Essay Proposal
Does Islam give equal rights to both men and women? Are Muslim women truly oppressed by their religion? Are Muslim women being oppressed by Islam or because of Islamophobia? These are a few questions that I ask myself when it comes to women’s rights in Islam. Islam is often seen as a “backwards” religion. People are quick to assume that a visibly Muslim woman in hijab or niqab is being oppressed. Many see a Muslim woman on a university campus and automatically assume that she has faced a lot of backlash from her family in order to be there. When you read about domestic violence in the news, it is tragic; when the family in question is Muslim, it is an act of religious extremism.
I began wearing the hijab at the age of seven, which is very young by most Muslim family standards, and then I started wearing the niqab at the age of fifteen, which even my family struggled to accept. When I tell people that my father was initially against me covering up so much, they are shocked. They assume that my religion and my family force me to dress the way that I do. It was the reactions and questions of misinformed and uneducated people that encouraged me to learn more about my religion, which then expanded into learning about other religions. I wanted to be able to represent myself and others like me and to stand up for myself. I have learned that not being able to answer questions about my religion adds to the misinterpretation of Islam as an oppressive religion.
I would like to discuss two critical points in my essay that I think people are most curious about. The first is education. Many countries around the world have made education for females very difficult. Islam is often blamed in those countries where it is the dominant religion. It is true that many Muslims have been misinformed and believe that women should not go to school or pursue an education; however, the reality is that Islam encourages both men and women to learn and seek both religious and worldly knowledge. According to a Hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH), “Seeking knowledge is the duty of every Muslim.” Some of the first and greatest female scholars in history were Muslim women beginning with the wife of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, Aisha Bint Abu Bakr. In fact, according to the Guinness book of world records, the oldest continuously operating institution of higher education in the world is Al-Qarawiyyin University in Morocco, established in the year 859 by a Muslim woman (Islamic Networks Group 2016).
I would also like to discuss marriage, relationships, and divorce in Islam. Forced marriages are something often viewed in relation to Islam. Here is what Islam has to say. In Islam, there are basics requirements in order for a marriage to be considered valid. The first and most important is that the couple must mutually consent to the marriage. The father/guardian of a woman cannot arrange her marriage without her permission. The second is child marriage; both bride and groom must be past puberty, or else the marriage will be nullified. When it comes to divorce, it existed before Islam, but Islam made the divorce process more favourable towards women. Anything a woman earns or is given before or during the marriage remains her property after the divorce. On the other hand, the man’s wealth is divided according to the marriage contract decided upon before the marriage. (Jaafar-Mohammad 8 )These are just a few examples of the rights and opportunities given to women in Islam.
The purpose of my essay is to argue that the oppression of Muslim women in different cultures is not a correct representation of women’s rights in Islam. I will not deny that there are women around the world being oppressed in the name of Islam, rather I would like to prove that those women are being wronged and that Islam does not agree with any of those practices.
Works Cited
Jaafar-Mohammad, Imani, and Charlie Lehmann. “Women’s Rights in Islam Regarding Marriage
and Divorce.” Journal of Law and Practice, vol. 4, 2011.
“The Stories You Don’t Know: Muslim Women and Education.” Islamic Networks Group (ING),
18 June 2016, ing.org/muslim-women-education-stories-you-dont-know/.