In This Biography

Are Married Women Expected to be Submissive in Islam??

Although there are no clearly defined roles for men and women in the Qur’an, it is strongly implied that each gender provides equally significant contributions to the family.

Women are often expected to be obedient wives and mothers,

The woman’s role in the home, although different from that of men, is also of great value and importance in Islamic culture. From a very young age, little girls traditionally grew up in the women’s quarters of the house: the harem. The harem was the part of the house where the female members of the family and the household lived. It was normally out of bounds to all males except the master of the house, his sons, and perhaps a physician. Here, young girls are familiarized with domestic activities and were taught Islamic laws and values.

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Some reformist and feminists scholars argue that the concept of guardianship has formed the basis of particular gender roles in Muslim societies. Women are often expected to be obedient wives and mothers, staying within the family environment, while men are expected to be protectors and caretakers of the family.

However, the majority of Muslim scholars agree that women are not obligated to serve their husbands, do housework, or do any kind of work at home.

Until the period of the rise of Islam, there were many ideas of how women should act and behave that were considered traditional gender roles. The woman was seen as inferior to the man that essentially owned her, and women were supposed to behave and respect these men. Women were seen as the housekeepers and relied on their husbands to protect them since they were not strong enough to take care of themselves.

Although it should be noted that Muslim women are to be treated like Queens it’s observed that the Muslim men tend to control their wives

In Islam, it’s believed that women are under the control of men in various ways and women are believed to be under the control of men in Islam.

In Islam, marriage is nothing more than a contract (nikah) where she will be reduced to the property of her husband, because he has paid her a bride price (mehr), giving him full rights over her just like one gets all the rights over any product one buys in a market place.

Conditions of a Muslim Marriage

The husband can get himself another wife whenever he wishes and she cannot say no.
The wife’s word is considered half of that of the husband’s.
The husband can command the wife to cover herself top to bottom in a black burqa and she cannot say no.
The husband can divorce the wife by just uttering talaq 3 times, but if she wants a divorce, she has to get his permission, or buy back her freedom by repaying the bride price and on top of that, justify her reasons to the Sharia council, with 2 witnesses.

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