Islamic Society's Treatment of Women

Islamic Society's Treatment of Women

From the time of birth, a Muslim woman's place in Islamic society already has a

shadow cast over it. Instead of the joyous cry that boys receive of "Allah Abkar"1 when

they are born, a baby girl is welcomed into the world with a hushed Qurannic prayer.

Although Islam venomously denies its role in the suppression of women, a survey of

Islamic countries reveals that women are denied their humanity.

The status of women in Islamic countries is undeniably inferior to men. Over the

last twenty years, progress has been made in many countries which has helped elevate the

roles which Muslim women play in their societies. Although progress has been made in

certain countries, there still exist those Islamic countries where being born female

guarantees a lack of rights, liberty, and happiness. This paper will explore the question,

"What forces are limiting the Muslim woman's equivocal participation in Islamic society?"

Islam's followers are approximated at 1.2 billion, which makes it a runner up only

to Christianity that has about 2 million adherents. Women constitute about half of that

population. However, it is important to note that this paper examines the treatment of

women in the strongholds of the Islamic domain. These populations include the Arab

countries of Saudi Arabi, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait,

Yemen, Israel, Oman, and Lebanon. Muslim women of the African countries of Sudan,

Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia are also weighed in this analysis. In addition

to these better known Islamic countries, the paper also observes the societal treatment of

women in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Bangladesh. About 90...

... middle of paper ...

...d rationalists of yesteryear who tried to import Greek

ideas...Women have been, are, and will continue to be targets of intimidation and

violence, whether from regimes in power or opposition movements that hark back to the

past. It happened in Pakistan in the 1980s; it is still going on in Iran; and today at the

beginning of the 1990s, it is happening in Algeria. Tomorrow the same thing can

happen elsewhere...Today they constitute one of the most dynamic components of the

developing civil society. Although up to the present they are still politically

unorganized, they have succeeded in infiltrating one of the citadels which was long

forbidden to them: formal education. Education, with high school and university

diplomas, is women's new acquisition. Until now all women were taught to do, from

housework to carpet weaving, was devalued and poorly paid.