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Why does Islam degrade women by keeping them behind the veil?

peacefull

Member

HIJAAB FOR WOMEN
Question:
Why does Islam degrade women by keeping them behind the veil?
Answer:

The status of women in Islam is often the target of attacks in the secular media. The ‘hijaab’ or the Islamic dress is cited by many as an example of the ‘subjugation’ of women under Islamic law. Before we analyze the reasoning behind the religiously mandated ‘hijaab’, let us first study the status of women in societies before the advent of Islam
1.
In the past women were degraded and used as objects of lust

The following examples from history amply illustrate the fact that the status of women in earlier civilizations was very low to the extent that they were denied basic human dignity:


  • Babylonian Civilization:
    The women were degraded and were denied all rights under the Babylonian law. If a man murdered a woman, instead of him being punished, his wife was put to death.
  • Greek Civilization:
    Greek Civilization is considered the most glorious of all ancient civilizations. Under this very ‘glorious’ system, women were deprived of all rights and were looked down upon. In Greek mythology, an ‘imaginary woman’ called ‘Pandora’ is the root cause of misfortune of human beings. The Greeks considered women to be subhuman and inferior to men. Though chastity of women was precious, and women were held in high esteem, the Greeks were later overwhelmed by ego and sexual perversions. Prostitution became a regular practice amongst all classes of Greek society.
  • Roman Civilization:
    When Roman Civilization was at the zenith of its ‘glory’, a man even had the right to take the life of his wife. Prostitution and nudity were common amongst the Romans.
  • Egyptian Civilization:
    The Egyptian considered women evil and as a sign of a devil.
  • Pre-Islamic Arabia:
    Before Islam spread in Arabia, the Arabs looked down upon women and very often when a female child was born, she was buried alive.

2.
Islam uplifted women and gave them equality and expects them to maintain their status.

Islam uplifted the status of women and granted them their just rights 1400 years ago. Islam expects women to maintain their status.

Hijaab for men
People usually only discuss ‘hijaab’ in the context of women. However, in the Glorious Qur’an, Allah (swt) first mentions ‘hijaab’ for men before ‘hijaab’ for the women. The Qur’an mentions in Surah Noor:
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do."
[Al-Qur’an 24:30]

The moment a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze.
Hijaab for women.
The next verse of Surah Noor, says:

" And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons..."
[Al-Qur’an 24:31]

3. Six criteria for Hijaab.


According to Qur’an and Sunnah there are basically six criteria for observing hijaab:
  • Extent:

    The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. For women, the extent of covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and the hands upto the wrist. If they wish to, they can cover even these parts of the body. Some scholars of Islam insist that the face and the hands are part of the obligatory extent of ‘hijaab’.

    All the remaining five criteria are the same for men and women.
  • The clothes worn should be loose and should not reveal the figure.
  • The clothes worn should not be transparent such that one can see through them.
  • The clothes worn should not be so glamorous as to attract the opposite sex.
  • The clothes worn should not resemble that of the opposite sex.
  • The clothes worn should not resemble that of the unbelievers i.e. they should not wear clothes that are specifically identities or symbols of the unbelievers’ religions.

4.
Hijaab includes conduct and behaviour among other things

Complete ‘hijaab’, besides the six criteria of clothing, also includes the moral conduct, behaviour, attitude and intention of the individual. A person only fulfilling the criteria of ‘hijaab’ of the clothes is observing ‘hijaab’ in a limited sense. ‘Hijaab’ of the clothes should be accompanied by ‘hijaab’ of the eyes, ‘hijaab’ of the heart, ‘hijaab’ of thought and ‘hijaab’ of intention. It also includes the way a person walks, the way a person talks, the way he behaves, etc.

5. Hijaab prevents molestation


The reason why Hijaab is prescribed for women is mentioned in the Qur’an in the following verses of Surah Al-Ahzab:
"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad); that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
[Al-Qur’an 33:59]


The Qur’an says that Hijaab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women and this will also prevent them from being molested.
 

peacefull

Member
6. Example of twin sisters
Suppose two sisters who are twins, and who are equally beautiful, walk down the street. One of them is attired in the Islamic hijaab i.e. the complete body is covered, except for the face and the hands up to the wrists. The other sister is wearing western clothes, a mini skirt or shorts. Just around the corner there is a hooligan or ruffian who is waiting for a catch, to tease a girl. Whom will he tease? The girl wearing the Islamic Hijaab or the girl wearing the skirt or the mini? Naturally he will tease the girl wearing the skirt or the mini. Such dresses are an indirect invitation to the opposite sex for teasing and molestation. The Qur’an rightly says that hijaab prevents women from being molested.

