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Islam and Women: Difference between revisions
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===Honor Violence and Islam=== | ===Honor Violence and Islam=== | ||
{{Main| | {{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Honor Killing}} | ||
Honor killing has occured in many cultures, and is the murder by family members, usually of females, who are perceived to have brought shame on the family. The attitude is that the honor of the family in the community can be protected or restored in this way. Common triggers for honour killing occur when young couples have unmarried relations with each other, or when a woman marries someone against the wishes of her parents. | |||
In Islamic law, there is no punishment merely for the shame caused upon a family by their female relations, nor to restore family honor by killing them. There are, however, punishments for various types of [[w:Zina|Zina]] (unlawful sexual relations) in Islam. Zina includes both fornication (when they are unmarried), for which the punishment is flogging, and adultery (when they are married, but not to each other), for which the punishment is death by stoning. These punishments are only to be applied by the authorities. | |||
Honour killing has been condemned in a recent fatwa<ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/101972 Fatwa 101972 Ruling on honour killing]</ref>, which says that the punishment for fornication by the unmarried is flogging, and must be carried out by the proper authorities. | |||
However, some statements about women and the rules to control them as outlined above in this article may contribute to the perceived social consequences of failing to exert such control and the underlying attitudes towards women and girls held by those who commit honor killing and honor violence. This includes such rules as those concerning parents and their children, a woman marrying without the approval of her wali, and zina. Underlining the seriousness in which some of these are regarded, certain punishments such as stoning, flogging, and even death by being thrown off a tall building are prescribed for sexual crimes in Islamic law, though these are to be carried out by the authorities. A connection is disputed by some on the basis that honor killing in the Muslim world is largely associated with certain countries like Pakistan and in the middle east rather than universal. | |||
While Islamic law does not order honor violence, parents who murder their children are not punishable with the ''Qisas'' (retaliation) under the Sharia. The standard manual of law for the Shafi'i school sets out this exemption in plain terms.{{Quote|'Umdat al-Salik (Reliance of the Traveller), section o1.1-2|Retaliation is obligatory [...] against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right [...] The following are not subject to retaliation [...] (4) a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring.}} | |||
Efforts in modern Muslim countries have been made to deter such killings by changing the law to enable prosecution of the perpetrators, notably Pakistan in 2016 (after a change that had left a large loophole in 2004)<ref>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37578111</ref>, though as of 2022 the effect has been limited.<ref>[https://thediplomat.com/2022/07/honor-killings-continue-unabated-in-pakistan/ ‘Honor Killings’ Continue Unabated in Pakistan] - The Diplomat, 2022</ref> | |||
The United Nations Population Fund estimated in September 2000 that as many as 5,000 women and girls fall victim to such killings each year. | The United Nations Population Fund estimated in September 2000 that as many as 5,000 women and girls fall victim to such killings each year. | ||
===Strict enforcement of hijab=== | ===Strict enforcement of hijab=== | ||
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According to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, over 90% of married women report being kicked, slapped, beaten or sexually abused when husbands were dissatisfied by their cooking or cleaning, or when the women had 'failed' to bear a child or had given birth to a girl instead of a boy.<ref>[http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA33/010/2002/en-http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA33/010/2002/en Pakistan: Violence against women: Media briefing] - Amnesty International</ref> | According to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, over 90% of married women report being kicked, slapped, beaten or sexually abused when husbands were dissatisfied by their cooking or cleaning, or when the women had 'failed' to bear a child or had given birth to a girl instead of a boy.<ref>[http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA33/010/2002/en-http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA33/010/2002/en Pakistan: Violence against women: Media briefing] - Amnesty International</ref> | ||
=== | ===Prosecution of rape cases=== | ||
{{Main|Rape in Islamic Law}} | |||
Islamic law traditionally has required four reliable muslim male witnesses or a confession in order to convict a man for rape (as an extension of the legal treatment of [[Zina|zina]]), though some modern legal approaches have sought to reduce this evidentiary burden. In some modern juristictions there is even a risk that a woman alleging rape can herself by prosecuted for slander or fornication if she lacks sufficient evidence, though this is not the position of most schools of traditional jurisprudence (see main article). | |||
In March 2007, a 19-year-old Saudi woman received a sentence of 90 lashes. A man had threatened to tell her father that they were having an affair unless she met him alone. When she did, she was kidnapped and repeatedly raped, after which her brother beat her because the rapes brought shame to the family. After this, a Saudi court sentenced her to be lashed ninety times because she had met a man alone who was not related to her. Fuziyah Al Ouni, a feminist activist, said she was outraged by the case. 'By sentencing her to 90 lashes they are sending a message that she is guilty.'<ref>[http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?section=middleeast&xfile=data/middleeast/2007/march/middleeast_march71.xml Saudi gang-rape victim faces 90 lashes] - Khaleej Times Online, March 5, 2007</ref> | In March 2007, a 19-year-old Saudi woman received a sentence of 90 lashes. A man had threatened to tell her father that they were having an affair unless she met him alone. When she did, she was kidnapped and repeatedly raped, after which her brother beat her because the rapes brought shame to the family. After this, a Saudi court sentenced her to be lashed ninety times because she had met a man alone who was not related to her. Fuziyah Al Ouni, a feminist activist, said she was outraged by the case. 'By sentencing her to 90 lashes they are sending a message that she is guilty.'<ref>[http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?section=middleeast&xfile=data/middleeast/2007/march/middleeast_march71.xml Saudi gang-rape victim faces 90 lashes] - Khaleej Times Online, March 5, 2007</ref> | ||