Assessing the Impact of Islamic Teachings on the Rights and Welfare of Muslim Women: A Policy and Social Justice Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15575/rpj.v2i2.981Keywords:
Islam, Muslim Women, Rights, Social Justice, Public Policy, Welfare, Religious Teachings, Gender Equality, Women’s Empowerment, Religious FreedomAbstract
Research Problem: The rights and responsibilities of women in Islam have often been misunderstood, particularly in the international context. Predominant narratives from Western societies frequently depict Muslim women as oppressed and lacking gender equality. This study investigates a fundamental question: has Islamic teaching contributed to the social welfare of Muslim women by granting them equitable rights and responsibilities?
Research Purposes: This research aims to evaluate how Islamic teachings have influenced the social and economic well-being of Muslim women, emphasizing their rights and responsibilities. It also explores the role of religion-based policies in promoting social justice for Muslim women.
Research Methods: An exploratory, inductive, and analytical approach was employed to examine Islamic teachings using primary sources, including the Qur'an and Sunnah, alongside case studies of policies and social practices affecting Muslim women’s rights. A life-cycle approach was adopted to provide a holistic view of women’s status at various stages of their lives.
Results and Discussion: Findings indicate that Islam has granted significant rights and freedoms to Muslim women, such as access to education, employment, and legal protection—rights they did not enjoy prior to the revelation of the Qur'an. However, the implementation of these rights in policy and practice continues to face challenges, including social stigma and varying interpretations of religious laws. Islamic principles emphasizing social justice have demonstrably contributed to the improved welfare of Muslim women in public policy contexts.
Research Implications and Contributions: This study contributes to academic discourse by exploring the intersection of religious teachings and social justice. It opens avenues for further research into how religion-based policies can be adapted to support women’s rights. These findings are particularly relevant for policymakers, activists, and scholars working on gender equality and social justice in religious contexts.
References
Abu Dawud, Sulaymān ibn al-Ash‘ath (1996). “Sunan Abu Dawud”, Tahqiq Muhammad Abdelaziz El Khaldi”, Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmya, Beirut, Lebanon, (1st ed.), 1691 pp.
Abu-Lughod, L. (2002). Do Muslim women really need saving? Anthropological reflections on cultural relativism and its others. American anthropologist, 104(3), 783-790. https://serendipstudio.org/oneworld/system/files/Abu-Lughod.pdf
Ahmed, S., Khan, P., Arain, N. & Younus, U. M. (2021). The Economic Activities of Women at the Era of Prophet Muhammad Pbuh. PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 18(18), 1164-1172. ISSN 1567-214x
Al-Albani, Muhammad Nasir al-Din (2001). Silsalat al-Hadith as-Sahihah, Maktabato Al-Maârif for publishing and distributing, Riad, KAS, 7 Vol., 7586 pp.
Al-Barakati, Abu Assim (2008). “Tafnido Ach-choubouhati hawla Mirathi Al-Marâati fi Al-Islam” (Refuting doubtful about women's inheritance in Islam), Dar As-Safah wa Al-Marwah li an-nachr wa at-taouziâ, Alexandria, Egypt, 1st ed., 64 pp. ISBN: 977-6168-79-5.
Al-Bukhari, Muḥammad bin Ismail (2016). “Ṣaḥiḥ Al-Bukhari”, Maktabuto Al-Bushra, Karachi, Pakistan, pp. 3416.
Al-Hatimy, Said Abdullah Seif (1979). Woman in Islam – A comparative Study, 1st ed., Islamic Publications Ltd, Lahore, Pakistan, pp. 156.
Al-Shahat, Sherine Elsayed Mostafa (2021). “Ma Nazala bichaâni An-Nisaâi fi Al-Qura’ni Al-Karim” (What was revealed about women in the Holy Quran). Scientific Journal of the faculty of Ousoul Ad-Din and Daâwa in Zagazig, Egypt, 33(2), 861-944. https://fraz.journals.ekb.eg/article_174875_7947fdc3f733b4f508f40d04c83910e0.pdf
Al-Shahri, Aziza Hassan Abdullah (2022). “Al-marâah fi dawîi At-tasawori At-tarbaoui Al Quraâni” (Women in the light of Islamic educational conceptualisation) Journal of the Faculty of Education, Tanta University, 88(5), 373-408. DOI: 10.21608/mkmgt.2022.167810.1367
Al-Nasa'i, Abu Abd al-Raḥman Aḥmad ibn Shuâayb (2014). Sunan Al-Nasa'i “Al-Mujtaba”, Resalah Publishers, Damascus, Syria, 1st ed., 1456 pp.
