I

& .Women under the Shorioh?

I& It is widely believed in the west thot lslom subjugotes women. Mony believe
to cover their hoir, to stoy oi home choined to the stove, thot women should
ihot men force women
remoin uneducoted
ond weok os second closs citizens within on lslomic society. Therefore, they collfor the liberotion of
Muslim women through the obondonment of lslomic trodition, to toke on Western volues. So
how

& does Islom view women?

lslom considers women equolto men in the most importont regord:thoi both men ond women ore

& oddressed by Alloh {God) in His revelotion, the Quron, with similor rights, duties ond
ond women will be occounted for whot Alloh osked of them ond will not be occountoble
prohibitions. Men
for whot

# wos not osked of them. One is not considered better or more worthy thon the other.

However, men ond women were oddressed differently by Alloh in some motters, so, in His
Wisdom, He

& hos mode men ond women the some in some things ond different in others. For exomple,
ond women proy five times eoch doy, fost the month of Romodon ond hove the right io
both men
own

& property. Also both men ond women ore not ollowed io steol, murder or hove sexuolrelotionships
outside of monioge. The penolties for men ond women ore the some under the Shorioh.
However,

& women ore not obliged to proy of the Mosque on Fridoys, to provide monetorily for their fomilies or
join ihe ormy during times of wor, os men ore'
io

& Women con work ond ore encouroged to goin o good educotion. ln Western societies, women
ore

# sirongly encouroged, olmost obliged, to seek poid employment. lf o womon chooses

to stoy ot
home ond look ofter her children, she is derided, so mony women feel pressurised to work. This
severe impoct on fomily life ond her children's upbringing. Britoin todoy hos reol
hos o
growing problems

& with the youth; ieenoge pregnoncies, broken homes, vondolism, theft ond even murder. Politicions

# ore struggling to find onswers. The increosingly negotive Western youth culture problem, whilst not
entirely stemming from the home, is cerioinly not helped by hoving busy, exhousted ond even
mothers, even though she is more offluent thon before'
obsent

& ln lslom, the highest ond mosl respected position within society is thot of o mother. The Prophet
soid

& ,,porodise is at yourmofhers feet". Women ore regorded os being cruciolto the vitolity ond well-
being of the entire society. Children ore the future of oll notions ond they deserve the best possible

& stort in life. Who is better ploced to roise well bolonced, well monnered children ihon their mothers?
Therefore Muslim women do not feel pressurised to work ond, hence, hove o reol choice to stoy ot
home to give iheir children o stoble ond ottentive upbringing. However, if she so chooses, she is
ffi permitted to find suitoble work.

& The Shorioh itself is bosed upon the exomple of the Prophet Muhommod, which owes o lot to the
testimonies of his wives, doughters ond other women. Their individuol nonotion is considered to be

& just os voluoble by scholors os the testimony of o mon. A single womon is equivolent to o mon in
sighting the moon for the odvent of Romodon, one of the pillors of lslom.

& So the low itself is bosed on the testimony of women, the scholors who derive this low con be women
ond the judges who opply the low con be women. lt is cleorly not the cose thot women ore
& considered to be second to men in the eyes of the low or less relioble witnesses. There ore some

s coses where the legol testimony of o womon is volued os thot of o mon such os coses of odultery
follows:
os

& ,,And os for those who occuse their own wives (of odultery), but hove no witnesses except
themselves, let eoch of these coll God Four times to witness thot he is indeed telling the truth.
But (os

& for the wife, oll) chostisement sholl be overted from her by her colling God four iimes to witness
he is indeed telling o lie." (Quron Chopter 24, verses 6-8)
thot

& The stipulotion of requiring two women to reploce one mon os wiiness is mentioned in
the Quron in
the context of the writing of o controct for o loon. Hence, the testimony of two women is equolto the

www.islom-expl oined.info
 & testimony of one mon in octions which toke ploce omongst the mole community ond in the public
life. The testimony of women is occepted on its own, in motters which toke ploce omongst the

& femole community, where ihere ore no men present, such os o crime which is committed in the
lodies'room. This is understood by the foct thot men ond women toke different roles in on lslomic
society, wiih there being some spheres in public life thot most women will not be fomilior with, due to

& their normol non-involverhent in such motiers.

