| THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM |
| The information you will find here is a study that I made to find out the truth of how women are treated according to Islam as compared to the bible which you will find on another page. |
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| Women in Ancient Civilizations: 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. |
| (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., History of Civilization). 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) |
| (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 The Encyclopedia Britannica, 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.” |
| (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.” (The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911). |
| (1) Describing the status of the Indian woman, The Encyclopedia Britannica, 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, Marriage East and West). |
| (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.” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 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. |
| (6) In the Mosaic (Jewish) Law, the wife was betrothed. Explaining this concept, the Encyclopedia Biblica, 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 Encyclopedia Biblica: “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, The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911, states: “In the Mosaic Law divorce was a privilege of the husband only...” |
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| Comments: My purpose for this comparison is to find out about rumors that I have heard regarding the treatment of women in Islam compared to other religions. I have heard about the abuses and even have lived some abuses in my own life as the wife of a non muslim at one time. Even tho abuse was not condoned by my faith (religion), I was still blamed for my divorce by my community and shunned by many of my so-called friends. I thought that this was a bit hypocratic since the reason for my divorce was for my own safety. So, this is my quest to find the truth about what my status would be (i.e. what behavioral relationship is acceptable) in truth according to other cultures, religions, and etc. I was seriously considering working overseas to be a part of a different culture if that is what it took for me to be happy in my life, and to live my life in the way that I was taught that it was supposed to be lived. However, I did find some interesting information regarding Islam. Please continue reading for the results of my study on the following pages. |