Page 36 - Status of Women in Islam
P. 36
Status of Women in Islam
certain conditions on her husband in the marriage contract.
If the husband breaches any of these conditions then she
has the full power to divorce him. It is permitted for Muslim
women to enjoy this important right in order to protect
themselves against mal- treatment, abuse, domestic
violence, incompatibility of temperament, and the like.
According to the Islamic Law ‘Shariah’ the ‘Qadi’ judge
can even compel the husband to divorce his wife in certain
cases.
The Western poet and thinker Voltaire said: “The Prophet
Mohammad’s legislation on marriage and divorce is the
most noble and effective ever conceived, formulated, and
enacted by any authority at any time in the world’s history,
religious, political or social”.
With the invasion of the Mongols in 1200AD and the
tribal movements into central Asia which spilled over into
Islamic lands, the status of woman and her role in society
started to deteriorate in the East as the conqueror’s cultural
traditions were imposed in Islamic communities. This has
given rise to confusion between what has been traditional
in those communities and what is provided for in Islam.
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