Article Summary This article examines the issue of women’s rights in Islam by introducing Islam and women’s rights in several different Muslim countries, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia. -The women in Islam are often viewed as a poor one, having to do whatever her husband, brother or father commands her to do. -This view is usually based on things picked up from what westerners see in the papers or on TV. -Not all Islamic countries follow the Qur’an and Ahadith as they say they are. (ex.
In some of Islamic countries, it is acceptable for women to not cover their faces, women can drive, etc. -While female circumcision is not condoned by the Qur’an, it is still practiced in some predominantly Muslim areas in Africa. Egypt -The Women’s Rights Union started to have an impact on the ruling class of Egypt. -The Egyptian government signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) bill in 1981. -Gave women equal access to education, employment and work opportunities, equal pay for equal work and social security. Egyptian civil law, in accordance with Islamic law, gives women the right to possess, control and inherit property. -Unfortunately, women’s rights are still not being fully implemented, due to the restrictions of tradition, the government’s lack of interest in enforcing the laws and women’s own lack of awareness of their rights. -This lack of education has led to women being refused ownership of property and the right to divorce, despite legally being allowed to own property and divorce their husbands.
Saudi Arabia -Women in Saudi Arabia are the victims of discrimination and human rights violations because of the gender bias in law, social mores and traditions. -They have gained some ground in terms of economic rights, but their civil and political rights are systematically violated. -Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive, leave the country without authorization from their husband or father, leave the house in unsuitable attire, hold high-ranking jobs or be involved in the government. It was not until 2000 that Saudi Arabian women were allowed their own ID cards; they had previously been registered on their husbands’ or fathers’ cards. -When investigations against women are carried out they are often conducted improperly and make use of unreliable evidence. Pakistan -Pakistan is a vast country with many laws in place to protect women’s rights. -Unfortunately, outside of the big cities, Pakistanis are generally ruled by tribal law rather than governmental law. -Most laws prohibiting the mistreatment of women are ignored. Not all girls are punished with death; some have acid splashed into their faces instead, scarring them for life and sometimes causing blindness. -Pakistani legislation defines both adultery and rape as ‘sexual intercourse without being validly married’ and does not draw the distinction that one is forced while the other is not. -If a woman is raped and reports the crime or becomes pregnant, she has to prove that she was raped by either having the man’s admittance of the crime or four witnesses who saw the man force her into having sex. If not proven, she is charged with having an illicit sexual relationship with someone and is punished. -Pakistan does not have the personnel or equipment to do a proper forensic examination, so it comes down to witnesses and confession. -After one village or tribe has committed a perceived offence against another, the second village or tribe will try to gain ‘compensation’. This involves rape and mutilation of women or the murder of entire families. -Girls from one of the tribes can be forced under threat to marry men from the other tribe. The most common method of abusing a girl is making her feel that she is displeasing God by refusing to marry the man her parents wish her to. -Women in Pakistan are generally only educated to a reasonable standard it from a wealthy family. -About 5% to 7% of women work, with low-paid jobs. Men and women are kept segregated in the workplace. Indonesia -Women in Indonesia are not as poorly treated as in other countries. -They have the right to own and sell property and livestock, to work, to choose to whom and when they get married and to divorce. -It is the women who propose marriage to a man, while men cannot propose at all.

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