Gender roles and treatment of women in Islam

Gender and Islam

Religion is a very important part of any society. Within the context of many religious groups, gender plays a major role in determining how individuals are treated and their position in society. In most major religions women are expected to take a more submissive role. The purpose of this discussion is to explore gender and religion as it pertains to Islam. The research will focus on the manner in which women have been treated different Muslim nations. The research will also focus on the role of men in Islamic Society.

Islam

Islam is a religion that is practiced throughout the world and particularly in the Middle East and Eastern nations. However Islam is also one of the most rapidly growing religions in the Western Hemisphere. There has long been a great deal of interests in the Islamic system of beliefs.

What many have come to understand in recent years is that there are certain branches within the religion. The two primary branches are Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Sunni Muslims hold that the first four successors after Mohammed, reffered to as caliphs, rightfully took Mohammeds position as Islamic leaders ("What is the Difference Between..."). In addition, Sunni Muslims believe that the successors of the four caliphs as genuine Islamic leaders. These successors were continuously in power in the Arab world until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I ("What is the Difference Between...").

On the other hand, Shiites hold that only the heirs of the fourth caliph, are the legitimate successors of Mohammed. In the year 931 the Twelfth Imam vanished. This episode was particularly devastated Shiite Muslims. The author further explains that,

According to R. Scott Appleby, a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, "Shiite Muslims, who are concentrated in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, [believe they] had suffered the loss of divinely guided political leadership" at the time of the Imam's disappearance. Not "until the ascendancy of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1978" did they believe that they had once again begun to live under the authority of a legitimate religious figure ("What is the Difference Between...")."

In addition to this major difference as it pertains to authentic leadership, these branches of Islam have been feuding for centuries. A great deal of the feuding had to do with which group is in positions of power within the muslim world. This feud is currently the most evident in Iraq and errupted in a significant way after the fall of Suddam Hussein.

Following the terrorists attacks of September, 11, 2001, there has been an increased interest in Islamic religious practices particularly as it pertained to the treatment of women in Afghanistan. Afghanistan was of particular interests because it was believed that the mastermind behind the attacks was hiding in Afghanistan with the support of the Taliban.

Women in Islam

Afghanistan and the Taliban great deal of this interest arose as a result of reports that began to surface about the Taliban in Afghanistan. Even prior to the terrorist attacks, there was some attention paid to this particular group of radical Muslims. The Taliban is a group of Muslim extremists that are notorious for their brutal treatment of women in Afghanistan.

The rulers and members of the Taliban are from some of the most conservative groups of Islam. According to Tell (2002) the Taliban begin in the wake of wars and civil unrest in that region of the world. By 1994 the Taliban had become a military force and they used the Islamic faith to justify all of the rules and punishments that they established. The Taliban asserted that the manner in which women were treated were consistent with the teachings of the Koran. However religious and Islamic scholars have posited that the edicts of the Taliban are not supported by the teachings of the Koran. Many have pointed out that the first task of the Prophet Mohammed first was to liberate women.

There were several edicts or regulations placed on women under Taliban rule. These regulations included the wearing of a Burqa, Male accompaniment, Education restrictions and limited access to medical physicians. The wearing of a Burqa was perhaps one of the most oppressing elements of life for women under Taliban rule. A burqa, also referred to as a chadari, is a full length covering with only an opening for the eyes. The author points out that, women in this area of the world wore burqas prior to the Taliban coming into power but it was always voluntary; when the Taliban came into power the wearing of the burqa become mandatory. The author also points out that the Burqa was so oppressive because the heavy cloth covering can induce panic, claustrophobia and headaches. it's a psychological hobbling for women that is akin to Chinese foot binding. it's also life threatening. Try negotiating a busy Kabul street-around donkey carts, careening buses and the Taliban roaring by in Datsun pickups -- when your hearing is muffled and your vision is reduced to a narrow mesh grid (Tell, 2002-page 8)."

Not only were women forced to wear the Burqa under Taliban rule, they could be punished brutally for not wearing one or not wearing it properly.

