WHI-Chap14-Obj6
Contents
Explain and describe the changing status of women in the Islamic world.
In the Beginning
The society in Arabia had been patriarchal since before Muhammad's time, but the women enjoyed rights not given to women in other lands. They had the right to legally inherit property, divorce husbands on their own initiative, and engage in business ventures.
The Quran outlawed female infanticide and provided that dowries went to the brides instead of their husbands and male guardians. It also portrayed women as honorable individuals, equal to men before Allah.
The Quran and Women
For the most part, the Quran and later the sharia reinforced male dominance. Holy law recognized descent through the male line and placed a high premium on genealogical purity. To ensure the legitimacy of heirs, the women would subjected to the strict control of male guardians. Though teaching that women should be treated with respect, the Quran and sharia permitted men to take up to four wifes - following Muhammad's example - when women could only take one husband. The two religious works provided a religious and legal foundation for a patriarchal society.
Veiling of Women
As Islam expanded into the Byzantine and Sasanid empires, it encountered strong patriarchal traditions, such as the veiling of women. Social and family pressures induced upper-class women to veil themselves in Mesopotamia as early as the 1200's BCE, as a sign of modesty. They ventured outside their homes only in the company of servants or chaperones to discourage the attention of men. When Mesopotamia, Persia, and eastern Mediterranean lands were conquered, Muslim Arabs adopted this practice. It became a conspicuous symbol of male authority.
The Quran served as the source of authority in Islam and provided specific rights for Muslim women. Over the centuries, jurist and legal scholars began to interpret the Quran in ways that steadily limited the role of women in society - placing them further and further under the control of male guardians.
Muslim women today covered by a full-body veil.
(Traditions and Encounters, p.364-365)
Guan Chen 22:12, 5 May 2010 (CDT)
