To claim their rights, Muslim women cannot leave it to men to define Islam

[Scorpio27]

My eyes stuck on the essay.
Hope Moderate Muslim will find some matter of thinking in the writting.


In my world of Islam, I witness both the progressive and the regressive. There are women who are better educated than men and men who are better educated than women. There are husbands who maintain their wives and wives who maintain their husbands. There are men who love to cook and stay home, and women who prefer to eat out and hang out. But I also encounter women who yearn for husbands to share the housework and child rearing, just as they, as wives, share the financial burdens of the family. I meet women who cannot accept that their husbands have taken second wives, women who cannot believe that God has given the husband the right to beat his wife, women who cannot fathom how they, as long-suffering dutiful wives, are only entitled to one-eighth a share of their deceased husband's estate while other family members get more.

But the mullahs tell me of a different world of Islam. The mullahs say all men are superior to all women and therefore women cannot be regarded as equal to men. They tell me that a Muslim man has the right to divorce his wife at will, the right to take second, third and fourth wives, the right to demand obedience and the right to beat his wife if he thinks she is misbehaving. They say I cannot question these rules as they are God's law.
.....................


To claim their rights, Muslim women cannot leave it to men to define Islam (http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030310/viewpoint2.html)

I will like to know members view.
Thanks

[amo_l_oman]

From her website:


We uphold the revolutionary spirit of Islam, a religion which uplifted the status of women when it was revealed 1400 years ago. We believe that Islam does not endorse the oppression of women and denial of their basic rights of equality and human dignity.
http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/

Many tend to forget this too often actually...

[jack]

They tell me that a Muslim man has the right to divorce his wife at will,He does have this right. She also has this right.


the right to take second, third and fourth wives,He does have this right. She does not have this right. She does have the right to demand a prenup, but if still takes a second her only option is to live with it or divorce him.


the right to demand obedience and the right to beat his wife if he thinks she is misbehaving.He does have this right. She does not though she still may beat him :p


They say I cannot question these rules as they are God's law.Neither have this right.



I :app: her in her attempt to reform womans rights, but what Koran is this woman reading?

[Pineapple Thief]

The same Quran all the rest of us are reading. Multiple wives, the debate is still on, and Im still on the side that is against it. And you should question. Unless its printed in neon green with arrows pointing to it (i.e. its irrefutable) we should think on it, try to understand why.

[Scorpio27]

Marriage from multiple women in Islam might not be allowed for those who might result in damaging the society with their marriage by bringing more illiterate, poor, and in many cases starving children to the society.

Let us look at Noble Verse 4:3 "If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice." Notice how Allah Almighty orders men to be either fair to their wives or never marry more than one wife.

Let us look at Noble Verse 4:129 "Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women, even if it is your ardent desire: But turn not away (from a woman) altogether, so as to leave her (as it were) hanging (in the air). If ye come to a friendly understanding, and practise self-restraint, God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful." Here we clearly see that Allah Almighty tells men that they will never be fair to their wives.

I HAVE FOUND THE DISCUSSION VERY IMPRESSIVE HOPE YOU TOO WILL FIND IT ..
http://www.answering-christianity.com/polygamy.htm

[Pineapple Thief]

Exactly, people seem to forget the continuation of the verse when they talk about the 4 wives rule.

Thanks for posting that mate.

[BrAiKi]

about beating the wife, its not the first option...
all@h says in such cases that a man should talk to his wife first, if she doesnt listen, then the man should use someone from her family whom she trusts, if that didn't work then he may not sleep with his wife on the same bed, just to make her feel that he is mad or whatever, and if all of that didn't work then he may beat her, but he must not seriously hurt her, the beating thats meant there is like spanking :D
i know the verse but i din't meorize it well

[Scorpio27]

Some people are misusing islam. Sad, very Sad.
Islam is not Men's PROPERTY it belongs to whole mankind and whole creation.
Sobahan Allah

[BrAiKi]

yeah true, what hurts more is that some ppl judge Islam by it

[fatamooo]

Men have always been used to the spotlight, and taken credit while the women (in ancient times mostly, but even now, only more discreetly than before) sat backstage and did their share silently and uncomplainingly. If we look at many cultures we will see that the women has to make many sacrifices in order to please the men. In the Far East, the women had to bind their feet in those metal thingies and break the bones in their feet in order to have beautiful dainty feet to please the men. The smaller the feet (or lotuses as they were called) the more beautiful the women was considered to be.

In some African tribes the women had to put one ring around their neck each year or something of their lives so that they could elongate it, because a woman with a long neck was thought of as beautiful and was more likely to be married.

In old England, women strived to have the fairest skin and even drank poison because it gave them skin like porcelain... and so much more that i don't know about.

So over the millenia, men have gotten used to exploiting their strength on women, until it nearly became instinct. Then came the religions that banned these actions, and Islam gave women the right to inherit, freedom that was in those days unthinkable for a women, and equality with men in that they are both humans and both have duties and rights. To be honest, most of the men have been gracious in accepting this and abiding by it as much as they knew how. However, there are always a few anomalies along the way. Sexism is still a problem, and is still a significant issue in social life of a community. Men still do feel threatened when they see a women excel at an area which was predominantly a male enviorenment. That's why if it were up to them, women would never leave the house, and spend their lives cooking and cleaning (not that that's a bad thing, just that they would be forced into it)... That's why the women always have to make their voices heard and not let the men take their rights away.