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Gender segregation in Islamic law, custom, law and traditions refers to the practices and requirements in Islamic countries and communities for the separation of men and boys from women and girls in social and other settings.
There have been fatwas that forbid free mixing between men and women (known as Ikhtilat), when alone. The objective of the restrictions is to keep such interaction at a modest level. According to some, men are not permitted to touch any part of the body of the women, whether she is Muslim or non-Muslim. [1] Others have ruled that Muslim men and women who are not immediate relatives may not, for instance, socialize in order to know each other with a handshake or any form of contact that involves physical contact. [2] [3] [4]
A number of Muslim intellectuals and Muslim scholars have challenged this view and claim that certain physical contact is permissible as long as there is no obscenity, inappropriate touching (other than a simple handshake), secret meetings or flirting, according to the general rules of interaction between the genders. [5]
In some parts of the Muslim world, preventing women from being seen by men is closely linked to the concept of Namus. [6] [7] Namus is an ethical category, a virtue, in Middle Eastern Muslim patriarchal character. It is a strongly gender-specific category of relations within a family described in terms of honor, attention, respect/respectability, and modesty. The term is often translated as "honor". [6] [7]
| This section possibly contains original research .(April 2014) |
The Qur'anic verses which address the interaction of men and women in the social context include:
Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity: this will be most conducive to their purity –(and,) verily, Allah is aware of all that they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity, and not to display their charms beyond what may be apparent thereof; hence let them draw their veils over their bosoms and do not show their adornments except to their husbands or their fathers or their husbands' fathers or their sons or their husbands' sons or their brothers or their brothers' sons or their sisters' sons or their women or what their right hands possess or male servants free of sexual desires or those children who never knows the private things of women; and do not stamp their feet so that it may show their hidden adornments; and repent towards God collectively O believers so that you may succeed.
O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
However he forbade men from stopping their wives from going to the Mosque:
The Messenger of God said, "Do not prevent the maid-servants of God from going to the mosque."
— Muslim, No.888 (See also Nos. 884-891 and Bukhari Vol.1, Nos. 824, 832)
The roots of gender segregation in Islam have been investigated by many historians. Leila Ahmed said that the harem arose in the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties and was not an institution from the time of Muhammad. [10] Leor Halevi wrote in an article about women and mourning laments that a ″novel and unprecedented concern with the segregation of the sexes″ took place in Kufa, Iraq, in the eighth century. In time, this became normative. [11] Everett K. Rowson discovered that gender nonconforming men in eighth century Medina could move freely between the sexes. Known as Mukhannath, these men were freely able to move between men and women due to beliefs that they were not sexually attracted to women. This changed during the times of the Early Caliphs in order to further keep women in private. [12]
The Ottoman Empire kept genders segregated in the harems and concubines were not allowed to leave the harem. Men, aside from the male head of the household, were forbidden to enter the harem. However, eunuchs were allowed to move freely inside and outside the harem and acted as protectors of the women. This position gave eunuchs the ability to have access to the ruler's living quarters. A common consequence of this segregation of the ruler from the rest of the house while in the harem, gave eunuchs the role of message bearers. [13] During the course of the Harem, racial segregation became common between eunuchs. [14] Slave traders of white circassian slaves enjoyed more business clout due to the inflated value of whiteness that existed during the Ottoman Empire. [15]
Segregation between men and women was strictly enforced in 18th-century Ottoman bathhouses. The rules on bathhouse segregation also restricted Muslim women from sharing a bathhouse with non-Muslim women, while Muslim men could share bathhouses with non-Muslim men. Shari'a courts held this up to preserve Muslim women's sanctity and prevent their violation. [16]
Afghanistan, under Taliban religious leadership, was characterized by feminist groups and others as a "gender apartheid" system where women are segregated from men in public and do not enjoy legal equality or equal access to employment or education. In Islam, women have the right to equal access to employment and education, although their first priority should be that of the family. Men too are said to be actively involved in the child rearing and household chores. Muhammad helped his wives in the house. [17] [18]
During Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004-2021), a huge number of Afghan men didn't have any contact with females other than their own family until going to university. This caused men to not see women as their colleagues, thus they usually tended to show impolite behaviour to women so thousands of women suffered from insults in the streets all over Afghanistan. [19] During this period, gender segregation in Afghanistan's schools forced the strained Ministry of Education, which was already short on supplies, funding, and teachers, to recreate the system for each gender. [20]
Baghe-Sharara (Persian: باغ شهرآرا) was a women-only park in Kabul during Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It is the ancient garden constructed by Babur. No men were allowed to enter because it was a women-only space. [21] This garden was reconstructed by financial support from US, Italy and Switzerland and yearly, on March 8, programs specific to women were held there. [22] Women-specific markets were held inside the garden as well. [23] English and sewing classes, shops selling products, a counselling center, other classes, were all run by women. [24]
Immediately after 2021 Taliban offensive all universities became sex-segregated nationwide. [25] Since March 2022, Taliban started to segregate all amusement parks and resorts by sex. Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Afghanistan) stated that in Kabul males can go to amusement parks on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays while females can go to amusement parks on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. This ministry added that no one is allowed to complain, emphasizing that men are not allowed to enter parks on women's days. [26] [27]
During the mid 20th century, movements in Egypt implemented laws regarding public sex segregation. This included the segregation of women on trains, organized by the Muslim Brotherhood. Before this new era, gender segregation was only applied to areas of religious ceremony. [28]
The idea of a “Pink taxi” in Egypt emerged after numerous women demanded women-only cabs. Advocates of the idea claimed that the taxis would help shield women against possible harassment and sexual assault.
When Ruhollah Khomeini called for women to attend public demonstrations and ignore the night curfew, millions of women who would otherwise not have left their homes without their husbands' and fathers' permission or presence, took to the streets. After the Islamic revolution, however, Khomeini publicly announced his disapproval of mixing between the sexes. [29] During Khomeini's rule limits would be placed on what jobs a woman could possess, these laws would also uphold gender segregation in the workplace. [30] Many women would not be given access to positions of political power without ties to male political elites or ties with religious leaders, movements, or activism. [31] Prevention of women candidates is upheld by male-dominated political parties who have rejected women from being represented as their recommended candidates. All women who have run as candidates for president have been rejected with no reason given. [31]
Critics have argued that the restriction of women's rights under Islamic law has led to the segregation of public and private spaces, which they must then attempt to resolve through politics and by creating their own spaces. [32] Gender segregation also impacts the company that people keep; researcher Ziba Mir-Hosseini noted that during her field work she spent most of her time around women and that in some instances she never met the male relatives of some of these women due to the strict regulation of gender segregation. [33] These restrictions may also impact travel, as some rules state that married women are forbidden from traveling without their husband's permission and in some cases women must be segregated from male passengers. [34] Since 2005, access to higher education has been prohibited by the Iranian government. [31] In pre-college level education, gender segregation has conflicted with religious laws. Article 13 of the Islamic Republic of Iran allows Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians to educate their followers in whatever way their religion instructs them. Regardless of this law, boys and girls have been segregated from being in the same classroom. Boys and girls would also get different textbooks. These regulations on gender have moved the ceremonies and events of religious minorities, such as funerals and weddings, out of view from the public due to laws against the public mixture of sexes. [35]
Gender-isolated education is conducted through higher-education, due to religious ideas of sex segregation. Hotels and motels all have strict rules for sex segregation.
In Saudi Arabia, male doctors were previously not allowed to treat female patients unless there were no female specialists available; it was also not permissible for women to treat men. [36] This has changed, however, and it is not uncommon for men and women to visit doctors of the opposite sex.
