Stereotypes Of Islamic Women Essay

Rik Bailey really took his time to differentiate between the stereotypes of Muslim women and what Islam revealed about women. Many western eyes portray Islam as oppressive towards its women. The stereotypes of Muslim women is they are covered from head to toe, housewife, abused by husband, practically a women with no rights. But, these views are expressed from a western television or newspaper point of view. This quote by Bailey really caught my eyes, “People with these views tend not to have really looked into Islam or read books on the subject, or even spoken about these issues with a Muslim.” Many people have never taken the time to really understand Islam, or even talk to a Muslim women herself. As a result, many who hear the stereotypes …show more content…
They were granted the right to own property, reject forced marriage, keep their identity after marriage, and to gain an education. Muslim women gained so much respect that they were given rare positions such as scholars and religious authorities. Muslim women are equals to men spiritually, and have the exact same religious duties. They have to work the exact same amount and put the same amount of effort as men to accomplish success in this world. Along with that, both Muslim women and men are required to dress modestly. The rulings for dressing modestly for women is somewhat stricter than men to protect them. The hijab (womens scarf) helps protect their chastity and allows them to gain respect for their character and not their appearance. For some reason certain people don’t approve of the dressing of a Muslim women and consider it oppressive. I personally feel that if a Muslim women wants to dress modestly then, she should be able to without people criticizing her. The majority of the women who cover themselves do it because they choose to, no one is forcing it upon them. In brief, women are equal to men spiritually, and women dress they way they do because that is how they wish to display