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Last Update:
Thu. Aug. 14, 2003
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Girls and Women
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Sadly, in China, India and elsewhere today, female infanticide or abortion is widespread, and in many places girls receive less maintenance or education than boys. Islam forbids this and advocates the principle that a female is every bit as human as a male and deserves equal care.
Fourteen centuries ago, Islam gave girls and women the right to inherit and to have a political voice. These rights were not recognized in the West until the nineteenth or twentieth century, putting Islam thirteen centuries ahead of it! Islam gives women further rights to own and dispose of wealth, to be maintained by their male relatives, to choose their husband, to be educated, and to work if they desire.
| Muslim women who cover see hijab as a right |
The Bible blames Eve for the fall from the Garden of Eden, with mankind’s stay on earth and women’s menstrual courses seen as part of a curse in consequence of that first sin. The Qur’an, in contrast, lays the blame more on Adam, and menses and labor pains are just a part of life, not a curse. Women are equal in humanity to men and responsible before God for their actions. They get no less reward for good deeds and no greater punishment for bad deeds.
Many people criticize Islam for making women wear the hijab — covering the whole body and head with loose clothing — seeing it as a kind of suppression. But Muslim women who cover see it as a right. Hijab protects them from the unwanted gazes and ogling of men. A woman in hijab is more likely to be respected and treated as a person rather than as a “piece of meat” by the men she encounters at work, school, or in the street.
Islam is often attacked for keeping women confined in the house or for not educating them. Such practices, while common in some Muslim countries, are the result of ignorance of or deviation from Islamic teachings. There are many examples of the opposite in the early generations of Muslims. Women attended lectures, worked in the fields and markets, spoke up to the caliph to correct his opinion, and worked as superintendents and administrators. They participated in the defensive battles as nurses and cooks, and as fighters when the need arose.
Today Muslim women in many countries participate in their societies without feeling a conflict with their Islamic values. They work in nearly all occupations and are also active in non-government organizations (NGOs) and social service in their mosques and communities.
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