Woman Between Islam and Western Society
2. Woman in Society
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reaffirming what is laid down as gospel truth in the
Old Testament Book of Genesis.
WOMEN’S STATUS IN ISLAM
In ancient times, thanks to the unreasoning and
unreasonable approach fostered by superstition,
speculation and other forms of irrational thinking,
woman came to be considered inferior, one
distressing result of which was that she was
deprived, among many other things, of the right to
inherit property. She was not even entitled to a
share of family property. How great an
incapacitating factor this was may be judged from
the neglect and degrading treatment which women
had to suffer for centuries. It was not until the
advent of Islam, that, for the first time in the history
of mankind, women were given their due legal
rights over property. The famous historian J.M.
Roberts writes:
Its coming was in many ways revolutionary.
It kept women, for example, in an inferior
position, but gave them legal rights over
property not available to women in many
European countries until the nineteenth
