What's your opinion on women's rights,
That is to say, what rights do you think a woman ought have?
- That's a loaded question... 'opinion', 'rights', 'women'... We probably have a different conception of what these are, so I'll try to answer my best.
- As to 'opinion', I don't have a say in this. Morality stems from God alone. What we believe regarding Women's rights is what the beloved Prophet (pbuh) taught us, as per God's Will.
- As to 'right'. God alone can grant rights, for all things are God's dominion. God put Man as vicegerent on Earth to cultivate it & as a test, granting us certain rights within His dominion. Going beyond those rights is transgression against God's set boundaries, aka Sharia. Horizontally, we call these the Sacred Rights; namely: Faith, Life, Reason, Family, & Wealth (material & moral wealth, i.e. Honor). Vertically, these are: rights of God, rights of Self, & rights of Others. Right here as in boundary between related parties. For instance, relations with others may be: natural (like mother-child, always valid), contractual (like husband-wife, validity contingent on contract), or situational (like neighbor-neighbor, validity contingent on circumstance).
- As to 'women'. There is no special such category in Sharia. We don't see society in a class-based model or role-based model. A Woman is a human, thus must be guaranteed the Sacred Rights (of Faith, Life, Reason, Family, & Wealth), but also may be in a countless number of relationships with others. When a mother then she is the rights/dues of a mother, when a wife then she has the rights/dues of a wife, when a daughter then she has the rights/dues of a child, when a neighbor then she has the rights/dues of a neighbor, when a tenant then she has the rights/dues of a tenant, when an employee (or employer) then she has the rights/dues of an employee (employer), when a subject (or a ruler) then she has the rights/dues of a subject (or a ruler)...etc. Every person may be in dozens types of relationships with others, if not hundreds, each with their own rights/dues.
- As to your question: what rights woman ought to have? – Going through the list of all rights a woman ought to have in Sharia will take us all month, but I'll mention some. As a human, she is entitled in Sharia to the Sacred Rights, & beyond that accordingly to her place in human society & on Earth. For instance:
Faith, every woman has the right & liberty to chose, believe & practice her faith. A privilege she can only dream of in a Western system, as practice is exclusively dictated & enforced by Secular morality.
Life, every woman -regardless of nationality or affiliation- has a sacred right to inviolability of self (bodily integrity in your terminology), her life not to be taken without just cause & her body not to be harmed without just cause; punishable by retribution or compensation. This is of course non-existent in Western systems, since only national rights are guaranteed therein. No protection is ever guaranteed to non-national women, hence millions of women around the world are massacred, raped, pillaged & displaced by your nations with no consequences or legal recourse whatsoever. In Sharia, a woman is inviolable even in war, unless for just cause (capital crime or enemy combatant). Inviolability (Ismah) in Sharia entails guaranteed protection by the state & legal recourse in case of violation. Even female POW are entitled to protection in Sharia, namely: accommodation (shelter & food), right to exchange (for Muslim prisoners), chance of amnesty (in case of alliance), release (upon services rendered, or conversion), right to ransom, right of naturalization (integrated into Muslim families), & right to emancipation. All these are virtually non-existent in the West.
Family, every woman has a sacred right to Family integrity. As a child to a parent, she is entitled by Sharia to biological parents in wedlock (if dead then the closet family carer, if not then a guardian), safe conception, healthy pregnancy, birth (after 40 days from conception), lineage, due share of inheritance upon birth, good name, nursing, rearing, provision, shelter, security, medical treatment, fairness with other siblings, playing in her first 7 years, education in the next 7, & companions in the next 7...etc. As a wife to a husband, she is entitled by Sharia to adequate guardian (capable father), adequate groom (with appropriate level of piety, character, lineage, wealth, profession, & cultural background), offer & acceptance (mutual consent), wished dower, witnesses, wedding celebration, due inheritance upon contract, paraphernalia, shelter, provision, furniture, jewelry, education, protection, medical treatment, companionship, intimacy, respect, & a maid if she comes from a wealthy family. She is also entitled in case of separation to: waiting period alimony (3 months), widow alimony (up to a year), share of inheritance upon death, blood money if the husband if killed, divorce alimony. As a mother, she is entitled by Sharia to filial duty from her children, inheritance in case of their death, provision from her male children, infant custody for nursing (up to 2 years after birth), nursing compensation, child custody (until 7 years of age), child support unless married with another...etc.
Wealth, every woman has a sacred right & liberty to acquire, own, manage, dispose, cultivate, & protect her wealth, unless in transgression. Women, contrary to men, are materially deficient while morally proficient. Hence, Sharia favors women when it comes to material wealth. In effect, a woman is never required in Sharia to provide for anyone, including herself, regardless of her age or circumstance. For instance, a husband is still required to provide for his wife even if she is wealthy, while he has no right to her wealth, unless with her volition. She is not required to pay taxes on her jewelry, as opposed to men. She is to be compensated for child nursing, rearing & custody, when the husband is not...etc.
- All in all, it's funny how big Western claims about "women's rights" are, when in reality they are abysmal. In truth, you took the rights due to women away & instead gave them the rights of their men. To get access to a woman's privates, is used to take a lot of hurdles. Parent's consent, a ring, a ceremony & vow of commitment. Today, dinner at a restaurant or a drink at a bar gets you the goods, & you can move on to the next one tomorrow. Well... as long as you can it empowerment. – The wife has no legal right to her husband's money while married, but once she divorces him she suddenly does. When she is no longer his wife & brings no benefit to him & goes with other men, THEN she is entitled to HIS money. As absurd & disgustingly unjust this is, it is your stupid man made laws. Even more stupid is your pretense about giving women the "right to work". It's more the obligation to work. In Sharia, women DO have the option –& NOT the constraint like in the West– to chose the burden of work & opt out of maintenance. Your married women are at the mercy of their men for provision while birthing & nursing their children, else having to work to provide for themselves & their children, unless they divorce of course, then she can take some other man's money, even if not the actual father. She gets to decide on the child's fate in life or death, kill the baby, abandon it, or give it up for adoption, & have some dude pay for it if she decides to keep the baby from his own money, else is faced with prison. Savagery at its peak. As to women who are non-national, well they can just bite the dust. Zero rights for you.
