Re: Why are two woman witnesses, equivalent to only one male witness in Islam ?
Another point of view. While writing about the above verse, an Author wrote:
"There is not the slighest trace of discrimination. The normal rule is that women should be safeguarded against the contingency of having to appear as witnesses in judicial proceedings. Therefore, normally a woman should not be called upon to attest a document recording a transaction. This rule may be relaxed in an emergency. But then another difficulty would arise. In the case of male witnesses their memory of transaction that they attest as witnesses would be refreshed when they met socially and the transaction was recalled for one reason or another. In the case of a document recording a transaction, which is attested by one male and one female witness, the female witness, under the Islamic social system, as will presently be appreciated would not normally have frequent occasion to meet the male witness and talk to him, so that there would be little chance of refreshing the memory, it is wisely provided that where only one male witness is available two female witnesses may be called upon so that, in the very words of the text, one may refresh the memory of the other.
The provision is concerned only with the preservation of evidence, and doesnot deal with the weight to be attached to the testimony of a male or female witness. An illustration may help to clear up any doubt on the matter. Assume that a transaction recorded in a document attested by one male and two female witnesses becomes subject of a dispute which comes up for judicial determination. It is then discovered that one of the two female witnesses has in the mean time died. The male witness and the surviving female witness are examined in court and the judge finds that their respective accounts of the terms of the transaction are not entirely in harmony; but he feels very strongly that taking every relevant factor into consideration the testimony of the female witness is more reliable than that of the male witness. In such a case it would be his plain duty to rely on the testimony of the female witness in preference to that of the male witness. There could be no question of discrimination in favor of or against a woman.
Fair explanation. It contains the same essence, given the state of women or commonly prevalent circumstances it is preferable in an Islamic society because it would be easier for two females to frequent each other or talk unchecked about the matter as compared to a man and woman having to discuss it with the same frequency. Nothing about women being emotionally unstable or all those lines of reasoning.
However I still don't see this etched in stone if the circumstances do not warrant it. Like in todays society where contracts are pre-written and available, witnesses have little value. The need for witnesses is emphasized when the contract is being written on the fly and the people present should ensure it is contracted the way it is discussed. In todays societies if you don't like the contract you don't sign the dotted line. Norms have changed, procedures of doing loans have changed.