RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM

the assertion of their motherhood, in whole, their womanhood. They want to retain everything they own as their own, even their names. But today, more often it is the women falling prey to the male dominated society. Muslim women are not any the better. They have also remained lagging behind particularly in education, and this is one reason why they have misrepresented their religion. During the era of the Prophet and the Caliphate, Muslim women played an indispensable role in the construction of society. They took active part in opinion building and decision-making. They delivered religious discourses, ventured outside their homes for the pursuit of knowledge and carried out independent trade. But later on, Muslims themselves started to lose their mark of identity. Stagnation set in, in their society, and with this the position of women also gradually deteriorated. Today Muslim women, are in a deplorable condition, deprived of their rights and opportunities and kept under extremely rigorous conditions. Hence, to improve the present status of Muslim women and to give them their due share in what is their right, it is indispensable that the Muslim organisations should come forward and make efforts to improve the status of women. It is their duty to see that Muslim women are not deprived of proper education. They have to see that more and more educational institutions for girls are opened and run efficiently, for the benefit of women. A fully planned strategy must be chalked out for vocational and professional training to make them selfsufficient, so that they may stand on their own feet when any such need arises. More centres should be opened for training and guidance for girls. It is generally thought that Muslim women are only duty bound to their husband, family and home and that they have no other activity outside their home. This is a gross mistake and against the spirit of Islam, which does not restrict women within the four walls of their houses. Whenever there is a need for their positive and constructive contribution outside the home, they are allowed to do so. In doing so, their main motive should be to obtain the pleasure of God and service to humanity. It is a great responsibility for the educated Muslim women to speed up their movement and work amongst all sections of society, be they The Muslim culture that we see around us is not truly the Islamic culture that the Prophet had evolved, but a sad mixture of many cultures.