Health & Fitness
Islam and Feminism: More in common than you may think
Honoring march as women's history month, I bring a topic many may not know much about/are comfortable with: Islam does indeed have women's rights. I, and millions of Muslim women are living proof.
The dictionary defines feminism as: the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men. Feminism is an ideology and Islam is a religion and a way of life for over a billion people around the world. However Islam and feminism both are often misunderstood and often not something a lot of people want to discuss. What’s more is that there is a lot of common philosophy between feminism and Islam.
Islam’s followers have been viewed as extremists with a narrow mindset and wanting to change the thinking of everyone around them. This type of image is also something that feminists have been subjected to. The biggest thing is that Islam is seen as an oppressive and backward way of life for women. However it is quite the opposite. Muslims believe Islam was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during the 7thcentury in Arabia, and Islam granted many rights to women that were unheard of at that time- many rights that did not make it to the western world until the 20th century.
Unfortunately the behavior of some extremists have construed these rights for their own gain, but women were granted essential rights such as the right to own property, seek a divorce, earn and keep her own income and in essence every right make her own life decisions. The Prophet practiced the correct way to act towards women in his noble lifetime, so the people of the time could see these rights in action. The Quran and sayings of the Prophet both emphasize the need for men and women to obtain an education. And there is no distinction in the type of education that each gender should receive; therefore the education should be equal as well.
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As a Muslim woman, I am personal testimony to the equality that Islam advocates for women. My parents have always put religion before any culture and yet pressed fully for my sisters and I to achieve higher education, gain experience in the workforce, and even learn “non-girly” activities such as participating in various sports and learning how to change a tire-on the whole to be fully functioning independent women. If Islam would not have promoted women to participate in society equally to men, then women would truly be invisible. But we are not. We are feminists who believe in equality, in rights for women, and we are working to show the world that Islam wants it that way as well.