Al-Tarmidhi, Muḥammad ibn Isa (2014), Sunan Al-Tarmidhi (Al-jamiô Al-kabir), Dar At-taâsil, Cairo, Egypt, 5 vol., 1st ed., 2872 pp.
Asma, Miss (2022). Women Empowerment in The Context of Teachings of Islam, iRASD Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 3, N° 1, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.52131/jer.2022.0301.0013
Becker, Hilary (2016). Roman Women in the Urban Economy - occupations, social connections, and gendered exclusions, Chap. 66, p. 915-931, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Beckman, Gary (2016). Birth and Motherhood among the Hittites, Chap. 22, p. 319-328, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Bryce, Trevor R. (2016). Role and status of women in Hittite society, Chap. 21, p. 303-318, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Budin, Stephanie Lynn (2016). Maternity in the Bronze Age Aegean, Chap. 41, p. 595-607, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Carrel, A. (1935). Man, the unknown. Harper & Brothers Publisher, 169 pp.
Cohen, Edward E. (2016). The Athenian Businesswoman, Chap. 50, p. 714-725, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Collins, Billie Jean (2016). Women in Hittite Religion, Chap. 23, p. 329-341, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Engle, Karen (1992). International Human Rights and Feminism: When Discourses Meet, Michigan Journal of International Law, 13 (3), 517-610. https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjil/vol13/iss3/1
Feucht, Erika (2016). Motherhood in Pharaonic Egypt, Chap. 14, p. 204-217, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Fitzgerald, John T. (2016). Orphans in Mediterranean antiquity and early Christianity, Acta Theologica, Suppl. 23, 29-48. DOI: 10.4314/actat.v23i1S.2
Fox, Sherry C. (2016). The Bioarchaeology of Women in Greek Antiquity, Chap. 45, p. 647-659, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Hemelrijk, Emily (2016). Women’s daily life in the Roman west, Chap. 64, p. 895-904, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Houmine, M. (2024). Exploring Muslim Women Pioneers Who Contributed to the Glory of Islamic Civilization from the Advent of Islam to the End of the 13th Century AH (19th Century CE), IJIK, Vol. 14 No. 2: 86-107. DOI: 10.15575/ijik.v14i2.31300.
Houmine, M., & Loudghiri, K. (2023). Exploring Child Rights and the Concept of Childhood in Islam: A Contemporary Descriptive Analysis. Khazanah Hukum, 5(2), 130-147. DOI: 10.15575/kh.v5i2.28734
Ibn Kathir (2000). “Tafsir Al Qura’n Al Adim”, Dar Ibn Hazm for printing, publishing and distributing, 1st ed., 2061 pp., Beirut, Lebanon.
Ibn Majah, Abu Abd Allah Muḥammad ibn Yazid (1952). “Sunan Ibn Majah”, Tahqiq Muhammad Fouad Abdelbaki, Dar Ihyaô Al-kotobo Al-Arabiyah, Cairo, Egypt, 2 vol., pp. 1568.
Janson, E. (2011). Stereotypes that Define "Us": The Case of Muslim Women. KVÜÕA toimetised, (14), 181-196. https://www.kvak.ee/files/2020/11/KVUOA_toimetised_nr_14.pdf#page=181
Justel, Josué J. (2016). Women, gender and law at the dawn of history: The evidence of the cuneiform sources, Chap. 6, p. 77-100, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Khan, T. U. (2004). Women’s rights in Islam. Peshawar: National Research and Development Foundation. New Delhi: Population Council. Challenging_Myths_and_Misconceptions-Communicating_womens_rights_in_Islam-libre.pdf (d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net)
Klaina, M. (2024). The Image of the Muslim Woman in Western Thought. LECTURES: Journal of Islamic and Education Studies, 3(2), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.58355/lectures.v3i2.89
Kreuz, P. A. (2023). Neighbourhood Dynamics, Neighbourhood Character and the Persistence of Shared Infrastructure: Impressions from an Urban Quarter in Athens, 5th Century BC to 3rd Century AD, p. 35-55, Neighbourhoods and City Quarters in Antiquity, Design and Experience, Haug, Hielscher and Krüger, eds, DOI https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111248097.
