Does Islam oppress women?

In a Nutshell: Islam does not oppress women. The Quran explicitly establishes the spiritual equality of men and women, grants women rights to education, property ownership, inheritance, marital consent and divorce, and prohibits the pre-Islamic practices of female infanticide and the denial of women's personhood. The Prophet (pbuh) championed women's rights in 7th-century Arabia at a time when women across much of the world had no independent legal standing. Islamic civilisation produced female scholars, jurists, teachers and leaders throughout its history, including Aisha (ra), who was one of the most prolific narrators of hadith and a recognised authority in Islamic law. Where oppressive practices against women exist in Muslim-majority societies today, these are more accurately attributed to patriarchal cultural traditions, colonial legacies and failures of governance than to Islamic teachings themselves. This article examines the primary sources of Islam on the status of women, analyses the historical record, and addresses the most common misconceptions and objections. Introduction Few questions about Islam are more frequently asked, or more hotly contested, than whether the religion oppresses women. The question is asked by non-Muslims encountering Islam through media coverage that disproportionately focuses on forced marriage, honour killings and restrictive dress codes. It is asked by Muslims themselves, particularly younger Muslims in the West navigating the tension between their faith and the gender norms of the societies they live in. And it is asked by academics, policy-makers and interfaith practitioners attempting to understand the relationship between Islamic teachings and lived reality in Muslim-majority countries. The question deserves a careful, evidence-based answer rather than a defensive or dismissive one. There are undeniable instances of women being oppressed in Muslim-majority societies. To deny this would be intellectually dishonest. The critical question, however, is whether this oppression derives from Islam's foundational texts and teachings or from other factors - cultural traditions, political systems, economic conditions and patriarchal structures that predate Islam and, in many cases, contradict it. This article addresses the question by examining what Islam's primary sources actually say about women, how the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions treated women, what the historical record reveals about women in Islamic civilisation, and where the disconnect between Islamic ideals and contemporary practice occurs. Evidences Quranic Verses "O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you." (Quran 49:13) "And their Lord responded to them: Never will I allow to be lost the work of any worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another." (Quran 3:195) "Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while being a believer - those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged even as much as the speck on a date seed." (Quran 4:124) "And for women is a share of what they have earned. And ask Allah of His bounty." (Quran 4:32) "And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and for you. Indeed, their killing is ever a great sin." (Quran 17:31) "And when the girl buried alive is asked for what sin she was killed." (Quran 81:8–9) "And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable." (Quran 2:228) Hadiths The Prophet (pbuh) said: "The best of you are those who are best to their women." (Sunan al-Tirmidhi) The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim." (Sunan Ibn Majah) - scholars note this applies to both men and women without distinction. The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Whoever has three daughters and is patient with them, and feeds them, gives them drink and clothes them from his wealth, they will be a shield for him from the Fire on the Day of Resurrection." (Sunan Ibn Majah) A man came to the Prophet (pbuh) and asked: "O Messenger of Allah, who among the people is most deserving of my good companionship?" He replied: "Your mother." The man asked again, and the Prophet said: "Your mother." The man asked a third time, and the Prophet said: "Your mother." The man asked a fourth time, and the Prophet said: "Your father." (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim) The Prophet (pbuh) delivered his Farewell Sermon and said: "O people, your women have rights over you and you have rights over them... Treat your women well and be kind to them, for they are your partners and committed helpers." (Sunan al-Tirmidhi) Companions' Opinions Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) acknowledged that the Quran's revelation had transformed the status of women, reportedly stating: "By Allah, in the pre-Islamic period we did not give women any regard, until Allah revealed what He revealed about them and assigned for them what He assigned." (Sahih al-Bukhari) Aisha (ra) was one of the most prolific narrators of hadith, transmitting over 2,200 traditions. She was consulted by senior companions including Abu Hurayra (ra) on matters of jurisprudence and was recognised as an authority in her own right on Islamic law, inheritance and medicine. Her scholarly authority was never questioned on the basis of her gender. Nusayba bint Ka'ab (ra) fought in the Battle of Uhud, defending the Prophet (pbuh) with a sword when many male companions had fled. The Prophet (pbuh) praised her, saying: "Wherever I turned, to the left or to the right, I saw her fighting for me." Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (ra), the Prophet's first wife, was a successful businesswoman who employed the Prophet (pbuh) before their marriage. She proposed marriage to him - an act of female agency that the Prophet accepted without hesitation. She was the first person to accept Islam and the Prophet's most trusted confidante. Traditional Scholars' Quotes Ibn Hazm (11th century): In "al-Muhalla," Ibn Hazm documented the scholarly consensus that women have the right to own property independently, to conduct business, and to inherit - rights that were not established in English common law until the Married Women's Property Act of 1882, nearly a thousand years later. Al-Ghazali (11th–12th century): In "Ihya Ulum al-Din," al-Ghazali emphasised the mutual rights and responsibilities within marriage and explicitly condemned the mistreatment of wives, stating that kindness and good character in dealings with one's spouse are among the marks of a true believer. Ibn al-Qayyim (14th century): Documented multiple examples of women issuing fatwas, teaching hadith and contributing to Islamic scholarship. He noted that scholars such as al-Shafi'i's teacher, Sayyida Nafisa, taught men and women alike, and that seeking knowledge from female scholars was an established practice throughout Islamic history. Imam al-Dhahabi (14th century): In his biographical dictionary "Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'," al-Dhahabi documented hundreds of female scholars of hadith, famously noting: "I have not found among the women [hadith transmitters] anyone who was accused of fabrication or who was abandoned [as unreliable]." Analysis: Does Islam Oppress Women? The evidence from Islam's foundational sources presents a picture that is strikingly different from the popular narrative of an inherently patriarchal religion. Several key themes emerge from a careful reading. Spiritual equality is unambiguous. The Quran repeatedly and explicitly affirms that men and women are equal before Allah in terms of their spiritual standing, their capacity for righteousness and their accountability on the Day of Judgement (Quran 49:13, 3:195, 4:124). There is no Islamic equivalent of the theological debates that occupied Christian thinkers for centuries about whether women possessed souls or were fully human in the eyes of God. The Quran addresses women directly as moral agents, capable of faith, good works and spiritual achievement in their own right. Property and economic rights were revolutionary. In 7th-century Arabia - and indeed across much of the world at that time - women were themselves considered property. Islam established that women had independent legal personhood, the right to own property, to conduct business, to inherit from their parents and spouses, and to retain their own earnings after marriage. These rights were not fully established in English law until the late 19th century and in many European legal systems not until the 20th century. The Quran's inheritance provisions (Quran 4:7, 4:11–12) explicitly name women as inheritors - a right that was radical in its historical context. Consent in marriage is required. The Prophet (pbuh) established that a woman's consent is a prerequisite for a valid marriage contract. He said: "A previously married woman should not be married without her command, and a virgin should not be married without her permission" (Sahih al-Bukhari). Any marriage conducted without the woman's free consent is, according to the majority of Islamic scholars, invalid. Forced marriage is a cultural practice that directly contradicts Islamic teaching. Education is an obligation, not a privilege. The Prophet's hadith that "seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim" uses the inclusive Arabic term "Muslim" without gender qualification. Aisha's (ra) example as a leading scholar set a precedent that was followed throughout Islamic history. The historical record contains thousands of female scholars who taught, issued legal opinions and were consulted by male jurists. This is not a modern reinterpretation; it is documented in the earliest biographical dictionaries of Islamic scholarship. The gap between teaching and practice is real - but attributable to culture, not creed. It would be naive to suggest that the egalitarian ideals of Islam's primary sources have been uniformly implemented throughout Muslim history or are consistently observed today. They have not. Practices such as female genital mutilation (which predates Islam and has no basis in the Quran), honour killings (which the Quran explicitly condemns by affirming the sanctity of every human life), denial of girls' education (which contradicts the Prophetic injunction to seek knowledge) and forced marriage (which violates the consent requirement) exist