Haddiqua Siddiqui Syeda Fizza Abid

Haddiqua Siddiqui Syeda Fizza Abid

Islam did not arrive until the 600s

 The Arab world in the early 7th century had no stable,

large-scale political entities. People belonged to close-knit clans, or extended families, that formed tribes. Most Arabs were pagans, but small minorities were Jewish and Christian.

 Bedouins Farmers

Traders

 People considered backwards Lived in the desert Nomads who rode camels
Bedouins = Arab nomads who rode camels

 (nomadic pastoralists) provided for

their own needs with: Herds of sheep & goats Small-scale trading in towns Regular raids on one another and on caravans.

 FARMERS: Some farmers worked the land,

but in many areas soils were too poor and rain was too infrequent to support agriculture. TRADERS: Cities supported traders who carried luxury goods (spices, incense, perfumes) from the Indian Ocean region and southern Arabia along caravan routes to the cities of the eastern Mediterranean. These traders formed the economic and political elite of Arabia, and they led the tribes.

Arabian Peninsula Before Islam

Clans

Tough to survive in desert Families joined to form clans Clans joined to form tribes

 Fights constantly broke out between clans Fought over issues such as: -

Grazing land Defeat in horse race An insult

These feuds often lasted 100s of years Constant infighting hurt the bedouins:

Drained resources Weakened bedouins compared to their neighbors

 MECCA: was the most important

trade center in Arabia. It was dominated by the powerful tribe of the Quraysh (KOOR-aysh). Ruling Clan = Umayyad

 Early pre-Islamic civilisations occurred around one and two

thousand BC

At the centre of the Bedouin tribe (Qabilah) was the tent

(Khaymah): represents family. A camp of Khaymah formed a Hayy and one member of each Hayy made a clan Qawm. It was these clans that grouped together to form tribes and the members of each individual clan were blood related leader; one who was viewed as the wisest and most experienced of the other members of the clan was elected and was known as Sheikh. This position was not hereditary. There was no unity or nationalism between the Arab people. Each tribe was a separate identity with their own dialects and religion.

The Bedouin tribe was democratic in the sense that they had a

 Christianity was active in the region prior to the rise of Islam.

Some tribes practised Judaism The Pagan Arabs made up the majority of Arabia and believed

in about 360 Gods and Goddesses. The existence of Allah was a religious reality for a minority of Arabs. superstitious

Arabia was profoundly polytheistic environment and were

Beliefs in a myriad of demons, djinn/ghouls, demigods, gods

and goddesses and creatures

Their beliefs are seen through their stories of genies, ghouls,

magic lamps, flying carpets and wishes. A famous example of this is the tale of Arabian Nights.

 In Pre-Islamic Arabia, religion was mostly mix of

Animism
Polytheism

Animism = worship of nature Polytheism = belief in many gods

 The sun was worshiped and viewed

as significant however not as much as the moon, a friend and ally providing them with light, coolness and shade. The moon symbolised a nomadic lifestyle which is what they lived by as opposed to the agriculture sense that the Sun implies. The sun was actually viewed as an enemy to the nomads depriving them of pasture, shade and water, in the scorching heat of the desert.

The Pagan Arabs did not build temples or significant structures

for their Gods and did not establish mythology in regards to whom they worshiped.

Most of the 'holy' places of their other divinities were trees, wells,

caves or fallen meteors. The pagan Arabs made sacrifices - both human and animal - to 'Venus'.

 Another belief of the Bedouins was that the desert was home to various

living creatures and spirits known as Jinn who were said to fill their lives with mischief and difficulties/hardships.
As the Pagan Arabs were nomadic, there was no specific burial ground

for the dead hence no significant reverence was given to those who have died nor did they believe in an afterlife, resurrection, day of judgment or even heaven and hell as all of these beliefs came about with the religion of Islam.

