This post is part of the Series: Islam

Many people are in disbelief that Muslim women are even addressing the sexism they have faced (Carland). Many are unaware that this is not a new phenomenon and that many Muslim men actually support it (Carland). There are several different groups and thoughts on the exact details but the main goal is women reclaiming their rights. Reclaiming is the key terminology. Women in Islam had many rights and in the beginning these rights were beyond the rights of women in European countries such as inheritance rights, property rights, and the ability to contract their own marriage (Esposito 119). However, over time and through misinterpretation and misuse of the Quran, women began to lose ground. The Quran is misunderstood several times in ways that hinder women which it was never intended to do. Muslim women in the modern world are seeking to reclaim their rights through understanding the Quran and its context.

Issues such as veiling of women, seclusion of women, and men having power over women are misquoted and misunderstood from the Quran. Two passages concerning the veiling of women are 24:27 and 33:59. In both passages the real context is about public bathrooms. There was no indoor plumbing and so the real target was about how to still be modest even though everyone has to go to the bathroom publicly. In 24:27 it wants Muslims to uphold standards of modesty of the region they are in. A part of it says, “Let their headscarf fall to cover their neckline” and here headscarf is really the word khemar. A khemar was owned by rich women and was a seductive kind of headscarf and so the idea is do not wear the khemar seductively. In 33:59 it is talking about keeping their cloak pulled down when going to the bathroom and by doing so men would recognize the women as being protected by Muhammad and they would not be “insulted”. Women were extremely vulnerable to being raped and molested, and being recognized as protect by Muhammad gave them safety against attacks. The misinterpreted idea of the seclusion of women comes from 33:53 in the Quran. The context is that Muhammad is very hospitable, and people overstay their welcome in his home. The Quran says “When you ask his wives for something, do so from behind a screen” (33:53). Here we notice it not a command to women but to men. This would allow Muhammad’s wives to have the freedom of their own home. Also, the word screen is actually hijab which means something like a barrier or covering. This is an idea I’ll come back to later. The idea that men have power over women comes from 2:228 which is about avoiding divorce. If the couple, however, does decide to divorce, they must be separated for three months to make sure the women is not pregnant. If she is, the “[ex-]husbands have a degree [of right] over them” (2:228). This just means the man gets a say in the decision because it is his unborn child. Now 2:282 is about business deals and specially about making business loans. It calls for a witness to be the scribe writing the deal down in order to reassure everything is right. It calls for two men or if not two men, then two women can replace one man. Very few men could read and write during this time and even fewer women could. People needed to be reassured that the deal was being written out properly. Two women was probably giving reassurance to doubters and was actually very open minded idea that women could be involved in this at all.

Now, as promised, getting back to the hijab. The idea of the hijab and the terminology is quite new. Understanding the hijab is very important to understanding women in Islam today. Hijab does not mean headscarf and it has only very recently been used to even equate to such language. There are Muslim women who reject the idea that the “‘hijab’ is merely a symbol of modest and dignity adopted by faithful female followers of Islam” (Nomani and Arafa). Modern-day movements have made hijab synonymous with headscarf, but hijab means curtain (Nomani and Arafa). There are women who are calling for media and people to stop using the word hijab as if it does mean headscarf because it is misleading. Some Muslim women feel pressured to wear the hijab from well-meaning western people who participate in “Wear the Hijab” day and conservative groups playing into it as if wearing the hijab is a progressive idea. Some Muslim women want to wear a headscarf which is valid, but there is a sincere request from Muslims women for well-meaning western people to stay out of it as this is an issue for them to resolve not us. The main idea of everything I’ve laid before you is about understanding the context of which different passages of the Quran were written and what they are addressing, and giving a space for Muslim women to reclaim their identity in Islam.