& Some scholors hove extended this to serious violent crime, such os murder, on the premise thot
women were normolly protected from such crimes ond, hence, moy require suppori in their

& festimony olthough this is not stipuloted in the Quron or exomple of the Prophet). lt is unfortunote thot
in the 2lst century under liberol seculorism, no-one is sofe from violent crimes including the elderly,

# women ond children ond so oll ore frequently required os witnesses for such crimes.

These judgemenis on witnesses ore mode on o cose by cose bosis occording to the focts of the

& crime or dispute in question. The Shorioh does hove mechonisms to differentiote between men ond

#
women ond in whot situotion theirWtness is more useful but ihis in no woy implies thoi the testimony
of o womon is less relioble thon thot of o mon in lslom or thot they ore inferior in the eyes of the low.

& Alloh tells women io cover themselves so thot they be recognised os pious Mustim women ond so ore
not bothered by men. lt is o dress code intended to ensure respect ond decency in the interoctions

& between men ond women in society. The heod-to-toe covering of Muslim women, with the
exception of their honds ond foce, is described in the Quron os the ploces where their jewellery is
worn. Hence, mole strongers' ottention is not grobbed, so ore noi ottrocted to her, os she puts on no
& dozling disploy. Men ore olso required to dress modestly.

& This dress code is not, os some hove suggested, to subjugote women, nor to prevent men from
lechery or worse. lt is completely incorreci in lslom to soy thot o womon who does not cover is

& "osking for trouble." Whether o womon is covered lslomicolly or not, o Muslim mon is obliged to lower

I&
his goze, treot her with respect ond decency. Her dress code is not seen os o criterion or justificotion
for illicit octions, or treoting her with onything other thon the utmost respect.

Western societies hove o different dress code. In generol, both men ond women, but especiolly
women, ore under enormous pressure to conform to the foshions of the doy, which revolve oround
promoting femole imoges most likely to be ottroctive to men. Often this includes o relotive increose in

& the omount of skin disployed ond o reloiive reduction in the omount of cloth os covering. Observing
Western Society, it is opporent thot it does not promote men to treot women with respect ond

& decency or vice verso. Men ore commonly encouroged io be lecherous ond often speok of women
in the most derogoiory terms. Women ore virtuolly iroded os commodities ond objects of lust or

& desire by corporotions in their odvertising compoigns. Women feelunder pressure to odhere to
unreolistic imoges of perfection; undoubtedly responsible for lhe increosing low self-esteem, eoting

# disorders ond depression omong women. The Western dress code ochieves on odmirotion of o sort,
olthough often unwonted, but offords no reolrespect. Alloh, in His Greoiness, hos given Muslims o

& different dress code, os port of o comprehensive sociol system ond it is not surprising thot mony
Muslim women choose it over other dress codes.

& Women ond men ore not the some. Alloh, with His Knowledge ond Wisdom, hos mode for men ond
women different roles, rights, responsibilities ond duties. Alloh oddressed oll men ond women equolly

& os humon beings in the Quron. However, when these rights ond duties relote to the noture of o
femole, in her description os o femole, ond they relote to the noture of her position in the community

& ond her ploce in society, orwhen they relote to the noture of the mon in his description os o mole,
ond they relote to the noture of his position in the community ond his ploce in society; then these

# rights ond duties will inevitobly be different between the mon ond womon. For exomple, men hove
been given the responsibility of protecting women, providing for them ond upholding their dignily.

& This does not moke women less thon men in ony woy, but enhonces lhe bolonce ond hormony thot
exists within on enlightened lslomic society.

vwwv.isl o m-expl o i n ed.inf o