What does the chapter reveal about the status of Muslim women? Compare their status with the status of women in other parts of the world at that time

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANSWER:
In discussing the status of women in Muslim communities, students should understand that nowhere in the world at that time was there equality in the modern sense. However, Muslim women did have certain rights guaranteed them by Quranic law. While European women did not have the right to own property, divorce, or testify in court, Muslim women were guaranteed these things by Quranic law. The topic of veiling is of particular interest. Although not an indigenous Arab custom, it was adopted from the Byzantine and Sasanid Empires and became a widespread custom in the Muslim world, but it was performed in a variety of ways. Elite women were restrained from public view more strictly than lower-status women. They were often secluded in the home or went out covered completely to avoid the lustful gaze of men outside the family. Some elite women also were permitted to study and become literate. They were also permitted to practice birth control. Muslim women had the same religious obligations as Muslim men, including the pilgrimage to Mecca. Women in the Muslim world and in most of the world did not play a direct role in public affairs; however, they did play an indirect role through their husbands and sons. The chapter describes A'isha as a powerful and threatening presence to the men of the Muslim community. She represented the potential for political interference and adultery.