Muslim-American Social Issues
Social Issues in and around the world Essay
The difference of male and female rights, Involving gender discrimination among women in Afghanistan.
Introduction to Sociology
SOC-Section 011
Fall 2011
The difference of male and female rights,
Involving gender discrimination among women in Afghanistan
Throughout the world in our modern society, we can distinguishably recognize several countries that violate our social norms of highly protested and extremely cruel inequalities. Although we may disapprove of these type of unfortunate acts of deliberate injustices, in our culture in the United States, this has been a way of life for many throughout the history of the world. One type of social issue that …show more content…
I will discuss in this paper is the “Difference of male and female rights involving gender discrimination among women in Afghanistan.”
“Gender Stratification refers to the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privileges between men and women.” (Macionis, 2011:272 ) In Afghanistan’s history women’s rights have always been a controversial issue, due to the cultural traditions of their Islamic faith. This is referenced “That the people of Afghanistan have, as one of their primary concerns, usually superficial yet symbolically important traditional social restrictions in regards to women.” (Bleuer, 2011:152) One of the major contributing factors to this social issue is the Terrorist Islamic Group The Taliban’s recent control over the Afghanistan nation. “In the late 1990’s, the Taliban outlawed the public appearances of women and prohibited them from participating in every aspect of public life.” ( Zulfacar, 2006:27) The Taliban have established strict regulations on women, involving; appearance, employment, education, freedom of association, and health, which if not abided by, could result in a brutal beating or punishment by any male witnessing the women’s so called deviance, or death. Most of the regulations imposed by the Taliban are not new, they are traditional Islamic guidelines, that have been slowly overlooked through the years as the population gradually became modernized from its ancient tribal normality’s. These restrictions have in the past years recently been enforced on women in the form of religious belief in Islam. These laws imposed on women have stripped their freedoms of visibility, voice, and future, making them no longer able to be in control of their life decisions; this was now in the hands of their fathers or husbands.
But as far as these typical categorizations may be what are perceived, the life of a Muslim woman in American is drastically different.
“Being a Muslim woman in America isn 't only about wrestling with stereotypes. American diversity and civil liberties have led to a new version of Islam. Young Muslims born in America have brought together the best of what American and Islamic cultures have to offer. This fresh and vibrant American Islam offers new perspectives that have been colored by the American experience -- something immigrant Muslims may not have necessarily indulged in.” “The Muslim-American experience is more than can fit into this short piece. It 's about educating those who may be misled by stereotypes and misinformation in the media. But it 's also about being actively engaged in all aspects of society, from politics to sports, the workplace to the hip-hop scene. “(Nasr, 2013) As I mentioned previously the Islamic women in Afghanistan do not enjoy the freedoms and liberty to do as she pleases as do the Islamic women born and raised in the …show more content…
US.
The first topic to express gender discrimination is appearance, under Islam, woman are not allowed to be seen outside of their home without having their entire body from their head to their feet covered in what is call a Burqa. The only open areas are for the feet, hands, and eyes. They are not allowed to wear heels or any type of shoe that makes excessive noise or anything sexually provocative as so not to attract a man’s attention. This is for “their so called protection” from possible rape. Therefore any violation to appearance is punishable. For instance if a woman laughs to loudly, shows her ankles, wears attractive clothing, exposes her face, or is to outgoing or friendly to a man, she is punished on the spot, by any male that witnessed. Punishment could be anything from a beating to having boiling water poured over them which cause skin discoloration and sever scaring to make them less attractive to men. As to further their unequal rights if a women claims that she has been raped, she must have four male witnesses to justify her story or she will be considered to have committed adultery, and face death by stoning.
On the other hand Islamic women in the US enjoy the ability to be less conservative and a little more reveling, as to not have to completely cover their entire face and feet, they can wear high heels, and more provocative clothing. Instead of a burqa most western Muslim women wear a Muslim headscarf, called a hijab. This is a scarf that covers the woman’s hair and tightly frames her face. It is said that the hijab was designed as a way to honor women in Islam, by concealing their beauty. Also, American born Muslim women enjoy all the legal rights as any other American citizen. They have the right to seek help and press charges in the American judicial court system unlike their Afghanistan counterparts.