 Life was Rough according to law Hammurabis law code (1752 BCE: disobedient women get teeth knocked

out (but disobedient son get hands cut off) Middle Assyrian Laws: wife who gives away husbands possessions gets ear cut off; if she hits him in the groin (and equipment damaged, she loses a finger) Later Assyrian law codes include women being pawned for debt But consistently in NE law, rape/unauthorized deflowering of freewoman requires the man be killed, woman goes free Veil tied to class: Assyrian law forbids slave women and harlots from wearing veil; noble women must cover head Byzantine upper class houses had harem set up, even the Empress Irene veiled herself (including hands) Institutionalized Sexual Jealousy/Honor Middle Assyrian law codes prescribe flogging and hard labor for baseless sexual slander (yo mama jokes out of the question) Egyptian king and medicinal lack of virgins

 Had more status than in surrounding empires

(Byzantine and Sasanian) Played key economic roles: milking camels, weaving clothes, raising children Women still not equal: couldnt be warriors, and property inheritance/divorce laws favored men

 Although Islam is the dominant religion in all Central

Asian societies, evidence reveals a wide range of practices related to gender.

While ethnically different from Middle East and North

Africa, Central Asia shares with those regions Islamic culture, a history of colonialism, and a society with a strong clan or lineage component.

 Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and

Turkmenistan are unique and face individual challenges in advancing human rights, principally womens rights, however, there are commonalities and shared experiences which link the region.

 The historical backdrop of Soviet rule and the moves

each nation has since made from the communist era have proved both opportunities and hindrances for women as they try to assert their rights and partake in society as equals. The Soviet policy in the 1920s and 1930s concentrated on the economic and cultural transformation of the CAS. Changing women's lives was a vital part of the programme.

 A comprehensive, radical law was passed in 1928.

This law outlawed bride price, forced and captured marriage, child marriage, polygamy, marriage by barter, and other antiquated customs termed as 'evil' and 'injurious' to women . Formation of women's section (Shentodyl), and the special women's clubs-housed in 'Red Yurtas' (tents) Land and water reforms

 The Soviet state also benefited from the changed

status of CAW as they were transformed in to a productive working class. In all areas of activity - blue collar to white collar workers - the number of women increased yearly. The belief that women's oppression had been eradicated because of female participation in labour, ignored the new burden on the women who combined occupational, political and domestic duties.

 Patriarchal traditions continued to be practiced .

The negative and most overt forms of repression of

women were removed through state intervention. But some conservative rituals and overall patriarchal structure of Islamic practice were retained in the private realm. The state intervened in family life, guided reproductive norms, etc.

 The image that the Soviet women was made of

steel, was a comrade-in-arms for all public struggles, was not concerned with western feminist struggles, remained until the break-up of the Soviet Union.

 Kazakhstan dominates Central Asia geographically

and economically.
There are approximately 130 different ethnic groups

living inside Kazakhstan, making it one of the most ethnically diverse nations.

 Violence
Trafficking Economic Hardships

Lack of female representation in public life and

decision making bodies.

 A provincial interim government led by the first

female President in any Central Asian nation, Roza Otunbayeva was formed. April 2010 until 1st December 2011.

Domestic violence; Bride kidnappings; Trafficking and exploitation; Conditions of detention and violence against women in detention. Gender relations- lesbian, bisexual women, and transgender men prejudices; Sexual harassment and sexual violence.
Outside of the scope of violence against women issues such as:
Employment discrimination and economic disadvantage; Religious freedoms; and Lack of representation in decisionmaking and political organs

 A high social acceptance of violence against women; Under reporting of domestic violence;

Extremely poor police attitudes, acts of domestic

violence are not viewed as serious crimes; A lack of prosecution where cases are reported and/ or inappropriate prosecution is pursued; A general focus on reunion of the spouses. Aksakals (community courts)

 Violence against Women;

Forced and early marriage of girls and young women; Increasing rates of suicide amongst women; Abandonment , eviction and loss of property rights; Limited participation in public life and decision

making; Trafficking of girls and women

 Family relation difficulties particularly concerning

forced marriage and discrimination against separated and divorced women; Expulsion of women who are foreign nationals but married to Turkmen men; High levels of domestic violence including physical, psychological and sexual abuse and deprivation of freedom; Trafficking in women and girls

 Domestic violence, which is believed to be pervasive,

however there is little empirical data available. Systemic social stereotyping and attitudes that subjugate women; Family relation difficulties relating to forced marriage. Bride kidnapping, polygamy and divorce practices. The economic and social deprivation of women; Trafficking of women and girls which remains a persistent and increasing problem.

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