LET'S PREVENT HARM IN ISLAM!: FEMICIDE AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

The Quran and Hadith contain texts that can be interpreted as defending femicide, gender-based violence, rape, or sexual slavery. Therefore, it is not surprising that aggression against women is widespread in many Muslim countries.

There are national rankings based on the percentages of women who have experienced gender-based violence, according to studies by international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Human Rights Watch, and other human rights entities. The majority of countries topping these rankings are Muslim-majority nations:

1. Afghanistan: up to 87% of women have suffered gender-based aggression. Muslim.

2. Pakistan: 70-90%. Muslim.

3. Somalia: over 70%. Muslim.

4. Papua New Guinea: up to 70%. Christian.

5. Bangladesh: 60-70%. Muslim.

6. Sudan: 60-70%. Muslim.

7. Morocco: 62.8%. Muslim.

8. East Timor: over 60%. Christian.

9. Democratic Republic of Congo: around 60%. Christian.

10. Honduras: around 60%. Christian.

11. Yemen: over 50%. Muslim.

12. Iraq: over 50%. Muslim.

Likewise, countries with the highest percentages of the population approving aggression against women in certain cases are also often Muslim-majority, based on studies by international entities such as the Pew Research Center, the World Health Organization, UN Women, and other public opinion surveys.

Let’s see what the Quran says about aggression against women.

FEMICIDE

Qur’an 4:15:

“And as for those of your women who commit indecency, call four witnesses from among yourselves against them; and if they testify, confine them to houses until death takes them or Allah ordains another way for them.”

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AGAINST DISOBEDIENT WOMEN

Quran 4:34:

“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has made one of them excel over the other and because they spend from their wealth. (…) As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them, leave them alone in their beds, and strike them. But if they obey you, do not seek means against them.”

RAPE AND SEXUAL SLAVERY

Quran 2:223:

“Your women are your tillage; so go to your tillage as you please. And put forth something for yourselves.”

Quran 4:24:

“And also forbidden to you are all married women, except those whom your right hands possess (i.e., female slaves).”

This verse prohibits sexual relations with married women, except in the case of captured female slaves.

Quran: 23:5-6

“And those who guard their chastity, except with their wives or those whom their right hands possess (female slaves), for they are not to be blamed.”

This verse also permits sexual relations with female slaves.

Quran 33:50:

“O Prophet! We have made lawful for you your wives to whom you have given their dowries, and those whom you possess from among the captives of war whom Allah has granted you.”

In fact, Muhammad and his warriors turned women from conquered cities and towns into their sex slaves. They killed the men and enslaved the women, who were distributed among the Muslim warriors along with the spoils of war. This was one of the reasons why so many men enlisted in Muhammad’s army, as a way to quickly enrich themselves and acquire female slaves to satisfy their sexual needs.

LET’S END SUCH EVILS ONCE AND FOR ALL!

Fortunately, there are increasingly more reformist scholars and modernist Muslims who oppose all of the above. They offer a reinterpretation that contextualizes these verses in the Middle Ages, when violence against women and practices such as slavery, rape, and the treatment of war captives were normalized.

They distance themselves from traditional Islam and adopt a firm stance against aggression and sexual abuse towards women, based on Islamic principles of justice and equity. They promote progressive interpretations that emphasize respect for women’s rights, gender equality, and protection against violence. They reject patriarchal and cultural practices that contradict these values, advocating for a contemporary understanding that harmonizes Islamic principles with universal human rights.

Read LET’S LIVE WITHOUT HARMING! Not women either

LIVE WITHOUT HARMING: Let’s Defend Women’s Rights

Let’s help them spread their civilized version of Islam. How?

1. Signing to ask all Muslim religious leaders to interpret the Quran benignly. Sign…

2. Signing to ask all governments to guarantee the protection and full equal rights of women. Sign…

3. Signing these other campaigns…

4. Sharing these signature campaigns and this article with as many people as possible. Read more…

5. By convincing the Muslims you know of the desirability of a peaceful, benign, and liberal Islam.

If you stand by and do nothing, you are complicit in the mistreatment of women. If you do something, you will contribute to achieving a tolerant and cruelty-free Islam that respects them.

HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT HARMING? Let us not be accomplices or contributors to injustice

Thank you for doing something for a less aggressive and happier world.