7.
Capital punishment for the rapists

Under the Islamic shariah, a man convicted of having raped a woman, is given capital punishment. Many are astonished at this ‘harsh’ sentence. Some even say that Islam is a ruthless, barbaric religion! I have asked a simple question to hundreds of non-Muslim men. Suppose, God forbid, someone rapes your wife, your mother or your sister. You are made the judge and the rapist is brought in front of you. What punishment would you give him? All of them said they would put him to death. Some went to the extent of saying they would torture him to death. To them I ask, if someone rapes your wife or your mother you want to put him to death. But if the same crime is committed on somebody else’s wife or daughter you say capital punishment is barbaric. Why should there be double standards?

8.
Western society falsely claims to have uplifted women

Western talk of women’s liberalization is nothing but a disguised form of exploitation of her body, degradation of her soul, and deprivation of her honour. Western society claims to have ‘uplifted’ women. On the contrary it has actually degraded them to the status of concubines, mistresses and society butterflies who are mere tools in the hands of pleasure seekers and sex marketeers, hidden behind the colourful screen of ‘art’ and ‘culture’.

9.
USA has one of the highest rates of rape

United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries of the world. It also has one of the highest rates of rape in any country in the world. According to a FBI report, in the year 1990, every day on an average 1756 cases of rape were committed in U.S.A alone. Later another report said that on an average everyday 1900 cases of rapes are committed in USA. The year was not mentioned. May be it was 1992 or 1993. May be the Americans got ‘bolder’ in the following years.

Consider a scenario where the Islamic hijaab is followed in America. Whenever a man looks at a woman and any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he lowers his gaze. Every woman wears the Islamic hijaab, that is the complete body is covered except the face and the hands upto the wrist. After this if any man commits rape he is given capital punishment. I ask you, in such a scenario, will the rate of rape in America increase, will it remain the same, or will it decrease?
10.
Implementation of Islamic Shariah will reduce the rate of rapes


Naturally as soon as Islamic Shariah is implemented positive results will be inevitable. If Islamic Shariah is implemented in any part of the world, whether it is America or Europe, society will breathe easier. Hijaab does not degrade a woman but uplifts a woman and protects her modesty and chastity
 

Burchfam

Member
peacefull said:
6. Example of twin sisters
Suppose two sisters who are twins, and who are equally beautiful, walk down the street. One of them is attired in the Islamic hijaab i.e. the complete body is covered, except for the face and the hands up to the wrists. The other sister is wearing western clothes, a mini skirt or shorts. Just around the corner there is a hooligan or ruffian who is waiting for a catch, to tease a girl. Whom will he tease? The girl wearing the Islamic Hijaab or the girl wearing the skirt or the mini? Naturally he will tease the girl wearing the skirt or the mini. Such dresses are an indirect invitation to the opposite sex for teasing and molestation. The Qur’an rightly says that hijaab prevents women from being molested.



This is simply incorrect - as I know from personal experience. In Western society it is not in the least bit exceptional for women to wear miniskirts. And men do not "tease" women who do. On the other hand, women who walk around in a hijab might well get teased. So in fact, the very opposite of the above statement is true, at least as far as the West is concerned.

It might well be true that Islam improved the lot of women in Arabia. But that was 1400 years ago, and because of Islam, no further improvement has been possible.

If men can have 4 wives, why can't women have 4 husbands? If women have to cover their bodies, why don't men?
 

Burchfam

Member
peacefull said:
10. Implementation of Islamic Shariah will reduce the rate of rapes

Naturally as soon as Islamic Shariah is implemented positive results will be inevitable. If Islamic Shariah is implemented in any part of the world, whether it is America or Europe, society will breathe easier. Hijaab does not degrade a woman but uplifts a woman and protects her modesty and chastity

If shariah law was ever imposed on the West then it would turn me into a criminal. I would never wear the hijab even if I wanted to (which I don't), because I have my own religious code of dress which is almost the exact opposite of the hijab in almost every possible way. What would be my punishment under shariah law?
 

michel

Administrator Emeritus
Staff member
Sorry, I may be being slow, but is the purpose of thehijaab (now) therefore as a form of women wishing to be 'Demure' (modest) or is it more to stop men from being attracted ?
 

