Islam and Women's Rights

By Azam Kamguian

Religions in general and Islam in particular are women's enemy. Women's inequality is god's commandment, in Islam enshrined in immutable law by Mohammad and eventually recorded in scripture. In most countries under Islamic states or under the influence of Islam, Koran's directives are incorporated into contemporary law. Family law in these countries generally follows the prescriptions of Koran. Veiling (hijab), divorce laws, a very young legal age of marriage, custody of children, polygamy, women's rightlessness in matters of employment, travelling, choosing the place of residence, honour killing are all aspects of Islamic Shari'a based on the Koran and Islam's doctrine. Together with these, in countries under the Islamic states, women are stoned to death for engaging in voluntary sexual relations and are stripped from their basic human rights.

 As many Western and Eastern apologists for Islam repeatedly tell us that what is happening to women in Islamic countries is not according to real Islam, and that real Islam is egalitarian, I mainly refer to the Koran, explain the Islamic Shari'a and its origins and try to demonstrate how Islam as a package including the Koran, Sunna (Hadith), Islamic Law (Shari'a), brutally violates women's civil rights and individual freedom.  

The Koran by itself and un -interpreted didn't provide enough principles and guidelines for the requirements in the early Islamic period. Therefor, Mohammad's will was as a true guide to conduct civil or religious matters. For following generations, Mohammad's companions were considered the real sources for learning his will and his tradition. Thus, Muslims relied on and passed this conduct and judgement generation after generation. Certain customs in law and ritual were established as laws and rituals that having been practised under direct leadership of Mohammad. In this way, they acquired a sacred character. This is used as Hadith or tradition or Sunna. It reflects the views and practices of the oldest Islamic community and is considered as the most authoritative interpretation of the Koran.

The Shari'a or Islamic law is based on four principles: The Koran; the Sunna of the prophet, which is incorporated in the recognised tradition (Hadith); the consensus (Ijma) of the scholars of the orthodox community; and the method of reasoning by analogy (qias)

By the beginning of 900 C.E, Islamic Law became rigidly fixed because Islamic scholars felt that all essential questions have been thoroughly discussed and settled. So that no one might be deemed to have the necessary qualifications for independent reasoning in law. Therefore all future activity would have to be confined to the explanation, application and interpretation of the doctrine as it had been laid down once for all. This closing of the gate of independent reasoning meant the un- questioning acceptance of the doctrines of established schools and authorities. Islamic Law becomes increasingly rigid and set its final mould.

Laws about women are the most cruel, inhumane and cunning aspect of the Koran and Islamic Shari'a.

Women are the Inferior Sex:

The rigid laws of Islam have deprived half of the population of their basic human rights. The male is in charge of the female: Koran 4:34, and the subjugated half is led to believe, through Islamic teachings, that the supremacy of the man is the will of Allah, and it has been predestined for women to live as submissive, obedient wives. They are forced to accept that women are inferior to men, that their testimony is equal to only half that of the man, that they should inherit one - half of the male share, that Allah doesn't want to see any women unveiled, that she may not conserve with men except her father, or her brother. The proper job and position for women is taking care of home, children and to be a housewife. The majority of Muslim women are brought up with the conviction that it is Allah's command for them to be under male dominance and their fates are interwoven with that of men.

In The Koran there are four so called neutral verses where women are considered equal to men (at least not demeaning towards women); to which apologists for Islam refer us repeatedly. Here are those:

3: 195 "Their Lord responded to the: "I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female, you are equal to one another…."

4: 124 "As for those who lead a righteous life, male or female. While believing, they enter paradise; without the slightest injustice"

16: 97 "Anyone who works righteousness, male or female, while believing, we will surely grant them a happy life in this world, and we will surely pay them their full recompense for their righteous works."

40: 40 "Whoever commits a sin is required for just that, and whoever works righteousness - male or female - while believing, these will enter paradise wherein they receive provision without any limits." 

