Issues in which Men and Women are treated as dissimilar

This chapter deals and as well as tempers with the issues, which raise
most of the questions and criticisms.
1.Hijab
Muslim men and womenhave to fulfill very different requirements
concerning Satr (parts ofthe body which have to be covered). The
following Verse deals with the observation of Satr for women inside
the home where only close male and female family members can mix
together freely:
"And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and protect their
private parts and not to show off their adornment except only that
which is apparent, and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna
(i.e.,their bodies, faces, necksand bosoms) and not to reveal their
adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their
husband's fathers, or their sons, or their husband's Sons, or their
brothers or their brother's sons, or their sister's sons, or their
(Muslim) women (i.e., their sisters in Islam), or the (female) slaves
whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigor,
or small children who have no sense of feminine sex. And let them not
stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide ~of their adornment.
And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may
be successful." (V. 24:3 1)
Women can thus expose their objects of beautification such as make-up
and jewellery to other chaste women and the men listed in theabove
Verse only.
In front of other people, the Prophet's wives and all Muslim women
have been ordered to fulfill the requirements of Hijab by wearing a
Jilbab, which is a long outer garment that covers the entire body:
"O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the
believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e.,
screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the
way). Thatwill be better that they should be known (as free
respectable women)so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (V. 33:59)
Islam does not permit the free mixing of men and women outside the
close family group, and Western-style mixing even with wearing the
Hijab is not permissible as is seen in places of education and work.
TheQur�aan tells the believing men in the time of the Prophet:
"And when you ask (his wives) for anything you want, ask them from
behind a screen, that is purer for your hearts and for their hearts."
(V. 33:53)
The wives of the Prophetwere models for all women and were regarded as
the Mothers of all believers. If they could only be addressed from
behind a curtain in order to avoid any temptation or impropriety, how
much more then is such a curtain necessary for ordinary women who can
be a much greater source of temptation? It is also clear from the time
of the Prophet that the Companions did not treat this Verse as
referring only to the Prophet' s wives but applied it to their women
as well, with the complete approval of the Prophet. The reason given
in the above Versefor such a curtain is"that is purer for your hearts
and for their hearts" and in another Verse we read:
"Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden
things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexualacts).
That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do."
(V. 24:30)
Islam wishes to establish a pure society in which there is no room
even for adultery of the eye. Free-mixing between the sexes is
forbidden, men and women are advised to marry at a young age so that
they can fulfill their desires lawfully, and all are told to "lower
their gazes" in public so that the eye may not be used as an
instrument of Satan. By observing Hijab, the woman's dignity and
decency is safeguarded. Her attire makes clear that she is not an
object for sale, advertising her beauty and availability for men's
lusting eyes and wolf whistles. We need little reminder of the immoral
society around us today in which the sexes mingle wearing indecent
clothes, and adultery is only frowned upon if committed after being
married. Before marriage individuals areencouraged to try different
partners, and the unfaithfulness, the misery, the jealousy and the
insecurities, which then take place, are a necessary result of such a
life style. The Muslims may well feel safe and secure within the
Islamicmoral and dress code, but they are often imitating too much of
the non-Muslims' behavior for complacency.
2. Polygyny
A man is allowed a maximum of four wives provided he treats them with
equality and justice. If he cannot support more than one wife or fears
that he willnot be just between them, he should remain monogynous. The
primary purpose behind polygyny is to provide for war widows and
orphans. The number of men in any society inevitably decreases after a
major war, and polygyny provides the only decent solution for the
widows and orphansleft alone. In such situations women may resort to a
monastic life, which is unnatural, or toan immoral and sinful life.
Islam also strictly forbids sexual relations outside marriage, and
polygyny is again the only decent and honest solution in cases where a
man wants more than one partner.
The widespread practicetoday of men having wives as well as mistresses
is demeaning for all the women involved, it is dishonesty and causes
untold misery. By marrying more than once, not only are all the woman
and the children involved legitimate, but the man also has to face up
to full responsibility for all the relationships he enters into.
3. Evidence of Women
The Qur�aan clearly states that the evidence of two women is
equivalent to that of oneman, giving the reason that if one forgets,
the other may remind her:
"And get two witnesses out of your own men. And if there are not two
men (available), then a man and two women, such as you agree for
witnesses, so that if one of them (two women) errs, the other can
remind her." (V.2:282)
Giving evidence in court can be a daunting experience, especially as
the judicial system will consist mainly of men, sothe women can give
each other moral support as well as reminders. It is a serious and
burdensome responsibility, which hasbeen lightened for women.
There are four situationsin which evidence is required:
a. Crimes related to penal ordinances and retaliation. If men and
women are both available, the men will be called to give witness and
the women will not be summoned.
b. In economic affairs related to wealth and property, which are
usually the domains of men, the evidence of two men is accepted. If
two men are not available, then one man and two women will be
accepted.
c. In affairs concerning women only such as pregnancy, birth, sexual
defects, the evidence of one woman alone is accepted.
d. In criminal cases where only women are the witnesses, the four
Imams (religious leaders) are unanimous in not accepting the evidence
of women. They reason that in casessuch as murder and rape, the women
will be emotional and may get confused. Such evidence becomes
suspicious, and a principle of Shar'iah (Islamic law) is that any
suspicion about the evidence makes the evidence null and void. In this
context the Zahiri school of thought is more credible.
It states that if women alone are the witness in a criminal case,
their evidence will be accepted according to the principle of two
women's evidence beingequivalent to that of oneman. So in cases of
adultery, the evidence offour men or eight women will be accepted.They
argue that to rejectwomen's evidence entirely in such cases will allow
much crime to go unpunished.
It is an established scientific fact that women cannot explain the
intimate details of events with the accuracywhich men are capable of.
