Let’s solve the Myth - Does Islam oppress women? {# 1}

No, but plenty of Muslims oppress women. Just as plenty of other religion people oppress women. Women’s liberation does not mean cultural imperialism. It’s not feminism to force a woman to take off her burqa. Islam makes the statement very clear: neither gender is inferior or superior to the other; Instead they complement each like the two halves of a whole.

Muslim women are not the oppressed by their religion. They are oppressed by people who do not understand their chosen religion, and those same people can stop this oppression. It’s time to delete the Image of the “demonic” hijab and see it as a feminist symbol. The hijab is one way these women are taking control over their bodies.

People adapt the culture, language, the slang, the clothes, the flavor of the place they live in differently. So it is not justified in any way now to call the oppression of Muslim women a Muslim problem or an Islamic problem the way most media outlets have done for the past so many years. Religion often takes the heat for a lot of the injustices around the world but the underlining issue is culture, not religion.

No religion teaches its followers to oppress, harass abuse and rape women. No religion makes ignorant statements claiming men are superior to women. And women must be subservient to their male counterparts. Rather than using religion as a way of life, people pick and choose to follow what they desire from religion. This allows them to mix their cultural practices along the way and calling their ignorant actions the “Will of God.”

This includes corruption that is masked under the cover of religion and used as a tool to manipulate the public. Examples of this are scholars or religious priests, who are responsible for child marriages, domestic violence and backward ideologies.

In order to change the way Muslim women are wrongfully viewed we need to look at the power structure. Firstly, educating and expanding our awareness of Islam itself and the issues Muslim women face. There are many false and harmful representations that lead the idea that Muslim women are Oppressed by the religion.

“Nudity empowers some. Modesty empowers some. Different things empower different women and it’s not your place to tell her which one it is”.

The truth is these women choose to follow a faith that is right for them. Muslim women, proudly choose to wear this garment as a symbol of their faith. Similarly, Catholic nuns choose to wear a head covering and modest clothing. In the social aspect Muslim women are not viewed or portrayed as they are. If Muslim women and men had positive media coverage those with prejudice would be compelled (hopefully, not every mind is willing to change) to change the way they perceive Muslims and Islam. The proper portrayal would aid in taking the fear of being attacked and turn it into the realization that there is another group of people that can help and contribute to the community.

The national prejudice held against Muslims had been making its way into political policies. The oppression of women is practices which all stem from deeply entrenched cultural traditions; and from the lack of an education of correct religious teachings. subservient to their male counterparts.

Islam doesn’t oppress women; cultures led by sexist men oppress women. The subject of the rights and duties of women in Islam are often clouded by controversy, personal opinions, and sheer ignorance. And the control of the patriarchy is extended as far as dominating sexual relations until they become sexual abuse.

Only a man-made culture would perpetuate such an ideology. In these cultural ideologies, women aren’t the priority. Their voices are silenced and their interests are caged over the superiority of men. Women are suppressed and dominated to the point where their basic human rights are revoked. So to keep their women in control, culture is mixed with religion solely for the purpose of justifying their criminal actions against humanity.

Cultures shape people’s identities and to raise a hand on the identity of a person will absolutely force them to get defensive. Societies always need someone to blame for the crimes and injustices that take place. It’s easy for people to blame religion rather than their cultures because their pride and arrogance get in the way.

To propose that God made men superior to women is a man-made ideology. Islam doesn’t oppress women; cultures led by sexist men oppress women. Lack of a secular and religious education oppresses women. As a matter of fact, religiously women have far more rights than men.

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