Women in Ancient Civilizations:

]The issue of gender equity is important,
relevant, and current. Debates and writings on the subject are increasing
and are diverse in their perspectives. The Islamic perspective on the
issue is the least understood and most misrepresented by non-Muslims and some
Muslims as well. This article is intended to provide a brief and authentic
exposition of what Islam stands for in this regard.
Women
in Ancient Civilizations:[

[b][size=16]One major objective of this article is to provide
a fair evaluation of what Islam contributed toward the restoration of woman’s
dignity and rights. In order to achieve this objective, it may be useful
to review briefly how women were treated in general in previous civilizations
and religions, especially those which preceded Islam (before 610 AD). Part
of the information provided here, however, describes the status of woman as late
as this century, more than 13 centuries after Islam.[/size][/b]
[b][size=16](1) Describing the status of the Indian woman,
[i] The Encyclopedia Britannica[/i], 1911, states: “In India, subjection was a cardinal principle.
Day and night must women be held by their protectors in a state of dependence
says Manu. The rule of inheritance was agnatic, that is descent traced through
males to the exclusion of females.” In Hindu scriptures, the description of
a good wife is as follows: “a woman whose mind, speech and body are kept in
subjection, acquires high renown in this world, and, in the next, the same abode
with her husband.” (Mace, [i] Marriage East and West[/i]).
](2) In Athens, women were not better off than either the Indian
or the Roman women: “Athenian women were always minors, subject to some
male - to their father, to their brother, or to some of their male kin.”
(Allen, E. A., [i] History of Civilization[/i]). Her consent in marriage was not generally
thought to be necessary and “she was obliged to submit to the wishes of her
parents, and receive from them her husband and her lord, even though he were
stranger to her.” (Previous Source)[
[b][size=16](3) A Roman wife was described by a historian as:
“a babe,
a minor, a ward, a person incapable of doing or acting anything according to her
own individual taste, a person continually under the tutelage and guardianship
of her husband.” (Previous Source). In [i] The Encyclopedia Britannica[/i], 1911, we
find a summary of the legal status of women in the Roman civilization: “In
Roman Law a woman was even in historic times completely dependent. If married
she and her property passed into the power of her husband . . . the wife was the
purchased property of her husband, and like a slave acquired only for his
benefit. A woman could not exercise any civil or public office . . . could not be
a witness, surety, tutor, or curator; she could not adopt or be adopted, or make
will or contract.]
[b][size=16](4) Among the Scandinavian races women were:
“under
perpetual tutelage, whether married or unmarried. As late as the Code of
Christian V, at the end of the 17th Century, it was enacted that if a woman
married without the consent of her tutor he might have, if he wished,
administration and usufruct of her goods during her life.” ([i]The
Encyclopedia Britannica[/i], 1911).[
[b][size=16](5) In Britain, the right of married women to own property was
not recognized until the late 19th Century, “By a series of acts starting
with the Married Women’s Property Act in 1870, amended in 1882 and 1887, married
women achieved the right to own property and to enter into contracts on a par
with spinsters, widows, and divorcees.” ([i]Encyclopedia Britannica[/i], 1968).
In
France, it was not until 1938 that the French Law was amended so as to recognize
the eligibility of women to contract. A married woman, however, was still
required to secure her husband’s permission before she could dispense with her
private property.[/size][/b]
[b][size=16](6) In the Mosaic (Jewish) Law, the wife was betrothed.
Explaining this concept, the [i] Encyclopedia Biblica[/i], 1902, states: “To
betroth a wife to oneself meant simply to acquire possession of her by payment
of the purchase money; the betrothed is a girl for whom the purchase money has
been paid.” From the legal point of view, the consent of the girl was not
necessary for the validation of her marriage. “The girl’s consent is
unnecessary and the need for it is nowhere suggested in the Law.” (Previous
Source). As to the right of divorce, we read in the [i] Encyclopedia
Biblica[/i]: “The woman being man’s property, his right to divorce her follows as a
matter of course.” The right to divorce was held only by man, [i] The
Encyclopedia Britannica[/i], 1911, states: “In the Mosaic Law divorce was a
privilege of the husband only...”[/size][/b]
[b][size=16](7) The position of the Christian Church until recent centuries
seems to have been influenced by both the Mosaic Law and by the streams of
thought that were dominant in its contemporary cultures. In their book, [i] Marriage
East and West[/i], David and Vera Mace wrote: “Let no one suppose, either, that
our Christian heritage is free of such slighting judgments. It would be hard to
find anywhere a collection of more degrading references to the female sex than
the early Church Fathers provide. Lecky, the famous historian, speaks of ‘these
fierce incentives which form so conspicuous and so grotesque a portion of the
writing of the Fathers . . . woman was represented as the door of hell, as the
mother of all human ills. She should be ashamed at the very thought that she is
a woman. She should live in continual penance on account of the curses she has
brought upon the world. She should be ashamed of her dress, for it is the
memorial of her fall. She should be especially ashamed of her beauty, for it is
the most potent instrument of the devil.’ One of the most scathing of these
attacks on woman is that of Tertullian: ‘Do you know that you are each an Eve?
The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age; the guilt must of
necessity live too. You are the devil’s gateway; you are the unsealer of that
forbidden tree; you are the first deserters of the divine law; you are she who
persuades him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack.’ Not only did the church affirm the inferior status of
woman, it deprived her of legal rights she had previously enjoyed.”

