What do you think of when you hear the words “Muslim Woman”?

Do you think of a religious woman with rights and freedom of choice?
Or do you think of an oppressed woman who has no choice in any aspect of her life and is simply ruled by the tyrant rulers of Islam?

It is a sad fact that most people today would admit to the second suggestion.

I am a Muslim woman but I don’t feel that way - so where have all these misconceptions and misunderstandings come from? Well the answer to that question is not very hard to find, you don’t have to look very far because the false propaganda about Islam that exists in today’s society is undoubtedly the product of today’s media. We only have to switch on the television in our homes to see Islam being exploited and destroyed. How many times have we been told about these so-called “terrorist attacks” which have all been carried out by “Muslims”? The doings of the Jews or Christians such as the killing of the Serbs by the Jews, are put to one side and covered up neatly, whereas if a Muslim is seen acting in an unacceptable manner he is criticised and Islam is given the name of violence and corruption. The media is being used as a poisonous snake to attack the very foundations of Islam.

One of the main and most talked about misconceptions that exist amongst non-Muslims today is that Islam oppresses women, but in fact this couldn’t be any further from the truth. Islam gave women freedom of speech and the right to vote 1400 years ago, whereas the west only did this less than 100 years ago. Up until very recently women in the west were seen to be inferior to men and were reduced to mere sex objects and the property of their husbands.

Even now in today’s “modern” world women in the west are not given the rights that they deserve. A woman can go out and get a job because she is “liberated” but when it comes to pay time the average wages for men are always higher than for women in the same job. Is this what the west calls equality?

Islam has given women equal rights from the very beginning. The rights and privileges of women are equal to men but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the same. Women are not duplicates of men so their rights and responsibilities will obviously differ from those of men. In Islam women are seen as unique individuals with their own needs, so the fact that Islam gives them equal rights but not the same rights as men, shows acknowledgement of women being as important as men. The reality of the matter is that Islam liberates women rather than oppresses, as the western media would like you to believe.

The so-called modern western woman is in reality trapped. She is pressurised into looking good all the time. (Having role models such as Kylie Minogue or Kate Moss!) It is also socially acceptable in the western world that women are only successful if they have a size 10 figure and nice long legs. (Talk about being narrow minded!) How can these women expect to be treated with equality or respect if they have to change themselves in appearance every time a new fashion trend starts?

In the Islamic world women are not judged by their body, they are appreciated and respected for their intellect and inner beauty. Women are seen as individuals and not as advertising material or fashion statements. If a woman is covered she is not exposed to judgement or ridicule, she is seen to be more than just a pretty face. The Holy Kaaba (Allah’s house) is covered with a cloth because it is precious to Allah. For this same reason Allah has said that women should cover themselves. In the eyes of Allah they are seen as precious creatures and they shouldn’t be exploited or taken for granted.

There are a number of ideas that non-Muslims have about Muslim women that are very confused. The west portrays women in Islam as being uneducated housewives who are deprived of freedom, forced into marriage at an early age and forced to follow the Islamic dress code. These false ideas have been raised because of the clash between culture and religion.

In Islam there is no such thing as a “forced” marriage, the whole concept of arranging the marriage first and then telling the future bride and groom about their fate is seen as totally wrong in Islam and is not allowed. On the contrary the bride gets to make the final decision as to whether she wants to get married or not. There are some Asians around the world who do practice forced marriages and this includes Hindus and Sikhs as well as Muslims.

In Islam there is no room to believe that forced marriages are socially acceptable so the Muslims that do take part are truly misguided: instead of Islam, they are following tradition and culture.
Muslim women don’t necessarily have to be housewives with children, in fact women in Islam are encouraged to get an education to increase their knowledge of the world. The idea that women who want an education are disapproved of and looked down on is again a result of cultural and traditional beliefs and these beliefs go against what Islam tells us.

Men and women both are given equal rights regarding getting an education. Women have as much right to an education as any man and this order was given 1400 years ago in the Islamic world whereas the western world has only recently accepted the idea of women getting an education! Education is not only a right but gaining knowledge is seen as a duty in Islam. So the idea that Islam deprives women of education is totally wrong.

As we can see the role and status of women in Islam is very high and the views held by many in the western world today hold no truth whatsoever. Today’s media is showing only the degrading results of cultural beliefs held by many Asians, but often unjustly portrayed as the practice of Islam. The media is manipulating the minds of western people and planting the seeds of hatred in their hearts.

The misconception over the status of women in Islam is one of the many lies being told by the media in order to shake the foundations of Islam and exploit the Muslim world. I hope I have clarified some of the issues concerning Islam, and the explanation of the Muslim world. Perhaps you will think twice next time you hear about another Muslim women being “oppressed”!