Women in Islam

Article Index

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When secular Western societies began granting women equal human rights, Islamic apologists claimed:

Granting women human rights on the basis of "equality" with men is actually an injustice to women.
Islam provides a better system than the West, as it grants women rights not based on "equality" but on "equity."

However, this claim by Islamic apologists is nothing more than a deception—a manipulation of words to mislead.

When the West talks about granting rights on the basis of "equality," the context is to recognize women as "equal human beings" to men. But Islamic apologists distort this by reframing it as "physical equality" to discredit the concept.

In truth, the West has granted women all rights as equal human beings with equity. On the other hand, Islam neither recognizes women as equal to men in terms of humanity nor provides them with rights with equity.

Divorce:

Women	Men
Divorce: A husband has full right to divorce, but a woman doesn't.	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
The process of 3 Divorces:The process of 3 Talaqs is again there to punish a woman in the name of reconciliation. Only a woman suffers under it where she is forced to stay in the husband's house as a captive for 3 menstrual cycles (i.e. about 3 months). He is allowed to have sex with other wives and dozens of slave girls, but the poor woman is forced to have no sex and love during this period of 3 Talaqs.	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
Khul’: Only men have the right to divorce. If a woman wants to have a divorce, then she has to offer RANSOM money to her husband. If he accepts the offer and divorces her, then she gets her freedom. But if the husband rejects the offer, then no Islamic court can compel him to divorce her and she will not get her freedom. She is compelled to stay with her husband, even if he is abusive, or even if she dislikes him.	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
Faskh (i.e. Dissolution of Marriage): A woman can obtain a divorce from an Islamic court ONLY in the following cases, which cause her to endure hardships for many years before getting relief: (i) that the whereabouts of the husband have not been known for a period of four years; (ii) that the husband has neglected or has failed to provide for her maintenance for a period of two years; (iii) that the husband has been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of seven years or upwards; (iv) that the husband has failed to perform, without reasonable cause his marital obligations for a period of three years; continues to be so: (v) that the husband has been insane for a period of two years or is suffering from leprosy or a virulent venereal disease	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
Liaan: A Husband Can Accuse His Wife of Adultery Without Any 4 Witnesses, but if a Wife Accuses Her Husband of Adultery (or Rape) and She Does Not Produce 4 Eyewitnesses, Then She Will Be Lashed 80 Times. [Double Standards of Islam].	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
‘Iddah (waiting period): Only women have to suffer the hardships of 'Iddah. For example, only a wife has to mourn the death of her husband for 4 months and 10 days and cannot marry, while a husband is not required to mourn a single day if the wife dies, and he can enjoy other wives and dozens of slave women the same night.	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
A woman loses custody of all her children if she remarries: If a divorced woman remarries, then she will lose CUSTODY of all of her Children. The reason given by Islamic scholars is that she cannot provide proper sexual services to her 2nd husband properly in the presence of children from her first husband. Unbelievable.	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
Halala (Tahleel Marriage):Even if the husband is at fault for giving the divorce, but still only the poor woman has to suffer and get raped by another man before going back to her first husband. Muslim women are practically compelled to agree to go through this sexual abuse because it is their only chance to stay with their children (i.e. to return to their first husband). Otherwise, if they marry another person then they will lose custody of all of their children.	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
Ila (الإيلاء): In Talaq, a woman gets her freedom and can marry another man. But in Ila (الإيلاء), a man abstains from having any sexual relationship with her wife (as a punishment) for 4 months. Then he can have sex with her, and then again leave her alone for the next 4 months. Ila was essentially a tool wielded by husbands to punish and to manipulate their wives into complying with their demands. Women were treated as mere possessions.	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
Zihar: If a Muslim man, in a fit of anger or unintentionally, compares his wife to his mother or her back to his mother's back, it becomes necessary to separate her, akin to a divorce. Only women suffered badly from it.	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?

Hijab

Women

Men

Only she has to suffocate herself by wearing the Hijab.
Only her life becomes dependent on other mahram men, as she cannot go out without a mahram man.
It is a hindrance to getting an education and practising a job.
It is a hindrance to her physical health as she cannot go out swimming or jogging or playing sports outside.

Zero hardship. Where is the equity?

Scientific Studies are showing that:

Hijabi women are suffering from hair loss
Hijabi women suffering from baldness
Hijabi women are suffering from receding hairline
Hijabi women are suffering from fungi, candida, sticky hair, bad odour
Hijabi women are suffering from scratching, neck and head pain
Hijabi women are suffering from vitamin D deficiency (especially minor girls who have to start taking the Hijab even at the age of 3)

Zero hardship. Where is the equity?

Testimony

Women	Men
Link: Women's testimony is ZERO (i.e. not even HALF, and absolutely not accepted in Islamic court) in the following serious cases of Hudud Adultery Rape Murder Robbery Theft Hirabah	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
Women's testimony is also ZERO (i.e. not even half) in cases which are not related to women's affairs like: Nikah (marriage) Talaq (divorce) Raju' [restitution of conjugal rights] Parentage al-Wakalah Wills/Testaments	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
Women's testimony is only HALF in the following case: Financial matters	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?

