In today’s world, many people believe men are the ones who possessed the physical, and mental endurance to do beyond and greater things then woman. America and the Middle East share some similarities, but have more differences when it comes to women’s right, education, and freedom.Women in American gained their rights during the 1920s (Women Suffrage Movement ), and until this day women in the Middle East are struggling to obtain their rights, because of the domain society the live in.
Taking the time to read and understand the Quran and its teachings to Muslims many will understand that the Quran speaks about peace and unity. Islam has been criticized to be a religion dominated by the men when this could not be more far from the truth. A recent article by Ruqaiyyah Maqsood addresses the truth about the equality and treatment of Muslim women. Maqsood states that the Quran does not differentiate between men and women as they are created of a single soul. Husbands are not allowed to hit their wife, a child, or old person s their prophet never did
Take a look around you. You most likely see quite a lot of women talking, laughing, and living freely. Most people would agree that it’s an everyday sight. However, free-living women are a rare occurrence in other parts of the world, such as the Middle East, where women are bound by traditions. The oppression of women that rages today in that region is due to the great influence Islam has there. Followers of Islam, known as Muslims, use the Quran as their Holy Book. From this book, Muslims take their guidelines for life, known as Sharia Law. Unfortunately, these laws are the epitome of patriarchy, and aim to subjugate and degrade women. A woman named Jean Sasson has written many books that tell of this oppression, such as the Princess trilogy and it’s sequel More Tears To Cry, which follow the steps of the Saudi Arabian princess, Sultana.
Unfortunately, the era of men and women being equal was hasty. Briefly after Mohammed’s death Islamic society changed, so did the interpretations of the Quran to meet different circumstances. Almost simultaneously women became inferior almost being viewed as possessions and property. Having choices was no longer an option for women, whatever the man said became the law. Girls at birth could be killed by their father’s because boys carried the name of the family while girls usually were concubines, workers, or sold. Most significantly women’s roles depended largely on what the husband’s economic status was. If the husband was a farmer the wife had to help in the fields or if the husband worked in the city she had to help run the business.
Women’s rights in Iran or the Middle East has always been an arguable issue. Although there rights have been changed throughout the centuries they were never really compared equal to men or noone really accepted them. Specially for women in Iran, they barely had any rights in culture, marriage or other aspects of their lives. In the following essay you will read about the everday lives of Middle Eastern women.
Geography is the study of spatial patterns in the human and physical world. The human part of that definition relates to people’s different cultures and activities around the world (White). As a female growing up in America, I have been lucky to have a lot of freedom. However, if I lived somewhere else in the world, such as Iran, I would have a much different life. In America women are considered equal to men and have their basic human rights. However, some countries deny women these rights. In Iran I would be able to go to school and get a fairly good education. Actually, Iran has stated that the improvement of their women’s education is one of their greatest accomplishments. However, I would be limited by what I could major in. Many majors are restricted to men only, such as education, accounting, and
For example, after the overthrow of the Shah of Iran and the rise of an Islamic republic in 1979, Iranian women’s rights declined drastically, as can be seen in the political cartoon from The Minneapolis Star. In this cartoon, a wilted flower represents Iranian women’s rights, and a devious Muslim man is seen in the background, which presumably symbolizes the new Islamic government led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Thus, the creation of this new government has greatly diminished whatever women’s rights were previously established in Iran (Doc 9). This source, an American newspaper, may not be as accurate as, for example, a Muslim source because of a general American unfamiliarity with Islam. Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, a high-class Islamic woman, described her experiences as a Muslim female during this period in her memoir Faces in a Mirror: Memoirs from Exile. This specific excerpt depicts the immediate obedience of high-class Islamic women to their male superiors, despite their own intentions (Doc 10). Thus, although there were sparse attempts to reform the status of Islamic women in the 20th century, in general, the role of women remained the same, or in some cases it was even worse than before.
Women are also not allowed to touch the Quran when they are in their period. Holm describes this as the devaluation of women in contemporary religion. Also the fact that in the sacred texts, there are mainly features of male gods, prophets and there are not a lot of women in the scriptures, and if there is, it is only anti-stories about them such as the story of Adam and Eve, eve being the woman and the deceiver and the story of Mary Magdalene the prostitute. Finally religious laws and customs give women fewer rights than men for example in divorce and how many spouses that they can marry.
