Is Islam really as oppressive to women as some make it out to be?

Question

Preferrably answers from Muslims...

Queen of Cards: thanks for that...

I'm not saying it's oppressive...

I'm asking because many people are trying to talk me out of converting to Islam by telling me how badly the women are treated.

I have a Muslim boyfriend and he treats me like a queen and his mother like the most precious thing in the entire world...

So why then do people say it's Islam? Isn't it just the people?

Answer 1

Islam holds women in such high status that it says in the Quran "Janat (paradise) lies under the feet of your mother"

Islam also says that women & men have equal rights. In some muslim countries they mistreat women & say Islam says so they are wrong.

Islam clearly honours & respects women.

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said that : any man who has a daughter should consider himself blessed & he should love & cherish his daughter.

Unfortunately some people misunderstand Islam & they do all the wrong things in the name of Islam.

This is a list of some of the rights of women in Islam

1. The right and duty to obtain education.

2. The right to have their own independent property.

3. The right to work to earn money if they need it or want it.

4. Equality of reward for equal deeds.

5. The right to express their opinion and be heard.

6. The right to provisions from the husband for all her needs and more.

7. The right to negotiate marriage terms of her choice.

8. The right to obtain divorce from her husband, even on the grounds that she simply can't stand him. (pls note that God deeply frowns upon divorce as a solution unless there is hardly any other alternative but it does not mean that men have more right to divorce their wives than women do.)

9. The right to keep all her own money (she is not responsible to maintain any relations).

10. The right to get sexual satisfaction from her husband.

11. custody of their children after divorce.

12. The right to refuse any marriage that does not please them
http://www.islamawareness.net/Women/

http://www.jamaat.org/islam/WomanIslam.html

........................................................................................................

Answer 2

Depends on which country, the background culture, and the individual man.

As with any group - whether religious, cultural, nationality, whatever - there are stronger people who treat weaker people in an oppressive/abusive way. This isn't confined to just one religion or group of women.

Men around the world need to impose an honour code upon each other so that those men who do treat women badly have some sort of social/financial ostracisation. It is sad that there are so many laws around to protect women: there shouldn't need to be laws. It should be common decency for all people to be treated well and fairly.

God bless,
Gypsy Queen

Answer 3

Islam clearly teaches that a woman is a full-person under the law, and is the spiritual equal of a male. Also, according to Islamic Law, women have the right to own property, operate a business and receive equal pay for equal work. Women are allowed total control of their wealth, they cannot be married against their will and they are allowed to keep their own name when married. Additionally, they have the right to inherit property and to have their marriage dissolved in the case of neglect or mistreatment. Also, Islam does not consider woman an "evil temptress", and thus does not blame woman for the "original sin". Women in Islam participate in all forms of worship that men participate in. Actually, the rights that Islam gave to women over 1400 years ago were almost unheard of in the West until the 1900s. Less than fifty years ago in England and America, a woman could not buy a house or car without the co-signature of her father or husband!

Islam is winning Western women admirers despite hostile media coverage It is even more ironic that most British converts should be women, given the widespread view in the west that Islam treats women poorly. In the United States, women converts outnumber men by four to one, and in Britain make up the bulk of the estimated 10, 000 to 20, 000 converts, forming part of a Muslim community of 1 to 1.5 million.



Prophet Muhammad told Muslim men, "the best among you is the one who is best to his family." Not Islam, but some Muslim men, do oppress women today. This is because of their cultural habits or their ignorance about their religion.

Answer 4

I think it depends on the society in which they live. It seems that Kuwait and similar Muslim nations are not oppressive. But the extreme, like the Taliban, are extremely oppressive to their women (the men are oppressed too, but not to the same extreme as women).

Answer 5

i m with u the society have much effect on woman right but Islamic law its afar from oppress any one even the animal because God is the the (Most) Gracious , the (Most) Merciful .

even in the quran there is a full chapter with the name of woman speaking about how to deal with the woman .

in Islam if u deal good with

the monther its the door to haven

the daughter its a reason to be together with the Prophet

so Islam didn't ever be or will oppressive woman

Answer 6

The religion as read in the Koran is very respectful of women. However, like any religion it can be misused to oppress people - and that is largely what has happened with Islam. Mohammed said "Educate your daughters and they will bring you joy" but clearly the Taliban didn't like this particular part of their religion so they simply ignored it. Their law against educating women was in clear contradiction with their stated religious principles.

Oppression of women is more of an artifact of Arabic culture than an Islamic principle. Too bad culture is winning the war on this issue.

Answer 7

No it is not. My husband is Muslim and I live with him in his native country. Islam gives women many rights and demands that men treat them well. When you hear about oppression in Islam, what is often being referred to are cultural practices and not religious ones. True Muslims love, respect and honor their women.

Answer 8

It's mainly the fundamentalist.

Just like fundamentalist Christans are oppressive to women.

Answer 9

forget the muslims, how about the christians/catholics/jews.................
all the above HAVE oppressive women and surpressed the Truth!

"religion is Spiritual fraud"; "religion is the Worse invention of humanity" - Jesus Christ, Buddha and any one else with Spiritual intelligence.

Without God, there is No Love; Without religion, there are No Wars!

Here's how NOT to be oppressed:

Create a private, personal, direct, divine Relationship with Our Creator and save your Soul from religion.

Only with Our Creator's Love and Peace will we be Truly Free!

Answer 10

I'm not a muslim but.....I'm sure that the extreme sect is very hard on women.......looking at them as 2nd class citizens