FLIGHTLESS: An Analysis of the Immobility of Saudi Arabian Women

In many places women throughout history have wished that they would not be considered inferior to men. It is a significant struggle in the world today, in some countries great strides have been made, and in others nothing has changed. A prime example of a country that has dealt with, is still dealing, with and will deal with women’s equality is Saudi Arabia. Women in this country are subject to harsh rules, put upon them by men. For a long time, women were not even allowed to drive in the country, but the women of the country decided to protest. “Fawziah al-Bakr, a Saudi university professor who was among 47 women

Beginning with Muhammad’s age from the start of 7th century Islam, Islamic culture and politics have gone a great many events and occurrences. Throughout all of its years, it has boasted both a rich culture and technological/intellectual advancements. The preservation of the Quran, developments in mathematics, and the continued emphasis on respect and charitable nature are just some examples of Islamic achievement. However, as with any growing civilization, Islam has evolved beyond what it originated as. The cultural and political life of Islamic civilization beginning in the 7th century to the end of the Abbasids of the 13th century underwent many changes such as the deteriorating view of women in society and the shift from elected caliphates to dynastical caliphate. But, one aspect that persisted were the religious beliefs and traditions followed by the Islamic people.

“Women and Gender in Islam” by Leila Ahmed was published in 1992, at a time when research on Arab women was a young, newly emerging field of study. Leila Ahmed is an Egyptian American writer and feminist. Her text “Women and Gender in Islam” targets proclaimed feminists, both western and non-western, as the intended audience. The text is involved with the discourse of gender, the discourses of women, the discourses of feminist, and colonial and post-colonial discourses.

Sadly, views of people in some of countries nowadays is still as foggy and limited as the people’s views thousand years ago. Having studied these laws, we learned that we need to respect women and honour them. They are very well deserved to be treated fairly, and to be looked up to. Hopefully in the near future, the legal system in Muslim countries will be changed in a positive way to foster the roles of women in the society. Women should have more freedom and should not considered as a tool of labor or a slave for

Stop the Oppression of Women is a visual ad created by the ISHR, the International Society for Human Rights. The ISHR is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation that focuses on trying to improve the quality of human rights across the world. This visual focuses on the oppression of women in Islamic countries where hijab, the traditional veil that Islamic women are required to wear. There are a few main points of rhetoric to analyze from this advertisement from the ISHR, including the ethos, logos, and pathos of the visual.

This article, by Elizabeth Segran explores how many women faced inequality in the Islamic world but started to acquire their power through the Qur'an and their religion. The author states “For decades many women believed they had to choose between their Muslim identity and their belief in gender equality so they made a global movement called Musawah, which means equality”(1). This movement is powered by the ideals that Islam does not favor men as many have thought to be the case. However, because patriarchy has had a strong stance in Muslim countries these females believe it is due to the way they have interpreted and read Islamic texts. As we have learned in this course so far, there are numerous ways to interpret Islamic texts. It just so happens that gender has a great effect on how it is understood by individuals.

Even though we live in a modern world with many technological advancements, women oppression is still a plague around the world that seems to never stop or end in many different societies a woman is only accepted or considered good not when she speaks up or contribute to something that is against this but when she accepts this oppression and stay quit. In Woman at point zero, Nawal Al Saadawi has expressed her concern about women's oppression. In her piece of work, there were many attempts to raise awareness to this issue by giving an example of a woman’s life that was ruined by it. This issue should bring women together since they share the same problem and help each other and empower themselves in order to fight against this discrimination

Leila Ahmed’s book is an example of what scholarly research should resemble. At no time did I feel that she was being bias or subjective towards any side on this highly discussed and sensitive topic. Nowhere does Ahmed specifically go about attempting to correct misconceptions or often misquoted passages; but rather, she goes about a proper chronological historical understanding of the treatment of women before, during, and after the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). This, I feel, is the main theme of the 3 chapters we read: Comparing and contrasting the treatment of women in the social, domestic, and political realms before, during, and after Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) life.

