Behind the Veil: Islamic Society's Treatment of Women From the time of birth, a Muslim woman's place in Islamic society already has a Instead of the joyous cry that boys receive of "Allah Abkar"1 whenthey are born, a baby girl is welcomed into the world with a hushed Qurannic prayer. Although Islam venomously denies its role in the suppression of women, a survey ofIslamic countries reveals that women are denied their humanity.The status of women in Islamic countries is undeniably inferior to men. Over thelast twenty years, progress has been made in many countries which has helped elevate theroles which Muslim women play in their societies. Although progress has been made incertain countries, there still exist those Islamic countries where being born femaleguarantees a lack of rights, liberty, and happiness. This paper will explore the question,"What forces are limiting the Muslim woman's equivocal participation in Islamic society?"Islam's followers are approximated at 1.2 billion, which makes it a runner up onlyto Christianity that has about 2 million adherents. Women constitute about half of thatpopulation. However, it is important to note that this paper examines the treatment ofwomen in the strongholds of the Islamic domain. These populations include the Arabcountries of Saudi Arabi, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait,Yemen, Israel, Oman, and Lebanon. Muslim women of the African countries of Sudan,Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia are also weighed in this analysis. In additionto these better known Islamic countries, the paper also observes the societal treatment ofwomen in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Bangladesh. About 90% of all Muslimwomen live in these stated countries.2There are many seemingly simple traditions that make it evident that the positionthat women hold in society is inferior to men. An example of this is in Bangladeshisociety, where women are not allowed to...
