Women's Rights vs. Men's Rights in Islam

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:

Hijab

Testimony

Inheritance

Other Issues: 

Dowry and Maintenance:

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:

• Divorce Rate: The reason for its increase in the West

Divorce:

• Divorce:

 A husband has the full right to divorce, but a woman does not. Where is the equity?

• The process of 3 Divorces:

 The process of issuing three Talaqs (divorces) is designed to punish a woman under the guise of reconciliation. She is forced to remain in her husband's house as a captive for three menstrual cycles (roughly three months), during which she is prohibited from having sex and affection, while the husband is allowed to engage with other wives or even slave women. Where is the equity?

• Khul’:

 Men alone hold the right to initiate a divorce. If a woman seeks a divorce, she must offer ransom money to her husband. If he accepts, she is granted her freedom. However, if he refuses, there is no way for an Islamic court to compel him to divorce her, leaving her trapped in an unhappy or abusive marriage with no recourse to escape. Where is the equity?

• Faskh (i.e. Dissolution of Marriage):  

A woman can seek a divorce only under specific, severe circumstances that often require years of hardship. These include:

1. The husband's whereabouts being unknown for four years,
2. The husband neglecting his duty to provide maintenance for two years,
3. The husband being imprisoned for seven years or more,
4. The husband failing to fulfill marital obligations for three years,
5. The husband suffering from insanity or a debilitating disease for two years. These conditions result in prolonged suffering for the woman before she can receive any relief.  

Where is the equity?

• Liaan:

 A husband can accuse his wife of adultery without the need for four witnesses, but if a wife accuses her husband of adultery (or rape) without four witnesses, she faces 80 lashes. This double standard reflects a severe lack of equity. Where is the equity?

• ‘Iddah (waiting period):

Only women are subjected to the hardship of ‘Iddah, the waiting period after divorce or the death of a husband. A woman must mourn her husband's death for 4 months and 10 days, during which she cannot remarry. In contrast, a man does not have to observe any mourning period and can remarry immediately. Where is the equity?

• A woman loses custody of all her children if she remarries:

If a divorced woman remarries, she loses custody of her children. This rule is based on the idea that she cannot provide proper sexual services to her new husband while caring for children from her previous marriage. This places a woman in an untenable position, losing custody of her children simply because of remarriage. Where is the equity?

• Halala (Tahleel Marriage):

If a woman is divorced, even if the husband is at fault, she is forced to marry and have sex with another man in order to return to her first husband. This process, known as Halala, can be a form of sexual abuse and is a way for women to retain custody of their children after divorce. Without undergoing this humiliation, a woman could lose her children. Where is the equity?

• Ila (الإيلاء): 

In Ila, a husband can refuse to engage in sexual relations with his wife for up to four months as a form of punishment. After four months, he may resume relations, then again leave her for another four months. This form of marital manipulation reflects the husband's control over the wife’s body, treating her as a possession. Where is the equity?

• Zihar:  

If a man, in anger or by mistake, compares his wife to his mother or declares her to be like his mother, it becomes a form of separation. This is considered akin to divorce, and the woman is left to suffer due to the husband's words, without any recourse or justice. Where is the equity?

Throughout these various practices, it is clear that women face significant hardship, with few options for recourse or escape. There is a striking lack of equity between men and women in these situations.

Hijab

• Only women are required to suffocate themselves by wearing the Hijab.
• Only their lives become dependent on male mahrams, as they cannot go out without a mahram man accompanying them.
• The Hijab becomes a hindrance to their education and professional aspirations.
• It limits their physical health and activities, as they cannot freely go out swimming, jogging, or playing sports in public spaces.

Where is the equity?

Scientific Studies Show:

• Hijabi women are suffering from hair loss.
• Hijabi women are experiencing baldness.
• Hijabi women are facing a receding hairline.
• Hijabi women are affected by fungi, candida, sticky hair, and bad odour.
• Hijabi women are enduring scratching, neck pain, and head pain.
• Hijabi women, especially minor girls who begin wearing the Hijab as young as age 3, are suffering from vitamin D deficiency.

Where is the equity?

Testimony

• A woman's testimony is ZERO (i.e., not even HALF, and absolutely not accepted in an Islamic court) in the following serious cases of Hudud (Link):
  • Adultery
  • Rape
  • Murder
  • Robbery
  • Theft
  • Hirabah

Where is the equity?

• A woman's testimony is also ZERO (i.e., not even half) in cases not related to women's affairs, such as:
  • Nikah (marriage)
  • Talaq (divorce)
  • Raju’ (restitution of conjugal rights)
  • Parentage
  • al-Wakalah (agency)
  • Wills/Testaments

Where is the equity?

• A woman's testimony is only HALF in the following case:
  • Financial matters

Where is the equity?

Inheritance

• A daughter will inherit only half of what a son receives.
  Full share for the son.

• A sister will inherit only half of what a brother receives.
  Full share for the brother.

• If a man has no closer male relative (like father or son) then his wife will receive only 25%, while a distant male (like an uncle or his sons) relative will receive 75%.  Link
  

  But in a vice versa case, a husband gets a Full share. 
  Where is the equity where a wife is getting even less than the distant male relative? 

• If a man has no closer male relative (like father or son) then his mother will receive only 33%, while a distant male relative (like an uncle of his son) will receive 67.77%. Link
  But in a vice versa case, a father gets a Full share.
  Where is the equity where a mother is getting even less than the distant male relative? 

Other Issues:

• Wife Beating: Not only "light" but even brutal beating resulting in bruises is completely Halal in Islam in the name of disciplining her.
  Where is the equity?

• Infertility: An infertile woman is considered to have no worth, should not be married, and can be divorced. Meanwhile, a woman cannot seek divorce from her infertile Muslim husband (double standards in Islam).
  Where is the equity?

• Virginophilia: Islam discourages marrying a widow or divorced woman when a virgin girl is available. However, the same restriction does not apply to widowed or divorced men (double standards in Islam).
  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.
  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.
  Where is the equity?

Dowry and Maintenance:

This is the only right that Islam gives to women and not vice-versa.

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 that:

• How women lose a lot of their rights due to this dowry and maintenance issue, which make their 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. 

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. 

Where is the equity?

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.

Where is the equity?

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

Where is the equity?

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:

1. 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.

2. 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:

• Divorce Rate: The reason for its increase in the West