Are muslim women really oppressed?

Question

Please, show proof of your claim from islam, don't give me so called proof from anti-islamic sites or what you heard from Fox News.

Answer 1

No, they are not. My husband is Muslim and all he asks is that I act and dress in a manner that is respectful to him and his culture. That's really not asking a lot, because it is also respecting myself and my body. I am not expected to cover, nor do I choose to. I live in a predominately Muslim country and I see many women in high positions in the government, with much success and high profiles. Unfortunately the media only shows the bad things. After 9-11 they don't want anyone thinking that Islam or Muslims can actually be good. Luckily enough people are aware of this and many convert every day.

Answer 2

Qur'an has highlighted the fact that men and women are equal in the sight of God. According to the teachings of Islam, the only thing that distinguishes people in the sight of God is their level of God-consciousness and being pious. Moreover, the Islamic Law has guaranteed rights to women over 1400 years ago, whereas women in Western societies are now struggling to obtain their rights.

For example, Islam considers the woman a full-person, the spiritual equal of a male. Also, according to the Islamic Law, women have the right to own property, operate a business and receive equal pay for equal work. The woman in Islam has total control of her wealth, she cannot be married against her will.

Moreover, the woman in Islam has the right to inherit property and has the right to get divorced if she doesn't get good treatment from her husband, and can no longer stand her life with him (yet she has to have a good reason). Also, Islam does not look down on women nor consider them an "evil temptress", and thus does not blame women for the "original sin". Women in Islam participate in all forms of worship same like men. Actually, the rights that Islam gave to women over 1400 years ago were almost unheard of in the West until the 1900's.

Fifty years ago, women in Western societies could not buy a house or a car without the signature of the father or the husband! Islam gives great respect to women and their vital role in society. Also, it is noteworthy that the Prophet Muhammad's mission stopped many of the vicious practices in regards to women that were present in the society of his time. For example, the Qur'an put an end to the pagan Arab practice of killing their baby daughters when they were born.

If women in the Muslim World today don't get their rights, it is not because Islam did not grant them their rights, but because of some alien traditions prevailing in many places that have come to overshadow the teachings of Islam, either through ignorance or through the impact of colonisation.

The Islam's respect to the women is crowned with the Hijab, the veil, considered by a lot of anti-Muslims a symbol of women's oppression and servitude. God ordered Muslim women to wear the veil (to cover the whole of their body except their face and their hands) to protect them.

The Qur'an makes it clear through many verses that the veil obligatory and not an option for Muslim women (as some misleading information state).

"O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (jalabib) close round them (when they go abroad)..."

The Qur'an also shows how essential the veil is for modesty. Modesty is prescribed to protect women from molestation. Thus, the only purpose of the veil in Islam is protection. The Islamic veil is not a sign of man's authority over the woman, nor is it a sign of the woman's subjection to the man, on the contrary it shows respect and care for the woman.

Answer 3

You actually have two questions there:

1. Are Muslim women oppressed?

2. Do Muslim women feel they are oppressed?

The answer to 2 is quite obvious by now.

The answer to 1 is that it depends on how ou define oppressed.

If you include how the Muslim women feel in any definition of oppression, you may have difficulty coming up with a yes for 1. If you, instead, judge by Western cultural standards, then yes, they are oppressed. If you base your determination of oppression off biological or innate traits, even our own culture is oppressive.

Honestly, if a culture is oppressive and you want it to last, the first thing you have to do is convince the oppressed they are happy with their lot in life...

Answer 4

i for my area have self assurance that the oppression is an incorrect custom of the fathers, handed down from technology to technology and that i think that it extremely is girls oppressing different women. The generational issues are virtually impossible to flee.

Answer 5

no we are equal to men in Islam. many muslim men don't treat them right, but that's not Islamic. they are most likely going to hell. we have rights of our own and there are many benefits to us in Islam.

here's something about the position of women in Islam: http://www.islamfortoday.com/women.htm

Smarty Pants, yes you are wrong. In Islam, everyone will be accountable for their OWN decisions and actions, and nobody elses. whether they are male or female. where did you hear that women are accountable for the actions of men?

R.M, what they are doing in those countries is very, very unIslamic. women can wear modern clothes as long as only their face and hands show, and they certainly do not have to walk behind men. what they are doing over there is so wrong.

Answer 6

I will give you first hand experience.

Ever seen a Muslim woman all covered up and walking at least three paces behind her husband, while her husband can wear, modern western clothing and act like she is not there unless he wants her to do something for him??

I have -
and this was in the U.S.A.

Go check out a Women's rights org. and see what they say about women in Afghanistan and other Muslim dominated countries.

Answer 7

I don't know... I watched the videos on Hajib, and it seems to me that muslim women are being held accountable for the behavior of men in that tradition. Am I wrong?

It was stated several times that women needed to wear the modest clothing and hair covering of Hajib in order not to be seen as sexual objects... treating women with respect is the job of men... not for women to hide out in order to obtain...

Answer 8

plz see that link , women b4 and after islam in all aspects in their lives:
http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-13-1.htm

we arenot opressed:

islam gave women their rights in every thing spiritual , social , economical , marital ,.........etc.

if u noticed most the muslim converts are women cuz the first thing they like about islam , is that how it made it fair to women , naerly qual to men!!

peace be with u.

Answer 9

in fact, women in islamic society never are equal with men, most of rules are for men. this is sad fact.

Answer 10

No. They are equal in Islam.