtle and socially acceptable forms like: scantily clad women in advertising
and media (in many cases having nothing to do with the product itself—hamburger
commercials, soft drinks, car sales, etc.), pornography, strip bars, certain
chain restaurants requiring waitresses to dress in short and revealing
“uniforms”, and most recently the great emphasis on cosmetic surgery— breast
augmentation in specific. In short, too often for the women of today does their
happiness in life hinge on their usefulness to men; that their worth as a
person depends more on the size of their bra than the size of their intellect
or character.
Women in Islam: Hidden and Glorious Past, Uncertain Present
✓Islam honors the woman as
daughter, sister, wife and mother.
✓Islam gave women many
spiritual and human rights (spiritual equality before God, property rights, the
right to inherit, the right to consent to marriage, etc.) several centuries in
advance of other societies, both secular and religious.
✓Islam does not give license
to men to beat their wives and it furthermore condemns the practice.
✓Islam not only encourages,
but even requires, that women be educated, especially in matters of religion.
✓Islam affords every woman
the right to attend religious services in the Mosque if they choose to go and specifically
prohibits men from denying them that right.
✓Islamic history, from its
outset, proudly documents the lives of numerous female scholars who helped to
spread Islam and preserve the purity of its teachings.
Introduction
Few subjects have been more
controversial and intriguing than the role and position of women in Islam.The mere mention of women and Islam together
often conjures up images of harems of veiled, submissive women in the desert
whose whole purpose in life is the pleasure of their husband. In more recent
times, these words have become darkly associated with oppression, domestic
violence and barbaric forms of submission. Distorted images of Muslim women
saturate media coverage, while critics condemn the religion of Islam for
embodying all things anti-woman. While there are many parts of the world, even today,
in which women seldom enjoy any real equality with men, Muslim women are
repeatedly singled out as examples of the suppression and degradation
supposedly brought about by the teaching of their faith.
The true reality behind
many of these, and other, misconceptions regarding the position of women in
Islam comes, most often, from cultural practices in those countries dominated
by Muslims rather than from any true Islamic teachings.Yet in the beginning, it was in the harsh
deserts of 7thCentury
Arabia that the real dignity and honor of the woman came rushing to life through
the revelation of Quranic passages such as:
The Believers, men and
women, are protectors one of another, they enjoin what is just and forbid what
is evil; they observe regular prayers, practice regular charity, and obey God
and His Messenger. On them will God pour His mercy, for God is Exalted in
power, Wise. God has promised to the Believers, men and women, gardens under which
rivers flow, to dwell therein, and beautiful mansions in gardens of everlasting
bliss. But the greatest bliss is the good pleasure of God; that is the supreme
joy.{9:71-72}
And women are due rights
similar to the rights against them, according to what is equitable, but men
have a degree (of responsibility) over them. And God is Exalted in Power, Wise. {2:228}
Also from the sayings of
the Prophet Muhammad pbuh, we discover the new light that would illuminate the
status of women, and would lead men to reconsider their whole attitude towards women.
He did teach his followers,
The believers with the most
perfect belief are also the best of them in manners and character. And the best
of you are those who are best towards their wives. [Tirmithi]
In this chapter, the exact
role of women in Islam will be clarified through a detailed exploration of the
Islamic texts, with brief digressions from time to time to illustrate where
culture has regrettably superseded religious practice in the lives of
Muslims.
Before beginning this
important discussion though, it is important that a few essential points be
outlined. Firstly, when trying to understand the role of women in Islam, many
people incorrectly try to compare Islamic teachings to modern secular social
norms, believing incorrectly that these norms are actually Judeo-Christian
teachings. In reality, modern society has cast off nearly all of the
Judeo-Christian tradition, as it relates to women, long ago in favor of more
secular, or non-religious, attitudes. Conversely, the majority of Islamic
teachings in this matter are still rigorously adhered to by a number of communities
today. For the sake of fairness, this study will begin by first comparing the
secular society that existed in Arabia before Islam with secular society today,
and then move forward to compare Judeo-Christian attitudes towards women with
those of Islam.
Women in Pre-Islamic Arabia
The inferior view of women
that characterized much of the world in the 7th century CE was also thriving in the pagan societies of Arabia,
prior to the advent of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh. The social environment at that
time was rampant with tribal rivalry, petty wars, plundering, and general chaos, lead by the male members of the various tribes. In such an environment, the
status of women was unquestionably inferior.