In opposition to above four so-called neutral verses, there are hundreds of versed that deliberately defame and dehumanise women:

An-Nisa 4: 34 "As to those women On whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill -conduct, admonish them (first), (next) refuse to share beds, (and Last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means (of annoyance): For God is Most High, Great (above you all)"

Al - Baqara 2: 223 "Your women are a tilt for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilt as ye will, and send (good deeds) before you for your souls, and fear Allah, and know that ye will (one day) meet Him. Give glad tidings to believers, (o Mohammad)"

Al - Baqara 2: 222 "They questioned thee (O Mohammad) concerning menstruation, Say it is an illness, so let women alone at such times and go not unto them till they are cleansed."

Al - Baqara 2: 228 "Men, your wives are your tillage. Go into your tillage any way you want."

"Women have such honourable rights as obligations, but men have a (single) degree above them."

"Men are managers of the affairs of women because Allah has preferred men over women and women were expended of their rights."

4: 6 … "And if ye are sick on a journey, or one of you cometh from the closet, or ye have contact with a woman & ye find not water, then go to clean high ground & rub your faces & your hands with some of it…"

33: 32-33 "O ye wives of the prophet! Ye are not like any other women. If ye keep your duty (to Allah), then be not soft of speech lest he in whose heart is a disease aspire to you, but utter customary speech And stay in your houses. Bedizen not yourselves with the bedizenment of the time of ignorance. Be regular in prayer, & pay the poor due, 7 obey Allah & His messenger …"

Hadith, Mohammad's Tradition:

"If a man and woman are alone in one place, the third person present is the devil."

"I was shown the hell- fire and that the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful"

" If it had been given me to order someone to prostrate themselves in front of someone other than God, I would surely have ordered women to prostrate themselves in front of their husbands…"

"A woman cannot fulfil her duties towards god without first having accomplished those that she owes her husband."

"The woman who dies & with whom the husband is satisfied will go to paradise."

"A wife should never refuse herself to her husband even if it is on the saddle of a camel."

"Hellfire appeared to me in a dream & I noticed that it was above all people with women who had been ungrateful. "Was it towards god that they were ungrateful?" They had not shown any gratitude towards their husbands for all they had received from them … Even when all your life you have showered a woman with your largesse she will still find something petty to reproach you with one day, saying, "You have never done anything for me."

" If anything presages a bad omen it is a house, a woman, and a horse."

" Never will a people know success if they confide their affairs to a woman."

Al -Ghazali (1058-1111) One of the influential Islamic thinkers, in his "The revival of the Religious Sciences", defines the woman's role:

" She should stay at home and get on with her spinning, she should not go out often, she must not be well - informed, nor must she be communicative with her neighbours and only visit them when absolutely necessary; she should take care of her husband and respect him in his presence and his absence and seek to satisfy him in everything; she must not cheat on him nor exert money from him; she must not leave her house without his permission and if gives his permission she must not leave surreptitiously. She should put old on clothes and take deserted streets and alleys, avoid markets, and make sure that a stranger does not hear her voice or recognise her; she must not speak to a friend of her husband even in need… Her sole worry should be her virtue, her home as well as her prayers and her fast. If a friend of her husband calls when the latter is absent she must not open the door nor reply to him in order to safeguard her and her husband's honour. She should accept what her husband gives her as sufficient sexual needs at any moment "… She should be clean and ready to satisfy her husband's sexual needs at any moment."

Ghazali warns all men to be careful of women for their, "guile is immense and their mischief is noxious; they are immoral and mean spirited. "It is a fact that all the trials, misfortunes and woes which befall men come from women," moaned Al Ghazali.

In his book of counsel for kings, Ghazali sums up all that a woman had to suffer and endure because of Eve's misbehaviour in the Garden of Eden:

"As for the distinctive characteristics with which God on high has punished women, 9the matter is as follows): "When Eve ate fruit which he had forbidden to her from tree in Paradise, the Lord, be He praised, punished women with eighteen things: 1) menstruation; 2) childbirth; 3) separation from mother and father and marriage to a stranger; 4) pregnancy; 5) not having control over her own person; 6) a lesser share in inheritance; 7) her liability to be divorce; 8) its being lawful for men to have four wives, but for a woman to have only one husband; 9) the fact that she must stay secluded in the house; 10) the fact that two women's testimony has to be set against the testimony of one man; 12) the fact that she must not go out of the house unless accompanied by a close relative; 13) the fact that men take in Friday and feast day prayers and funerals while women do not; 14) disqualification for rulership and judgeship; 15) the fact that merit has one thousand components, only one of which is attributable to women, while 999 are attributable to men; 16) … 17) the fact that if their husbands die they must observe a waiting period of four months and ten days before remarrying. 18) The fact that if their husbands divorce them they must observe a waiting period of three months or three menstrual periods before remarrying …"

Veiling (hijab)

One of the most controversial Islamic laws with respect to women is the requirement for complete veiling (hijab) in accordance with koranic tenets. The wearing of the veil was instituted by Mohammad in the early days of Islam. Within about one hundred years of his death, the institution of veiling and seclusion had been spread all over the Middle East. One and a half centuries after his death, the system was fully established. The Koran instructs women to "guard their modesty" literally meaning covering their genitals, "not to display their beauty and ornaments", and to "draw their veils."

The effect of all kinds of veils is the same, the woman is rendered anonymous, a non -person, unapproachable, just a silent being skulking along, looking neither to the right or left, who gives a ghostly impression. For those who do not know her personally, she is nameless and faceless. She is taboo. The Islamic head- cover mentioned in Koran 33: 59, and the curtain referred to in Koran 33: 53, which was meant to separate the man from the woman. Why is Islam so obsessed with keeping men and women part? Why have Islam gone to such great lengths to maintain control over women? The main reason for hijab is the male sexual insecurity and the need for controlling women's sexuality.

The following quote is attributed to Mohammad by a number of Hadith collectors: "A woman is a pudendum (awrat) which is proper to hide and cover; therefor when a woman goes out Satan looks at her and desire to carry her from the road." In the eyes of Mohammad, according to this quote, all male believers are potential "Satans" who might try to take unconcealed women for themselves. When this statement was made, most of the residents of Medina were Mohammad's followers, and most of the non-believers had been either driven out of the town or butchered. Therefore, "Satan" can refer to none other than the Muslim occupants of the town.

Mohammad himself was one of the men who were unable to control their lust upon looking at women. Once he visited the home if Zayd, his adopted son, and there saw Zaynab, Zayd's wife, half-naked. Mohammad's obvious desire for the woman eventually led to the divorce of Zayd from his wife and shortly thereafter Mohammad married her himself.

The law of veiling is not only humiliating to women, but it is an insult to men. It is a clear indication that, in the eyes of Mohammad; all Muslim males were sex-crazed. The obvious Implication is that seeing a woman without a veil would cause the typical Muslim male to lose control and that unveiled women would constantly be subjected to unwanted sexual advances.

The prevailing opinion among orthodox Islamic leaders and thinkers seems to be that men and women are like fire and gunpowder of fire or cotton; in close proximity they're liable to explode from unchecked sexual desire. They should therefore be kept as far apart as possible (through both veiling and seclusion) to reduce the potential for social evils.

Veil (hijab) is imposed on women in many countries under the influence of Islam, either legally or under cultural and social pressure. Saudi women typically don a billowy black cloak called an Abaya, along with a black scarf and veil over the face. Morality police enforce the dress code by striking errant women with sticks. The women of Iran and the Sudan can expose the face, but should cover the hair and the neck. Otherwise they are faced arrest, imprisonment, flagging, cash fines; and if they refuse it, they face knife and acid attack. Under Taliban, women of Afghanistan had to wear burqa. Political Islamic groups vigorously campaign to block reforms in women's civil rights in the Middle East and North Africa. As long as Islam secludes women from the public life, no real socio-economic progress is possible.

The Wild and Naked Misogyny in the Koran  

The most despicable expression one can ever come across is that according to Hadith, women of heaven will be created in such a way that after each sexual intercourse, they will become virgin again. What a naked and misogynist lust for virgins! What an insult to women and to humans!  Here, I quote Koranic verses about Huris, virgins and the sexist nature of Islam. These are few among many in the Koran:

52: 17-20 "They will recline (with ease) on thrones arranged in ranks. And We shall marry them to Huris with wide lovely eye. There they shall pass from hand to hand a cup of wine."