Foundations of Spiritual and Human Equity in Islam:

[b][size=16]In the midst of the darkness that engulfed the
world, the divine revelation echoed in the wide desert of Arabia in the seventh
Century with a fresh, noble, and universal message to humanity, described below.
[b][size=16](1) According to the Holy Quran, men
and women have the same human spiritual nature:

O
mankind,
fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its
mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women...
(Quran, 4:1, see also 7:189, 42:11, 16:72, 32:9, and 15:29).
[b][size=16](2) God has invested both genders
with inherent dignity and has made men and women, collectively, the trustees of God
on earth (see the Quran 17:70 and 2:30).[/size][/b]
[b][size=16](3) The Quran does not blame woman
for the “fall of man,” nor does it view pregnancy and childbirth as
punishments for “eating from the forbidden tree.” On the contrary, the
Quran depicts Adam and Eve as equally responsible for their sin in the Garden,
never singling out Eve for blame. Both repented, and both were forgiven
(see the Quran 2:36-37 and 7:19-27). In fact, in one verse (Quran 20:121) Adam
specifically was blamed. The Quran also esteems pregnancy and childbirth
as sufficient reasons for the love and respect due to mothers from their
children
[b][size=16](4) Men and women have the same
religious and moral duties and responsibilities. Each human being shall
face the consequences of his or her deeds:
[b][size=16]
[img(12,22)]http://www.islam-guide.com/aqwas-ys.jpg[/img] And
their Lord responded to them (saying): Never will I allow to be lost the work
of (any) worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another...
[b][size=16](5) The Quran is quite clear about
the issue of the claimed superiority or inferiority of any human, male or
female. The sole basis for superiority of any person over another is piety
and righteousness not gender, color, or nationality (see the Quran 49:13).
Economic Aspect of Women in Islam:

[b][size=16](1) The Right to Possess Personal
Property: Islam decreed a right of which woman was deprived both before
Islam and after it (even as late as this century), the right of independent
ownership. The Islamic Law recognizes the full property rights of
women before and after marriage. They may buy, sell, or lease any or all of their
properties at will. For this reason, Muslim women may keep (and in fact they
have traditionally kept) their maiden names after marriage, an indication of
their independent property rights as legal entities.[/size][/b]
[b][size=16](2) Financial Security and Inheritance
Laws: Financial security is assured for women. They are entitled to receive
marital gifts without limit and to keep present and future properties and income
for their own security, even after marriage. No married woman is required to
spend any amount at all from her property and income on the household. The woman
is entitled also to full financial support during marriage and during the “waiting period”
([i]iddah[/i]) in case of divorce or widowhood. Some
jurists require, in addition, one year’s support for divorce and widowhood (or
until they remarry, if remarriage takes place before the year is over). A woman
who bears a child in marriage is entitled to child support from the child’s
father. Generally, a Muslim woman is guaranteed support in all stages of her
life, as a daughter, wife, mother, or sister. The financial advantages accorded
to women and not to men in marriage and in family have a social counterpart in
the provisions that the Quran lays down in the laws of inheritance, which afford
the male, in most cases, twice the inheritance of a female. Males inherit more
but ultimately they are financially responsible for their female relatives:
their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters. Females inherit less but retain
their share for investment and financial security, without any legal obligation
to spend any part of it, even for their own sustenance (food, clothing, housing,
medication, etc). It should be noted that before Islam, women
themselves were sometimes objects of inheritance (see the Quran 4:19). In some
western countries, even after the advent of Islam, the whole estate of the
deceased was given to his/her eldest son. The Quran, however, made it clear that
both men and women are entitled to a specified share of the estate of their
deceased parents or close relatives. God has said:[/size][/b]
[b][size=16]
[img(12,22)]http://www.islam-guide.com/aqwas-ys.jpg[/img] For men is a share of what the
parents and close relatives leave, and for women is a share of what the parents
and close relatives leave, be it little or much, an obligatory share.

