Women In The Islamic Society

It wasn't until 622 AD that the Islamic religion took its lead. It started with the creator, Prophet Muhammad and his followers fleeing to the town of Yathrib and starting the first Hijra movement. This movement began the popularity of the Islamic faith (Patel). Today the Islamic faith is one of the most practiced religions in the world. The Islamic faith goes back to the town of Mecca, which is considered for them the holiest place in the world. The Kaaba, which is located in Mecca, holds many of the hundreds of god and goddess that they worship (Patel). Many people around the world see their religion through different eyes and assume that what they worship and how they treat their loved ones is strange. Guity Nashat, a professor at University of Illinois said, "The treatment of women provided Europeans with an excuse to declare the inferiority of Muslims and their religion" (Siddiqui). Most of the ideas and assumptions drawn by everyone are misunderstood and completely wrong within the Islamic community. Muslims living in Canada especially females have a hard time explaining themselves to Canadians about why they wear what they wear and act how they act. A female Muslim living in Canada said "If Muslim women and men choose to settle their family disputes within Islamic law, as members of other faith communities have chosen to do so, then it is their choice"(Ehsan). Muslims should not have to explain themselves because of what they do and what they believe in. The most talked about issue when it comes to the Islamic religion is how the female population is treated and how others feel that they are denied their rights and freedoms. The Islamic faith has many traditions and culture history that is important to each person. Most of the traditions are brought back to Canada and Canadians find it confusing on why the women take the abuse and follow the strict rules of their tradition. For the women in the Islamic faith they are considered a second class citizen and there are rules that they must follow, the way that they dress, they get abused within their love relationships, are not aloud to make the decision on getting a divorce or not and they may not marry a non-Muslim. With these rules many would think that they are restricted on their lives and what they want to do.

1. Patel, Mohammad. "The Islamic Era." 16 Apr 2007

2. Patel, Mohammad. "The Islamic Era." 16 Apr 2007

3. Siddiqui, Haroon. Being Muslim. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2006.

4. Ehsan, Khadija . "Sharia law is misunderstood." 2004 16 Apr 2007

In Canada, most of the Muslim traditions are brought back from their home country. One of the traditions is what women wear. In the Islamic religion women are not allowed to show any part of their body because it said to be only for their husbands to see. The rules for women say that when they are going out or at the comfort of their own home they have to cover their body from head to toe. They wear a long black gown and some may wear a veil to cover their face (Lawton). In most opinions women of any faith should not be told what to wear and how they wear it. This is an example of showing how the women are treated as second class citizens and do not have any say of their own lives. Most Muslim women do not mind wearing the veil over their head and they feel that it is important for them to wear that to show some respect for their religion. In Canada, there have been many cases on what young female Muslims wear and they have been discriminated and not allowed to participate in a sporting event. There are many Muslim women who choose to wear the headscarf and these girls were showing that there is no barrier to societal participation (Toronto Star). In somewhat Muslim females may not always oppose what they wear because it is not as badly as some of the other rules that they must follow. The reason why it is looked at so much is because people all over the world assume that the women do not want to wear it and that they are being pressured into wearing what they wear. They should have a choice on what they wear but this is not one of the traditions that are ruling their lives and there are much worse rules and regulations that they must follow from both their family, meaning their mother and father and also from the husband.

5. Lawton, Clive A. Islam. Hong Kong: Young Library Ltd., 1995.

6. Toronto Star, "Yet another case of discrimination." Apr 18 2007 21 Apr 2007 .

Life is supposed to be treated with respect and be enjoyed every minute. The human body is part of life and it should not be taken for granted or be abused. In the Muslim society it is considered not wrong if you beat your wife or children. There have been many arguments on if beating your wife is part of the Islamic faith or if it just an Islamic ritual. In the Koran which is the holy scriptures of the Islamic faith states; Men are the maintainers of women...The good women therefore, obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping places and beat them; then if they obey you, you do not seek a way against them (4:34) (Siddiqui). The women are to be obedient to their husband and never go against what they say. Most marriages in modern times show no signs of abuse within the relationship, and Muslims see nothing wrong with beating their wife who has been disobedient to them. Women are denied their rights and freedom and are unable to do what they want. Traditions such as this should be changed that can help both the women and the families of the Islamic community. Wife abuse has hurt many Muslim women, destroyed many Muslim families, and weakened the entire Muslim community (Memon). In Canada there have been many cases of wife abuse in the Muslim community but there has been nothing done because Canadians are ignoring the fact that they are abusing their wives. In the Islamic faith it is not always the way of things. Not everyone in the Islamic faith abuse their wives. The founded believed in women rights but through the years new traditions and way of life has changed dramatically. Wife abuse has been around in all cultures but within the Muslim community it has been looked at more because they feel that it is their religion that the things that they do is the right way of life but in reality it is only hurting their relationship and breaking up their families.

7. Siddiqui, Haroon. Being Muslim. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2006.

8. Memon, Kamran. "Wife Abuse in the Muslim Community."