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The west has long found much to criticize about the status of women in
Islamic societies
although laws vary from country to country
within the pages of the Koran at least a woman's rights are clearly defined
The Koran intended to eradicate
many negative
practices and attitudes towards women
and did so in explicit terms
The Koran actually granted women the right to own property
to receive an inheritance
and to have a choice in their own marriage and divorce
the Koran also granted women the right to vote
thirteen hundred years before western societies even considered it
I think it's very interesting that a lot of feminists overlook the fact that
in this country in particular women only got the
right to vote in the last hundred years
still
in some areas of the Islamic world
many women live harshly restricted lives
to the average westerner
the traditional head covering worn by Muslim women, the hijab,
has become a symbol
of oppression
I remember particularly
uh... walking down the street and a woman was was looking very intently at me
staring very intently and she came up and she walked directly up to me
and she put her hand on my shoulder and she said
"honey you're in America now; you don't have to wear that here."
To me the hijab is just 45 inches of material
it's
ironic
that it has become
such a
pivotal issue of concern
both within
the Muslim community and
for non-Muslims
The covering of one's head
is an aspect of several major religions
today many Christians and Jews continue to honor this ancient symbol
of humility before god
likewise some Muslim women choose to wear the hijab
only during prayer
and other religious occasions
I don't wear the hijab
I decided not to wear it. I think modesty is something that comes from the inside out
It's not just about one scarf one piece of cloth
uh... that doesn't make you a good Muslim
to read it literally
the Koran requires
modesty
of both women and men
but the specific choice of covering
from the total concealment of the afghan burqa
to the slightly more revealing chador of Iran
reflect cultural preferences
not the edicts of Allah
Islam is never meant to be a religion that oppresses women. It just
turned out that way because of the way it's manipulated by people who are really
expressing their own culture that's patriarchal and tribal
and is a reflection of what the society was like before Islam came to the
world