Other major social issues of gender discrimination among Afghan women, imposed by the Taliban, are their inability to have employment for earning an income, and not being allowed to receive an education. First, we can discuss employment. A United Nations publication states “The decree issued by the Taliban in July 2000, banning Afghan women from working, except in the health sector, remained in force throughout most of the year. In May 2001, a decree was issued which banned women, including female personnel from all employment, from driving cars, and thus limiting their activities severely. In July, the Taliban issued a decree formalizing restrictions on the activities of females and required female Muslim workers to be accompanied by a male escort.” (Economic and Social Council 2002:6) As for Afghan women’s rights on education the United Nation Publication States “Twenty-three years of war destroyed the infrastructure of the educational system and further increased the illiteracy rate in Afghanistan. While the overall education of women and girls was at an extremely low level, with only 5 per cent of women being able to read and write, it is worth noting that during the 1980s the female adult literacy rate was only 8 per cent. During the Taliban regime, only about 3 per cent of girls received some form of primary education. The ban on women’s employment also affected boy’s education, as the majority of teachers had been women.” (Economic and Social Council 2002:5) From these documented statements by the United Nations we can see that this type of discrimination should not and would not be tolerated in most modern day cultures, and further justifies that the future of women in Afghanistan can only be progressed through the destruction of these discriminating barriers.
Among the American Muslim women they are able and have the ability to work and be educated just like any other citizen.
But typically in the western Muslim Culture and “Across the Muslim world girls have even been going to state schools for generations. Yet in urban areas, girls finish high school at rates close to those of young men, and they are only fractionally less likely to pursue higher education. In many Arab countries, and in Iran, more women are in university than men. In Egypt, women make up a bigger percentage of engineering and medical faculties than women do in the U.S.” (Abu-Lughod, 2013) furthermore, “The religion of Islam encourages the education of women and girls and this remains true today in many Muslim and non-Muslim countries. For example, in Iran women comprised 63% of women entering undergraduate programs.” (Rezazadeh, March 2011) “The University of Washington’s Muslim Student Association from 2007 to 2012, elected 33 women leaders out of a total of 54 available positions, or 61% were female officers. (University of Washington Muslim Student Association, 2012) Muslim women around the world enjoy a great deal of educational support:” Ismael, ( 2012) “In most cases, the diversity of achievements and the expectations of women in the region defy that idea [of women in the Muslim world being socialized to expect second-class status]. For example, it is hardly unusual for women in predominately Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa to have
achieved higher education levels. The education ‘gender gap’ ranged from zero in Iran, indicating no difference, to women needing to increase their levels 73% in Pakistan to equal that of men. For perspective, while the United States, like Iran, boasts no gender gap, other developed countries such as Japan have reverse gender gaps (a greater proportion of women than me pursue higher education), France and Germany have gender gaps of more than 50%.” (Gallup Poll 2005)
I have experienced first hand from my military deployments to the Islamic Nations of Iraq and Afghanistan that these social gender discriminations are a major factor to the downfall of the future of these countries. Women of Afghanistan have been oppressed for many years. The future of these women are not clear, but whatever the outcome of the recent changes to this culture, conditions could not be any worse than the injustices they have previously lived. Through great effort, democracy is being established, civil rights are being standardized, and freedom will become equal, just as the Islamic women born and raised in the United States, by the hand of our (US Military and Nato Forces) diplomacy to preserve the rights among all citizens, male and female in these nations, will grow to be equivalent among all western Muslim women and Afghanistan Muslim women.
Work Cited Page
1. Macionis, John J. ed. 2011. Society the basics. 11th Edition, pages 272-293. Saddler River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
2. Bleuer, Christian. July 2011 “Conflict or Culture? Which Factor is More Important in the Denial of Women’s Rights in Afghanistan?” The Afghanistan Analyst Bibliography 6 Edition: pages 152-160. Afghanistan Analyst.
3. Zulfacar, Maliha. “The Pendulum of Gender Politics in Afghanistan”, Central Asian Survey, Volume 25, Number 1-2: pages 27-59. (March-June 2006).
4. United Nations. Economic and Social Council 28 January 2002. E/CN.6/2002/5-7
Distr.: UN Printing Office. General.
5. Nasr, Reem. May 2013 What It Means to Be a Muslim Woman in Today 's America. Policymic, Arts & Entertainment
6. Abu-Lughod, Lila. Nov. 2013. Do Muslim Women Need Saving? Time.Com http://ideas.time.com/2013/11/01/do-muslim-women-need-saving/#ixzz2mIrLueSB
7. Rezazadeh, R. (March 2011). Women Empowerment and Good Urban Governance in Iran. Asian Social Science, 260-268.
8. Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. (2010, January 21). In U.S., Religious Prejudice Stronger Against Muslims. Washington D.C.: Gallup.
9. Ismael, Julia. ( 2012) The Islamic Influence on the Role of Women and Girls in the United States. Antioch University, Seattle.
