THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM

THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM

Also by Haifaa A. Jawad EURO-ARAB RELATIONS: A Study in Collective Diplomacy THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE NEW WORLD ORDER (editor)

The Rights of Women in Islam An Authentic Approach Haifaa A. Jawad Senior Lecturer in Middle East and Islamic Studies Westhill College, Birmingham

First published in Great Britain 1998 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-0-333-73458-2 ISBN 978-0-230-50331-1 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230503311 First published in the United States of America 1998 by ST. MARTIN S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jawad, H. A. The rights of women in Islam : an authentic approach / Haifaa A. Jawad. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. 1. Muslim women Social conditions. 2. Women in Islam. I. Title. HQ1170.J4 1998 305.42'0917'671 dc21 97 49652 CIP Haifaa A. Jawad 1998 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1998 978-0-333-65086-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98

To my mother, a source of inspiration and my sister Suzanne, a deep gesture of appreciation

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Contents Introduction 1 The Legal Status of Women in Islam 1 2 Islam and Women s Education 16 3 Women and Marriage in Islam 30 4 Women and the Question of Polygamy in Islam 41 5 Female Circumcision: Religious Obligation or Cultural Deviation? 52 6 Islam and Women s Inheritance 61 7 The Dissolution of Marriage in Islam 71 8 Women and Political Action 83 9 Conclusion 97 Notes 100 Bibliography 138 Index 144 vii vii

Introduction As a Muslim woman born to a family which was Muslim in name but secular in practice, I never thought for a moment what Islam meant to me. It was not until fate decided to turn savagely against me, by depriving me first of my sweet sister with whom I shared all my hopes and dreams, especially at university when we were very close then my dear loving father, who had defied all the pressures such as honour, shame and family pride to allow me to leave Baghdad and come to Britain to pursue my dream of gaining a higher education, and then my caring brother, who stood beside me when I was on the brink of giving in to social pressure. All three departed so quickly within the space of a few years that I did not have enough time to grieve for them properly as individuals in their own right. The tragedy was so overwhelming that it shook me to my very foundations; my dreams in life were shattered, my hopes and ambitions vanished. I felt that I had lost my direction and began to become aware that I was going astray. It was at this particular point that I started seriously thinking about Islam. I needed refuge, peace and tranquillity, and it was Islam, especially spiritual Islam, that finally restored my faith and equilibrium. But that conviction and equilibrium started to be disturbed by two conflicting messages: first, the attack on Islam launched by secular feminists who declared that the Islamic system is a curse on the status of women under its law, thus portraying Islam as an oppressor rather than as a liberator, and urging women to release themselves from the shackles and constraints of their religion by adopting Western secular alternatives. Second, the message conveyed by fundamentalists, who although emphasising the importance of Islam and using Islamic rhetoric, nonetheless depicted Muslim women in images totally unappealing to my inquisitive mind. Troubled by the conflict between these views and convinced by neither, I set myself the task of embarking on a journey which would eventually lead me to discover what Islam has in store for me and my fellow Muslim women. Hence the book is in reality no more than a personal enquiry to satisfy my spiritual and theological needs: a soul-searching attempt to understand my faith (as a woman) and preserve it in a more humane form in the face of increasing secularisation and westernisation. This personal drive was then further accentuated by the realisation, especially during my years of teaching, of the widespread ignorance on the part of both Muslim and non-muslim women of the proper understanding of the viii

Introduction position of women from the Islamic perspective. Hence my urge to meet this demand. The book aims primarily to investigate some of the issues currently affecting the situation of Muslim women. It is therefore not an exhaustive study of all issues that are of interest to Muslim women: that is certainly beyond the scope of the present study. Rather it is a personal endeavour to examine matters most immediate and sensitive to them. The book singles out neither a particular group of women nor a specific band of countries in the Muslim region. Indeed, it deals with common issues that are of utmost concern to all Muslim women irrespective of their geographical and cultural backgrounds. The rationale behind this approach is that despite the huge diversity among Muslim countries, Islam has continued to serve as a unifying factor between them, especially when it comes to women s issues, where little has changed regarding the laws and regulations that are affecting their lives. I would like to thank the British Academy for supporting my trips to Egypt and Yemen, without which I would not have been able to complete the study. Also, many thanks go to both Felicity Simpson Wright and Barbara Morris for typing parts of the work and showing sympathy and understanding when I needed it most. I am grateful for their support. ix HAIFAA A. JAWAD