Transcript Role of Women

1
Role of Women
In Islam
BY
MUHAMMAD ALI KHAN
Historical Role

Historical evidence indicates that women
contributed significantly to the early development
of the Muslim community

Substantiation of Prophet-hood after first
revelation

Women were the first to learn of Muhammad's
initial revelation

They later played an important role in the process
of collecting all the revelations from both written
and oral sources into a single, authoritative text
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Cont….

Women were entrusted with vital secrets,
including the location of Muhammad's hiding
place

The Prophet often consulted women and
considered their opinions seriously

Hazrat Khadija RA , chief adviser as well as his first
and foremost supporter

Hazrat A'ishah RA, was a well-known authority in
medicine, history, and rhetoric

Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab RA (ruled 634 – 644 )
appointed women to serve as officials in the
market of Medina.
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
Men and women had distinct, complementary
roles in Muslim societies. The husband's primary
responsibility was to support and protect the
family

The wife cared for and disciplined the children
and maintained the home

Although Islamic law taught that the husband
and wife were equal before God, women were
subordinate to men. Nonetheless, women
exercised considerable influence in family and
social life
Cont….

In the early 1900s, the governments of Turkey took steps to
modernize the role of women

The Turkish government adopted a new family law that
that gave women the right to obtain divorces

Turkish women gained the right to vote in municipal and
national elections in the 1930s

During the 1950s, Egyptian women entered politics and
were elected to public office

Women also began to earn advanced academic degrees
and to work in professions previously closed to them

In most countries, however, new freedoms and
opportunities in education and employment benefited
only upper and middle classes in urban areas
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Cont…

Concerns about a lack of employment
opportunities among men fueled arguments that
women should stay at home in their traditional
roles of wives and mothers

Islamic states tried to balance the conflicting
demands of women and traditional Muslims by
making cautious reforms
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Cont…

Debate continues over the appropriate role of
women in the community

They see the status of women as directly
connected to maintaining or reforming tradition

The role of women may also be a means of
defining national identity

Although Muslim governments have promoted
education for both boys and girls as a way of
achieving economic growth, the percentage of
girls enrolled in schools in developing countries
remains relatively low
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Catalyst of Change of
Role

Poor economic and political conditions in some
Muslim countries have forced women to become
more involved in the outside world

Factors such as war and labor migration have
increased the number of households headed by
females

Economic necessity has led women to seek work
outside the home, usually in low-paid, unskilled
jobs
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As head of State

Many Muslim women have become active in
grassroots organizations, development projects,
charitable associations, and social services

During the 1990s, women achieved positions of
leadership in some parts of the Muslim world.
Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, Tansu Ciller of Turkey,
and Shaykh Hasina and Khaleda Zia of
Bangladesh served as prime ministers in their
respec-tive countries
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Role in Education

Muslim women have always played a role in the
spread of religious knowledge, Hazrat A'ishah RA
was an important source of the hadith

In fact, he reportedly told his followers they would
receive half their religion from her.
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Role is sufiism

The most famous Sufi woman, Rabiah Basri wrote
poems of love for God that have continued to
inspire mystics to the present day.

Some Sufi shaykhs in the Mamluk dynasty ( 1250 –
1517 ) and Ottoman Empire admitted women into
their orders

Despite the general acceptance of women
within Sufism, however, their participation in the
orders and in dhikr was restricted
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Cont…

The Qur'an requires the same religious role and
duties of men and women and promises them the
same spiritual rewards

Nevertheless, certain factors have tended to
restrict women's involvement in Islamic religious
life

These include social customs, lack of education,
and ideas about ritual purity

The specific limitations on the participation of
Muslim women in religious matters and the ways
that they have responded to these restrictions
have varied across the Islamic world

Furthermore, during the 1900s, the changing role
of women in society created new opportunities
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Important roles of a
women

Categories

Role in Family


As mother

As Sister

As Daughter

As Wife
Role is Society

Role of a Working Women

Role of a Housewife
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Role in family


Teach their children

Religion

Language

Worldly Education
Train them properly

Values

Psychological Training
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Cont…


As Sister/Daughter

Protect the Respect of the Family

Be an ambassador of the Family
As Wife

Motherhood

Protect the respect of husband (Libas)

To be obedient

Domestic Chores/House keeping

Care of Finance

Kept the Secrets
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Role in society

Positive contribution towards Society

Show kindness to society

Defining National Identity

Women as key to social continuity and the
preservation of the family, language and culture
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
Kindness

Do Not Pay Attention to Slanderous Talks

The Husband's Respect

Obey Husband and Not Mother

Complaints and Grievances

Be Clean and Beautiful at Home Also

Pleasant Dispositions

Be like a Mother to Him

Wrong Expectations

Keep the Secrets

Be a Comfort for Your Husband

Accept His Management

Be Appreciative

Be Resourceful when Times are Hard

Do not Look for Shortcomings

Do not Refuse to Talk and do not Sulk

Don't Look at Anyone Other Than Your
Husband

Remain Silent when he is Angry

Tolerate Men's Hobbies

Housekeeping

Cleanliness

A Tidy House

Preparing Food

Take Islamic Hijab

Forgive Your Husband's Mistakes

Coping with Your Husband's Relatives

Coping With Your Husband's Job

If You Have to Live Away From Your
Hometown

Receiving Guests

If Your Husband Works at Home

The Trustee of the House

Help Your Husband to Make Progress

Accept only Careers of women

Be Careful That He is Not Misled

Do not Waste your Spare Time

Suspicious Women

Motherhood (Caring for Children)

Nutrition and Hygiene
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