Women in Islam: Gender Roles & Responsibilities Explored - Essay Sample

Introduction

Islam is the second-largest religion in the world, and it is a growing religion in the United States. The role of Islamic women is not openly defined, but from the scripture, teaching one can identify why Muslim women are subject to specific tasks and positions in society. In religion, men and women's roles are different, and to understand the gender roles variation, this easy will explore women in the Islamic faith and their roles.

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Quran

In the Muslim religion, the scripture Quran has embraced both men and women by outlining stories of honorable men and women in politics, region, and business. The Quran has great scriptures of women, such as Aisha prophet Muhammad's wife, a great politician. Kadijah prophet Muhammad's first wife, a great businessperson who operated caravans and lends money to Prophet Muhammad, and Hawaa Adams wife, among many others (About the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (OCRT) web site, n.d.). The religious women portrayed in the scripture are a good reason why Muslim women should be allowed to own properties, hold political positions, and access education.

Duties of Worship

In Islam religion, the women, just like the men, are expected to fulfill religious duties of worship, paying pilgrimage to mecca, faith, prayers, and fasting. Women are welcome to recognize Allah and worship openly. Islam religion recognizes and improves women's lives compared to the Islamic Arabic cultures as it prohibits infanticides and recognizes women as individuals. Islamic region advocates for contractual marriages and dowry to be paid to the woman and divorce and women's inheritance of property (Women and Islam, n.d.). Such rules have made women recognized and free from religious oppression. In the Islamic religion, however, a woman does not hold any divine power and position, which explains why there are no women religious leaders in the Islam religion. Most women's roles are within the home, family, politics, and business.

The Islamic religion has supported women and encourages women's oppression through FGM and wife battering, which has caused women abuse in Marriage, dressing, and reproduction. The representation of the woman in the holy book Quran is a good indicator that women religiously are supposed to be recognized and treated equally as men. However, in Islamic society, the Islamic religion and Islamic culture vary in how the role and treatment of women are interpreted and endorsed. There are many supportive scriptures from the Quran that support women's place in society, but the sharia law that guides the Islamic culture has been misinterpreted to oppress women.

References

About the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (OCRT) web site. (n.d. June 26). Islam: The second largest world religion...and growing. Religious Tolerances http://www.religioustolerance.org/purpose.htm

Women and Islam. (n.d. June 26). Women. Oxford Islamic Studies Online http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2510