Women's Role in Middle Eastern Society

Women's Roles

Gender Roles- in religious duties the Quran says that men and women should be equal. The women are not created for the benefit of the man; they are created for the benefit of each other.

Education- women have a surprising amount of freedom when it comes to education. Women used to fund the building of mosques and other things. Women's education was inspired by Muhammad's wives. These women seeking education generally do not attend formal classes but attend speeches and seminars. The closer to present you look the higher number of educated Muslim women there are.

Employment- in the past many women had to do less labor intensive jobs and was more detail oriented, being that many were textile workers and worked on that solely. Also, an oddity was that Muslim women have been employed in hospitals while in other places in the world that was looked down on and nearly no existent. In modern day their roles are similar; they may work as long as their job does not interfere with their responsibilities of being a mother and wife. Besides that they can work as anything in most advanced places in the world.

Dress Code- in the historic books it says that everyone should dress modestly and not show off their adornments. These also say that they must cover themselves up as much as possible as to not reveal themselves to others. A Burka is a common clothing piece that is worn today that covers the entire head and body, even the eyes to cover up the person wearing it.

Marriage and Sexuality- Traditionally Muslim women have to go into marriage with only Muslim men. In the marriage respect men and women are to treat each other equally and fair as love is a sign of God. Unlike some religions, birth control is acceptable in some situations if the family does not have the resources available to support more children. In divorce, the women are able to initiate the filing for divorce but most of the time it is expected to be a unanimous decision.