Quoth The Raven

Half Arsed Muse
peacefull said:

9.
USA has one of the highest rates of rape

United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries of the world. It also has one of the highest rates of rape in any country in the world. According to a FBI report, in the year 1990, every day on an average 1756 cases of rape were committed in U.S.A alone. Later another report said that on an average everyday 1900 cases of rapes are committed in USA. The year was not mentioned. May be it was 1992 or 1993. May be the Americans got ‘bolder’ in the following years.

Consider a scenario where the Islamic hijaab is followed in America. Whenever a man looks at a woman and any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he lowers his gaze. Every woman wears the Islamic hijaab, that is the complete body is covered except the face and the hands upto the wrist. After this if any man commits rape he is given capital punishment. I ask you, in such a scenario, will the rate of rape in America increase, will it remain the same, or will it decrease?
High crime stats are a better indicator of the willingness of the victim to report a crime than they are of actual prevalence of crimes.
Better check up on your reports there sparky...according to the seventh United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems, which covered the period 1998 - 2000, there wera a total of 89,110 rapes. Even assuming that's only one years worth, that's 244.13 rapes per day, not 1756. Someone has it wrong...could be the UN, obviously. Crime stats from countries that implement Shariah law were sketchy to non existent in the report, which is always dodgy in my book...no-one lives in a crimeless utopia.
Some men rape 80 year old women. Are you seriously trying to say it's because Western grannies flaunt themselves in mini skirts and tight tops and a good head to toe covering would put an end to that? Please; not wearing a sack isn't a friggin invitation to be sexually assaulted, and any man who thinks it is, is either very troubled or has had some sort of warped upbringing.
To say that a woman wearing what is every day clothing is issuing an indirect invitation to sexual mollestation is frankly disgusting and unconscionable. It's that sort of thinking that stops rape victims reporting the crime because idiots say they invited it with their frock.
 

jacquie4000

Well-Known Member
I can only say where I live in PA people one do not make fun of women in Hijaab for the most part. Two I know many women that chose to wear them because of their muslim faith not because they feel they have too. I also know many Muslim women who do not wear a Hijaab but for the most part dress modest. As long is no one is forceing them to wear one ( which I have not seen here where I live then that is their choice)

If men can have 4 wives, why can't women have 4 husbands? If women have to cover their bodies, why don't men?

I don't know all the answers on this one I know one of the main ones is if a women has four Husbands how would she or the man know who the father of her child was. I know their are more but one of the Muslims will have to enlighten us.
 

Hema

Sweet n Spicy
Welcome to RF dear brother. I'm not Muslim but I have always admired my Muslim friends for how they dress. Personally I do not think that Muslim women should cover their faces. It takes away from their individuality. I see women covering their faces and their husbands wlaking beside them with their faces exposed. I think, what? He's not going to be an object of lust to other women? My Muslim friends wear the hijaab over their hair and they wear normal clothes that any young woman would wear, jeans and t-shirt etc. but of course nothing tight or revealing. They even wear make-up. I even know Muslim women who don't wear the hijaab. To be honest, long ago I used to think that the hijaab over the hair was a sign of oppression but then I thought of another point that you raised. It is very true what you said about women in western countries. Of course not all western women dress provocatively but in my own country I see men harassing women who dress scandalously. I just look around me and see the way that some men look at these women when they are passing by. As a young woman, I believe that women must first respect themselves before they expect a man to respect them. Of course not all men are going to. I dress decently and I have attracted some vulgar comments from some idiots. ("idiots" is an understatement). Take Pamela Anderson for example, I admire her for her stance on animal rights and vegetarianism but she portrays herself as a sex symbol. Once she was on a beach for a photo shoot (I don't know if she was naked or almost naked). A group of guys came over and shouted obscenities at her. She had to be removed from the scene because she was shaken up. I thought to myself...why should she be? What does she think that men say about her when they see her posing like that in a magazine? The same sort of things of course. Why should she be shaken up when they say it directly to her face? Anyway, when I see women exposing themselves and calling themselves liberated, I say - look at that, women on one side of the world are lucky, they are not like women under the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan; to me SOME women take advantage of this freedom. Thanks for sharing all that info. I was surprised to learn that hijaab is also recommended for men. Heh heh.
 

