Status of Hindu Women VS Muslim Women

Society Religion & Philosophy
1

Assalamualaikum

I hope you all are in the best of health & iman inshallah.
The Brahmins make a big campaign that Islam restricts the freedom of women. Let us compare the positions of the Hindu woman and the Muslim woman. See the following facts for comparison.

The Hindu Woman:

  1. The Hindu Woman has no right to divorce her husband.

  2. She has no property or inheritance rights.

  3. Choice of partner is limited because she can only marry within her own caste; moreover her horoscope must match that of the intending bridegroom/family.

  4. The family of the girl has to offer an enormous dowry to the bridegroom/family.

  5. If her husband dies she should commit Sati (being cremated with her dead husband). Since today’s law forbids Sati, society mainly punishes her in other “holy” ways (see below).

  6. She cannot remarry.

  7. The widow is considered to be a curse and must not be seen in public. She cannot wear jewelry or colourful clothes. (She should not even take part in her children’s marriage!)

  8. Child and infant marriage is encouraged.

The Muslim Woman:

1.The Muslim woman has the same right as the Muslim man in all matters including divorce.

  1. She enjoys property and inheritance rights. (Which other religion grants women these rights?). She can also conduct her own separate business.

  2. She can marry any Muslim of her choice. If her parents choose a partner for her, her consent must be taken.

  3. The dowry in Islam is a gift from a husband to his wife (not the other way around as is practiced by some ignorant Muslims).

  4. A Muslim widow is encouraged to remarry, and her remarriage is the responsibility of the Muslim society.

6.Mixed marriage is encouraged and is a means to prevent racism creeping in society.

  1. A Muslim mother is given the highest form of respect.

What right do the Hindus have to criticize the Muslims? Have you ever heard of a Muslim burning his wife? In parts of India women die daily of dowry deaths - Hindu women being burnt by the husband or in-laws. The Brahmins are trying to claim that Muslims do not give freedom to their women. I ask you again. “Do the Hindus respect their women?”

You be the judge.

2

India requires all Hindu, Christian, Sikh and Buddhist men who want to
divorce their wives to file through lengthy court proceedings and
judges almost always force the men to pay alimony and child support.

Muslim men, on the other hand, are allowed to simply say "talaq, talaq,
talaq" and only obligated to support their ex-wives and children 3
months. This is based upon the traditional interpretation of the
Sharia, and Indian policy is to let every religious community be
governed by their own laws in personal matters like marriage, divorce
and inheritance.

This double-standard has women's groups up in arms, both for the sake
of victimized Muslim women as well as for Hindu women who say their
husbands pretend to convert to Islam so that they can divorce them with
impunity.

However, the Indian government said in early September that they will
not enact the controversial law that would force Muslim men to be more
responsible in this matter because many Indian Muslims continue to
insist upon this interpretation of the Sharia despite many other Muslim
countries having fairer divorce laws, and the Indian government is very
afraid of upsetting the Muslim community in India, especially given the
tensions since the Babri Masjid incident and the ascendancy of the
extremist Hindu BJP which has put Muslims on the defensive and afraid
that their rights will be infringed.

Thus, the only way that Muslim women will be able to get laws that
protect them from capricious husbands is if the Indian Muslim community
from within itself rise to this challenge and take this cause forward.
This will also prevent false conversions by Hindu men looking for a way
out, which gives a bad name to Islam in India.

3

Have you ever heard of a Muslim burning his wife?

Yes, actually I have heard of a Muslim burning his wife. Pick up any Pakistani newspaper and chances are you will read about it as well. It happens at least a few times every week in Pakistan, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi, Kuwait, etc. etc. As you must already be aware, it's called "honor" crimes, and we Muslims are involved in this. If it is not a case of a daughter-in-law being burned (which I have read in Dawn far too many times), then it's an acid attack.

What I'm trying to state is that horrific crimes against women DO occur at the hands of Muslims, and saying otherwise is simply a falsehood. Although most of us (I hope) are aware that there is no basis in Islam whatsoever for such a heinous act, such barbaric crimes ARE still taking place at the hands of Muslims in many regions of the world.

