Gender Jihad: Muslim Women, Islamic Jurisprudence, and Women's Rights

Muslim women's rights have been a topic of discussion and debate over the past few decades, and with a good reason. Islamic Law (Shariah) is considered by many as patriarchal and particularly oppressive to women, and yet there are also others-Muslim women-who have rigorously defended their religion by claiming that Islam is the guarantor par excellence of women's rights. A big question begs to be answered: is Islam particularly oppressive to women?The Qur'an has addressed women's issues fourteen hundred years ago by creating certain reforms to improve the status of women; however, these reforms do not seem to be practiced in Muslim societies today.1 How is this so? I contend that Islam, as revealed to Muhammad, is not oppressive to women; rather, its interpretation, in so far as it is enacted in the family laws and everyday living, is patriarchal and hence needs to be examined.2 The goal of this work is to discuss what the Qur'an says about certain problems which gravely affect Muslim women, specifically: 1. gender equality 2. polygamy 3. divorce and the concept of nushu