Gender equality, Islamic Law and the Modern Muslim state Essay

Gender equality, Islamic Law and the Modern Muslim state - Essay Example The issue of gender equality in Islam was not a central notion nor was it addressed until the 20th century by Muslim jurists. The status of Men and Women in Islam is continuously explained by the Muslim scholars in the light of teachings of Islam and Holy Quran. The Islamic laws negated the modern authoritative position attributed to men in modern states and gave equal rights to the women. Although Islam has given equal rights to women, the misinterpretation of its laws and principles has exposed the religion as a typecast. Islam permits women to hold any office outside her home as long as that post is not derogatory to the feminine nature. The only condition which Islam presses on the women is that their working outside their homes should not be a source of embarrassment for them and their families and must not harm their reputation as a woman and a human being. It also impresses on the women to strike a balance between their jobs outside their homes and their duties as a mother or a wife. The teachings of Islam also do not forbid Muslim women to interact with the opposite gender in public as per the requirement of their jobs . However, the gender gap index of the world in 2009 shows that most Muslim countries have performed below the global average and are not showing any signs of improvements in the previous years. Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria and Bahrain however, remain an exception to this. Yemen was rated at the bottom of the 134 nations graded for gender score index in 2009 . Additionally, it has been reported continuously that most of the Muslim women are denied basic human rights, ranging from permission of a guardian for marriage to abeyance of husband in all fields of life. Most of the people also blame Islam for the frequent incidents of Muslim men torturing women and providing them with below par living standards. According to experts on the subject, the true identity of Islam prevailed for a very brief period after its inception. Initially the Umayyads played havoc with the principles of Islam and then the Abbasids inflicted much of the damage to the concept of the religion. It did not end he re and the monarchs who ruled Iran continued to distort the religion by forcing their women to submit to the will of men. Another factor responsible for inequality of gender in Islam is colonialism. From 20th century onwards, colonialism has had a profound effect on the internal and external structure of the society. Through this concept, the already established norms and traditions were completely destroyed and novel foreign norms were imposed. It also exaggerated the existing gender divisions and labor roles of the two genders. Resultantly, the Islamic society completely collapsed with an environment of complete confusion. Men tried to find solace in rigid cultural customs e.g. forcing their women to cover themselves with veils and making them invisible in the eyes of the society. So much so that the princesses of once Mughul Empire were forced to indulge in prostitution. However, experts believe that understanding the complete scenario is essential before criticizing the principl es of another religion. The religious experts of Islam believe that Quran has given spiritual and moral equality to both men and women. This is clear from many verses in Quran clearly which spell out that men and women in Islam are in fact each other’s protectors and complement each other. There is a strong bond of respect between the two genders and

Multicultural Concerns in Marriage and Family Therapy Essay

Multicultural Concerns in Marriage and Family Therapy - Essay Example According to the finding of the ancient Chinese history, the Hmong were a culturally unique set of Asian individuals that lived in the mountainous regions of Siberia, their original homeland. Sects of their civilization settled by the banks of the Yellow River in northern China who were later attacked by the Chinese for the fertile land present along the Yellow River. Thousands of Hmong people have resettled in the Western countries ever since the 1970s primarily in the United States. Others thou have returned to Laos under the UN-sponsored rehabilitation programs. There are about 8-12 million Hmong living in the southern parts of China. â€Å"The remaining Hmong, approximately 1-2 million, are found in Laos, Northern Vietnam and Thailand due to the migration during the mid-1800’s† (Quincy, K, 1988) The Hmong kinship system is the core foundation regarding the social and biological structure among all the other systems prevailing in the Hmong society. It is a relationsh ip based on blood and marital aspects and connects the blood relatives in the same clan, within other clans as well as between them. The Hmong that was born in the 18 major clans namely have established ties as the primary and most crucial relationship within their blood relatives but on the other hand, they do acknowledge their marital ties as secondary relationships among themselves and to those who belong to other clans.This kinship system adopted by the Hmong clan plays an important role of an institution providing various essential functions to provide of the needs of the Hmong members, their extended family as well as the society. It divides the Hmong into 18 major clans which acts as a social organization providing lifetime support, both spiritual and material, to their clan members throughout their life. Marriage In The Hmong Culture Via The Rule of Exogamy The 18 clans of Hmong support the practice of marriage through the rule of exogamy to both genders of the clan’s members allowing them to marry outside of their own clans. This rule of exogamy is a compulsory procedure which prohibits members belonging to the same clans to get married to each other reason being the Hmong rationale which states that all members (in theory) of the same clans were biologically related in the beginning and have descended from the same ancestors and thus are actually brothers and sisters. Therefore they are not allowed to get married to each other within the same clans as their own. The Formal Marriage Request (Begging) By the Groom’s Family The traditional Hmong marriage mainly occurred at an early age where the boys and girls were between the ages of 14 and 18 years (as cited in Lao Family Community of Minnesota, Inc. 1997). This formal marriage practice is started by the groom’s father along with his older married brothers who would go to the bride’s parents and make a formal marriage request. In case the groom has no father or elder marrie d brothers, he could seek the aid of other male relatives or clan leaders to help him in putting down the formal marriage r