Lafont, Sophie (1999). Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l’Antiquité orientale: Contribution à l’étude du droit pénal au Proche-Orient ancien. Fribourg, Switzerland / Göttingen, Germany: Éditions Universitaires / Vandenhoeck Ruprecht, 589 pp. https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-152487
Lee, Mireille M. (2012). Maternity and Miasma - Dress and the Transition from Parthenos to Gune, p. 23-42, in Petersen, L. H., & Salzman-Mitchell, P. B. (Eds.) (2012). Mothering and motherhood in ancient Greece and Rome. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-72990-2
Lemu, B. A., & Heeren, F. (1976). “Woman in Islam”, Islamic Council of Europe, U.K., 53 pp., ISBN: 0 86037 004 6. https://archive.org/details/womaninislam0000lemu
Lovén, Lena Larsson (2016). Roman motherhood, Chap. 63, p. 885-894, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Malik ibn Anas (1997). Al-Muwatta, tahqiq Bachar Awad Maârouf, Dar Al-Gharb Al-Islami, Beyrouth, Lebanon, 2st ed., 2 vol., 1384 p.
Maslim, Audrey A. & Bjorck, Jeffrey P. (2009). Reasons for Conversion to Islam among Women in the United States, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 1(2), 97–111. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015735
McCarthy, Andrew (2016). Businesswomen and their seals in Early Mesopotamia, Chap. 7, p. 101-112, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Mogen, S. L. M. (2011). Women and Death Rituals in Late Antiquity: Forming the Christian Identity. A thesis for the degree of Master of Arts, 210 pp., University of Calgary.
Motahari, Ayatollah Morteza (1982). Woman and her rights in Islam, (Translated by: M. A. Ansari), Islamic Seminary Publications, pp. 161. https://www.aoislam.com/assets/docs/Allama_Murtaza_Mutahhari_-_Woman_And_Her_Rights_In_Islam.21952822.pdf
Muslim, Abu Al-Hussain ibn Al-Hajjaj (1991). Sahih Muslim, Tahqiq Muhammad Fouad Abdelbaki, Dar Ihyaô Al-kotobo Al-Arabiyah, Cairo, Egypt, 5 vol., 1st ed.
Nour, Z. (2021). The stereotype image of the Muslim woman in the western world: call for a new perspective. Journal of Arts & Architecture Research Studies, 2(3), 173-193. Doi: 10.47436/JAARS.2021.76046.1021
Orriols-Llonch, Marc (2016). Women’s Role in Sexual Intercourse in Ancient Egypt, Chap. 13, p. 194-203, in Budin & Turfa, (2016), Women in Antiquity, Real women across the Ancient World, 1111 pp., 1st ed., Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-138-80836-2.
Radford, M. F. (2000). The Inheritance Rights of Women under Jewish and Islamic Laws, Boston College International & Comparative Law Review, vol. 23, 135-184. https://lira.bc.edu/work/sc/8f2859b8-1ee0-4b2b-b25c-dc83f20a38a5
Rehan, Sadia (2013). Origin and Development of Human Rights in Islam and the West: A Comparative Study, International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 3 (1), DOI: 10.7763/IJSSH.2013.V3.189
Syed Abdullah, SZ (2022). Menstrual food restrictions and taboos: A qualitative study on rural, resettlement and urban indigenous Temiar of Malaysia. PLoS ONE 17(12): e0279629. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279629
Syed, K. T. (2008). Misconceptions about human rights and women’s rights in Islam. Interchange, 39(2), 245-257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-008-9062-3
UNFPA (2019). Four reasons menstruation is a human rights issue. https://arabstates.unfpa.org/en/news/four-reasons-menstruation-human-rights-issue
Webster, S. B. (2017). The history of the curse: A comparative look at the religious and social taboos of menstruation and the influence they have on American society today (Master's thesis, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2017, 10274798). https://www.proquest.com/openview/
Xin, J., Zhang, Y., Tang, Y., & Yang, Y. (2019). Brain differences between men and women: Evidence from deep learning. Frontiers in neuroscience, 13, 185. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.00185
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammed Houmine
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.