Critics have argued that the restriction of women's rights under Saudi Arabia law, which is based on sharia law, has led to the separation of gender, since women and men are separated in almost all areas, from women-only fast food lines to women-only offices. These laws and policies are enforced by the Islamic religious police, which has prompted some to find ways to evade policing. [37] Gender segregation also impacts the Saudi education system, as there are more opportunities for men to graduate with a career and find employment. Women do not share in these opportunities and have a more difficult time finding employment as there are only a small number of locations that permit men and women to mix. [38] Gender segregation also impacts the participation of women in religion by encouraging women to pray at home and not in the mosque. Scholars have stated that despite these restrictions, changes brought about with the new generations have allowed women more freedom to choose whether they pray at the mosque or in their homes. [39]
On the late 19th and early 20th century European Jewish immigration to Palestine, Norman Rose writes that secular "Zionist mores" were "often at odds with Arab convention, threatening the customs and moral assumptions that lent cohesion to a socially conservative, traditional Palestinian society." [40] The active political role of the women of the Yishuv and their lack of segregation was judged as particularly offensive. [41]
The policy on gender segregation in Kelantan, Malaysia is drawn based on Islamic teachings as interpreted by the state government leaders. It doesn't allow only men spectators at sports tournaments involving female players. Another example of sex segregation im Kelantan, Malaysia is gender-specific counters in supermarkets [42] .
In the United States, Muslim couples may opt for gender-separate wedding celebrations so that men and women sit separately during the ceremony and celebrate in different rooms. Men and women, who are guests, do not sit together at the wedding ceremony, because it is seen as a ‘time out’ from the usual mixing of the sexes. [43]
Some schools of thought say that women should be encouraged to pray at home rather than in a mosque. However, other schools prefer to look at the context of the sayings, which, they suggest, were given at a time when women were in danger when leaving their homes, and consider mosques to be as welcome for women as their homes. Muhammad did not forbid women from entering his mosque in Medina. In fact, he told Muslims "not to prevent their women from going to mosque when they ask for permission". [44]
Muhammad specifically admonished the men not to keep their wives from going to the mosques:
The Messenger of God said, "Do not prevent the maid-servants of God from going to the mosque."
— Muslim, No.888 (See also Nos. 884-891 and Bukhari Vol.1, Nos. 824, 832)
Segregation of sexes in mosques and prayer spaces is reported in a hadith in Sahih Muslim, one of the two most authentic Hadith books in Islam. It says that the best rows for men are the first rows, and the worst ones the last ones, and the best rows for women are the last ones and the worst ones for them are the first ones. [45]
It is also recorded that Muhammad ordered that mosques have separate doors for women and men so that men and women would not be obliged to go and come through the same door. [46] He also commanded that after the Isha' evening prayer, women be allowed to leave the mosque first so that they would not have to mix with men. [47]
After Muhammad's death, many of his followers began to forbid women under their control from going to the mosque. Aisha bint Abi Bakr, a wife of Muhammad, once said, "If the Prophet had lived now and if he saw what we see of women today, he would have forbidden women to go to the mosque even as the Children of Israel forbade their women." [48]
The second caliph Umar also prohibited women from attending mosques especially at night because he feared there may be occasions of teasing by men, so he asked them to pray at home. [49]
As Islam spread, it became unusual for women to worship in mosques because of male fear of immorality between sexes. [50]
Sometimes a special part of the mosque was railed off for women. For example, the governor of Mecca in 870 had ropes tied between the columns to make a separate place for women. [51]
Many mosques today put the women behind a barrier or partition or in another room. Mosques in South and Southeast Asia put men and women in separate rooms, as the divisions were built into them centuries ago. In nearly two-thirds of American mosques, women pray behind partitions or in separate areas, not in the main prayer hall. Some mosques do not admit women at all due to the "lack of space" and the fact that some prayers, such as the Friday Jumuʻah, are mandatory for men but optional for women, although there are sections exclusively for women and children. The Grand Mosque in Mecca is desegregated. [52]
There is a growing women's movement led by figures such as Asra Nomani who protest against what they regard as their second-class status and facilities. [53] [54]
Justifications for segregation include the need to avoid distraction during prayer, although the primary reason cited is that this was the tradition (sunnah) of worshipers in the time of Muhammad. [55]
