AP WORLD Dbq Islamic Women

Talia Firenze
Mr. Ward
AP World History
8 March 2015
Islamic Women The rise and expansion of Islam both broadened and restricted women's rights throughout the 20th century. There is evidence of prior advancements towards women's rights found in the ancient writings of The Holy Qur'an. Women in every religion, especially Islam, had to fight for their own rights. In Islam, that fight is continuing and many documents, photos, quotes and other sources show the back-and-forth struggle to get women out from under the veils and into the lights. Writings in the Qur'an show that there was a time of praising women for their work. Mohammad Keramat Ali said, in The Message: Selected Verses from The Holy Qur'an, "I shall not lose sight of the work of any of you who works (in My way) be it man or woman." That statement is clear proof that at the start of Islam, women were not viewed as inferior to men in a credible man's eyes. At the same time, other writings in The Holy Qur'an, one specifically by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, shows the belief that the Prophet must tell women to "draw their veils" because it is more likely they will not be hurt if they are covered. This infers that an exposed woman is a women in danger. The Prophet Muhammad was one of the main sources in The Holy Qur'an and he was known to love and respect his wife, Khadijah. With that respect of women in mind, other women became his earliest and bravest followers of his revelations. Muhammad's wives also played a huge, drastic role in the compiling of the Qur'an. In Islam, women's roles and rights were all controlled by men, specifically their husbands. A women's knowledge came from whatever her husband chose to share with her, and they must be obedient. Now, there is a fine line in which this could be broadening their rights. Women were not necessarily denied knowledge or jobs or other things, but it was the husbands job to allow it and help her. Women were by no means allowed to be independent in most cases, but they were not stripped of their rights, at least in their husbands eyes. Ibn Umar once stated that the Honorable Prophet said: Every one of you is a steward and is accountable for that which is committed to his charge (Doc. 3). A woman in Islam is a steward to her husband and must always listen, while a man is only a steward to the ruler. Ibn Umar expresses an idea backing up the fact that women's rights were being restricted and confined. Women were looked at as pieces of property in Islam, degrading their rights and hiding their worth. Ogier de Busbecq, a European diplomat who lived in Istanbul, shed light on the life of Turkish women in Ottoman society. He talked about how they were sent out, covered completely and wrapped up in veils, as if they didn't actually exist but instead, were just figures passing through. If a woman was considered distinguished, even in the smallest degree, she could not be seen by a man, for he could desire her and ruin her of her worth. Even men of the highest class would sometimes not let their wives even outside of the house or have any relations with anyone except their parents. The status of women's rights hit an all time low in the 1500s. In the late 1800s, Qasim Amin published a novel called The Emanicaption of Women, highlighting the aspects of women's' lives, such as education, physical freedoms and changes in laws. He was one of the people responsible for starting the Egyptian movement for rights of women. In his book, he talks about divorces laws and how they were made fairer to women, and also how women were credited more physical freedoms although, they still had to wear veils. Because of Amin's work and the work of the "Daughters of the Nile", a group who fought for women's rights, in 1962 in Egypt, the first Islamic woman minister was appointed. Also, a charter of 1962 stated that women must be regarded as equal to men and she can now remove the shackles that restrict her free movements and actions (Doc. 6). These events, works and this year was a huge step forward for broadening women's right in Islam. Women's rights in Islam teetered back-and-forth, struggling to advance towards getting women out from the shadows and getting them the rights they deserve. Throughout the expansion of Islam, many people highlighted the positives of women and fought for their equality from a span of hundreds of years, using religious works and other written sources. The negative ideas that were laid on about women and how they were pieces of property and how they must be hidden, constantly set back any progress made. The battle for women's rights in nowhere near over, and it will continue to broaden even with the many restrictions placed on women.