...Women and Higher Education in Iran Iranian women hold a high regard for education and they believe that obtaining a higher education will lead to financial independence and a higher social status. While the pursuit of a degree may appear to be the driving force behind their choice to attend college, there are other contributing factors. College provides an opportunity for young women to experience a limited form of independence and to intermingle with members of the opposite sex. College is the first public place where women come into contact with members of the opposite sex. “College in one place in Iran’s Islamic society that enables young men and women to interact, albeit surreptitiously.” (Shavarini 341) Relationships between men and women are highly guarded in Iran. Their society is heavily segregated by gender. Men and women who are not related may not have any contact. Young men and women are often stopped in public and asked to show proof that they are related. Those that have broken this rule may be detained, fined, and even punished. Because of this segregation many women feel that it is suffocating them. Girls have few choices after high school they are often forced to marry or go to college. Going to college will delay marriage for young girls by another four years. Attending a college or university allows them to escape their restrictive home environments and gives them a chance to be away from the scrutiny of their family and neighbors. “Young women were flocking...
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...The Roles of Islamic Women Shania P. Fennell May 5, 2008 The Origins of Western Culture – HUM 101 Dr. DeChaby Spring 2008 The position of women in Muslim society has altered drastically in the centuries ever since Islam initiated in Arabia in the early 600s. Their place has fluctuated with irregular social, economic, and political situations. Even though Islam considers men and women as honorable equals in the eye of God, women have not had equivalent access to several regions of Islamic existence. This research paper will discuss Islam, Early Historical Background, Women in Islamic Society, Women in the Qur’an, Religious Life, Women Covering, Financial Matters, Financial obligations, Education, Modern Debate on the Status of Women in Islam, and U.S. Muslim Women Islam The Arabic word “Islam” means submission – in a religious situation, it indicates the submission to the will of God. Islam’s prophet is Muhammad, who acknowledged the initial revelation from God through the angel Gabriel in about 610 C.E. Muslim thinking consist of the oneness of God; the angels formed by Him; the prophets through whom His revelations were pass to humankind; the Day of Judgment and individual responsibility; God’s entire power over human fate in life and in death; the commands of the Quran; and the devotional services of prayer, fasting, aims giving, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam practices...
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...have been shaping societies and influencing the citizens in various ways of treatment. Woman as an individual has been treating violently in societies and has been distinguished from man due to different ideas and cultures. Kurdish society is not expected from the oppression and the discrimination of women. Regarding to women identity in the Kurdish culture, there are two different descriptions of how to define women. In each society, there is a group who believes in traditional way (conservatives), and the other group of people (liberals) whose think in a more modern way. To know which group works better in Kurdish society and to answer the question of are women human, the idea of humanism should be included, and...
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...divide, the Pashtuns were the high class and the Hazara were the untouchables. These two classes caused tremendous heartache and tragedy within the Islamic community. The author appeared to be showing how something as trivial as someone’s heritage could have a devastating impact on a whole society. The author made it clear that one’s gender plays and vital role in Islamic society. What is good for the goose is not necessarily good for the Gander. For example, Hosseini showed the double standard that Islamic culture holds for men and women concerning sexual promiscuity. In chapter 13 Amir and Soraya are at the wedding of Soraya’s uncle’s son. Meanwhile, one of the guests at the wedding says that the groom married a virtuous and pure girl and did well not to marry his cousin Soraya. On the way home Soraya cries and vents to Amir saying “Their sons go out to nightclubs looking for meat and get their girlfriends pregnant, they have kids out of wedlock and no one says a goddamn thing. Oh, they're just men having fun! I make one mistake and suddenly everyone is talking nang and namoos, and I have to have my face rubbed in it for the rest of my life” (Hosseini, 2003, p. 179). This quote clearly shows that although men may do things that are culturally unacceptable they are...
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...that women are mistreated nowadays. “Afghanistan's propaganda war takes a new twist,” Anthony (2010). However, Blackburn, (2015), writes in her article “7 Remarkable Things About Khadija, Wife of the Prophet of Islam” that Muslim women enjoyed their freedom in the Islamic society. Islamic feminism existed 1,400 years ago. For example, the first Muslim woman is Khadija was the first woman that Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)...