British-born Muslim author Ed Husain argues that rather than keeping sexual desires in check, gender segregation creates "pent-up sexual frustration which expressed itself in the unhealthiest ways," and leads young people to "see the opposite gender only as sex objects." [56] While working in Saudi Arabia for seven months as an English teacher, the Arabic-speaking Husain was surprised to find that despite compulsory gender segregation and full hijab, Saudi men were much less modest and more predatory towards women than men in other countries he had lived in. Despite the modest dress of his wife, who "out of respect for local custom, ... wore the long black abaya and covered her hair in a black scarf", she was on two occasions, "accosted by passing Saudi youths from their cars. ... In supermarkets I only had to be away from [my wife] for five minutes and Saudi men would hiss or whisper obscenities as they walked past." Discussions with local women at the British Council indicated that her experience was far from unique. [56] There is also a strong viewpoint growing among Muslims arguing against gender segregation. In Saudi Arabia, which is known to be among the most gender segregated countries in the world, there are occasional signs that gender segregation laws are becoming less strict. [57] Some Muslims argue that women served food for Muhammad and his companions, citing this as evidence that gender segregation did not exist during the earlier times of Islam. [58]
Case studies:
Within the Muslim world, sentiment towards LGBT people varies and has varied between societies and individual Muslims, but is contemporarily quite negative. While colloquial, and in many cases, de facto official acceptance of at least some homosexual behavior was commonplace in pre-modern periods, later developments, starting from the 19th-century, have created a generally hostile environment for LGBT people. Most Muslim-majority countries have opposed moves to advance LGBT rights and recognition at the United Nations (UN), including within the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council.
In modern usage, hijab generally refers to various head coverings conventionally worn by many Muslim women. It is similar to the tichel or snood worn by Orthodox Jewish women, certain headcoverings worn by some Christian women, such as the mantilla, apostolnik and wimple, and the dupatta worn by many Hindu and Sikh women. Whilst a hijab can come in many forms, it often specifically refers to a scarf wrapped around the head, covering the hair, neck and ears but leaving the face visible. The use of the hijab has been on the rise worldwide since the 1970s and is viewed by many Muslims as expressing modesty and faith; it has also been worn for purposes of adornment. There is a consensus among Islamic religious scholars that covering the head is either required or preferred, though some Muslim scholars and activists point out that it is not mandated.
Mullah is an honorific title for Shia clergy and it is also an honorific title for a Muslim mosque leader. The term is also sometimes used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law.
Sex segregation, sex separation, sex partition,gender segregation,gender separation, or gender partition is the physical, legal, or cultural separation of people according to their biological sex at any age. Sex segregation can refer simply to the physical and spatial separation by sex without any connotation of illegal discrimination. In other circumstances, sex segregation can be controversial. Depending on the circumstances, it can be a violation of capabilities and human rights and can create economic inefficiencies; on the other hand, some supporters argue that it is central to certain religious laws and social and cultural histories and traditions.
Harem refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic servants, and other unmarried female relatives. In the past, harems also enslaved concubines. In former times some harems were guarded by eunuchs who were allowed inside. The structure of the harem and the extent of monogamy or polygyny has varied depending on the family's personalities, socio-economic status, and local customs. Similar institutions have been common in other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilizations, especially among royal and upper-class families, and the term is sometimes used in other contexts. In traditional Persian residential architecture the women's quarters were known as andaruni, and in the Indian subcontinent as zenana.
Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate for women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also utilized secular, Western, or otherwise non-Muslim feminist discourses, and have recognized the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement.
Gender roles in Islam are based on scriptures, cultural traditions, and jurisprudence.
Religious police are any police force responsible for the enforcement of religious norms and associated religious laws. Nearly all religious police organizations in modern society are Islamic and can be found in countries with a large Muslim populace, such as Saudi Arabia or Iran. The responsibilities of religious police heavily vary by religion and culture. For example, the Islamic religious police prioritize the prevention of alcohol consumption, playing of music, public displays of affection, Western holidays, and prayer time absences. On the other hand, the religious police force in Vietnam are responsible for monitoring religious extremists, such as Dega Protestants or Ha Mon Catholics. As of 2012, at least 17 nations have police that enforce religious norms, according to a new Pew Research analysis of 2012 data. These actions are particularly common in the Middle East and North Africa, where roughly one-third of countries (35%) have police enforcing religious norms. As of 2012, religious police forces were not present in any country in Europe or the Americas.
