Role of Islamic Women

The Role of Islamic Women
The rise of Islam changed to the lives of women. Since then, many changes have been made in the role of Muslim women over the years. This led me to ask of how did the status and the role of women change in the 18th and early 19th century. Many rules for Islamic women have been relaxed and have improved over the years. No rights and no freedom were given to Muslim women in the past. Muslim women were still faced with numerous problems in the 18th and 19th century and the society for Muslim women was not as open and many rules remained the same. Regardless of the inequalities with men, in the 18th and 19th century, Islamic women have improved their role in society and have come closer to being equal to men. Women are given more freedom in marriage, the right to vote, be involved in politics, and even get an education.
In marriage, the woman is only permitted to marry Muslim men while Muslim men can marry women of other religion. This states that the role of women in marriage is not as equal as men. Men also have the right to marry as much as four times. If the husband disapproves on something the wife must always follow his decision. However, Women in Islam are free to make their own decisions on choosing the husband (Yamani 57). They are allowed freedom to choose the man they marry, but they are to always follow their husband’s orders. Women also have some freedom in the case of divorce. If either the man or the women is not happy with their marriage, either one of them is given the freedom to file for divorce. Islamic women may file for divorce if she does not receive financial aid from her husband, if the wife is abused, or if the husband is not able to have children. Following the divorce, the woman is allowed to keep the property, and is able to keep whatever their husband gave to them. A woman who is divorce must wait three menstrual cycles before she is to marry again.
Women with education and jobs were not given equal rights in...