Discussing the issue of the subjugated roles of Muslim women is a topic that has grown in distortion over the centuries and is constantly under negative criticism because of the roles that Islam has subjugated its Muslim women to throughout history.
Hasn’t Islam kept their women in the dark for a few thousand years too many now, though? I mean that literally as well as figuratively. The devaluing of women through both political and religious influences dates as far back as the Dark Ages and the inception of the Abrahamic religion.
According to the Muslim religion, after first adhering to the teachings of the Qur’an, one’s role in contributions to society is only considered favorable or notable if you happen to be male. As an American woman, to have any idea on a career in politics considered null because you must only assume roles in society that exclude practicing authority over your male counterpart, would be sexist. Proponents and adherents of the religion would argue differently; that Islam is a “the religion of peace” and its adherents, the protectors.
Having the opportunity to exist equally in terms of social, political and even economic status is the utmost, universal human right.
So, why can phrases be found in the Qur’an teaching the worth of women to be considered lower than that of men, “and the men are a degree above them [women]” (Qur’an 2:228)? If the Muslim religion values the worth of women and men as equal under the eyes of God, then when it comes to practicing these teachings of the Qur’an, why do Muslims go to such radical means as inflicting torture and abuse on their wives through implementing Sharia Law – which encourages a Muslim husband to beat his wife if she disobeys him?
To be born into and live in a society that suppresses the advancement of your ideas because you were born a female, is to be forced to essentially live under oppression and neglect through no doing of your own. To be forced and/or punished into assuming a submissive role, based on any discriminant, denies the natural-born human right that entitles every human being to an equal pursuit of happiness and liberty.
When religious influence places a heavy emphasis on these standards of inhumanity and then generates fear within its citizens to live only considering this way of living – this is when history shows us how the progression of a society comes to a stop.
What Islam needs to do is to start focusing on the significance of women in education by first beginning to recognize them as equals in the primary school classroom, and then by securing them the educational tools necessary to achieve just as greatly and as successfully as the men of their same profession.
It is imperative that Islam embrace the social advancement of Islamic women. Through voting with equal civil responsibilities and opportunities to civil service, Islam and the Arab world would be encouraging their women to achieve higher education by offering them equal roles as males with notable positions in society.
As far back as history can show us, the human race has turned its cheek with disregard in the fight to secure human rights. Too many treacherous acts have been carried out in the name of religion, and countless barbarous acts have been carried out to instill fear into people blindly believing that those in authority have our best interest at heart. Striving for a society where every citizen can enjoy the liberties of life just like their neighbor, would be striving to be a society that doesn’t criminalize for the indulgement of simple pleasures. If the teachings of Islam sought to emphasize the necessity of citizens contributing productively to society, it would be catering to the highest aspirations of their people: free in liberty and equal in dignity.
