Status of Women in Society

WOMEN IN HISTORY AND TODAY this phrase that Islam has conferred an inferior status upon women. But these two things that Islam gives women a share in property and that Islam has degraded women are contradictory. From ancient times till today, the question of inheritance has been the most important social issue. The issue of inheritance might well be considered the sole criterion of status in society. Contrary to the custom of the time, the entitling of women to have a share in property is clear proof that Islam had no desire to degrade women. Had this been so, the first demonstration of this desire would have been reflected in her being deprived of her share in property, which would have been considered correct and justifiable according to the traditions of the times. It is interesting to see the reverse side of the coin as presented by a recent revert to Islam, namely, the English pop singer Cat Stevens, now known as Yousuf Islam. Asked by a Jewish woman how he intended to deal with the problem of Islam’s ‘degradation’ of women, he said that he had not made a study of women’s status in Islam but that, for his part, he had, since his reversion, asked his mother to come and stay with him and that he loved looking after her. His relations with his wife had also considerably improved. In its assessment of the status of women, the Western mind has made the same error as the ancient man: it has formed opinions based on irrational beliefs. This accounts for latter-day distortions of thought on the balance of power between the sexes in advanced Western countries and the resultant grave distortion in the concept of women.