in some Muslim-majority societies. However, attributing these to Islam is as logically flawed as attributing domestic violence in secular Western societies to secular liberalism. The distinction between a religion's teachings and the behaviour of some of its adherents is essential to any honest analysis. Colonialism and the distortion of Islamic law. A frequently overlooked factor is the role of European colonialism in restricting women's rights in Muslim-majority countries. In many regions, colonial administrations dismantled indigenous Islamic legal systems that had historically provided women with property rights, access to courts and the ability to initiate divorce, replacing them with European civil codes that were less favourable to women. The Ottoman Empire, for example, had a centuries-long tradition of women owning and managing waqf (charitable endowment) properties; colonial-era legal reforms curtailed many of these rights. 5 Misconceptions about Islam and Women Islam treats women as inferior to men. The Quran explicitly states that the most honourable among human beings are those who are most righteous (Quran 49:13), with no distinction made on the basis of gender. While men and women have different roles and responsibilities in certain areas of Islamic law, different does not mean inferior - a distinction that is routinely collapsed in popular discourse. The hijab is a tool of oppression. The hijab is a religious obligation observed by Muslim women as an act of worship and modesty, not a mechanism of control. Millions of Muslim women choose to wear it freely and consider it an expression of their faith and identity. Reducing the hijab to a symbol of oppression disregards the agency and testimony of the women who wear it, which is itself a form of silencing women's voices. Islam permits wife-beating. Quran 4:34 is frequently cited in isolation and without reference to the extensive scholarly commentary that surrounds it. The overwhelming majority of classical and contemporary scholars interpret the verse in light of the Prophet's consistent example and explicit instruction: "Do not strike the servants of Allah" and "The best of you are those who are best to their women." Scholars such as al-Tabari, al-Razi and Ibn Ashur have provided interpretations that emphasise reconciliation, separation and symbolic gestures rather than physical harm. Women cannot work, study or participate in public life in Islam. Khadijah (ra) was a businesswoman. Aisha (ra) was a public scholar and political figure. Nusayba bint Ka'ab (ra) was a warrior. Shifa bint Abdullah (ra) was appointed by Umar (ra) to oversee market regulation in Medina - a governmental role. The historical record consistently demonstrates women in active, public roles throughout Islamic civilisation. Muslim women inherit less than men and this proves inequality. Islam's inheritance system is part of a broader financial framework. Men are obligated to provide for their wives, children and elderly parents from their own wealth. Women have no obligation to spend any of their inheritance or earnings on anyone. A woman's inheritance is entirely her own, whereas a man's inheritance comes with attached financial responsibilities. The system is designed for equity within the context of a complete set of financial obligations, not as a standalone measure of worth. 5 Objections Addressed Regarding Islam and Women If Islam is so egalitarian, why are women's rights so poor in many Muslim-majority countries? The gap between Islamic ideals and practice reflects failures of governance, the persistence of pre-Islamic cultural practices, the effects of colonialism, and the influence of patriarchal structures that are not unique to Muslim societies. Scholars such as Amina Wadud and Khaled Abou El Fadl have argued persuasively that many of the practices cited as "Islamic" oppression have their roots in cultural patriarchy rather than in the Quran or Sunnah. Doesn't the Quran say men are "a degree above" women (Quran 2:228)? The verse in question reads: "And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable. But the men have a degree over them." The majority of classical scholars interpret this "degree" as referring to the specific context of marriage - specifically the husband's responsibility to provide financially - not as a general statement of male superiority. The same verse begins by affirming that women have rights "similar" to what is expected of them. What about polygamy? Islam permits a man to marry up to four wives, subject to the strict condition that he treats all of them with equal justice - a condition the Quran itself acknowledges is virtually impossible to fulfil (Quran 4:129). Most scholars understand this provision as a conditional permission rather than an encouragement, and many Muslim-majority countries have legally restricted or regulated polygamy. It is worth noting that the practice was already widespread in pre-Islamic Arabia, Judaism and Christianity; Islam's contribution was to limit it and attach conditions. Why can't women lead prayer for mixed congregations in most schools of thought? The question of prayer leadership is a jurisprudential matter on