4

Ladies and Gents the objectives are the status of women in Hinduism v Islam.. Not what hindus or muslims are doing.

5

Mister Abdali,

You must have missed the following lines, "What right do the Hindus have to criticize the Muslims? Have you ever heard of a Muslim burning his wife?" I believe the reply you're referring to is truly justified in accordance with the original post.

6

[quote]
Originally posted by Girl from Quraysh:
**Mister Abdali,

You must have missed the following lines, "What right do the Hindus have to criticize the Muslims? Have you ever heard of a Muslim burning his wife?" I believe the reply you're referring to is truly justified in accordance with the original post.

**
[/quote]

According to the original post and its objective even one of the British professor of history (don't remember his name) confessed on BBC that Islam gave rights to women before the British did.

To answer your question yes I have heard several times muslim burning their wifes but it has absolutely without any doubt nothing to do with Islam.

7

both countries have lot of social problems
regarding women and there are laws protect women but it is not enforced. muder is murder
in any religen or society since it is happening in a family situation it is very hard to prove and cruel people take advantage of these .

8

[quote]
Originally posted by rvikz:
both countries have lot of social problems
regarding women and there are laws protect women but it is not enforced. muder is murder
in any religen or society since it is happening in a family situation it is very hard to prove and cruel people take advantage of these .
[/quote]

Thats all OK and its sounds very nice too, at least on the paper.

The author is talking about Hindu v Islam not India v Pak.

9

>>>The author is talking about Hindu v Islam not India v Pak.<<<

Point taken.

But I don't think its alright to simply dismiss such things on the basis that they have nothing to do with islam nor are condoned in islam. It doesn't just stop there. Because the truth is that there are some muslims out there that do carry out such acts albeit in direct disregard towards islamic teachings. What i'm trying to say, is that its not something that can be ignored, or shrugged off, it has to be acknowledged and addressed.

10
  • [quote] Originally posted by Abdali:* Ladies and Gents the objectives are the status of women in Hinduism v Islam.. Not what hindus or muslims are doing. [/quote]

Almost missed your post. Abdali, my original post was in response to a direct question by Rehaan regarding the practices of Muslims, i.e., "Have you ever heard of a Muslim burning his wife?" I hope I did not come out sounding spiteful in my reply to him, but I could only answer his question truthfully which I hope I have. It would have been a completely different issue for me had he asked, "Have you ever read that Islam supports the burning of a wife?"
You will note that his last query in his post is, "I ask you again. 'Do the Hindus respect their women?'", hence leading me to believe that one of the aspects being discussed is, in fact, the practices of Hindus and Muslims. However I admit, at any rate, that this is all semantic gymnastics; what assumes real importance, as noted by GfQ, is to address these serious issues in an effective manner. Rather than trying to score points by stating which religion's adherents are the "worst" and the "best" towards females, it might be much more productive and helpful - particularly from the victims' point of view - to talk about how to address this issue that cuts across all boundaries.

11

Ibrahim says; Greetings of Peace to one and all

Dear Brethren

The moment one tries to convey that a Jew /Christian / Hindu /or Muslim had done such and such and on that basis the religion he/she is practicing is WRONG or at FAULT, such persons have not UNDERSTOOD life or the laws prescribed for mankind by their Creator.

The very reason why we are given freedom of choice EVEN though we have been sent a revelation which can be easily enforced by The Creator is to determine our ability to behave without compulsion.

Hence SCRIPTURE which teaches mankind to misbehave or teaches us to become racists or commit crimes against one another have to be judged on the basis of what they teach NOT ON THE BASIS OF WHAT PEOPLE MAY OR MAY NOT DO as an adherent to such teachings.

If we were to discuss on the basis of how woman are being ill treated within our so called civilized societies Than you may want to consider this ( just for your info since thread is about why Muslim woman and Hindu woman are observing certain customs which are rooted in scripture. )

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES

http://209.207.163.32/issues/violence/stats.html

MURDER . Every day four women die in this country as a result of domestic
violence, the euphemism for murders and assaults by husbands and boyfriends. That’s >approximately 1,400 women a year, according to the FBI.
The number of women who have been murdered >by their intimate partners is greater than >the number of soldiers killed in the >Vietnam War.

