Schoolcraft College

Sharia Law and the Status of Women

Kristen Mason
HIST 134
Dr. Thomson
12/11/16

Sharia law is an Islamic legal system which provides an Islamic alternative to secular
models of government. Women that live in societies governed by sharia law experience far fewer
rights than women in the West. Different Muslim societies have varying degrees of sharia
integrated into their laws but almost all of them use sharia to govern family affairs. Any Muslim
woman who is to be married under Islam is bound to sharia law, but the exact rules depend on
where they live. There is no one comprehensive authority which determines sharia, nor is there
one concept of how women's rights fit into sharia law. Different interpretations and laws depend
on which of the four schools of the Islamic legal system is being used, and the customs of the
sects and country.
The word Sharia means "the path," or "a road that leads one to water." It references a set
of principles that govern the moral and religious lives of Muslims. Sharia is based on Islam's
holy book, the Quran, and the life of prophet Mohammed. Most of it concerns the faith of the
individual and contains instructions on how to practice Islam, along with guidance on when to
pray and how to fast during Ramadan. Sharia law, according to Muslims, includes "the principle
of treating other people justly, of making sure that the financial system treats people fairly ... and
most importantly the basic principles of Islamic fate," says Harvard Law professor Noah
Feldman. It encompasses things like marriage, divorce, inheritance, and punishments for
criminal offenses. All of this is stated in the article, What is Sharia Law?
Many Muslim feminists argue that the current interpretations of sharia that linger in
oppressing women have no essence in Islam and are man-made misinterpretations of the sacred
texts. "I argue that Muslim family laws are the products of sociocultural assumptions and juristic
reasoning about the nature of relations between men and women. In other words, they are manmade juristic constructs, shaped by the social, cultural and political conditions within which

Islams sacred texts are understood and turned into law." - Mir Hosseini, Ziba, Towards Gender
Equality: Muslim Family Laws and the Sharia. A Muslim womans testimony only counts as a
half of a mans testimony, as stated in Top Ten Rules in the Quran that Oppress and Insult
Women. The foundational reason for having two women witnesses is that one of the women may
"forget" something. This goes to the nature of womankind. Philosophers teach us that one of the
main differences between animals and humans lies in humankinds rationality. But this verse
implies that a womans mind is weak.
There are multiple opinions regarding Islamic marriage laws, but a number of the rules
remain constant. According to Islamic law, a man is entitled to up to four wives, but a woman
may only have one husband. The husband, or his family, pays a dowry which the bride is entitled
to keep. This is in exchange for sexual submission; sexual submission is traditionally regarded as
unconditional consent of the marriage. If a man wants divorce his wife, he can do so by making a
declaration in front of an Islamic judge, and the womans consent is not required. However, if a
woman wants to divorce her husband, his consent is required. The husband is solely responsible
for the financial stability of the home and also owns all the property, except for what the wife
owned before the marriage. According to the article, A Woman Under Sharia, wife beating is
permitted, a husband may beat his wife if he fears disobedience, this means nothing even has to
be done before they can harm their wives. Even temporary marriage, which is a form of
prostitution, is also sometimes allowed.
There is no specific minimum age for marriage, but most people agree a woman must
have reached puberty. However, it was mentioned in the article, Womens Rights Under Sharia,
that it is not uncommon for girls as young as 12 or 13 in Muslim-majority countries to be
married. In Yemen in 2013, there was a highly publicized case of an eight-year-old girl who died

of internal injuries suffered on her wedding night. According to Al Jazeera, "Nearly 14 percent of
Yemeni girls [are] married before the age of 15 and 52 percent before the age of 18." This case
prompted calls for Yemen to pass a law setting a minimum age for marriage, although it has not
yet done so. Muslim Feminists such as Dr. Elham Manea argue that the interpretation of sharia
in the area of marriage amounts to discrimination, the type of which is prohibited under Western
legal systems.
Many Muslim women respect the requirement to dress modestly and choose to do so, but
in a lot of Muslim societies they do not have a choice. Failing to follow modesty laws has been
known to evoke extreme violence from police in some places. The level of modesty women are
required to have range from covering their hair with a hijab, to full body cloaks, a burqa, with
only a rectangle to see out of. The exact example of immodest dress is a point that is still argued
over. Male Guardianship applies to all women whether or not they are married. If a husband were
to die, it could result in the mother being legally obedient to her sons. Under sharia a woman
becomes obedient to her husband and needs his permission to do things such as, leave the house,
take up employment, or to engage in fasting or forms of worship other than what is obligatory.
An unmarried woman is under the guardianship of her nearest male relative.
The Sharia law is an extremely oppressive law for Muslim women. It doesnt allow them
to do anything on their own, they literally become slaves to all of their male relatives. Muslim
women have no independence or freedom. They are only expected to be docile and obedient to
their husbands or male guardians. The Sharia law was written by men for men with no though
spared for women. It is law that needs to be discarded or at least changed. It is an old and archaic
way of thinking that has no place in the modern world. The world is currently focused on
working towards peace and equality and Sharia is holding that back.

Endnotes
1. Al-Manteeqi, Immanuel. A Woman Under Sharia: 8 Reasons Why Islamic Law
Endangers Women. Counter Jihad. September 6, 2016.
http://counterjihad.com/women
1. Arlandson, James. Top Ten Rules in the Quran that Oppress and Insult Women.
Answering Islam. http://www.answeringislam.org/Authors/Arlandson/women_top_ten.htm
1. Friedland, Elliot. Womens Rights Under Sharia. The Clarion Project. February
19, 2014. http://www.clarionproject.org/understanding-islamism/womens-rightsunder-sharia
1. Tuysuz, Gul. What is Sharia Law? CNN. August 16, 2016.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/16/world/sharia-law-definition/

Annotated Bibliography

Al-Manteeqi, Immanuel. A Woman Under Sharia: 8 Reasons Why Islamic Law Endangers
Women. Counter Jihad. September 6, 2016. http://counterjihad.com/women
This article is about the harsh laws that women are forced to follow under Sharia law.
Arlandson, James. Top Ten Rules in the Quran that Oppress and Insult Women. Answering Islam.
http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/women_top_ten.htm
This article summarizes the oppressions that women are forced to suffer through under Sharia
law.
Friedland, Elliot. Womens Rights Under Sharia. The Clarion Project. February 19, 2014.
http://www.clarionproject.org/understanding-islamism/womens-rights-under-sharia
This article is about the rules and regulations that women are forced to follow under Sharia law.
Tuysuz, Gul. What is Sharia Law? CNN. August 16, 2016.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/16/world/sharia-law-definition/
This article summarizes the meaning of Sharia and how it is used.