(3) Employment: With regard to
the
woman’s right to seek employment, it should be stated first that Islam
regards
her role in society as a mother and a wife as her most sacred and
essential one.
Neither maids nor baby sitters can possibly take the mother’s place as
the
educator of an upright, complex-free, and carefully-reared child. Such a
noble
and vital role, which largely shapes the future of nations, cannot be
regarded
as idleness. However, there is no decree in Islam that forbids women
from seeking employment whenever there is a necessity for it, especially
in
positions which fit her nature best and in which society needs her
most. Examples of these professions are nursing, teaching (especially
children),
medicine, and social and charitable work.[

Social Aspect of Women in Islam:
[b][size=21]A) As a Daughter:[/size][/b]
[b][size=16](1) The Quran ended the cruel practice of
female infanticide, which was before Islam. God has said:

[img(12,22)]http://www.islam-guide.com/aqwas-ys.jpg[/img] And
when the girl (who was) buried alive is asked, for what sin she was killed.

](2) The Quran went further to rebuke the
unwelcoming attitude of some parents upon hearing the news of the birth of a
baby girl, instead of a baby boy. God has said:[/size][/b]

[img(12,22)]http://www.islam-guide.com/aqwas-ys.jpg[/img] And
when one of them is informed of (the birth of) a female, his face becomes dark,
and he suppresses grief. He hides himself from the people because of the
ill of which he has been informed. Should he keep it in humiliation or
bury it in the ground? Certainly, evil is what they decide.
[b][size=16](3) Parents are duty-bound to support and
show kindness and justice to their daughters. The Prophet Muhammad [
said: {Whosoever supports two daughters until they mature, he and I
will come on the Day of Judgment as this (and he pointed with his fingers
held together).}[/size][/b]
[b][size=16](4) A crucial aspect in the upbringing of
daughters that greatly influences their future is education. Education is
not only a right but a responsibility for all males and females. The
Prophet Muhammad [img(21,17)]http
said: {Seeking knowledge is mandatory for every Muslim.} The word
“Muslim” here is inclusive of both males and females.[/size][/b]
[b][size=16](5) Islam neither requires nor encourages
female circumcision. And while it is maybe practiced by some Muslims in
certain parts of Africa, it is also practiced by other peoples, including
Christians, in those places, a reflection merely of the local customs and
practices there.[]
[b][size=21]B) As a Wife:]
[b][size=16](1) Marriage in Islam is based on mutual
peace, love, and compassion, and not just the mere satisfying of human sexual
desire. Among the most impressive verses in the Quran about marriage is
the following:[/size][/b]

[img(12,22)]http://www.islam-guide.com/aqwas-ys.jpg[/img] And
of His signs is: that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find
tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in
that are signs for a people who give thought. [img(12,22)]
[b][size=16](2) The female has the right to accept or
reject marriage proposals. According to the Islamic Law, women cannot be
forced to marry anyone without their consent.[/size][/b]
[b][size=16](3) The husband is responsible for the
maintenance, protection, and overall leadership of the family, within the
framework of consultation (see the Quran 2:233) and kindness (see the Quran
4:19). The mutuality and complementarity of husband and wife does not mean
subservience by either party to the other. The Prophet Muhammad
instructed Muslims regarding women: {I commend you to be good to women.}
And {The best among you are those who are best to their wives.}
The Quran urges husbands to be kind and considerate
to their wives, even if a wife falls out of favor with her husband or
disinclination for her arises within him:

...And
live with them in kindness. For if you dislike them, perhaps you dislike a
thing and God makes therein much good.
(Quran, 4:19)[/size][/b]
[b][size=16]It also outlawed the Arabian practice before
Islam whereby the stepson of the deceased father was allowed to take possession
of his father’s widow(s) (inherit them) as if they were part of the estate of
the deceased (see the Quran 4:19).[/size][/b]
[b][size=16](4) Should marital disputes arise, the
Quran encourages couples to resolve them privately in a spirit of fairness and
probity. Indeed, the
Quran outlines an enlightened step and wise approach for the husband and wife to
resolve persistent conflict in their marital life. In the event that
dispute cannot be resolved equitably between husband and wife, the Quran
prescribes mediation between the parties through family intervention on behalf
of both spouses (see the Quran 4:35
[b][size=16](5) Divorce is a last resort, permissible
but not encouraged, for the Quran esteems the preservation of faith and the
individual’s right -male and female alike- to felicity. Forms of
marriage dissolution include an enactment based upon mutual agreement, the
husband’s initiative, the wife’s initiative (if part of her marital
contract), the court’s decision on a wife’s initiative (for a legitimate
reason), and the wife’s initiative without a cause, provided that
she returns her marital gift to her husband. When the
continuation of the marriage relationship is impossible for any reason, men are
still taught to seek a gracious end for it. The Quran states about such cases:
[b][size=16]
And when you divorce women and they have fulfilled their term
(i.e.
waiting period), either keep them in kindness or release them in kindness, and
do not keep them, intending harm, to transgress (against them).
(Quran, 2:231, see also 2:229 and 33:49).
[b][size=16](6) Associating polygyny with Islam, as if
it was introduced by it or is the norm according to its teachings, is one of the
most persistent myths perpetuated in Western literature and media. Polygyny
existed in almost all nations and was even sanctioned by Judaism and
Christianity until recent centuries. Islam did not outlaw polygyny, as did many
peoples and religious communities; rather, it regulated and restricted it.
It is not required but simply permitted with conditions (see the Quran 4:3). Spirit of
law, including timing of revelation, is to deal with individual and collective
contingencies that may arise from time to time (e.g. imbalances between the
number of males and females created by wars) and to provide a moral, practical,
and humane solution for the problems of widows and orphans.
As a Mother:
The Quran elevates kindness to parents
(especially mothers) to a status second to the worship of God:

[img(12,22)]http://www.islam-guide.com/aqwas-ys.jpg[/img] Your
Lord has commanded that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your
parents. If one of them or both of them reach old age with you, do not say
to them a word of disrespect, or scold them, but say a generous word to
them. And act humbly to them in mercy, and say, “My Lord, have mercy on
them, since they cared for me when I was small.”
[b][size=16](2) Naturally, the Prophet Muhammad
specified
this behavior for his followers, rendering to mothers an unequalled status in
human relationships. A man came to the Prophet Muhammad /salla.j
and said, “O Messenger of
God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship?”
The
Prophet [img(21,17)]http://www.islam-guide.com/salla.jpg[/img]
said: {Your mother.} The man said, “Then who?” The Prophet /salla.jpg[/img]
said: {Then your mother.} The man further
asked, “Then who?” The Prophet
said: {Then your mother.} The man asked
again, “Then who?” The Prophet
said: {Then your father.}[/size][/b]
]D) As a Sister in Faith (In General):
](1) According to the Prophet Muhammad’s
sayings: {women are but [i]shaqa[/i]’[i]iq[/i] (twin halves or sisters) of men.}
This saying is a profound statement that directly relates to the issue of human
equality between the genders. If the first meaning of the Arabic word [
“twin halves,” is adopted, it
means that the male is worth one half (of society), while the female is worth the
other half. If the second meaning, “sisters,” is adopted, it implies
the same.[/size][/b]
) The Prophet Muhammad
taught kindness,
care, and respect toward women in general: {I commend you to be good to women.} It is significant that such instruction of the Prophet was among
his final instructions and reminders in the farewell pilgrimage
address given shortly before his passing away.
[b][size=16](3) Modesty and social interaction: The
parameters of proper modesty for males and females (dress and behavior) are
based on revelatory sources (the Quran and prophetic sayings) and, as such, are
regarded by believing men and women as divinely-based guidelines with legitimate
aims and divine wisdom behind them. They are not male-imposed or socially
imposed restrictions. It is interesting to know that even the Bible
encourages women to cover their head: “If a woman does not cover her head,
she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have
her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.” (1 Corinthians


The Legal and Political Aspect of Women in Islam:

[b][size=16](1) Equality before the Law: Both
genders are entitled to equality before the Law and courts of Law. Justice
is genderless (see the Quran 5:38, 24:2, and 5:45). Women do possess an
independent legal entity in financial and other matters.
[b][size=16](2) Participation in Social and
Political Life: The general rule in social and political life is
participation and collaboration of males and females in public affairs (see the
Quran 9:71). There is sufficient historical evidence of participation by
Muslim women in the choice of rulers, in public issues, in Law making, in
administrative positions, in scholarship and teaching, and even in the
battlefield. Such involvement in social and political affairs was
conducted without the participants’ losing sight of the complementary
priorities of both genders and without violating Islamic guidelines of modesty
and virtue.[/size][/b]


[b][size=16]The status which non-Muslim women reached during
the present era was not achieved due to the kindness of men or due to natural
progress. It was rather achieved through a long struggle and sacrifice on
woman’s part and only when society needed her contribution and work, more
especially during the two world wars, and due to the escalation of technological
change. While in Islam such compassionate and dignified status was
decreed, not because it reflects the environment of the seventh century, nor
under the threat or pressure of women and their organizations, but rather
because of its intrinsic truthfulness.[/size][/b]
[b][size=16]If this indicates anything, it would demonstrate
the Divine origin of the Quran and the truthfulness of the message of Islam,
which, unlike human philosophies and ideologies, was far from proceeding from
its human environment; a message which established such humane principles that
neither grew obsolete during the course of time, nor can become obsolete in the
future. After all, this is the message of the All-Wise and All-Knowing God
whose wisdom and knowledge are far beyond the ultimate in human thought and
progress.