Judgement Day

Active Member
michel said:
Sorry, I may be being slow, but is the purpose of thehijaab (now) therefore as a form of women wishing to be 'Demure' (modest) or is it more to stop men from being attracted ?
By being modest, it will stop men from being attracted. So simply both.
 

Judgement Day

Active Member
Hema said:
Welcome to RF dear brother. I'm not Muslim but I have always admired my Muslim friends for how they dress. Personally I do not think that Muslim women should cover their faces. It takes away from their individuality. I see women covering their faces and their husbands wlaking beside them with their faces exposed. I think, what? He's not going to be an object of lust to other women?
I disagree. Hair for women are part of their beauty too, it is their crown, so hair must be covered too. Why do you think there are hair beauty salons for women, but not for men?

Unless by saying covering their faces, you meant covering the actual face, it is not an obligation, it is up to the woman herself. The part that must be covered is their hair.
 

Hema

Sweet n Spicy
Burchfam said:
This is simply incorrect - as I know from personal experience. In Western society it is not in the least bit exceptional for women to wear miniskirts. And men do not "tease" women who do. On the other hand, women who walk around in a hijab might well get teased. So in fact, the very opposite of the above statement is true, at least as far as the West is concerned.

I see girls in a lot of American movies wearing a lot less than mini skirts. Even in my own country I see girls wearing skirts which make me think "How will she sit in that?" Of course to people like you Burchfam and even me, such clothes are unacceptable. However, not everyone in society will see it like that. I see young teenage girls dressing like if cloth is scarce and I wonder why their parents let them leave their homes dressed like that.

In Trinidad, I have never seen a woman wearing a hijaab get teased. I'm not saying that it has never happened, but if it happens in other western countries it is probably because the men are not accustomed to seeing women wearing a hijaab. There are always idiots who ridicule anything that is different. An example, racism. There are many Muslims in Trinidad so to see a woman with a hijaab is nothing irregular.

Burchfam said:
If men can have 4 wives, why can't women have 4 husbands? If women have to cover their bodies, why don't men?

As I said in my previous post, I don't see why women should cover their faces when men don't have to. That to me is unfair. I have seen Muslim men with the cap over their hair (I forget what they call it) though.

As for the four wives bit, one of my Muslim friends said that Prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h.) had four or five wives (Can't remember...think it was five), because at that time, women were very dependent on men for survival. He married these women to support them, he didn't do it out of lust. I don't know if that is true, so someone please correct me if that's wrong. I personally think that a man should have one wife and a woman should have one husband.
 

Hema

Sweet n Spicy
Judgement Day said:
I disagree. Hair for women are part of their beauty too, it is their crown, so hair must be covered too. Why do you think there are hair beauty salons for women, but not for men?

Unless by saying covering their faces, you meant covering the actual face, it is not an obligation, it is up to the woman herself. The part that must be covered is their hair.

Yes I was speaking about the actual face. I never said that they shouldn't cover their hair. I understand why Muslim women choose to cover their hair because, as you said - a woman's hair is part of her beauty. What I meant is that I think it's unfair for a woman to cover their entire face eg. like the burqua that the women in Afghanistan were forced to wear. I sometimes see women who dress like this and their husbands walk next to them with his entire face exposed. To me that is unfair because he is still visible to other women. BTW, there are hair salons for men.....barber shops. To me a man's hair does add to his attractiveness. My boyfriend has very nice hair. I hate it when he wears hats. The other day I was cleaning out my closet and found three of his hats that I had confiscated from him. :D
 

Judgement Day

Active Member
Burchfam said:
This is simply incorrect - as I know from personal experience. In Western society it is not in the least bit exceptional for women to wear miniskirts. And men do not "tease" women who do. On the other hand, women who walk around in a hijab might well get teased. So in fact, the very opposite of the above statement is true, at least as far as the West is concerned.

It might well be true that Islam improved the lot of women in Arabia. But that was 1400 years ago, and because of Islam, no further improvement has been possible.

If men can have 4 wives, why can't women have 4 husbands? If women have to cover their bodies, why don't men?
I do not believe thats true, you are saying something that is the opposite. Women wearing revealing clothes are more likely to get teased than women who where modest clothes.

I also disagree with your second statement, a lot of scientific discoveries and advancement has been discovered by Muslim scientists. And the Quran itself challenges us on to accumulute as much as knowledge as possible. The first Quran word was "read", which instructs us on to read as much as we can, so we can gain as much as knowledge and wisdom as we can.

