Women in Islam Dr. Nuray Tugrul Yurt Director, Interfaith Dialog Center, Central New Jersey

OVERVIEW The Role of Women  In 7 th century (Before Islam)  In Islam  In Today’s World Misconceptions about Muslim Women  Do Muslim women feel oppressed because of religion ?  Is there inequality between men and women in Islam ?  How can we explain different verses from Qur’an that appears to place women in an inferior position? Q&A

The Role of Women

Women in early 7 th century Arabia Peninsula Europe Roman civilization Athens England Can not buy/sell Can not marry by her freewill Can not vote, teach or tutor Can not own Totally dependent on her father or husband Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, Sufism: An Inquiry, worldmap.com, New World Encyclopedia Arab women in 4-6 th century

Islam arrived to Arabia Peninsula in early 7 th century After the arrival of Islam, women were acknowledged as equals with men in Quran. given the right to decide on their marriage, education/family/kids. gained right to own property/wealth. gained right to be part of social life. Arab women in 8 th century Source: wikipedia And their Lord has accepted (their prayers) and answered them (saying): “Never will I cause to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female. You are members, one of another” Quran 3:195 33:35 66:19-21 *Understanding/application changes one society to another based on different attributes of each society ( agriculture vs technology oriented, history, economy, emphasize on education and etc..) Source: Dr. Ahmet Kurucan

Women received rights as equals to Men only earliest during 19 th century in most of the world. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, wikipedia.com, women began serving as juries , women gained the right to vote equal pay act is passed. (USA) women were granted the right to hold a public office women was declared as persons nodiscrimination/equal pay (Canada) married women were able to exercise separate rights over their inheritance, earnings and property. (England, France) women are granted legal majority. (Turkey)

Misconceptions about Muslim Women

Do Muslim women feel oppressed because of religion ? In Islam, women are equal to men in  bearing personal and common responsibilities  receiving rewards for her deeds  the pursuit of education and knowledge When Islam enjoins the seeking of knowledge upon Muslims, it makes no distinction between man and woman  Aisha, wife of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is one of the first teachers of Islam to male/female scholars. Source: Are we mixing religion with culture/social pressure?

Is there inequality between men and women in Islam ? Quran and teachings of Prophet don’t take woman and man as separate creatures All are equal before God. The rights and responsibilities of a woman are equal to those given to man. Quran describes, Man and Woman as complementary to each other. Source: Living in the shade of Islam,Dr.Ahmet Kurucan Is it fair to blame religion based on some government’s rulings ? Examples : Middle East / Afghanistan vs Egypt / Endonesia Can we define men and women as same? Will this be equality?

ISLAMIC WORLD

How can we explain different verses from Qur’an that appears to place women in an inferior position? Example: Inheritance Daughter 1/3 inheritance Son 1/3 inheritance Daughter in law Daughter is the sole owner of the inheritance. Son needs to give the half to his wife. In Islam, men has to provide for the family. Women’s wealth belongs to herself, but men’s wealth belongs to the family. * When a woman is the mother, sister, aunt, grandma or with no husband but with kids, inheritance will be a lot more complex. Is it fair to judge based on the partial image without looking at the whole picture ? Source: Dr. Ahmet Kurucan

Any Questions?

Back-up ( For Information Only)

How come men can have 4 wives in Islam? 1.First of all, by Quran everybody has to abide by their government’s rules. 2.Quran does not say they should marry with 4 women. In Quran, just like the alcohol issue, we see different verses in this issue to help people make the translation from their current situation( Society’s current state). After giving the permission for 4 wives, Quran states that men should be very just to their wives and treat them equally. Then on another verse Quran states in short it is not possible for men to be just and equal so the best is to have one wife only. 3.Also, this permission actually put responsibility on men and protects women rights. Instead of having relations outside of marriage like today, they have to claim the responsibility of the second woman so second woman would not left alone later. And definitely being for fair to the first wife, since she will have the first hand information and can choose to approve or disapprove the situation instead of discovering later or maybe never. Does not Qur’an say you can beat your wife in case of an disaggreement? 1.First of all, the word “darb” has different meanings not only to beat. 2.“ Darb” ‘s exact translation can be said as “scold” not to beat. We see the same word is used for our Prophet (pbuh), when he was talking to his friends about their inappropriate behavior. Again, it is important to understand this verse in the context. In a society where men do not communicate with their wives and divorce or just send them back to their family’s home, this verse can be taken as encouragement for communication. This protects women’s right as well as family’s well-being. Why women has to wear hijab? 1.Hijab is not new to the world. In Judaism, Christianity and other religions we see a form of hijab. Main point is being modest and instead of acting as a female act just as a person. Definition of modest and applications of hijab again can be very different from society to society. However, as for all other rules of any religion, if we except the Islam/any religion we have to base our definitions of modest, acceptable ways of prayer and etc. to the book we believe in, in this case Quran. 2.Even though men does not have to cover as mush as women, they also have to cover and obey a certain dress code. This is a social issue. You can not wear anything you like in a work environment. Because, we have to pay attention how others are perceiving ourselves. There are dress codes even at the hotels. So having a broad dress code for a religion is nothing new to any society.