Sociology 300 Essay

Katelyn Hofstetter SOC300-01 Muslim Women’s Rights The social position of Muslim women differs throughout time periods and countries, such as Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. The consequences of breaking the laws in these nations differ as well. In addition, different social factors affect the way Muslim women are treated. These social positions are perceived differently amongst men and women in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, the leaders of the past Resistance turned Muslim Afghanistan into a strict theocratic state by incorporating religion into the state laws. This theocratic state, also known as the Islamic state of Afghanistan, along with the mujahideen, limited women’s rights in 1992 (Goodwin, 2003:78). Specifically, women are required to follow a strict dress code of wearing proper veils and are banned from watching television or listening to the radio. When a Muslim woman gets married, she becomes her in-law’s property. Women are also prohibited from working, wearing perfume, receiving an education, participating in political elections and showing any body part that can be considered erotically enticing. In addition, a Muslim woman cannot talk to men that are not related to her (Goodwin, 2003:78-79). One reason women’s rights are restricted is the lack of education and illiteracy of Afghan women. Being illiterate prevents a woman from studying Islam. Therefore, when someone tells her something is Islamic, she automatically believes him because she has no way of knowing otherwise. Not only does illiteracy prevent Muslim women from studying Islam, but it also prevents them from studying their legal rights and the Qur’an. Studying the Qur’an and legal rights would cause women to understand what really is Islamic. Women may lack knowledge of how women live in other nations. Therefore, these women do not resist their lack of rights because they are uninformed of alternative lifestyles of women. In 1921, women’s