The experiences of Muslim women vary widely between and within different societies. At the same time, their adherence to Islam is a shared factor that affects their lives to a varying degree and gives them a common identity that may serve to bridge the wide cultural, social, and economic differences between them.
Gender apartheid is the economic and social sexual discrimination against individuals because of their gender or sex. It is a system enforced by using either physical or legal practices to relegate individuals to subordinate positions. Feminist scholar Phyllis Chesler, professor of psychology and women's studies, defines the phenomenon as "practices which condemn girls and women to a separate and subordinate sub-existence and which turn boys and men into the permanent guardians of their female relatives' chastity". Instances of gender apartheid lead not only to the social and economic disempowerment of individuals, but can also result in severe physical harm.
This timeline lists the dates of the first women's suffrage in Muslim majority countries. Dates for the right to vote, suffrage, as distinct from the right to stand for election and hold office, are listed.
In the Ottoman Empire, women enjoyed a diverse range of rights and were limited in diverse ways depending on the time period, as well as their religion and class. The empire, first as a Turkoman beylik, and then a multi-ethnic, multi-religious empire, was ruled in accordance to the qanun, the semi-secular body of law enacted by Ottoman sultans. Furthermore, the relevant religious scriptures of its many confessional communities played a major role in the legal system, for the majority of Ottoman women, these were the Quran and Hadith as interpreted by Islamic jurists, often termed sharia. Most Ottoman women were permitted to participate in the legal system, purchase and sell property, inherit and bequeath wealth, and participate in other financial activities, rights which were unusual in the rest of Europe until the 19th century.
Sex segregation refers to the physical and spatial separation of humans by sex in public or private places. In public places, women are forced to wear the burqa at all times, because, according to one Taliban spokesman, "the face of a woman is a source of corruption" for men not related to them (Non-Mahram).
The History of slavery in Iran (Persia) during various ancient, medieval, and modern periods is sparsely catalogued. Slavery was abolished in Iran in 1929.
Sex segregation in Iran encompasses practices derived from the conservative dogma of Shiite Islam currently taking place in Iran. Most areas of the country are segregated by sex, except universities. In many cities, there are women parks. Sex segregation prohibits males from viewing females, and age of consent laws do not exist, as all sexual activity outside marriage is illegal. UN experts have denounced Iran for enforcing gender apartheid.
A women-only space is an area where only women are allowed, thus providing a place where they do not have to interact with men. Historically and globally, many cultures had, and many still have, some form of female seclusion.
Islamic religious police are official Islamic vice squad police agencies, often in Islamic countries, which enforce religious observance and public morality on behalf of national or regional authorities based on its interpretation of sharia. Modern Islamic religious police forces were first established in the late-1970s amidst the Iranian Revolution and the Islamic revival the revolution brought; prior, the administration of public morality in most Islamic countries was considered a socioreligious matter, and was enforced through application of civil laws or through more informal means.
Slavery in Afghanistan was present in the post-Classical history of Afghanistan, continued during the Middle Ages, and persisted into the 1920s.
Saudi Arabia is the most profoundly gender-segregated nation on Earth. Sexual segregation in Saudi Arabia is a cultural practice and government policy which keeps Saudi wives, sisters and daughters away from contact with male strangers (Non-mahram) and vice versa. However, since Mohammed bin Salman was appointed Crown Prince in 2017, a series of social reforms have been witnessed that created cultural changes, which included putting an end to the gender segregation enforcement. The Saudi gender segregation originated from an extreme concern for female purity and family honour. Social events used to be largely predicated on the separation of men and women; the mixing of non-related men and women at parties and other social gatherings were extremely rare and limited to some of the modern Western-educated families.
The harem of the caliphs of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258) in Baghdad was composed of his mother, wives, slave concubines, female relatives and slave servants, occupying a secluded portion of the Abbasid household. This institution played an important social function within the Abbasid court and was that part were the women were confined and secluded. The senior woman in rank in the harem was the mother of the Caliph. The Abbasid harem acted as a role model for the harems of other Islamic dynasties, as it was during the Abbasid Caliphate that the harem system was fully enforced in the Muslim world.
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