The difference of male and female rights, Involving gender discrimination among women in Afghanistan.
Introduction to Sociology
SOC-Section 011
Fall 2011
The difference of male and female rights,
Involving gender discrimination among women in Afghanistan
Throughout the world in our modern society, we can distinguishably recognize several countries that violate our social norms of highly protested and extremely cruel inequalities. Although we may disapprove of these type of unfortunate acts of deliberate injustices, in our culture in the United States, this has been a way of life for many throughout the history of the world. One type of social issue that …show more content…
I will discuss in this paper is the “Difference of male and female rights involving gender discrimination among women in Afghanistan.”
“Gender Stratification refers to the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privileges between men and women.” (Macionis, 2011:272 ) In Afghanistan’s history women’s rights have always been a controversial issue, due to the cultural traditions of their Islamic faith. This is referenced “That the people of Afghanistan have, as one of their primary concerns, usually superficial yet symbolically important traditional social restrictions in regards to women.” (Bleuer, 2011:152) One of the major contributing factors to this social issue is the Terrorist Islamic Group The Taliban’s recent control over the Afghanistan nation. “In the late 1990’s, the Taliban outlawed the public appearances of women and prohibited them from participating in every aspect of public life.” ( Zulfacar, 2006:27) The Taliban have established strict regulations on women, involving; appearance, employment, education, freedom of association, and health, which if not abided by, could result in a brutal beating or punishment by any male witnessing the women’s so called deviance, or death. Most of the regulations imposed by the Taliban are not new, they are traditional Islamic guidelines, that have been slowly overlooked through the years as the population gradually became modernized from its ancient tribal normality’s. These restrictions have in the past years recently been enforced on women in the form of religious belief in Islam. These laws imposed on women have stripped their freedoms of visibility, voice, and future, making them no longer able to be in control of their life decisions; this was now in the hands of their fathers or husbands.
But as far as these typical categorizations may be what are perceived, the life of a Muslim woman in American is drastically different.
“Being a Muslim woman in America isn 't only about wrestling with stereotypes. American diversity and civil liberties have led to a new version of Islam. Young Muslims born in America have brought together the best of what American and Islamic cultures have to offer. This fresh and vibrant American Islam offers new perspectives that have been colored by the American experience -- something immigrant Muslims may not have necessarily indulged in.” “The Muslim-American experience is more than can fit into this short piece. It 's about educating those who may be misled by stereotypes and misinformation in the media. But it 's also about being actively engaged in all aspects of society, from politics to sports, the workplace to the hip-hop scene. “(Nasr, 2013) As I mentioned previously the Islamic women in Afghanistan do not enjoy the freedoms and liberty to do as she pleases as do the Islamic women born and raised in the …show more content…
US.
The first topic to express gender discrimination is appearance, under Islam, woman are not allowed to be seen outside of their home without having their entire body from their head to their feet covered in what is call a Burqa. The only open areas are for the feet, hands, and eyes. They are not allowed to wear heels or any type of shoe that makes excessive noise or anything sexually provocative as so not to attract a man’s attention. This is for “their so called protection” from possible rape. Therefore any violation to appearance is punishable. For instance if a woman laughs to loudly, shows her ankles, wears attractive clothing, exposes her face, or is to outgoing or friendly to a man, she is punished on the spot, by any male that witnessed. Punishment could be anything from a beating to having boiling water poured over them which cause skin discoloration and sever scaring to make them less attractive to men. As to further their unequal rights if a women claims that she has been raped, she must have four male witnesses to justify her story or she will be considered to have committed adultery, and face death by stoning.
On the other hand Islamic women in the US enjoy the ability to be less conservative and a little more reveling, as to not have to completely cover their entire face and feet, they can wear high heels, and more provocative clothing. Instead of a burqa most western Muslim women wear a Muslim headscarf, called a hijab. This is a scarf that covers the woman’s hair and tightly frames her face. It is said that the hijab was designed as a way to honor women in Islam, by concealing their beauty. Also, American born Muslim women enjoy all the legal rights as any other American citizen. They have the right to seek help and press charges in the American judicial court system unlike their Afghanistan counterparts.
