Beyond the Veil: Islam Supports Women’s Rights

If you asked me about women in Islam a few years ago, I would have certainly replied as many would: using “Muslim women” in the same sentence with “oppression.” Since I was young I was all about women’s rights and—it might seem curious—that was one of the first things that brought me to Islam.

This is difficult to believe when you see media coverage on Afghanistan or Iran. I heard—and still hear—a lot of terrifying stories about women in different Muslim countries. However, with time, I learned to see the difference between those acts and religion, as they are completely different.

As this is a big topic, I will be writing further articles about women in Islam, trying to explain how Islam conceives women as individuals, daughters, mothers and wives.

There is plenty of misunderstanding when it comes to the issue of the place women have in Islam. Yes, I’ve read the verses of the Quran that say that “men are one degree above women,” “that women should inherit half what men do,” “that the testimony of a woman is equal to half of a man’s,” and “that you should beat your wife,” etc.

However, sometimes people take things out of context and use them to justify a point; in this case, Islam diminishes women. Yet, according to statistics out of five converts to Islam, four are women.

Unfortunately, those verses are mistranslated and/or misinterpreted—and here she comes again with the translation thing!

Well, believe it or not this is very important when it comes to Islam. You should always be careful of what translation of the Quran you read, and also, of not taking things out of context. When you read the Quran, the best thing you can do is to make sure that you have someone reliable to answer you questions. But not anybody, someone who knows what he or she is talking about.

Let’s take an example of the above. Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 228: “And women shall have rights similar to the rights against them according to what is equitable; but men have a degree over them.” Self explanatory, right? We are all oppressed by men who stand a degree above us. However, why don’t we take a close look at the whole verse?

“Divorced women shall wait concerning themselves for three monthly periods. Nor is it lawful for them to hide what Allah Hath created in their wombs, if they have faith in Allah and the Last Day. And their husbands have the better right to take them back in that period, if they wish for reconciliation. And women shall have rights similar to the rights against them according to what is equitable; but men have a degree over them.”

First of all, as you can see, it is a pretty long verse. You can’t just reduce it to the last sentence.

I’m going to give the explanation I was given along with many other Muslim women in the mosque in Bogotá. This verse talks about divorced women, and how they have to wait for three months before making the divorce official, to see if they are pregnant. The “degree” that is mentioned here refers to the possibility of pregnancy because the next husband will have to be responsible for the baby. When it comes to divorce, men and women have the same rights; however, men have a “degree” of responsibility over them, in case that the woman is pregnant.

This is a case of misinterpretation and isolation of this sentence out of its original context; let’s skip ahead to one of my all time favorites. Holy Quran, Chapter 4, Verse 34: “As to those women on whose part ye feel rejection, admonish them first, next, refuse to share their beds, and last beat them.” Again a self-explanatory verse, right? I’ve read it in hundreds of translations. However, this is a product of bad translation.

In Arabic the word “idrib” means “hit,” but it also means “separate completely.” This verse explains the different “steps” a husband should take when he has problems with his wife, the first one being to talk to her and try to solve the problem and the last being to separate completely from his wife (i.e. divorce). This is the perfect example of how the translation of a simple word can lead to two completely different meanings.

The Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) said: “Those who beat their wives are not the best among you” (Abu Dawood) and “The best of you, are the best for their families; and I am the best for my family. Honored are those who give honor to women, and dishonored are those who dishonor them” (Tirmidthi).

Something else to consider: Islam did not “create” a new culture. On the contrary, it developed in societies with preexisting cultures. Therefore, the “burqa” in Afghanistan or the “tchador” in Iran are means of covering that existed before Islam arrived to those territories and where adapted to Islam.

The fact that some non-Afghani women wear burqa doesn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t have a cultural background. It is important to make a distinction between the practices that come from the culture of one particular country or region and the ones that come from Islam. For example, genital mutilation is common in some regions of Africa, but will never be contemplated in countries like Turkey or Kuwait.

It is written in the Holy Quran, Chapter 3, Verse 195: “Their Lord responded to them: ‘I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female—you are equal to one another.’” And in his last sermon, Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) said: “Treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers.”

I’m not attempting to deny the abuses that some women have suffered in many Muslim countries. However, what I want to clarify is the fact that those abuses are not justified or mandated by the Quran, but are rather products of misinterpretations and misunderstandings.

Muslim women, like other women around the world, need to fight for their rights. In order to do so, they need to first acknowledge their rights. Contrary to what many people believe, Muslim women had rights since the beginning of Islam. Of course, when you need to oppress somebody, you would use whichever means you can find to attain your goal.

At the beginning it seemed a little bit difficult for me to believe that Islam could actually give an important place to women. However, the more I learned about it, the more I noticed that it couldn’t be otherwise.

Carolina Medellin can be reached at colaya@ut.edu.