Unfortunately, historical
resources concerning Arabia before the coming of Islam in the 7th century CE
are dreadfully limited yet, despite the limited consensus on a number of
matters relating to the details of this period, many points can still be inferred
from the Quran and Hadith as they were literarily unquestioned on these issues
in their era.
Reminiscent of Hindu
tradition, women in Pre-Islamic Arabia were looked down upon from birth as
demonstrated by the Pre-Islamic Arabs practice of female infanticide. It was a
common belief that male children were more honorable and useful to the family.
They would soon grow to be able to help guard against enemies during the many
tribal conflicts, and males could also work in the family trading caravans and
farms. Dr. Faryal Sulaimani adds:
Also, since tribal wars in
that era were nearly continuous in nature… Ancient Arabs valued the capture of hostages
and women above that of cattle and booty, since the former were far more
profitable to them. They could ask a high ransom for hostages, or exchange them
for their own hostages. Another advantage of women captives was to marry them
without a dowry, and to get more children, thus increasing their numbers and
therefore their strength, which would raise their status among other tribes. Moreover,
in taking women captive, greater humiliation is sustained by their enemy, so
that sometimes the major aim of a man was to take the enemy's women captive in
order to inflict shame and humiliation upon the enemy's whole tribe… Some even
preferred death to being taken captive. ( Sulaimani, F. A. (1986). The Changing Position of Women in
Arabia under Islam during the Early Seventh Century. Retrieved from:
http://usir.salford.ac.uk/14814/1/361089.pdf)
Hence, fearing poverty and
shame before their people, a number of fathers would bury their infant
daughters alive in the desolate desert sands. God condemned this abhorrent
practice in the following passage of the Quran:
And when the news of the
birth of a female child is brought to any of them, his face becomes dark, and
he is filled with inward grief. He hides himself from the people because of the
evil of that whereof he has been informed. Shall he keep her with dishonor or
bury her in the sand? Surely, evil is their decision. {16:58-59}
Furthermore, women were
also not allowed to inherit, whether it be a daughter inheriting from her
father, a wife from her husband, or a mother from her son. She also could not
own property or hold any claims to wealth, except for women of high social
stature (e.g., Khadija).
Also in many cases, a
widowed woman was counted as part of her husband's property to be inherited by
his male heirs, in which case she was often given in marriage to the deceased man's
eldest son from another wife. (Nikah al-Muqt: This marriage also was called Nikah al
Dayyzen which means "the hateful marriage" and Daizan was an
epithet of reproach applied to a man who had made such a marriage. This
marriage allowed a son to have his step-mother in marriage, after the death of
his father. (Sulaimani, 1986, p.24). The Quran clearly abolished this degrading custom:
And marry not women whom
your fathers married, except those marriages that have already taken place in
the past; it was a shameful, detestable, and abominable custom indeed. {4:22}
If the widow was not
married to her deceased husband’s eldest son, then she was bound to be
inherited by her brother-in-law, a practice known as levirate marriage, and
sanctioned in the Bible.( “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son,
the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger.
Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform
the duty of a husband's brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall
succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out
of Israel. And if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, then his
brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband's
brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel; he will not perform
the duty of a husband's brother to me.’ Then the elders of his city shall call
him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’
then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and
pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and
say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's
house.’ And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him
who had his sandal pulled off.’” [Deuteronomy 25:5-10])
Yet, this forced
inheritance of a woman was forbidden in the Quran:
O you who have believed, it
is not lawful for you to inherit women by compulsion…. {4:19}
In pre-Islamic Arabia, one
of his brothers would throw his clothes over her and thus claim her as his
property, paying the dowry already paid by the deceased.( al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn
Jarir. (n.d.). Tafsir al-Tabari.) The widow was not allowed to leave the home of her husband in
either circumstance. She couldn’t exit such a marriage unless she paid a
financial sum to ransom herself. (Shah, N. (2006). Women, the Koran and International Human
Rights Law. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.)