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...The Modernization of Women in Revolutionary Iran The Quran, Sura 4, verse 38 states, “Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over another…and those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them”. To develop and understand social change, it is crucial to examine the central structures and organizations within a given society. Through examining family structure, the state, and religion, geared with a specific focus on gender, a basic set of followed societal governing rules and values become apparent. Each of these societal structures are interrelated, working together to permit as well as restrict the agency of women in revolutionary Iranian society. For the development of successful social change to take place, it must arise through gender conflict, class conflict, and political action. Each social structure such as, family structure, state relations, and religion, is located within the larger context of a national structure, meaning the examples previously mentioned are subject to larger regional and global influences and changes. Due to this reasoning, it is important to examine evolving economic development and political change to understand women’s status within Iranian revolutionary societies and furthermore, their changing roles within the traditional family structure, Islam, education, and the work force. Through an analysis of class location, policy restructuring, and changing...
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...Western View: Are Muslim Women Really Oppressed? Jacque Brotherton George Fox University 20 June 2013 Abstract The Western world attributes the oppression of women in Islamic society to the religion itself but before that can be done the religion has to be fully understood. The mistreatment of Muslim women is justified as the accurate interpretation of what is stated as Shari ‘a law about their role in life. This paper examines the view of the western world and its belief in that Muslim women are oppressed. Muslim women are not allowed to work, receive limited education, and are often denied health care. The use of the veil is viewed as a sign of oppression and backwardness. This paper will also address the Qur’an and how it portrays women. Finally, the view that the Muslim women have of the western world will be discussed. On September 11, 2001, a spotlight was placed on the world of Islam. After the events of that day, there was an immediate increase in interest of the Islamic way of life. The western world has formed the opinion that Islamic society is oppressed by its religion and government, which tend to work hand in hand in its mistreatment of Muslim women. While Muslim women themselves do not feel oppressed, western bias and society portray them as such (Awde, 2005). This is because of their racial differences in regards to the way they live their lives. The...
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...able to worn freely . Liberal Islamic believers see the veil as … “is the uniform of oppression”(Islam Unveiled) and used for political purposes. While more conservative Islamic believers see the veil as “a new form of political liberation”(Islam Unveiled) from Western influences. The traditional Islamic head veil is a religious visual representation of the individualistic identity battle that the Arab people still struggle with. Not only does the veil controversy complicate individual identity, but it also complicates the definition of Arab identity. Through these particular women wearing the veil, we are not just able to...
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...educate a woman; you educate a generation.” Women are the inherent part of our society and cannot be neglected due to their less power and authority. They are created as a companion for men and men have to make her walk with them in the course of life. As Pakistan is an Islamic state so Pakistani female’s role and behaviors are defined by Islamic laws and as such are given divine sanction. She plays roles as a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife. They play their roles with great responsibilities in upbringing of a healthy solid society, but she is in our so called modern world, still living in chains. aThe basic unit of society is a woman. As woman makes a family, family makes a home and homes make a society. So we should never think that a society would come into existence without the contribution of women. We all know that without education, no development is possible. Here we have forgotten that the very first and best school of a child is its mother’s lap. A good healthy society doesn’t automatically emerge on its own and stands firm but it needs to be emerged and for its emergence women play a pivotal role. From behavioral to health education women have their hands in. it’s a woman who teaches how to behave, how to speak and how to deal with different classes of people. These all are the basic fundamentals of a good society and women are the main contributors in building up a strong society. aArabia, the origin of Islam, in pre-Islamic ages was wrapped all over by blanket of...
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...distrusted women and thought that all women are unfaithful and bitter, so the king marries a virgin and after one night has the woman executed. However, one of the virgins was bright enough that on the first day she started to tell a story, which will be the tales in the Arabian Nights, to the king. Instead of finishing the story, the virgin left it unfinished therefore the king postponed the execution to hear the ending of the story. The next night, the virgin finished the story, but she then started another one but also left it unfinished again. This lead the king to postpone the execution once again. This pattern went on for one thousand and one nights, and that is how the virgin was able to keep herself alive. The tales from Arabian Nights gives...
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...Chantal Badie Islamic Extremists English 135-Advanced Composition Devry University Dr. Ralph Monday April 7, 2011 Islamic Extremists Nearly everyone has heard about Islam and the Arab world. In addition, many countries have already faced issues with the Muslim believers. Islam has caused problems, terrorist attacks, anti-democracy all over the world. They were also very successful in sending a message of who they truly are. People who are literally obedient to the Islamic faith are called Islamic Extremists. People, who are of the Islamic faith however desire to survive in peace without tribulations are not considered obedient or dutiful to the Islamic faith, these people are called moderate Muslims. Therefore, the Islamic religious extremists are the major group in Islam who follow the Qur’an word for word and create extreme violence that moderate Muslims do not. Islamic extremism started in Egypt in the late 1920s. During the inter-war years, the country was occupied by the British military. The Nationalist Wafd movement, led by Saad Zaghloul, opposed the presence of the British, as would anyone whose country is being occupied by a foreign military power. (A brief history of Islamic extremism) In 1928, Hassan al-Banna established the term “The Muslim Brotherhood” which was the first Islamist movement. The British government supported the nascent movement in an attempt to counterbalance the Nationalists. In modern Egyptian politics, the Muslim Brotherhood is the largest...