Although this was a serious issue, there were additional edicts under the Taliban that were even more detrimental such as limitations on the education of women. Under the Taliban schooling stopped at the age of eight for girls.

According to the author women and girls were the most resistant to this ban. This resistance came because the women knew that without an education they would be completely powerless. As such there were many teachers that had underground schools where girls could be educated. However, if the Taliban found out about the schools, the teachers could be killed.

In addition to the wearing o burqas and bans on the education of girls, there were also restrictions related to access to medical care and women had to be accompanied by men in public. The lack of access to medical care was a major problem and many women did not receive the care they needed.

Men in Islam

As it pertains to men in the Islamic world, their positions in Muslim society are significant. The Islamic religious leaders are and have been men ever since the inception of the religion. Men hold the highest positions in the Muslim faith and they still dominate positions in government in Islamic nations.

The dominance in men in Muslim society is the most prevalent in the Muslim home. As with other aspects of Islam, the amount of power or dominance that men have has a great deal to do with the nation that they live in. However for the most part Muslim men are seen as the rulers of the home and are expected to provide for their families.

In some of the more conservative or even primitive factions of Islam men are permitted and even instructed and permitted to beat their wives (Hekmat, 1997). Wives can be beaten if they try to challenge their husband's authority or if she conducts herself in a way that her husband does not approve of. Again this type of treatment of women is not characteristic of all Muslim men but it is a prevalent practice in many Islamic homes.

Muslim men are also allowed to have more than one wife. Many Muslim men in more moderate countries do not practice this aspect of Islam. However, many Muslim men do have more than one wife and many children. According to a book entitled Women and the Koran: The Status of Women in Islam

For the ordinary Muslim man, the Koran (4: 3) decrees: "Marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four." Thus, the institution of polygamy was divinely legalized by Muhammad in his scripture and on the basis of such permission, many millions of Muslim males have had more than one wife in wedlock. Some apologists, however, try to justify this institution by saying that Islam, though it permits polygamy, does not enjoin it: "The passage permits polygamy under certain circumstances; it does not enjoin it nor even permit it unconditionally." However, polygamy has been in practice in Islam ever since Muhammad permitted it in the Koran. The law permitting a Muslim male to marry as many as four wives concurrently is most certainly a discriminatory decree against women and to the benefit of men in every Muslim society (Hekmat, 1997, pg 128-129)."

In addition to marriage laws and the position of men within the home, Muslim men, particularly those that are from extreme factions of Islam, may be expected to participate in Jihad. Jihad is defined as struggle or striving (Knapp, 2003). However it is often interpreted to mean holy war. In Jihad men are often the ones that "go to war" or sacrifice themselves for the cause of Islam. Although most Jihadists are men, there has been a substantial increase in the number of women that have been involved in acts of Jihad. In some cases women are used to carry out certain acts because people are less likely to suspect them and therefore the act can be carried out without interruption. Whether male or female any Muslim can participate in Jihad, however they often participate in different ways.

Overall men have a great deal of power as it pertains to the Muslim faith. Men control the government and most aspects of Muslim life throughout the Muslim world. Many fundamentalists in the Muslim faith still practice the polygamy and are permitted to beat their wives with no consequences. However, in some countries there is more of a balance of power between men and women. In addition in the nations where this balance of power exists, there is greater equality for women and men are not resistant or bitter about this equality.

Conclusion

The purpose of this discussion was to explore gender and religion as it pertains to Islam. The research will focus on the manner in which women have been treated different Muslim nations. The investigation revealed that women in certain areas of the world have been treated cruelly under the guise of Islam. Muslim extremists such as the Taliban have mistreated women and forced them to adhere to some very rigid edicts. However, the research also reveals that there are moderate nations in which women hold positions of power in government and in various industries.

The research also focused on the role of men in Islamic Society. Overall it was made evident through the research that Muslim men have the most power within the context of Islamic religion and in the context of the Islamic home and family life.