This fact has been confirmed by much research, such as Dr. Harding's.
in his book 'The Way of All Women.' According to one Hadith,the
Prophet described women as being incomplete in reason and religious
practice because they are exempted from the five daily prayers and
fastingduring their monthly menstruation. Their incompleteness in
reason is taken into account in the field of legal evidence. Giving
evidence in court is a serious responsibility from which a woman is
relieved, just as she is relieved from attending the Mosque for the
five daily prayers and the Friday prayer.
4. Inheritance
A daughter receives half the share of inheritance compared with the
son in accordance with the following Qur'anic injunction:
"Allah commands you as regards your children's (inheritance): to the
male, a portion equal to that of two females;" (V. 4:11)
If the daughter has no brothers and only women are the heirs, then
this principle does not apply. The ruling of giving a woman half the
share of a man seems unjust at first glance, butin fact it is more
generous to women. It isbased on the Shari 'ah principle of "Benefits
in accordance with the scale of responsibility."
To illustrate, a brother will inherit twice the sum his sister
inherits. What she inherits is hers to keep and she need not spend it
on anyone, even her husband though he may be poor. The brother is,
however, responsible for maintaining his family, which includes his
unmarried sister, surviving parent, wife and children. At the timeof
his marriage, he will have to pay bridal money to his wife as well as
provide for her throughout their married life. The sister will in
contrast receive bridal money and will bemaintained by her husband.
Any income she has and her share of inheritance is hers exclusively,
with which her family cannot interfere.
It seems that this same wisdom is behind the 'Aqiqah ceremony when the
two sheep are sacrificed at the birth of a male child, and one sheep
at the birth of a female child. This principle of benefits according
to responsibility has wide applications in Islam.
For example, after a battle the Prophet would distribute the captured
booty on the same principle by giving two shares to the cavalryand one
share to the infantry. (Musnad Ibn Abu Shaibah)
5. Blood Money
According to the principle of 'Benefits according to responsibility',
the bloodmoney of a woman is half that of a man. It is important to
remember that blood money is not the price for the soul of a murdered
person, as there can be no such price. It is instead a
smallcompensation for the financial sufferings of the deceased's
family. Men are usually the breadwinners and maintainers of their
families, so the financial sufferings are greater if the man is
killed, but if the murder victim was a woman who was the sole
breadwinner for her family, then the Qadi(judge) has the authorityto
increase her blood money.
A precedent for such an increase is found in the Qur'aan where it
allows the Qadi to double the blood money of a personmurdered within
the precincts of the Sacred Cities, Makkah and Al-Madinah. The wisdom
behind is that just as virtuous actions are rewarded more if practiced
within Al-Haram (the sanctuary), so the punishment for crimes or sins
within Al-Haram is also increased.
6. Divorce
The man has the primaryright to divorce. Allah says:
"And if you divorce thembefore you have touched (had a sexual relation
with) them, and you have appointed unto them the Mahr (bridal money
given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage),then pay
half of that (Mahr), unless they (the women) agree to foregoit, or he
(the husband) inwhose hands is the marriage tie, agrees to forego and
give her full appointed Mahr. And to forego and give (her thefull
Mahr) is nearer to At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness). And do not forget
liberality between yourselves. Truly, Allah is All-Seer of what you
do." (V. 2:237)
This may seem unjust at first glance, but Allah theAll-Mighty has
given injunctions based on men and women's different temperaments. The
woman is controlledmore by her emotions than by reason, and this is
obviously an asset in the home. Her tender nature and ability to
sacrifice her own comfort for the sake of her child makes her a better
parent than the man. In a situation of marital conflict, her emotional
nature will bemore inclined to exaggerate the seriousness of the
conflict and to thus instigate divorce. The man will be more inclined
to think calmly about the situation before pronouncing judgment.
Neither of these characteristics is inferior or superior to the other;
both are complementary and bestsuited to the roles the sexes have to
play. In order to mitigate rash conduct by the husband,the Qur�aan and
the Sunnah have made provisions for cases when the man does pronounce
divorce but then regrets it. The divorce never becomes binding
immediately butgives him a period of three lunar months (the woman's
'Iddah or waiting period) in whichhe can either endorse the divorce or
revoke it and seek reconciliation.
It should be remembered that a woman is not helpless inthe matter of
divorce as is widely believed. Although she cannot pronounce divorce
like aman, for the reasons of her temperament already given, she can
obtain one through a Qadi or arbitrator. This process is called Khul
', and the woman asks for divorce in lieu of returning her bridal
money or any other gift to the husband.
In the Western world today, the high rates of divorce are widely
attributed, among other things, to the financial independence of women
and the ease with which they can obtain divorce for flimsy reasons.
The Islamic ethos encourages men and women to save theirmarriage for
the sake of their children and to uphold the family institution.
7. Right to trade or seek other employment
A women is allowed to trade and work in institutions for women only,
and at all times she must observe the relevant rules on Hijab and
Satr. A woman's primary place is in the home but she may work if she
has no one to support her or because her husband's income is not
sufficient for the family's needs. As has already been mentionedunder
the discussion of Hijab, Islam does not permit the free mixing of men
and women outside the close family circle. Women are allowed to go to
Mosques for worship, educational institutions, and the battlefield. In
the Mosques and educational establishments, the Muslims should provide
separate places where women may pray and study in privacy. On the
battlefield, women may nurse the injured if there is a shortage of
male nurses. Whenever men and women work or study in the same place,
there is an increase in temptation from Satan. Sexual harassment in
Western places of employment is a common problem for which the women
often have no remedy. Islam tackles the root of the problem by
separating the sexes and so avoiding situations of temptation, which
can lead to sin.