The idea of "Westernizing" Muslim Women is a difficult one to entirely wrap your mind around. Keeping in mind that Muslim women/women in Islam are entitled to their freedom of religion, it is a tough place to be in to suggest they change their ways.
"A woman is to be treated as God has endowed her, with rights, such as to be treated as an individual, with the right to own and dispose of her own property and earnings, enter into contracts, even after marriage. She has the right to be educated and to work outside the home if she so chooses. She has the right to inherit from her father, mother, and husband. A very interesting point to note is that in Islam, unlike any other religion, a woman can be an imam, a leader of communal prayer, for a group of women." (IW)
"A woman is to be treated as God has endowed her, with rights, such as to be treated as an individual, with the right to own and dispose of her own property and earnings, enter into contracts, even after marriage. She has the right to be educated and to work outside the home if she so chooses. She has the right to inherit from her father, mother, and husband. A very interesting point to note is that in Islam, unlike any other religion, a woman can be an imam, a leader of communal prayer, for a group of women." (IW)
It is easy to understand that multiple cultures have issues with the treatment of Muslim women. Many of their practices seem completely taboo or even inhumane to cultures viewing the issues from the outside, but I believe there are many parts of the religion that are not seen in the correct light, but instead as a stereotype from the other cultures.
"Before marriage, a woman has the right to choose her husband. Islamic law is very strict regarding the necessity of having the woman's consent for marriage. The groom gives a marriage dowry to the bride for her own personal use. She keeps her own family name, rather than taking her husband's. As a wife, a woman has the right to be supported by her husband even if she is already rich. She also has the right to seek divorce and custody of young children. She does not return the dowry, except in a few unusual situations." (IW)
A huge issue that we face today as a civilization is following the stereotypes and what we believe bro be true of others, without actually learning about people that differ from us. If we were to take the effort to understand other cultures and learn about them instead of believing preconceived notions, we would hear a much higher rate of acceptance. Tension is created when we start believing our culture has better values and norms than others.
"Despite the fact that in many places and times Muslim communities have not always adhered to all or even many of the foregoing in practice, the ideal has been there for 1,400 years, while virtually all other major civilizations did not begin to address these issues or change their negative attitudes until the 19th and 20th centuries, and there are still many contemporary civilizations which have yet to do so." (IW)
I attached a link to a very interesting Ted talk on the subject
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FETryXMpDl8You
Sources-
IslamWomen.com
"Despite the fact that in many places and times Muslim communities have not always adhered to all or even many of the foregoing in practice, the ideal has been there for 1,400 years, while virtually all other major civilizations did not begin to address these issues or change their negative attitudes until the 19th and 20th centuries, and there are still many contemporary civilizations which have yet to do so." (IW)
I attached a link to a very interesting Ted talk on the subject
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FETryXMpDl8You
Sources-
IslamWomen.com
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