Check on these links on your questions about why men can have more than 1 wife but women can't have more than 1 husband:

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43867&page=5

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44988
 

Judgement Day

Active Member
Hema said:
Yes I was speaking about the actual face. I understand that Muslim women are not obligated to but I respect those who choose to cover their hair because, as you said - a woman's hair is part of her beauty. What I meant is that I think it's unfair for a woman to cover their entire face eg. like the burqua that the women in Afghanistan were forced to wear. I sometimes see women who dress like this and their husbands walk next to them with his entire face exposed. To me that is unfair.
If it was forced than I, also as you said, think its unfair.

But remember that Arabian world, maybe also including Afghanistan, has huge desert territorials, which if blown by wind may cause dust storm. A lot of people there where more clothes then we do to prevent wind containing dust from poking into their eyes. So thats why maybe they were forced. Still, I dont like the forcing.
 

Burchfam

Member
Hema said:
As for the four wives bit, one of my Muslim friends said that Prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h.) had four or five wives (Can't remember...think it was five), because at that time, women were very dependent on men for survival. He married these women to support them, he didn't do it out of lust. I don't know if that is true, so someone please correct me if that's wrong. I personally think that a man should have one wife and a woman should have one husband.

Actually, Muhammad had 11 wives (or posibly as many as 13 in some accounts). Since only two of them died before Muhammad himself, this means that towards the end of his life he was married to at least 9 women at the same time - so his rule about 4 wives being the maximum allowed obviously did not apply to himself. Incidentally, one of his wives, Aisha, was 6 years old when he married her.

If every Muslim man took 4 wives, where do all the extra women come from?
 

Hema

Sweet n Spicy
Judgement Day said:
If it was forced than I, also as you said, think its unfair.

But remember that Arabian world, maybe also including Afghanistan, has huge desert territorials, which if blown by wind may cause dust storm. A lot of people there where more clothes then we do to prevent wind containing dust from poking into their eyes. So thats why maybe they were forced. Still, I dont like the forcing.

Okey dokey then...but as for the sand storm thing, the men should have also covered their faces. I'm very happy to know that as a man you disagree with the forcing.
 

Hema

Sweet n Spicy
Burchfam said:
Actually, Muhammad had 11 wives (or posibly as many as 13 in some accounts). Since only two of them died before Muhammad himself, this means that towards the end of his life he was married to at least 9 women at the same time - so his rule about 4 wives being the maximum allowed obviously did not apply to himself. Incidentally, one of his wives, Aisha, was 6 years old when he married her.

If every Muslim man took 4 wives, where do all the extra women come from?

Why the six year old though? Maybe one of our Muslim friends can clarify that.
 

jamaesi

To Save A Lamb
But remember that Arabian world, maybe also including Afghanistan, has huge desert territorials, which if blown by wind may cause dust storm. A lot of people there where more clothes then we do to prevent wind containing dust from poking into their eyes. So thats why maybe they were forced. Still, I dont like the forcing.
Uhhh... no. First of all, Afghanistan is not Arabian. (Neither is Iran or Pakistan, but we are Middle Eastern.) Second of all, only women are forced to cover their whole bodies and face- it's not men worried about "sand poking into their eyes" it's men being sexist and oppressing them.
 

Judgement Day

Active Member
Burchfam said:
Actually, Muhammad had 11 wives (or posibly as many as 13 in some accounts). Since only two of them died before Muhammad himself, this means that towards the end of his life he was married to at least 9 women at the same time - so his rule about 4 wives being the maximum allowed obviously did not apply to himself. Incidentally, one of his wives, Aisha, was 6 years old when he married her.

If every Muslim man took 4 wives, where do all the extra women come from?
Why did the Holy Prophet, who had attained to fifty-five out of his sixty-three years with only one wife at a time, and that, too, a widow, take so many wives at the ***-end of his life? Wars and the resulting widows are one reason. Divine dispensation is another, for the Holy Prophet came under Divine orders after being called to prophethood, as is clear from the Holy Qur'an (33:50).
 

Judgement Day

Active Member
jamaesi said:
Uhhh... no. First of all, Afghanistan is not Arabian. (Neither is Iran or Pakistan, but we are Middle Eastern.) Second of all, only women are forced to cover their whole bodies and face- it's not men worried about "sand poking into their eyes" it's men being sexist and oppressing them.
Ok, whatever, you get the point.
 
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