With the introduction of Islam to the Middle East during the Umayyad Caliphate women were given more power than in pre-Islamic Arabia. Islam introduced more traditional marriage practices, when Muhammad only allowed polygamy if the husband could support all of his wives without favoritism. Lastly, women played a major role in recording and piecing together the Quran ("Islam, The Arab Empire Of The Umayyads."). With the expansion of the Islam in the Abbasid Caliphate to parts of Asia with stricter gender roles, many practices during the Umayyad Caliphate were adapted to limit the power of women. The Abbasid Caliphate is where the stereotypes of mistreating women in Islamic culture were born with practices such as, keeping women secluded from society and the reintroduction of female infanticide after it was banned by Muhammad ("The Status of Women in Islam During the Abbasid Empire." ). During the Abbasid Caliphate women went from having limited autonomy to nearly becoming slaves that took care of a male’s family which was a product of forbidding them from leaving home without supervision of a male and by taking away the ability to refuse or consent to marriage. In the Ottoman Empire women were more powerful than anywhere else in the world according to Lady Mary Wortley-Montague ("TASTE OF THE PAST - Women in Ottoman Society."). Women often

According to Azam Kamgulan in the article, “Women and Religious Oppression”, “Millions of women are suffering and being oppressed under religious laws, and Islamic governments in many different parts of the world.” Within the Islamic culture, the women do not have their human rights. The women in the Middle East should have a voice, instead of being seen as objects and should not be discriminated against due to their gender. Women of the Middle East are oppressed in many different forms, but they are all mainly physical.

As a religion, Christianity has grown to accept and treat women with more respect in society than it has. It was not always like that. Islam has too, but because of extremists in the Middle East willing to kill themselves for their religion who are in charge of many territories there, some of those territories have not progressed as substantially as Christianity. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus said, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” This verse challenged the mindset of everyone at that time. It made them realize that they had no right to condemn and kill because they sin too and are not perfect. It is up to God to judge, not man. Muslim women in terrorist controlled countries are not allowed to show anything except their eyes when they go out in public. They are only allowed to travel when a man is with them. Also, unlike in America, a woman or girl that lives in an extremist controlled area can not receive an education and purposely breaking these rules usually results in death. These rules come from Sharia Law, which is the Islamic way of life. (Abdullahi) Sharia Law is not from Allah, but it is interpreted off of the things Muhammad and the Qur’an said. However, this is where some people get misconceptions about the Islamic faith and its followers because they think of Muhammad as a terrible person for what happens to these women in some parts of the Middle East. In reality, he personally had nothing to do with Sharia Law because it came about over a hundred years after Muhammad had already died. It is all interpreted by those the proceeded him and has been updated time and time again to fit the agenda of the powerful. Unfortunately it is currently being enforced by power hungry individuals. That specific scenario should not take away from someone’s view of Islam as a religion, but should serve to educate them on how people can twist

De facto, the oppression of Muslim women is a result of the conservative interpretations of Shariah law, which also incorporates gender selective traditional rules that are depicted as God’s undisputable words. Muslim feminists suggest the rationale of women’s domination lies in the same Shariah laws which infer the godly laws incorrectly. Moreover, Muslim law is saturated with pro-male-dominated versions. Albeit the place of females improved throughout the timespan of the prophet it was only for momentary period. Muslim masses do not think beyond their interpretation of Islam, and they believe it as perfect way of existence.

“Women are the agent of social transformation who prepare children to enter human society. Beyond this, they are the portals through which all people come into this world”(Frymer-Kensy, 329). No matter what, women will always be important in our world. For the fact that Eve fell into temptation and ate of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, people still have the tendency to blame Eve for the fall of mankind. And it is from this perspective that women began to be underestimated for the next generations to follow. The Koran and Hadiths, which are the traditions of the prophets and the writings of Mohammed, greatly influence the way in which the woman is seen in Islam. The Koran is very misogynist compared the Bible that has demonstrated great respect towards women.

Women in Islam are free and have same or equivalent rights as any other woman. As Souhelia states in her article, many women that come from Islamic upbringing are free and others are working on bringing more change into their lifestyles (Souhelia, 2006). Although the process of change does not measure up to how far Western women got, cultural differences and geographical positioning and distribution of Islam law - better known as sharia - studies have shown that education, political participation and social reforms made considerable

Numerous articles and books by prominent authors such as Malise Ruthven, Farida Shaheed, and A.Z. Hilali, address the rights, or lack thereof, of Muslim women living under Islamic law. Each author provides an in-depth look at the struggles and analyzes their causes. These accounts explain how sexist interpretations of Islam, cultural customs and traditions, and hierarchical and dominant structures within the Muslim community are utilized to oppress the rights of women and to maintain a patriarchal, political system. And, a few of these reports even address some of the advances reformers have made in resolving the legal inequalities confronting Muslim women. However, many of these accounts fail to adequately propose solutions as to how to continue to improve the social and legal status of Muslim women and how to protect women against the backlash against reforms that have already been made.