Other major social issues of gender discrimination among Afghan women, imposed by the Taliban, are their inability to have employment for earning an income, and not being allowed to receive an education. First, we can discuss employment. A United Nations publication states “The decree issued by the Taliban in July 2000, banning Afghan women from working, except in the health sector, remained in force throughout most of the year. In May 2001, a decree was issued which banned women, including female personnel from all employment, from driving cars, and thus limiting their activities severely. In July, the Taliban issued a decree formalizing restrictions on the activities of females and required female Muslim workers to be accompanied by a male escort.” (Economic and Social Council 2002:6) As for Afghan women’s rights on education the United Nation Publication States “Twenty-three years of war destroyed the infrastructure of the educational system and further increased the illiteracy rate in Afghanistan. While the overall education of women and girls was at an extremely low level, with only 5 per cent of women being able to read and write, it is worth noting that during the 1980s the female adult literacy rate was only 8 per cent. During the Taliban regime, only about 3 per cent of girls received some form of primary education. The ban on women’s employment also affected boy’s education, as the majority of teachers had been women.” (Economic and Social Council 2002:5) From these documented statements by the United Nations we can see that this type of discrimination should not and would not be tolerated in most modern day cultures, and further justifies that the future of women in Afghanistan can only be progressed through the destruction of these discriminating barriers.
Among the American Muslim women they are able and have the ability to work and be educated just like any other citizen.
But typically in the western Muslim Culture and “Across the Muslim world girls have even been going to state schools for generations. Yet in urban areas, girls finish high school at rates close to those of young men, and they are only fractionally less likely to pursue higher education. In many Arab countries, and in Iran, more women are in university than men. In Egypt, women make up a bigger percentage of engineering and medical faculties than women do in the U.S.” (Abu-Lughod, 2013) furthermore, “The religion of Islam encourages the education of women and girls and this remains true today in many Muslim and non-Muslim countries. For example, in Iran women comprised 63% of women entering undergraduate programs.” (Rezazadeh, March 2011) “The University of Washington’s Muslim Student Association from 2007 to 2012, elected 33 women leaders out of a total of 54 available positions, or 61% were female officers. (University of Washington Muslim Student Association, 2012) Muslim women around the world enjoy a great deal of educational support:” Ismael, ( 2012) “In most cases, the diversity of achievements and the expectations of women in the region defy that idea [of women in the Muslim world being socialized to expect second-class status]. For example, it is hardly unusual for women in predominately Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa to have
achieved higher education levels. The education ‘gender gap’ ranged from zero in Iran, indicating no difference, to women needing to increase their levels 73% in Pakistan to equal that of men. For perspective, while the United States, like Iran, boasts no gender gap, other developed countries such as Japan have reverse gender gaps (a greater proportion of women than me pursue higher education), France and Germany have gender gaps of more than 50%.” (Gallup Poll 2005)
I have experienced first hand from my military deployments to the Islamic Nations of Iraq and Afghanistan that these social gender discriminations are a major factor to the downfall of the future of these countries. Women of Afghanistan have been oppressed for many years. The future of these women are not clear, but whatever the outcome of the recent changes to this culture, conditions could not be any worse than the injustices they have previously lived. Through great effort, democracy is being established, civil rights are being standardized, and freedom will become equal, just as the Islamic women born and raised in the United States, by the hand of our (US Military and Nato Forces) diplomacy to preserve the rights among all citizens, male and female in these nations, will grow to be equivalent among all western Muslim women and Afghanistan Muslim women.
Work Cited Page
1. Macionis, John J. ed. 2011. Society the basics. 11th Edition, pages 272-293. Saddler River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
2. Bleuer, Christian. July 2011 “Conflict or Culture? Which Factor is More Important in the Denial of Women’s Rights in Afghanistan?” The Afghanistan Analyst Bibliography 6 Edition: pages 152-160. Afghanistan Analyst.
3. Zulfacar, Maliha. “The Pendulum of Gender Politics in Afghanistan”, Central Asian Survey, Volume 25, Number 1-2: pages 27-59. (March-June 2006).
4. United Nations. Economic and Social Council 28 January 2002. E/CN.6/2002/5-7
Distr.: UN Printing Office. General.
5. Nasr, Reem. May 2013 What It Means to Be a Muslim Woman in Today 's America. Policymic, Arts & Entertainment
6. Abu-Lughod, Lila. Nov. 2013. Do Muslim Women Need Saving? Time.Com http://ideas.time.com/2013/11/01/do-muslim-women-need-saving/#ixzz2mIrLueSB
7. Rezazadeh, R. (March 2011). Women Empowerment and Good Urban Governance in Iran. Asian Social Science, 260-268.
8. Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. (2010, January 21). In U.S., Religious Prejudice Stronger Against Muslims. Washington D.C.: Gallup.
9. Ismael, Julia. ( 2012) The Islamic Influence on the Role of Women and Girls in the United States. Antioch University, Seattle.