A woman's changing role in house and work

The readings this week focused on the changing roles of women both in the home and the work force. The Ahmed reading talked about how under Jahilia woman had a different place in the home in Arabic countries than when the region switched to Islam.

I thought it was really interesting that Arabia used to follow matrilinial practices at all. I don't know if it's a stereotype of the Arab region or western teaching of it, but I never imagined that region being favorable to women. The anecdotal story of Muhammad's two wives really put the change into perspective.

I really liked that the author pointed out that while men could visit different wives, women could also have different husbands visit them. The polygamist tendencies went for both genders, they just weren't necessarily spoken about. This is another huge contrast to Islamic expectations of women in marriages. This early practice is more inclusive than the Mormon version of polygamy, and much more accepting than the Christian and Judaic practices of marriage.

The discussion of zina, or adultery, and its conditions were also very intriguing. I never knew, nor would have guessed, that the number of witnesses would have anything to do with a conviction of adultery. I always thought that sex in that region at that period in time was a very private thing. How would someone get four witnesses? Then I also remembered that a witness did not actually need to witness, I'm sure people could just accuse and have someone convicted.

The Amira reading about women in Jordan discussed women's changing and contradictory roles in the work force. Many times women can't have property in their names, they don't stand to inherit more than an eighth of their husband's property upon his death, and are expected to help support the family. The chapter touches on the double standard women are held too even in Islamic countries. They are expected to help provide for the family but when widowed they no longer have the means to do so. They do all the work and get none of the credit.

I always thought that women in the Middle East had less rights and freedoms than women in America/the west. While that's true for the most part these articles made me realize that women are fundamentally treated exactly the same, they also face a double standard and have unreasonable expectations for their behavior. While there are always changes to a woman's place in society, no society has overcome the obstacle of the double standard.