Is Islam A Sexist Religion?

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Thousands of women die every year, are forced to wear certain things, and to act certain ways in middle eastern Islamic countries. However, whether Islam is a sexist religion or not is still a debatable topic today. People believe this for a variety of reasons, yet the most common reason is the cruelty towards women in Islamic countries, which has existed for many years. Cruelty towards women is still a major issue today. In 2012 a man in Afghanistan strangled his wife because she had given birth to a daughter, when he wanted a son. Weeks earlier a 15 year old child bride was found beaten up and imprisoned by her husband and in-laws (Alpert "Violence Against Women is Nothing New”). Both of these events occurred in Islamic households. Although …show more content…

One of these groups include feminists themselves. Only a small group of feminists call themselves anti islamic, and this is because they feel that the religion forces women to do certain things and takes away their rights. They believe this because of the cruelty that occurs towards women in middle eastern countries. An example of feminists protesting Islam was in 2015. There was an Islamic conference held near Paris and two women who were a part of the Femen activist group stormed onto the stage. The activists were topless and claimed that no one can possess them and that they are their own prophet. The ironic part of this protest, was the fact that the Islamic conference was about women’s role in Islam and how women should have the same rights as their husbands. Another powerful women who spoke out about the issue is Sweden’s feminist foreign minister who claimed that Saudi Arabia and similar countries put women’s rights last (Kolek “Few Women Dare to Criticize Islam”). When feminists claim that sexism exists in islam, many scholars of this religion argue against these …show more content…

There are over 20 verses in the Quran that show this, such as "I shall not lose sight of the labor of any of you who labors in My way, be it man or woman; each of you is equal to the other (3:195)" (Muslim Women’s League “Gender Equality in Islam”). Outside from the quran scholars use Islamic history to show that a woman's role in islam is extremely important. There were many powerful and important women in islamic history such as the prophet's wife who was an extremely wealthy business women even before she got married. Muhammad, who was the last and most important Muslim prophet, also elevated the position of women than of men. He told the men: “The best among you is he who is best to his wife. A Muslim woman in relation to the property, has the same freedom as her husband, and can do with their money what they want without to consult with him” (“Religion and Social Hidden Curriculum”). Although historians and scholars can use evidence to prove that the religion is not sexist, they cannot stop the abuse towards women happening in islamic

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