The Oppression Of Muslim Women

Senior Sahaba(or disciple) of Muhammad, Umar ibn al-Khattab, once candidly remarked on the women of Islam society stating, “The women are not a garment you wear and undress however you like. They are honored and have their rights” (IslamicArtDB.com). Half a billion Muslim women populate an estimated 45 Muslim majority countries. Another 30 or greater countries contain a considerable minority of Muslim women, not to mention they are rising in Western regions as well. Today, it is a common perception that women are liberated in the West and inhibited in Muslim culture. This frequent misconception is based partly on ignorance, and the focus upon a specific region that only accounts for a meager portion of the Muslim population. Furthermore, the

They claim that several of the Islamic Republic laws completely contradict basic international human rights standards, arguing that Islam states support the dominance of men over women. In fact in verse 34 of the Qur’an it does specifically state, “men are in charge of women by what Allah has given…But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance-advise them; forsake them in bed; and strike them”(Frontpage Mag.). This documented verse has since been enforced upon several Iranian laws and legislative. To illustrate, girls from just 8-9 years old can be held responsible for a crime in Iran, while boys cannot be persecuted until they reach at least 15 years old. Additionally, the Tamkin law allows a man to have complete convenience and uninhibited sexual opportunity of the woman to her husband. “Sexual availability is considered a woman’s duty and a man’s right”(Frontpage Mag.). Perhaps one of the most constraining regions that the West draws its impressions from is the country of Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia when a woman chooses to leave the house, for any reason, a male must escort her. Additionally, while there is no definite law restricting women from driving a vehicle, it is religiously prohibited in the region, with Saudi clerics disputing that women drivers “undermine social values”(Loonwatch.com). In fact, in 2011 “a group of Saudi women organized the ‘Women2Drive’ campaign that encouraged women to disregard the laws and post images and videos of themselves driving on social media to raise awareness of the issue in an attempt to force change. It was not a major success”(Loonwatch.com). Another critical and understandably convincing region that influences the West’s negative view of Islam, is Afghanistan under the Taliban. The regime, which began in 1994, has completely suppressed all districts of the Afghanistan population, denying them of the most primitive