Women in Islamic Cultures
Allee Rodenbaugh
Florida Southern College

Women in Islamic Cultures In modern western culture many feminists believe that equality between men and women is unjust and favorites men in occupation, finances, and cultural respects. Although there is still a gender gap in terms of equality in the West, this separation pales in comparison to that in modern day Eastern cultures. Women in some Eastern cultures are regarded as the inferior gender and are treated as such physically, emotionally, psychologically and financially. Through compliance, obedience, and conformity women in these oppressive cultures are forced to accept their inequality and embrace their cultural position. The religions in Islam are a main factor as to why the gender gap is so prevalent. Compliance is the change in behavior due to a direct request from another person. In Eastern cultures it is expected that women are completely compliant (Erella, 2000). Sexuality is considered part of women’s core identity in most Eastern Islamic cultures (Engineer, 2008). Many women believe that if their husband is not completely pleased with them, they have no way of entering “paradise,” which is Islam’s version of the Christian Heaven. This leads wives to submit themselves entirely to their husband in hope that their husband will be pleased with them. Female circumcision has become a normal requirement for some Islamic cultures. A number of Islamic men’s groups believe that women deserve no sexual pleasure; therefore, incision in the women’s vagina takes place to remove any likelihood. This in itself grants men the social power that they are the only deserving gender. Psychological repercussions for the women are powerful and extreme. Not only are the women degraded physically, but emotionally as well (Saddawi, 2001). Polygamy is habitual for Eastern Islamic cultures (Engineer, 2008). Men are allowed to have numerous wives, while women are held to the standard of one husband only. There have been several instances where the Taliban have brutally murdered Islamic women for having an affair, although her husband had over 5 other wives. Most women accept this inequality in marriages because of the normalcy in their society. Islamic women conform to this norm and they justify their effort to make their marriage worth it to them (Ahmed, 2011). Conformity is the compliance with standards, rules, laws, or behavior in accordance with socially accepted standards.. In most Eastern cultures, Islamic women wear full burqas out of respect for their God and respect for their husband (Macdonald, 2006). The women believe it is imperative to cover themselves for modesty and to hide all of their beauty, because their father or spouse has ownership over it. These Eastern cultures have influenced women to believe their beauty is to always be hidden. Mindless conformity takes place for some Islamic women whose faith is not the core principal influencing them to wear one (Ahmed, 2011). These women wear full burqas in the hottest of seasons to avoid being seen as deviant. Education is another aspect of life in some eastern cultures that demonstrates the inequality between men and women (Macdonald, 2006). Groups of people, such as the Taliban Pakistan, who are so against the education of women that they will actually shoot or throw acid on a girl they see attending a school or university (Khan, 2012). According to CNN, "Acid throwing is frequently used as a weapon in Pakistan to punish women for acts that allegedly bring dishonor to the family, or just to enact revenge." This method is effective not only for punishing the woman, but also as showing others what horrible consequences there will be for violating their rule. Just recently, a school girl, Malala Yousufzai, who has been an activist for women's right in Pakistan, was shot in transit to school. In addition, the literacy level is higher for men in all countries in the middle east with the