Likewise, the power to
divorce lied ultimately in the husband’s hand, and if he chose to divorce his
wife, she was forced to remain in his home.( Ali, Jawad. (1955). Tarikh al-Arab Qabl al-Islam (The History
of the Arabs before Islam). Iraq: Matba’a al-Ilm. Retrieved from:
http://www.alhasso.com/arab-history-1.pdf) Regarding the ease of divorcing women, and the often resentful
reasons behind doing so, Dr. Sulaimani concludes:
So divorce was an easy
matter, a woman was just like a puppet in her husband's hands. He could play
with her feelings, humiliate her and divorce and remarry her whenever he liked
without her being able to defend herself and her life. And even more than that,
before Islam, a husband could prevent his divorced wife from remarrying and
could drive a bargain for his consent to the application of a suitor. (Sulaimani, F. A. (1986).
The Changing Position of Women in Arabia under Islam during the Early Seventh
Century. Retrieved from: http://usir.salford.ac.uk/14814/1/361089.pdf)
This disregard for the
woman and her right to return to her birth family was as a result of the
maternal family holding no significance, in contrast to the paternal family
which held all the importance.
Children were often
conceived out of wedlock due to the widespread promiscuity in Pre-Islamic
Arabia. Wife lending was also common where husbands allowed their wives to live
with, and get impregnated by, men distinguished by courage or nobility to produce
highborn offspring. When they did marry however, there was no limit to the
number of wives that a man could take at one time. Some historians have
reported that it was customary for the men of the wealthy Quraish tribe of
Mecca to have ten wives each, and sometimes even more. (Ali, Jawad. (1955). Tarikh
al-Arab Qabl al-Islam (The History of the Arabs before Islam). Iraq: Matba’a
al-Ilm. Retrieved from: http://www.alhasso.com/arab-history-1.pdf) Furthermore, women had no
choice or right to refuse entry into any marriage as the decision regarding
spouse selection was entirely in the hands of her guardian (father or eldest
male relative in his absence), again unless she was of a privileged social
class. “The marriage contract rested
completely in the hands of the woman’s legal guardian whose words with regard
to her marital status could never be questioned.”( al-Mubarkpuri, S.R.
(2008). The Sealed Nectar. Riyadh: Dar-us-Salam Publications )
Moreover, women were often
beaten severely for disobedience. In most of the tribes, they held little to no
honor and were primarily seen as sexual objects for men’s pleasure. They were given
the license to dress scantily outdoors, even while performing acts of ritual
worship, such as circling around the Sacred House in Mecca naked (al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn
Jarir. (n.d.). Tafsir al-Tabari.), for the pleasure and entertainment of the men in their
societies. Though absolute nudity was a characteristic of slave women and
avoided by free women in pre-Islamic Arabia. (Sulaimani, F. A. (1986). The Changing Position
of Women in Arabia under Islam during the Early Seventh Century. Retrieved
from: http://usir.salford.ac.uk/14814/1/361089.pdf)
Yet, similar to the other
ancient societies, elite upper-class women in Pre-Islamic Arabia were allowed
to hold certain positions of distinction in society and both the concept of goddess
and priestess were well accepted in their tribal communities (Ahmed, Leila (1992). Women
and Gender in Islam. New Haven and London: Yale University Press) (e.g., the wife of
Musaylama the Liar who claimed she was a prophetess and was accepted as such by
her followers). Other women were well known for their beautiful singing voices
and were used effectively during wars to hasten the defeat of opposing armies.( Doubleday, V. (1999). The
Frame Drum in the Middle East: Women, Musical Instruments and Power. Ethnomusicology.
Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 101134). They also commanded high wages (most often paid to their male
“agents”) for their singing and even higher dowries for marriage. (Ali, Jawad. (1955). Tarikh
al-Arab Qabl al-Islam (The History of the Arabs before Islam). Iraq: Matba’a
al-Ilm. Retrieved from: http://www.alhasso.com/arab-history-1.pdf)
So in summary, a number of
characteristics appear to be in common among many of the ancient societies in
regards to their attitudes towards women. Common women in these societies were
generally barred from owning property, choosing their own spouses or initiating
divorce. They were generally seen as inferior and only useful for the
entertainment, sexual or otherwise, of men. Yet, they were also generally free
of any formal dress requirements and were in fact encouraged to cover as little
of their body as necessary, short of absolute nudity. From a religious
standpoint, certain privileged women were also allowed to hold high positions
of honor in the religious structures of their societies as priestesses,
prophetesses and even goddesses.