37:40-48 "They will sit with bashful, dark - eyed virgins, as chaste as the sheltered eggs of ostriches."

44:52-55 "Yes and we shall wed them to dark- eyed beautiful virgins."

55:56-57 "In them will be bashful virgins neither man nor Jinn will have touched before. Then which of favourites of your Lord will you deny?"

78: 31 "As for the righteous, they surely triumph. Their gardens and vineyards and high - breast virgins for companions, truly overflowing cup of wine."

78: 33-34 "And young full - breasted (mature) maidens of equal age, and a full cup of wine."

"Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both (Jinn and men) deny? (In beauty) they are like rubies and corals."

56: 7-40 "Owe created the Huris and made them virgins, loving companions for those on the right hands."

55: 70-77 "In each there shall be virgins chaste and fair, dark eyed virgins sheltered in their tents whom neither man nor Jinn have touched before."

56: 22 "And there will be Huris with wide, lovely eyes as wives for the pious."

56: 35-36 "Verily, We have created them (maidens) of special creation. And made them virgins."  

40: 45 "Surely for the God - fearing awaits a place of security gardens and vineyards and maidens with swelling breasts.

The tidings: 30 The Huris are ever - young women who have wide eyes, flexing glances and swelling breasts."

Divorce

According to the Koran and Islamic law, a man has the right to terminate his marriage whenever and wherever he pleases. It is the absolute power of a Muslim male to repudiate his wife unilaterally at his discretion. He needs no reason for a divorce; a family quarrel or bad temper is sufficient. Divorce does not require any court, judge, lawyer, or counsellor. One phrase from a husband is enough to break the marriage bond: "you are divorced."

The Koran states: "If ye wish to exchange one wife for another…." (4:20), giving the absolute power to the man to repudiate his wife and marry another without any formalities. In fact more than two dozens verses in Allah's scripture explain the modes of divorce (Koran 2: 226, 227, 228, 230 -37, 241, 242; 4: 19-21, 130; 33: 49; 58: 3, 4; 63: 1-7; 4: 35).

According to Islamic law, when a man wishes to divorce his wife, all he has to do is to say: "you are divorced," or "you are dismissed."  In the second half of the 20^th century, based on some legal changes in some of the Middle Eastern countries, men are required to be present in family courts and repudiated their wives before a judge. A man may divorce a wife and call her back up to three times. After the third repudiation, he cannot take her back again unless she marries and is separated from someone else first.

Fear of poverty keeps many women locked in bad marriages, as does the prospect of losing their children. Typically, fathers win custody of boys over the age of six and girls after the onset of puberty.

A woman can sue for divorce in the Islamic court on the specific grounds, such as the impotency of her husband, non-payment of maintenance, or his insanity. Cruelty is not sufficient grounds for divorce because wife beating is enjoined in the Koran. When a woman applies to the court for an injunction of divorce, and the husband is not willing to repudiate her, the procedure can be very lengthy and in most cases is futile.

A woman, therefore, cannot repudiate her spouse as easily as a man, unless her right to do so is clearly specified in the marriage contract and a clause in incorporated therein to empower her to file for a divorce. Sometimes the wife who is desperate to be freed from marriage agrees to pay a specified amount of money to her husband for her release.

The offering of financial consideration of some sort is commonly the repayment of the bride- price. When the marriage is contracted, a sum of money is stipulated to be paid by the husband to the wife or her male kinsmen before or after the wedding. This is called mahr (bride- price), which means marriage settlement or dowry. A man who divorces his wife must pay the full amount of the bride- price. When the wife agrees to buy her freedom, it is called khula in Arabic, which means something belonging to the wife is taken away from her. "There is no sin for either of them if the woman ransom herself." (Koran 2:229) The text of the scripture makes clear that the wife is actually paying money to her husband to get her freedom. This is ransom money, reminiscent of the ancient Arabian nomad's rite, which allowed the release of the booty or captive of the raids after receiving a ransom or head -price.