Women’s rights in the Middle East have always been a controversial issue. Although the rights of women have changed over the years, they have never really been equal to the rights of a man. This poses a threat on Iran because women have very limited options when it comes to labor, marriage and other aspects of their culture. I believe that equal treatment for women and men is a fundamental principal of international human rights standards. Yet, in some places like Iran, discriminatory practices against women are not only prevalent, but in some cases, required by law. In this essay I will explain to you the every day life of an every day Islamic woman living in Iran. You will be astonished by what these women
In the Annals of history dating back to the great Achaemenid Empire, women in Iran have, for the most part, been subordinate to men. Women’s rights in Iran have changed with every regime change throughout history. With the rise of each regime, a series of mandates for women’s rights arose, which affected a broad range of issues from voting rights to dress code. For Iranian women, their rights and legal status have changed since the early 20th century. Women’s rights in Iran are limited compared to the women in developed nations. The World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Iran 140 out of 144 countries for gender parity. Women in Iran constitute 19% of the workforce in 2017 with only 7% growth since 1990. The legal rights of women have gone through many changes during the past three political regimes in Iran. During the Qajar, the royal dynasty that ruled Iran from the late 1800’s to the early
Over the course of history, gender inequalities have been a prevalent issue amongst countries around the world. The notion, women are inferior to men has shaped their treatment in all aspects of life. Women were subjected to a patriarchal role in society, the men worked and women took care of domestics to some degree greater or lesser depending the country they resided in. In the late 19th and early 20th century women started rising up against male dominated societies in feminist movements. These movements were campaigns and reform plans to combat issues of equal pay, sexual violence, and denial of suffrage, reproductive rights, equal job opportunities and property rights. Thus observing women in Great Britain and Saudi Arabia today one can see how the role women play in society has dramatically changed from 1800s till now.
In this University article I found how women in the Middle East are starting to gain more rights and respect which is what they deserve. There’s this new law about how family is the biggest priority for everyone there, but we also see the changes that happen with women. Some women in the Middle East are allowed to not cover their face or body, but there’s some that still do because they want to follow the traditions from their ancestors. The gender role I saw on this article is that, men are less dominant now days on the Middle East compared to back in the 1940s, the same way that it was in the US. It look longer for women in the Middle East to receive more freedom, because of all the wars that are going on, and because of the masculinity of
Women's rights in the Middle East have always been a controversial issue. Although the rights of women have changed over the years, they have never really been equal to the rights of a man. This poses a threat on Iran because women have very limited options when it comes to labor, marriage and other aspects of their culture. I believe that equal treatment for women and men is a fundamental principal of international human rights standards. Yet, in some places like Iran, discriminatory practices against women are not only prevalent, but in some cases, required by law. In this essay I will explain to you the every day life of an every day Islamic woman living in Iran. You will be astonished by what these women have endured through the
To many Westerners, the overall plight of females in Iran appears tenuous. It is illegal for females above the age of 9 to appear in public with out their heads veiled and bodies entirely covered. Women cannot serve in certain occupations, such as the military. It is difficult for a married woman to divorce her spouse, yet for men the right to divorce is unquestioned and done with ease. Married women in Iran who wish to leave the country for any reason must first obtain the permission of their husbands.
Women in Iran have had their rights diminished and revoked since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The women of Iran are forced to follow laws governed by Islamic tradition, which do not allow the women to exercise their basic human and civil rights. Like the women in “A War on Women” the women of Iran have been forced to endure violence at the hands of the men in power in the name of Allah (God) since the new constitution has been in place. The women must wear a robe that also covers their head in public or face the punishment of flogging. Girls as young as eight are old enough to be married at the choosing of their fathers, and even as adults are not allowed to choose their own husbands. Stoning is practiced when there has been an adultery committed, and this stands for both men and women. Yet, when the men are stoned, they are buried up to their waist and if they escape they are punished no further. When the women are stoned, they are buried up to their chest, and if they manage to escape it is allowed by law for them to be arrested and killed by firing squad. The women of Iran, by law, are only worth half as much as a man in all areas of