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...This sociological analysis will define the negotiation of feminist ideology and the problem of absolutism for gender identity in the public sphere. The gender role of women in schools and in the workplace define important contradictions in the way women are victimized or empowered in comparison to men in the public sphere. Webber and Williams (year?) define the complex role of female employment in the relation to negotiations with males in the domestic sphere. In some cases, women were able to free themselves of the “domestic servitude” by having the father care for children, which often involved negotiating with fathers to take on more domestic responsibilities. These complexities in feminist ideology are also related to the problem of gender identity for Muslim girls that are educated within primarily white Christian schools in Canada. Often, western European “feminist” propaganda has depicted Muslim girls as victims of...
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...Women in the Middle East 1. Introduction 2. Before Islam 3. After Islam 4. Marriage 5. Education 6. Modern Day -Examples from different Arab countries -Arab Spring 7. What’s next? 8. Citations 1. Introduction Over the course of history, women in the Middle East, not so much different than around the world, haven’t been attaining all their full rights and haven’t been quite satisfied with the status of gender equality that the world continues to lack. The Middle East has its more than enough share with this ever-continuing phenomenon. The situation changes with every passing day, as it is affected by our effervescently changing political and social status. Religion has played an enormous role in the matter, as did politics, economy, and social standards. Women’s rights have increased and decreased soon before it was satisfactory enough. This continues and will continue to happen until women find themselves satisfied in our men-driven society. In order for one to judge the current and possible future status, we must understand the past and how women’s rights evolved to become where it is right now. 2. Before Islam Women before the dawn of Islam had practically no legal status in opposition to the traditional and standard tribal laws. Their own fathers sold them to their husbands or legal guardians; they had no choice in the matter and could be left at anytime according to the spouse’s will. They had no private property or...
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...Chantal Badie Islamic Extremists English 135-Advanced Composition Devry University Dr. Ralph Monday April 7, 2011 Islamic Extremists Nearly everyone has heard about Islam and the Arab world. In addition, many countries have already faced issues with the Muslim believers. Islam has caused problems, terrorist attacks, anti-democracy all over the world. They were also very successful in sending a message of who they truly are. People who are literally obedient to the Islamic faith are called Islamic Extremists. People, who are of the Islamic faith however desire to survive in peace without tribulations are not considered obedient or dutiful to the Islamic faith, these people are called moderate Muslims. Therefore, the Islamic religious extremists are the major group in Islam who follow the Qur’an word for word and create extreme violence that moderate Muslims do not. Islamic extremism started in Egypt in the late 1920s. During the inter-war years, the country was occupied by the British military. The Nationalist Wafd movement, led by Saad Zaghloul, opposed the presence of the British, as would anyone whose country is being occupied by a foreign military power. (A brief history of Islamic extremism) In 1928, Hassan al-Banna established the term “The Muslim Brotherhood” which was the first Islamist movement. The British government supported the nascent movement in an attempt to counterbalance the Nationalists. In modern Egyptian politics, the Muslim Brotherhood is the largest...
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...Modern Challenges Today Islam is facing challenges from the wider world and from within. Muslims feel that Islam is the way of life. They feel Islam is the way due to their system which controls and governs more than 1.2 Billion lives of women and men around the world (http://answering-islam.org/Nehls/tt1/tt1.html). Islam’s goal is for all people to submit to the Islamic religion. With Islamic religion spreading over counties across the globe, they are now facing challenges within their own religion and throughout the world (http://answering-islam.org/Nehls/tt1/tt1.html) The commonality between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity is that they are sometimes called “Abrahamic religions” due to their history being traced back to Abraham in the Bible. These three religions also share their theism which is of strict monotheism faith. These religions also share common characteristics which are that they believe there is only one God. Each religion also believes that in good afterlife there is eternal heaven or paradise and bad afterlife results in damnation or eternal hell. The people is another commonality and that each person soul is important and the need to be saved and do have a choice to be a good person or not (http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islam_judaism_christianity.htm ). Islam response to the challenges in the modern world is to implement what they have seen and to embrace it. The starting point of changing Islam from being a simple religion of only...
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