Inheritance

Women	Men
A daughter will inherit only half of that of the son.	Full share for the son
A sister will inherit only half of that of the brother.	Full share for the brother
A wife will get only 25% while the distant male relative will get 75% (in case if no other relatives are present). Link	Full share for the husband (Distant relatives will get nothing)
A mother will get only 33% while the distant male relative will get 67.77% (in case if no other relatives are present). Link	Full share for the father (Distant relativew will get nothing)

Other Issues:

Women	Men
Wife Beating: Not light but even BRUTAL beating with bruises is completely Halal in Islam in the name of Disciplining her	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
Infertility: An infertile woman is considered to have no worth, should not be married, and could be divorced, while a woman cannot seek divorce from her infertile Muslim husband [Double Standards of Islam]	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
Virginophilia: Islam demands not to marry a widow or divorced woman in the presence of a virgin girl. But the same is not true about widowed or divorced men [Double Standards of Islam]	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
A father can even wed his minor daughter (even if she is breastfed) without her consent. And the husband can drive sexual pleasure by kissing her naked body, making her masturbate him, or rubbing his penis in her thighs (except for generation). Link.	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?
If a Foster Father lusts for his "Minor Adopted Daughter" due to her beauty or wealth, then he can forcefully give her into his Nikah. Link.	Zero hardship. Where is the equity?

Dowry and Maintenance:

Women

Men

Hardships that women have to face in the name of Mahr (Dowry):

In Islamic tradition, dowry (mahr) is seen as compensation for the sexual pleasure (tamtee') that a man derives from his wife, and the exclusive access to her body that he enjoys.
At the same time, he is free to marry multiple wives and engage in temporary sexual relationships with numerous slaves., but she is not allowed to even talk to any other man without the permission of his husband.
And she has to provide him with sexual services, whenever he demands it, even if she is travelling on the back of a camel and delivering a child (according to Muhammad).
Thus, Mahr is the payment of those sexual services, which she is obliged to provide to her husband on DEMAND.
In in name of Mahr money, she is also compelled to mourn his death for 4 months and 10 days (where she cannot marry any other person), even if she never loved him. But if the wife dies, then the husband has no obligation to wait, but he is free to have sex with other women/slave girls the same night.
In the name of Mahr money, she is also compelled to undergo 'Iddah (waiting period) for 3 menstrual cycles if the husband divorces her. 'Iddah brings a lot of one-sided hardships and restrictions for women. Link.
She also gets ZERO share from the property if her husband divorces her (Whereas in the West, a woman gets half the share from the property that they made during their marriage period). She is told to use that same Mahr money to survive if she is divorced.

Hardships that women have to face in the name of Maintenance Money:

Islam takes away many rights from a woman in the name of maintenance:

She is prohibited to leave the house without the permission of her husband.
She is even prohibited from visiting her parents without his permission.
Her husband gets the right to beat her while he pays he money for maintenance.
She receives financial support, but only at the cost of surrendering her right to work outside the home and earn her own income. In practice, it is nearly impossible for a woman to find employment without her husband's permission, especially in societies where Islamic norms are strictly enforced.
If a husband mistreats and tortures his wife, she cannot initiate a divorce proceeding on her own. Even if the husband chooses to divorce her, she often lacks the means to support herself independently. As a result, she may be coerced into remarrying.
However, if she does choose to remarry, Islam dictates that she will lose custody of her children (Link).
She has the duty to put perfume and make her beautiful to provide him with sex services on demand.

In simple words:

Slaves are also fed and maintained.
Prisoners in the prisons are also fed and maintained.
And women in Islam are not much different than slaves and prisoners.

Islam even allows man to BLACKMAIL women to give up their rights to Dowry and Maintenance Money:

Man can blackmail women into Misyaar marriage, where he has to give neither Mahr nor Maintenance money to women.
Even in normal Nikah marriage, again men are fully allowed to blackmail wives to give up their rights to Mahr or Maintenance money by threatening them to divorce them, or by not treating them well.
Muhammad himself blackmailed old lady Sawdah to give up her right to night turns by threatening her with divorce. Link

This is the ONLY Hardship, which is put on men by Islam

This is the ONLY right that Islam gives to women and not vice-versa. Thus, Islamic preachers boast a lot that Islam has made women QUEENS while it puts all the financial burden of dowry and maintenance upon husbands. Unfortunately, they don't tell the whole truth about how women lose a lot of their rights due to this dowry and maintenance issue, which make thier lives a hell.
Moreover, if dowry and maintenance really means making women Queens, then it was the pre-Islamic Arab culture of the time of ignorance, which made them Queens, as they stipulated dowry and maintenance for wives, while Muhammad only copied it from them.

The Islamic System of Dowry (Mahr) and Maintenance (Nafaqah) is Completely "Unbalanced" and Unjust to Both Men and Women

The Islamic system of maintenance (Nafaqah) is fundamentally unbalanced because:

Financial Burden Solely on the Husband:
The entire financial responsibility is placed solely on the husband, regardless of his circumstances. It does not consider whether the husband is poor, becomes ill, or loses his job. It essentially becomes a gamble because no one knows if he will face illness, unemployment, or other financial hardships in the future. Yet, in all such cases, the financial burden remains entirely on the husband.
Mahr as a Gamble:
No one knows whether the marriage will last or end in divorce. If divorce happens, even as early as the following week, the wife is entitled to the full mahr amount, leaving the husband at a financial loss. For the husband, Islamic marriage becomes a gamble where he pays a hefty mahr upfront, assuming a lifetime commitment from his wife, only to face the risk of divorce shortly after.

Comparison with the Western System:
In contrast, the Western system is far more balanced. If the wife is wealthy, has a stable and successful business, and is in good health, she is expected to share financial responsibilities equally. This allows her to support her husband in times of financial difficulty. Moreover, the husband does not face the risk of gambling on a large dowry amount before the marriage.

This system ensures a more equitable and fair distribution of financial responsibilities, reducing the strain and risk placed on one individual in the marriage.

PS: Islamic preachers also claim that giving rights to women (as the West did) increases the divorce rate. But their argument is wrong. Please read our article: