Rights of Women: Practices and Customs of The Muslim Societies Versus the Teachings of The Quran and The Hadith
Main Article Content
Keywords
Muslim, Women, culture, rights, Quran
Abstract
Muslim women across the globe are yearning for their rights based on the Islamic principles and not from some cultural assumptions that masquerade as religious and have found its way into the Islamic legal system. A culture is a man-made way of life that is passed down from generation to generation whereas the Quran is the revealed word of Allah and therefore different Muslims have diverse customs and values but are united under the umbrella of Islam. These cultural customs must conform to the teachings in the Quran and the Sunnah of the prophet if not it will not be accepted. There are some major misleading cultural assumptions that relate to matters of autonomy and women’s rights in Islam. These has denied the Muslims the right to question and assess them in order to reject or accept, these cultures that has illegitimately find its way into the Islamic legal system is making it hard for Muslim women to get justice, equality and equity in the Muslim societies. The Quran acknowledges the fact that women are among the disadvantaged classes of people in history and has dedicated in protecting and safeguarding their rights although the patriarchal Muslim societies are using these measures against, rather than for women. This study was conducted in Mandera, Garissa and Wajir counties in Kenya and the target populations were married Muslim of genders, religious leaders and Muslim scholars of both genders. The study utilized in depth interviews for data collection and analyzed the findings thematically. This article is therefore aimed at stating the rights of women as prescribed in the Quran and to find out the cultural assumptions that hinder the accessibility of justice, equality and equity by the Muslim women. It is hoped that this study will give women the right Islamic education for them to understand their rights and positions in Islam in terms of divorce, inheritance, social and economic independence at the same to acknowledge the existence of some cultural assumptions that are believed to have divine origins.
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