The Status of Woman in Islam

2021

This research article aims to examine women in Islamic studies who have occupied a very top position. Dialogical studies on women have been widely discussed by gender activists, especially discussions on gender equality. Among the feminist figures who advocate for women's rights and gender equality are Qasim Amin, Amina Wadud Muhsin, Fatimah Mernissi, and Asghar Ali Engineer. They look at women through their own thinking glasses. This paper only presents some of the opinions of these feminist figures, however, apart from the two opinions above, it is rarely mentioned that the presence of the Qur'an text on the theme of polygamy is a social response to the situation in pre-Islamic society, which tends to marry women in order to dominate. orphan properties. In addition, at that time polygamy was considered a symbol of prestige and social status, so it was not uncommon to find a tribal chief marrying many women and even tens or hundreds of them. Therefore, Islam actually comes with a message of social change to regulate unlimited polygamy, to restrictions and finally to monogamy; where women are no longer seen as property, but as equal partners to men. a more in-depth study there are still many thoughts of other Muslim feminist figures

Safara, 2020

Islamic Feminism has emerged around the 1920s as a concept and developed rapidly as a global phenomenon in the mid‐1990s. While conservatives claim that gender asymmetries are divinely ordained, Islamic feminists hold the contrary and are working for complete equality between men and women. The purpose of this research is to investigate the status of women in Islam according to the Quran and the Sunnah to see whether Islamic feminism’s claims are founded. This study reveals that although there are commonalities between Islamic feminism and Islam itself, oftentimes Islamic feminism is fighting against practices that emanate directly from the Quran and the Sunnah, such as polygamy, hijab, the Islamic inheritance laws, the concept of male guardianship, etc. At the core of the differences that exist between Muslim scholars and Islamic feminists are the methodologies they use to investigate the sacred texts. Keywords: Islamic feminism, gender equality, gender equity, ijtihad, social justice, gender asymmetries, science of hadeeth Le féminisme islamique a vu le jour aux alentours des années 1920. Il a connu une avancée fulgurante au milieu des années 1990, et est devenu depuis lors un phénomène mondial. Alors que les conservateurs affirment que les inégalités qui existent entre les genres sont un commandement divin, les féministes islamiques soutiennent le contraire et revendiquent donc une égalité complète entre homme et femme. Le but de cette recherche est d’enquêter sur le statut de la femme en Islam en prenant appui sur le Coran et la Sunnah pour voir si les revendications du féminisme islamique sont fondées ou pas. Cette étude révèle que bien qu’il existe des points communs entre le féminisme islamique et l’Islam en tant que tel, force est de constater que trop souvent le féminisme islamique se dresse contre des pratiques qui émanent directement du Coran et de la Sunnah telles que la polygamie, le hijab, les lois qui régissent l’héritage en islam, la tutelle, etc. Au cœur des divergences qui existent entre les savants musulmans et les féministes islamiques se trouvent les méthodologies qu’ils utilisent pour analyser les textes sacrés. Mots-clés: Féminisme islamique, égalité des genres, équité des genres, ijtihad, justice sociale, asymétrie du genre, science du hadith

Islam and Gender: Major Issues and Debates draws attention to the debates on gender in Islam, emphasizing on lived experiences of Muslim women and men. It focuses on the evolving cultural interplay between women studies, critical feminist theories, and normative religious study (p. 2) and discusses the epistemological advancement of the first three waves of feminism and evolving applications of the woman and gender problems in the disciplinary study of religion and theology. Adis Duderija, Alina Alak, and Kristin Hissong explain various theories behind the traditional construction of masculine and feminine dichotomy and trace Muslim women's ontological and epistemological advancement from diverse nationalities. Finally, they contextualize the debates and discourses initiated by Islamic feminists Fatima Mernissi, Rifat Hassan, Amina Wadud, Asma Barlas, and others. The book traces the evolution of gender in Islam and examines the tensions between the modern and Islamic understanding of gender. The book traverses two major themes. First, it examines a traditional gender discourse in the Islamic jurisprudence, and how they have been interpreted through the Quran and Hadith. It scrutinizes the concept of "topos," known as assumption theory, as the basis of the gender hierarchical and patriarchal nature of the religion. The book has a broad discussion on the nature of the premodern Islamic tradition on gender issues, noting its subscription to the "gender oppositionality" theory that operates behind the tradition of patriarchal construction (p. 25). It explores the logic and the dynamics behind the conceptual patriarchal honor and female modesty law concerning the practice of veiling, seclusion, gender segregation, honor-based violence, and female genital mutation. The main argument provided in the book is whether or not these practices are "Islamic"; all these practices are rooted in the same operative logic, termed as "the logic of patriarchal honor," to control and regulate the female sexuality to uphold patriarchal honor (p. 44). The book argues the importance of the interpretative and hermeneutical approach to the Quran and Sunna in forming gender norms and rules in Islam. It includes a short history of the evolution of Quranic exegesis in Islamic thought and also presents the interpretative methods applied to the Quran in classical Islam that facilitated the construction of a hierarchical gender relation (p. 59).