** BATTERING . Although only 572,000 reports of assault by intimates are
officially reported to federal officials each year, the most conservative
estimates indicate two to four million >women of all races and classes are
battered each year.** At least 170,000 of >those violent incidents are serious enough >to require hospitalization, emergency room >care or a doctor’s attention.

** SEXUAL ASSAULT . Every year approximately 132,000 women report that they
have been victims of rape or attempted rape, and more than half of them
knew their attackers. It’s estimated that two to six times that many women
are raped, but do not report it.** Every year 1.2 million women are forcibly
raped by their current or former male partners, some more than once.

** THE TARGETS . Women are 10 times more likely than men to be victimized by
an intimate. Young women, women who are separated, divorced or single,
low- income women and African-American women are disproportionately
victims of assault and rape. Domestic violence rates are five times higher
among families below poverty levels, and severe spouse abuse is twice as
likely to be committed by unemployed men as by those working full time.**

IMPACT ON CHILDREN . Violent juvenile offenders are four times more likely
to have grown up in homes where they saw violence. Children who have
witnessed violence at home are also five times more likely to commit or
suffer violence when they become adults.

IMPACT ON HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES . Women who are battered have more
than twice the health care needs and costs >than those who are never battered. >Approximately 17 percent of pregnant women >report having been battered, and the >results include miscarriages, stillbirths >and a two to four times greater likelihood >of bearing a low birth weight baby. Abused >women are disproportionately represented >among the homeless and suicide victims. >Victims of domestic violence are being >denied insurance in some states because >they are considered to have a “pre-existing >condition.”

** LEGISLATION . In 1994, the National Organization for Women, the NOW Legal
Defense and Education Fund, and other organizations finally secured
passage of the Violence Against Women Act, which provides a record breaking
$1.8 billion to address issues of violence against women. **

SOURCES:
“Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report”,
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., January 1994.

“The National Women’s Study,” Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center,
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 1992.

“Five Issues In American Health,” American Medical Association, Chicago,
1991.

Bullock, Linda F. and Judith McFarlane, “The Birth Weight/Battering
Connection,” Journal of American Nursing, September 1989.

McFarlane, Judith, et. al., “Assessing for Abuse During Pregnancy,”
Journal of the American Medical Association, June 17, 1992.

Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics, 1992.

Sheehan, Myra A. “An Interstate Compact on Domestic Violence: What are the
Advantages?” Juvenile and Family Justice Today, 1993.

Sherman, Lawrence W. et al. Domestic Violence: Experiments and Dilemmas,
1990.

A study of five cities – New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and
Minneapolis – by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, published in
1992.

Ibrahim says: Also do note that much of the abuse taking place in the west and Christian countries in NEVER reported internationally and YES all of mankind have to share equal blame for such situations . ** On the other hand this forum is about RELIGION which means it is about religious teachings, sacred traditions and the like not about criminals and abusers of various religions.

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** Wisdom we know is the knowledge of good and evil – not the strength to chose between the two. **

12

[quote]
Originally posted by Girl from Quraysh:
**>>>The author is talking about Hindu v Islam not India v Pak.<<<

Point taken.

But I don't think its alright to simply dismiss such things on the basis that they have nothing to do with islam
**
[/quote]

Please point us where Islam sanctioned burning of women. So its perfectly alright for me to abuse my wife and then blame it on Islam even though I hardly follow Islam.

Abuse of women also takes place in the west and communits east so would they blame? .

You are talking about ttw different things.
Muslims and Islam, pick one......

13

Pak vs Indian, India vs Pak, Hindu vs Muslim,Muslim vs Hindu, Jewish vs Christian, Christian vs Jewish, Jewish vs Muslim, Muslim vs Jewish, Islam vs Christianity, Christianity vs Islam, Palis vs Israelis, Israeli vs Palis, US vs Irak, Irak vs US etc etc etc....HUMAN VS HUMAN?!?

"kaisay na karta usko main pyar, uski haseen main sukh thay hazaar, bichar gayay hum dukh ki hay baat"

14

The ignorance of man

http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/rolleyes.gif

the eternal curse!!

15

so true.