Write an essay on gender constructions in early Islam and compare it to contemporary Islam

Women of Early and Contemporary Islam

Women nowadays largely contribute to the well-being of the society Through the recognition of their helpful and significant roles played in the global contemporary society , we are not closer than ever in achieving parity in gender . Women of today compete in the different fields as they prove their worth and potential

In the past , women were deprived of certain civil rights and regarded as domestic providers and homemakers . Some of the fundamental rights of a person like suffrage cannot be exercised by women . Women were not

br allowed to participate in major economic and political issues and events . Gender differentiates men from women , but also distinguishes false from fabricated

Yet , the reform in the worldwide perception on women encountered some conflicts , especially when it came to clashing with religion . Islam is one of the oldest religions in the world , with its distinguishable and unique characteristics in the realm of their religious beliefs and practices

There are notable characteristics in the way Muslims perceive women in early Islam . For Muslims , the authentic woman is essentially a divine being from God . Women in early Islam were depicted as symbols of the Islamic foundation as they became the persons whose actions were not based on their own will but on the intention of their Supreme Being Allah (Shahidian , 2002

Despite the reverence for women in early Islam , discrimination towards women and inequality has become prevalent in the Islamic rules and traditions . For instance , according to Islam , men are allowed to create their own harem , permitting them to marry up to four wives while women were expected to be loyal to her husband and submit to sexual intercourse with him whenever he wants (Moghissi , 1999

The overview of Islamic history provides evidence of increasing segregation , seclusion , and degradation of women . Women were perceived as passive , submissive and consequently more and more isolated based on the premises of the religion (Smith , 1985

This conventional perception on women Muslims was because Islamic legal tradition was a product of traditional and patriarchal society Moreover , the authoritative works on the legal status of women of Islam was fabricated by men . Therefore , unsurprisingly , male stereotypes of women were incorporated in the Islamic tradition and were retained as remnants of the Islamic rights

One of the examples of this perception on women is forbidding women to drive in Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia . It was evaluated that this provision was based on the historical Islamic percepts (Moghissi 2005 . Another example is leadership of a community , which was typecast as a male duty . Hence , if an Islamic community was led by a female Muslims believed that they will never find the path for salvation (Shahidian , 2002

Islam is not alone in the stereotyping of the roles of women . Sex stereotyping in Islam closely resembles the portrayal of sex in the Christian faith . It can be seen that in the Catholic Church , only one of the denominations were sex stereotyping and was used to support the...