Influential Women in Early Civilization - Book Report/Review Example

INFLUENTIALWOMEN IN EARLY CIVILIZATION Aisha Cleopatra was married to Muhammad at the age of six but she left home at the age of nine when the marriage was consummated. Aisha was one of the most educated women among the wives of Muhammad. Due to her education background, Aisha started teaching madrassa at her home she became one of the pillar advocate about education for women and the importance of religion in their homes. Due to her knowledge about the Quran, she was affirmed as one who affirms the truth and nothing else. She was seen as one who always supported women and orphaned children. She was also one supportive woman to her husband and after the death of her husband Muhammad due to her exposure and knowledge people started consulting and her and would take disputes to her to listen and solve. Though Muhammad had advocated for his wives to stay at home, Aisha took a very predominant role in politics and led people to the battle of the camel where they were defeated. Even after losing the war, this did not silence her as she continued to teach about Islam and even led the women to Mecca. Raziya was born to a family of strong religious and high status to a father who was sultanate of Delhi and when her father passed away she assumed the position becoming the first woman to hold such a position in the sultanate of Delhi. Having been raised up in an elite family, Raziya had not interacted with women and therefore she did not know how to behave like them she dressed like men. Raziya was a shrewd politician who used divides and rule against her competitors and this also helped her rule for long. Falling in love with one of her advisors was a very wrong as it brought out jealousy and also brought more differences to the people she ruled. The rebellion in her ruling came about when she started showing favoritism and this did not go well withal her supporters. She also participated in battle and could not cover her face like other women. She did not respect the religion as far as she was concerned and according to the Muslim faith. She brought rebellion even in her home against her brothers due to the leadership she wanted to lead. She respected religion as a whole and could not see the importance of division she even tried to appoint an Indian who had converted to a senior position only that she faced opposition from her quarters. She treasured her empire rather than the Islam teachings. She failed because of not respecting what her opponents suggested for. Emperor Theodora was the wife of Emperor Justinian 1 and was born in the year 500AD. She is referred as a copartner in ruling she was strong advocating against prostitution. During the reign, Nika riots occurred this was caused by many grievances which were not being answered and Justine went to hide to the palace preparing to flee. When this was happening, Theodora suggests there was no reason to flee and live in exile it was better to stand firm and die as a ruler. This action shows how courageous and strong willed she was. After the Nika riots and what they had seen Justinian and Theodora rebuild the Constantinople and build bridges and also new churches. She participated in the closing of brothels and showed a woman was a important part of the society. Theodora differed with her husband's support of Christianity in the continuous struggle for the dominance of each faction. Despite of Justinian being a member of Chalcedonian, Emperor remained steadfast in fighting for the rights of minority Christians and this proved her strong willed was not because of her marriage to Justine but the passion to fight for everyone’s stake and the right to be heard it also only through this spirit the minority would be able to enjoy the freedom of religion just like the Chalcedonia.[Ric12] In addition to all this, she was of the opinion of standing her ground and not going for exile despite the riots and the tough wars that were experienced and she chose to stand firm and was also able to convince her husband. She sheltered the minority Christian and ensured that their rights were protected and this was a very great point of her leadership. After a careful analysis of the women and background Razia behaved like an elite even dressed to the extent of a man while Emperor was courageous enough to advice the husband not to exile her region and instead to stay strong and face his enemies while Aisha despite having been married at a tender age had a mind of her own and even went about advising the other women about Islam as a religion and had the guts to participate in a war. In my perception the strongest women who had a great impact among the three was Aisha by educating other women she was investing in knowledge and this showed she believed in them. In educating them Aisha was not getting anything in return not even power but she knew that having women empowered they would be responsible enough and empower their families. The role she played by educating women showed her generosity and kindness compared to the other women who were desperate to cling onto power; Aisha did it even when Muhammad was dead. In fact she was among the many wives that were married by Muhammad and women were not considered to have a say in the society but Aisha ignored this and even went ahead to educate even men from her home.[Ric13] Raziya belong to the elite group of the society to an extent where we are told she did not interact with women and even dressed like a man. In those years for a woman not to abide by the rules showed that she was in a high position and she was among the elitist who made laws to govern the others. Emperor also came from a lower status but with her marriage with Justine made it possible to cross the bridge to the high and mighty that were untouchable and could not feel the pinch of the commoner. Even though Aisha was married to Prophet Muhammad this changed her status to the high and mighty but through interaction with other women from lower classes enabled her to remain humble enough and this also could give her an edge compared to the other women here. In conclusion the status of all this women was different because some like Raziya was born with a silver spoon while other got greatness through marriage and it brings out the picture that only Aisha belonged to the masses. It is only Aisha who was a housewife while the rest would even participate in war. References Ric12: , (bulliet), Ric13: , (bullet), Read More