Women in Islam

Women and Islam

While the Koran states clearly that women are not the equal of men (2:228, 4:34), it also sets down rules that protected women in a variety of ways. It also requires what would be called a "cooling off period" today (2:226, 65:2), and if the woman is pregnant, the waiting period must extend until the baby is born (65.6). Women who are divorced are allowed to keep their possessions after divorce (2:229). However, in various matters the husband has considerable authority, including determining how long a baby will be nursed: the husband can require that the mother nurse the child for up to two years (2:233), although they can also hire a wet nurse. If a woman's husband dies, he is required to provide for him in his will for one year (2:241), but in addition were required to provide for divorced wives (2:241).

The rules for inheritance are complex, but specifies that a male child should inherit twice as much as a female child (4:8), and men are allowed to beat their wives (4:34). However, if a woman fears she may be treated badly by her husband, she is allowed to try to work out some compromise with him (4:129).

One notable difference between men and women was that while the husbands could take up to four wives, women could have only one husband (Upshur, et. al., p. 271).

The truly significant difference between men and women with the arrival of Islam was their relatively elevated position compared to other societies. While Islam was a patriarchal society where males had more rights than females, compared to the rest of the world, women had markedly more rights under Islam. They could divorce their husbands and were guaranteed to inherit part of their husbands' estates when they died. They were allowed to own property and could accumulate wealth in their own names. If the husband and wife divorced, the wife was allowed to keep those things she owned, including gifts from her husband. While they were expected to acquiesce to their husbands, arbitration was encouraged, as noted above, in several places in the Koran.

However, women's second-class status is shown in a variety ways, including the inheritance laws as noted above, which were complex but favored males over females. However, this as much better than their rights in other societies where they were not guaranteed any inheritance. In addition, in other societies, all of the family's wealth typically went to the first-born son with nothing required for the daughters.

Another indication of the status of women is shown in passages of the Koran regarding ways to decide who is right and who is wrong. While the Koran deals with any woman committing a "lewd act," requiring them to be confined to their homes for the rest of their lives, four men must testify as witnesses to her infidelity (4:15). No provision is made for women testifying in these passages.