farooqachmad
31-12-2005, 06:29 PM
Women belonging to different societies and different cultures were treated in different way in different times. Women of River culture were different from the women of desert culture. They were helpful and productive, therefore they had their opinions valued and respected. On the other hand women of deseret were not involved in the production of materials, they were treated as 2nd class or in some cases as 3rd class human beings.
Women and Pre-Islamic Culture:
Early before the time of Islam, women had fewer rights than the men. A woman never inherited from her father; and sometimes out of poverty, some fathers buried their “useless” female babies alive. They do not need to feed someone who is not productive, which is how extra females were seen.
At this time, there were many more kinds of permitted sex than what we know today as marriage. Like a man wanted a child but could not have any himself: he let his wife lay with another man to have a child, who would carry her husband’s name. Another example is a bunch of men lying down with one woman, in different times. After she delivers her baby she names the baby after anyone she chooses from these men.
Islam grew up in a kind of a settlement. Mecca was a village, whose dwellers have different values than the travelling Bedouins. Since it was in the middle of the paths of the trade caravans, trade and business grew rapidly, and a more complex foundation had to be introduced. The Arab does not need to travel that much anymore, since the food comes to them in caravans. The only issue that remained was water, which is found in wells.
More tolerance toward women was shown, even some gods were women. Like Al-lat, Al-Aoza, and Manat, the Arab worshiped them.
Women and Islamic Culture:
Islam tried to fix some women issues and reform the unfair cultural treatment of women. Some of these reformations were:
1- Forbidding killing infant females.
2- Giving women half of the man rights to inherit.
3- Limit how many women man could marry to four.
4- Putting up rules for divorce.
5- Giving women some rights to testify (half of the man’s rights).
6- Encouraging intimate and good treatment to wives.
7- Forbidding all types of marriages (sex if you do not feel you can call it marriage) beyond the type of marriage we have now.
Since men believed that women have less knowledge and experience than men (sitting home and taking care of children is not the best education for anyone), the woman was described as less than a man, less in brains, and even less in religion (since she becomes unclean by having the period blood on her).
It is a fact that Arab men were possessive about and jealous of their women. They hated the idea that she could participate in men’s activities, like sitting in men’s clubs to chat about religion, war, business. There was a little exception in the society, that of extraordinary women who had more knowledge than regular women. Such an extraordinary woman was treated with respect and welcomed to give her opinion. In time that was very rare, and actually we could say it disappeared.
Women and Pre-Islamic Culture:
Early before the time of Islam, women had fewer rights than the men. A woman never inherited from her father; and sometimes out of poverty, some fathers buried their “useless” female babies alive. They do not need to feed someone who is not productive, which is how extra females were seen.
At this time, there were many more kinds of permitted sex than what we know today as marriage. Like a man wanted a child but could not have any himself: he let his wife lay with another man to have a child, who would carry her husband’s name. Another example is a bunch of men lying down with one woman, in different times. After she delivers her baby she names the baby after anyone she chooses from these men.
Islam grew up in a kind of a settlement. Mecca was a village, whose dwellers have different values than the travelling Bedouins. Since it was in the middle of the paths of the trade caravans, trade and business grew rapidly, and a more complex foundation had to be introduced. The Arab does not need to travel that much anymore, since the food comes to them in caravans. The only issue that remained was water, which is found in wells.
More tolerance toward women was shown, even some gods were women. Like Al-lat, Al-Aoza, and Manat, the Arab worshiped them.
Women and Islamic Culture:
Islam tried to fix some women issues and reform the unfair cultural treatment of women. Some of these reformations were:
1- Forbidding killing infant females.
2- Giving women half of the man rights to inherit.
3- Limit how many women man could marry to four.
4- Putting up rules for divorce.
5- Giving women some rights to testify (half of the man’s rights).
6- Encouraging intimate and good treatment to wives.
7- Forbidding all types of marriages (sex if you do not feel you can call it marriage) beyond the type of marriage we have now.
Since men believed that women have less knowledge and experience than men (sitting home and taking care of children is not the best education for anyone), the woman was described as less than a man, less in brains, and even less in religion (since she becomes unclean by having the period blood on her).
It is a fact that Arab men were possessive about and jealous of their women. They hated the idea that she could participate in men’s activities, like sitting in men’s clubs to chat about religion, war, business. There was a little exception in the society, that of extraordinary women who had more knowledge than regular women. Such an extraordinary woman was treated with respect and welcomed to give her opinion. In time that was very rare, and actually we could say it disappeared.