Thus, in Islam a man actually buys his wife when he bargains over the bride - price (mahr) and sells his wife's freedom back to her when a financial settlement is paid for by her for a divorce.

The legal Age of Marriage

At the age of 9, based on lunar year (when she is actually 8 years and 8 months) she is considered an adult and has to pray, fast and cover herself by hijab and eligible to be married. Mohammad's favourite wife, Aisha; according to evidence, was 6 when Mohammad met her, and nine when the marriage consummated.

Custody of Children

She cannot get custody of her children, even if their father dies. In the case of divorce or death, she surrenders her children to their father and /or his family.

Women's other Civil Rights

Women living under Islamic Law cannot travel, work, study, and leave their houses without their fathers or husbands' permission. They do not have the right to choose the place of their residence. Under the terms of Koranic law, any judge fulfilling the seven requirements (that he have reached puberty, be a believer, know the Koranic laws perfectly, be just, and not be affected by amnesia, or not born illegitimate, or be of the female sex), is qualified to dispense justice in any type of cases.

According to Islamic Law, woman cannot choose her mate and is not permitted to divorce him. Her husband can divorce without her knowledge, and according to Shari'a, he is required to support her for only 100 days.

Polygamy

According to the Koran a man can have four permanent wives and as many temporary wives as he wants:

2: 3 "And of ye are apprehensive that ye shall not deal fairly with orphans, then, of other women who seem good in your eyes marry but two, or three or four, and if ye still fear that ye shall not act equitably, then one only; or the slaves whom ye have acquired."

Al -Nisa 4: 24 "And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hand possess. …"

"Also (prohibited are) women already married except those whom your right hands possess: …"

33: 52 "It is not lawful for thee (to marry more) women after this, nor to change them for (other) wives, even though their beauty attract thee, except any thy right hand should possess (as handmaidens): and Allah doth watch over all things."

Al - Nisa 4: 34 "Marry such women as seem good to you, two, three, four; but if you fear you will not be equitable, then only one, or what your right hands own; so it is likelier you will not be partial."

23: 1,5,6 "Happy now the believers, humble is their prayers, shunning vain conversation, paying the poor -due, and who restrain their appetites except with their wives or the slaves whom their right hands possess: for in that case they shall be free from blame. "  

33: 49-51 O "prophet! We allow thee they wives whom thou hast dowered, and the slaves whom thy right hand possesseth out of the booty which God hath granted thee, and the daughters of thy uncles, thy paternal and maternal aunts who fled with thee to Medina, and any believing woman who hath given herself up to the Prophet, if the prophet desired to wed her - a privilege for thee above the rest of the Faithful. We well know what we have settled for them, in regard to their wives and to the slaves…; that there may be no fault on thy part … Thou mayest decline for the present whom thou wilt of them, and thou mayest take to thy bed her whom thou wilt, and whomsoever thou shalt long for those thou shalt have before neglected, and this shall not be a crime in thee."

Honour Killing

Honour killings are an example of a practice that is commonly associated with Islam. It has broader root and has been incorporated into Islamic rules and Islamic law; Shari'a. It is based in medireview tribal culture, in which a family's authority and ultimately its survival is tightly linked to its honour. Muslim perpetrators repeatedly justify their crime by referring to the Koran that states harsh punishments for adultery.

Slavery

Slavery and Slave girls are the one of the blackest spots in humanity and in human's history. According to the Koran and Islamic teaching, in a true Islamic state, we may see markets exclusive for selling and buying human beings, particularly girls and women, as slaves. We may see concubines traded, legally and morally according to the wholly book. And these human beings will be exactly like us with dreams, hope, pains, smiles and tears. And they, according to 'egalitarian Islam' will be our belongings just as our shoes.

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Civilised humanity has slowly advanced towards the equal treatment of women, and the recognition of women's equal rights. Religions are one of the oldest and the most persistent obstacles in the way of women's equality and freedom. Indeed, religion is women's enemy and it is the nature of all religions particular Islam to look backwards to past ancient times and antiquated values.

Women will be universally equal someday, when that day comes, it will arrive in spite of religions, and as a result of a just fight against Islam and all other religions.