Women in the Middle East Did Not Have Access to Formal Education - Coursework Example

Women in the Middle East did not have access to formal educationwomen have always been a controversial subject since the history of mankind. The status, power of women and human rights are very new concepts that do not have a very long persistence. Before the advent of these concepts women were considered to be sheeps in a herd that had to obey their shepherds commands irrespective of their own will or personal choice. They were not considered mortal and were dwelling on the mercy of their males that were considered to be supreme power in their male governed society. It is not wrong to say that the status of women particularly in Asia was very depressing. They were oppressed and were deprived from their basic necessities. Girls if born were murdered as only having male children was a source of pride for the family. The women who gave birth to female children were considered to be cursed and were brutally tortured by the men for giving birth to a female child. Those women whose husband passed away whilst she was alive were buried with the husband as it was believed that such widows did not deserve to live as they did not have any support or supervision of males. Hence, women had no individuality. It is not wrong to say that they were not considered human or probably they were considered things which men could just play with for their own benefits or pleasure. This was only the case in the eastern half of the world whereas the western world had been in a far better state as they believed in gender equality. Women in the western world were working, had their rights and were even part of government or armed forces whereas women in the eastern half were deprived of their basic requirements. "One theme in Islamist agendas across the region has been the idealization of women as wives and mothers who stay at home, care for their families, and raise a generation of good Muslim children" (Doumato, 8) After the advent of Islam situation started to change for the women. Islam revolutionized completely the rights of women. It gave a status to women which undermined all the prevailing concepts. For the first time they were considered as individuals who have their rights and requirements. Women who were cattle of a herd were now given their destined right. Islam portrays women as something to be cared for, nurtured in a very protective environment. It was the first time that women were given their prescribed rights and were considered to be human otherwise they were considered to be slaves to a males desire. Although it needs to be mentioned here that the Islamic laws are very conservative from our perspective but they were formulated so that the rights of women are protected. As Islam considers women very sacred therefore these laws are formed in such a manner that the dignity and sovereignty of women is protected Although it has been said that the status of women was given after the advent of Islam and that Islam is the religion which gave Middle Eastern women an identity but certain Islamic Laws have brought women under a really bad position in the eyes of many. The problem is not with the laws but how the laws are interpreted. A sarcastic thing about our past, the laws that prevailed during the seventh century was advertisement of a new concept. The rights of women were promoted during that era. Certain Islamic laws were very controversial, women were forced to get marriage as soon as they reached puberty; therefore child marriages were favored, the girl was forced to marry a male member irrespective her own will. Then again another thing was that marriages were decided as soon as the girl was born and the girl did not have a say at all. Women were supposed to wear a veil always covering themselves from males and if they were seen without a veil then they were even punished for that too. Lack of education led to unequal rights therefore women were allowed a single marriage and men could opt for 4 if his financial circumstances allowed. They had no option of expressing their views therefore they always had to be humble and submissive to their husbands obeying them. In Islam husbands are to be worshiped after God, the wife has to fulfill and come up to his level of expectation otherwise she would be the victim of Gods wrath. As these women were not aware of the exact interpretation of Gods commandments therefore not being aware of their rights they considered it their duty to abide by their males. They had to listen to their male members therefore they were not allowed to leave the house without the shadow and supervision of male members. If any women was caught roaming without the supervision of a male they were considered to be of bad character and having no dignity and the husband could do anything against her which includes physical and mental torture. Women were sabotaged of their will therefore they were not allowed to have any sort of contact with people out of their immediate family. It was a weird concept that women were only created to serve men. (Joseph, 5) such approach was condemned by many intellectuals belonging to the western world. According to Islam women do not have a very easy access to divorce unlike males who could utter three words and they were free from all their obligations. Divorce was even considered to be a taboo and a disrespectable thing for a female therefore women didn’t even favor divorces and were willing to live in any circumstances what so ever. Due to this perception women did not have a choice but to withstand every torture done by the males. Again those women who even had the courage to opt for a divorce were not accepted by their families or the society who always considered females to be wrong and the cause of all the wrong things happening in the society. The advantage of divorce was taken by men and they used to benefit irrationally from those words. Illiteracy led to further complications like women who faced divorces had to go through a process in which she was not allowed to meet any men for certain days, the man was only responsible to nurture his kids or if his the women was pregnant then till she delivered the child only till then he was supposed to care for her necessities after divorce women were left on their own and had to earn their own bread and butter which was very difficult at that time. Another thing they faced was property related issues. They were only allowed a certain percent of the husbands property as it was thought that the men nurture the women so she doesn’t need her own property. So to a certain it is not wrong to say that through this policy women eventually ended with nothing." If the prisoner is beaten, it is an arrogant expression of fear.” (Kanafani, 45) which means the position of prisoners was better than women during that time which were being physically and mentally tortured. The laws relating to women were prescribed in the Quran which is the legal and moral code for Muslims through which they lead their lives therefore no contradiction or amendment was possible when it came to the will of God. Another thing that Muslim follow is their Prophet who saying and life is a source of guidance for the entire Muslim world Therefore when the Middle East was adapting western laws and moral codes nothing could be precisely done in this area that is of family law and governance as they were not ready to accept any sort of modification when it came to Islamic laws and values. Male dominance was at its peak during this time and there was no room for gender equality at all. One surprising thing about women in the Middle East was given slight importance because at times they were responsible to impart religious knowledge among the people. For instance, Prophet Muhammads wife Aishah who has great religious significance was responsible to propagate the Prophets hadith to the people. To be precise, he told his believers that they would acquire half of the religious knowledge from her. Islamic education was given sheer importance and as women are the institution for their offsprings therefore it was emphasized that they acquire religious knowledge which was even given to them by the Prophet himself. Education was hence even important therefore certain rich families were educating their women in religious affairs at their homes. But it is widely observed that this act was done by very few and the majority was illiterate. Even if women were educated then they were only taught certain crafts or household related activities and schools were established which taught these vocational subjects or religious education. Later such schools were established which imparted education for both genders but were always segregated. It has been observed that the level of education for boys and girls has not been the same. Women who even have recognition when it comes to religious affairs are famous because of their work not because of their degree in religious studies. But gender disparity has caused the problem that women cannot educate men as it would make them superior to them therefore only they can educate their fellow female. Hence in a nut shell all these problems aroused due to lack of awareness, when women were not educated the Islamic laws which were not formed to protect the sovereignty of the women were changed in a way that women were eventually considered slaves. As they were never taught that they had their own rights therefore they never had a choice but to abide. The problem was not with the laws as they were very flexible and protective but it was all due to lack of awareness and literacy. Works cited Kanafānī, Ghassān, and May Jayyusi. All thats left to you: a novella and short stories. Northampton, Mass.: Interlink Books, 2004. Print. Doumato, Eleanor Abdella, and Marsha Pripstein Posusney. Women and globalization in the Arab Middle East: gender, economy, and society. Boulder: L. Rienner Publishers, 2003. Print. Joseph, Suad, and Susan Slyomovics. Women and power in the Middle East. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001. Print. Read More