Islam and Women, 2019

Islam and Women is a topic that has been brought up frequently in the Modern World, and has been talked about by Muslims from all sects of Islam. Many have taken the word of the Quran out of context and, mis clearly indicated that some words in Arabic may have many interpretations which, has caused an array of confusion for many scholars, and contemporary Muslims. Although, there seems to be a variety of misconceptions about both the treatment and status of women in Islam. Scholars have tried to clearly illustrate to contemporary Muslims these misconceptions and misunderstandings that have been talked about for many centuries after the passing of the prophet. Many scholars have tackled these misunderstandings and, have tried to break down the laws set out by the Quran, Hadiths, Prophet Muhammed and his Caliphates. Numerous scholars have questioned whether Islam is compatible with gender equality and, this has been a question for many centuries in the field of Islamic Studies. Critics have criticized the gender inequalities in Muslim major societies, especially with the implementation of Sharia law in countries such as: Saudi Arabia. Many feminist Islamic scholars struggle to find a more modern meaning to the traditional interpretation of the Quran. Amina Wadud is among many that try to reinterpret the Quran from a gender-inclusive perspective. The new interpretations are supposed to be more relevant to women in the Modern World. These "new" interpretations take out the middle man of historical patriarchal interpretation of Islam and bring out the new more holistic understanding of the Quran through new lenses. This paper is intended to clearly articulate the role, status, and treatment of women that is set up in laws given out by Allah through the many sources given to Muslims in the contemporary world. This paper will use many contemporary scholars to articulate the treatment of women, as Yasmin Mahmoud

2014

ABSTRACT.Although Koran and the Islamic law (Sharia) refer specifically to the situation and statute of women, these issues have always been present and they are still debated and debatable from many points of view but particularly when reported to the modem society standards. Islam has indeed improved women situation compared to pre-Islamic period, but on the other hand has been placing on purpose the woman in obscurity up to present time.Keywords: women's rights; Islam; Koran; polygamy1. IntroductionThe first person in the Arab world who believed in the message of Muhammad the prophet such becoming the first Moslem converted to the new belief was no other than his wife, Khadija. She met him while he was a merchant and she was attracted by his youth and his balanced and good character. She was older than the handsome merchant and previously married, but this was no obstacle for Muhammad.Even if Muhammad treasured women, he introduced harsh stipulations in Koran, enforcing the c...

2013

Women‟s status in Islam has gained currency in the academy, particularly, in gender studies and social criticism. Despite the availability of credible information about Islam throughout the world, some scholars still argue that Muslim women have no genuine rights in Islam and that Islam is head-to-toe patriarchal. Using Leila Ahmad‟s theory of Islamic gender egalitarianism, as framework, and Qur‟an and Sunnah as interpretative evidence, this paper critically examines women‟s rights and privileges provided by Islam from historical perspective. The major finding is that Islam places both men and women on an equal footing in every Islamic religious endeavour, although, their core differences have been acknowledged. Hence, Islam is egalitarian in terms of gender. The main argument is that Muslim men and women enjoy similar rights and that the discrimination against today‟s Muslim women resulted from an incorrect interpretation of Islamic injunctions. However, many scholars misread and s...

Journal of Postcolonial Writing, 2020

MALIM: JURNAL PENGAJIAN UMUM ASIA TENGGARA (SEA JOURNAL OF GENERAL STUDIES), 2016

This article surveys the feminist movement in Islam by delving into its origin, development and diversities within the Islamic tradition. The article starts its survey from the very beginning of the Islamic religion to the time after the demise of the Prophet and the modern and contemporary periods. Using the historical and analytical methods, the paper looks at the spectrums of the Muslim women struggle for their rights and the different dimensions that this struggle has taken at different times in the historical progression of the Islamic religion and the result of this on the religion itself. The submission of the paper is that, just as in other feminist movements from other traditions, the Islamic feminist movement is diverse and varied in its approach to the issue of claiming the rights of Muslim women. There are those who advocate for the reinterpretation and restructuring of the religion to meet modern day demands and views of women and because of their feeling of a strong sense of rejection and they hold that the Islamic religion should abdicate talking it views about women and embrace modern reforms concerning the rights of women in the society. On the other hand, there are others who want the religion to remain as it is while the rights of women are respected and given due regards as was the case during the time of the Prophet. Thus, all these points to the diversity of the discourse in the Islamic Tradition and speak of the fact that women's right is a very important issue in the contemporary Muslim societies which needs serious attention from Muslim scholars and leaders alike.

THE paper aims to break the myth of Muslim women being oppressed , passive, and neglected part of society, imprisoned in four walls and more focus is on association between religion and women’s position. Paper offers a brief overview of the Islamic concept of modesty as enshrined in the Quran and the sociocultural contexts in which the concept was introduced. The paper makes brief deliberation on the on the status of women from Islamic perspective. The attempt has been made to cover not only the spiritual but also social, economic as well as the political aspects. The paper aims to build a cohesive, global moment of Muslim women that will reclaim women’s rights.it offers a cumulative picture of Muslim women. The paper is not ready to recognise that women’s rights are fundamentally human rights cutting across cultures, regions and religions. Crusaders of women empowerment are increasing day by day but giving it a right sense has not a big literature. This paper is just a little step towards the enlightenment of status of women from Islamic perspective.