which scholars hold differing views. The majority of classical scholars restricted mixed-congregation prayer leadership to men, based on their reading of the Prophetic practice. However, other scholars, including Abu Thawr and al-Tabari, held that women could lead prayer under certain conditions. Regardless of one's position on this specific issue, the ability to lead congregational prayer is not a measure of spiritual worth or equality in Islam. If the Prophet (pbuh) truly championed women's rights, why did he marry multiple wives? The Prophet's marriages were predominantly alliances made for political, diplomatic and humanitarian reasons - marrying widows, supporting women who had lost their husbands in battle, and building tribal alliances to strengthen the Muslim community. Khadijah (ra), his first wife, was the only wife during the first 25 years of his marriage, and he remained devoted to her memory throughout his life. Reducing his marriages to a personal choice disconnected from their social and political context reflects a failure to engage with the historical record. FAQs: Does Islam Oppress Women? Did women have rights in Islam before they did in the West? Yes. Islam established women's rights to property ownership, inheritance, education, marital consent and divorce in the 7th century. Many of these rights were not formally recognised in European law until the 19th or 20th century. The Married Women's Property Act was not passed in England until 1882 - over 1,200 years after Islam established the same principle. Are there female scholars in Islam? The Islamic tradition has a rich and well-documented history of female scholarship. Imam al-Dhahabi noted that he did not find a single female hadith narrator who was accused of fabrication. Scholars like Fatima al-Fihri (who founded the University of al-Qarawiyyin in 859 CE, considered the world's oldest existing university), Karima al-Marwaziyya (a leading hadith scholar), and Aisha bint Abu Bakr (ra) are among thousands of documented female contributors to Islamic knowledge. Is female genital mutilation an Islamic practice? No. Female genital mutilation (FGM) predates Islam and is practised among communities of various faiths and no faith, particularly in parts of East Africa. It has no basis in the Quran, and many contemporary scholars have issued fatwas explicitly prohibiting it as harmful and contrary to Islamic principles. Can a Muslim woman initiate divorce? Yes. Islam provides several mechanisms for a woman to end a marriage, including khula (dissolution of marriage at the wife's request) and faskh (annulment through a judicial authority on grounds such as harm, abandonment or failure to provide). The right of women to seek divorce is established in both the Quran and the Sunnah. How can Muslim communities better address women's rights? Communities can invest in female Islamic education and scholarship, ensure that women's voices are included in mosque governance and community decision-making, challenge cultural practices that contradict Islamic teachings, train imams to address gender-based violence and inequality from the pulpit, and support Muslim women's organisations working on rights and welfare issues. Conclusion The claim that Islam oppresses women does not survive serious engagement with primary sources. The Quran affirms spiritual equality of men and women in unambiguous terms. The Prophet (pbuh) championed women's rights to property, education, consent and dignity in a historical context where such rights were virtually nonexistent. The early Muslim community included women who were scholars, warriors, businesswomen and political advisors. And the classical Islamic scholarly tradition not only permitted but documented and celebrated female intellectual achievement. Where oppression of women exists in Muslim-majority societies - and it does, in forms both severe and subtle - it is attributable to patriarchal cultural practices, colonial disruption of Islamic legal systems, failures of governance and education, and the selective or ignorant application of Islamic teachings, not to Islam itself. The same tradition that is misrepresented as inherently oppressive in fact provides the strongest internal framework for challenging that oppression: return to the sources, read them honestly, and apply them faithfully. For Muslims, the task is not to abandon their tradition in the name of progress but to reclaim it from those who have distorted it - whether through culturally motivated restrictiveness or through ignorance of its depth and complexity. For non-Muslims, the task is to engage with Islam's actual teachings rather than with the practices of its worst adherents, just as one would wish to be judged by one's ideals rather than one's failures. References: Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah, Quran (translations referenced from Sahih International). Ibn Hazm, "al-Muhalla." Al-Ghazali, "Ihya Ulum al-Din." Al-Dhahabi, "Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'." Ibn al-Qayyim, "I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in." Mohammad Akram Nadwi, "al-Muhaddithat: The Women Scholars in Islam" (Interface Publications, 2007).