Women in Islamic Societies (Essay Sample)

Women in Islamic Societies Name Institution Women in Islamic Societies For many years, the role of women, their position and status in the society as well as their nature have been a subject of intermittent debate and heated discussions based on traditions, religion, misogyny, culture, and feminism. In the Islamic society, discussion on women’s role, status, and position in the community has raised high levels of controversy, probably due to misrepresentation, misinterpretation, and distortion of facts and information due to lack of understanding of Islamic holy book, Quran, and basic Islamic teachings. In contemporary Islamic society, the position and status of women can be well-explained in three different dimensions: marriage and family structures, legal systems, and rights as well as health and education. Firstly, in a traditional Islamic society, women were homemakers and were primarily concerned with household chores and maternal responsibilities. Many Muslim women in most Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia, Senegal, and parts of the South Asian subcontinent did not take part in the income-generating activities until after the 1970s when civilization engulfed most parts of the world. However, according to Shah (2019), Muslim family set-up is slowly shifting from large extended families and multigenerational households to nuclear family arrangements, which epitomizes a gradual erosion of the traditional patriarchal family system that is based on kinship leadership. Moreover, many Muslim women of the current generation are delaying their marriages due to the increasing number of scholarships and educational opportunities as they embrace the egalitarian nuclear family model. Secondly, most Muslim-majority countries use dual legal systems, which consist of civil laws that mirror the western legal systems and personal or family laws, which are anchored on sharia laws and other Islamic-based laws and regulations. Although the civil laws and the constitutions of most Islamic states provide for gender equality, the family laws, as has been demonstrated in many Muslim countries, pose constant challenges to gender equality and women’s rights. In the last few years, some human rights activists, Islamic movements, and other lobby groups have advocated for reforms on Islamic family law, which addresses inheritance, marriages child inheritance, to allow for the full participation of women in political and economic activities. However, the activists’ momentum and push for reforms have always been thwarted by states’ desire to appease the majority of conservatives who are seeking to maintain the status quo. Thirdly, despite countless obstacles that they have faced over the years, ranging from unjust legal systems to social inequalities, Muslim women around the world have made a significant step in every aspect of life, particularly in health and education. In most Muslim countries, particularly the Arab countries, women have narrow...