Woman in Mesopotamians and the Islamic Culture Essay Sample

We have seen it time and time again no matter what religion; women being held down and not being respected like a man. We can find patriarchy and misogyny being rubbed into women’s faces dating all the way back to the BCE time period. Women are being told that they are not good enough, strong enough, smart enough on a daily basis. Having gender roles being placed on them, and that they must be good wives, mothers, and housekeepers and that is it.  Although both the Mesopotamians and the Islamic culture treat men and women almost the same, women are being seen as lesser then any man. More often than not woman are not referred to in holy book, texts, and even history. Only citing what the men have done and not recognizing any major accomplishments a woman has achieved. Only referring to the woman as wives and mothers and never mentioning if they have rights or not. Although the Mesopotamians are no longer around the ideologies of women and them being below men on the totem pole are still around till this day. While in both of these culture’s women are basically disregarded and tossed off to the side; it seems that the Islamic culture is worse than the Mesopotamians. Muslim women are over sexualized and are held at a lower standard than men. These gender roles are still in place today and Muslim women are still expected to bow down to their husbands. The Islamic women who worship Allah the same as the men are still not treated as equals and are not valued the same. 

Within the Mesopotamian culture important and high-ranking jobs were typically only given to men. Though not impossible it was often a man’s job to either be a king or a nobility. Many teachers and tutors were both men and women but only men could be scribes, and it was because it was believed that women were not intelligent enough to fully understand and master literacy. Woman were only looked at like as mothers, wives, and housekeepers like most ancient societies. Women were not even allowed to pick who they wanted to marry. The fathers set up arranged marriages for their daughters and it was almost like a contract. A dowry was paid by the father of the bride and the grooms father paid a bride price. A stable family was the main focus of marriages not necessarily the love between the mother and father. Women were allowed to leave marriages if they were not happy, “If a woman hates her husband so much that she says ‘you many not have me’, her case may be investigated by the city council, and if she is careful and innocent, even though her husband has been going out and treating her poorly, that women, without incurring any blame at all, may take her dowry and return to her father” (code of Hammurabi). Men were allowed to divorce their wives if they were childless or if they embarrassed them. Making it much easier on men if they want to divorce and giving women many options as they have to prove abuse or adultery and the case has to be reviewed. Within the code of Hammurabi women don’t have many rights and have worse punishments if they are found to break one of these codes. Woman/women isn’t used very often within the code of Hammurabi as woman are mainly referred to as ‘wife’.  Woman are only seen as an accessory to their husband and are expected to remain loyal and provide for their children. If a woman is found to have cheated on her husband she will be put to death whereas if a man is found cheating on his wife there is no punishment. “If the wife of an upper class man has been caught while sleeping with another man, they shall tie them both up and throw them into the water. If the husband of the women wishes to spare his wife, then the king may in turn order his subject spared” (code of Hammurabi). The women are only mentioned in the code of Hammurabi when talking about marriage and or their husbands. “If an upper class man’s wife has caused her husband’s death because of another man, the woman shall be impaled on stakes” (code of Hammurabi). Even in crimes of incest men still are not killed off even if it is against their own daughters, “if an upper class man sleeps with his daughter, he shall be forced to leave the city” (code of Hammurabi). But a woman can be put to death for committing adultery against her husband. Most of the laws put into place during this time targeted women specifically on cheating on their spouses and they could either be put to death or had a very serious and painful punishment. Whereas men had to commit very serious crimes including stealing, murder, etc. for them to be punished in the Mesopotamian society. 

Muslim women are still treated as property and having to bow down to their husbands. The Quran, the holy book of Islam and it is the direct word of Allah, God. It is clearly stated in the Quran that men are superior to women, “Men are superior to women on account of the qualities with which god hath gifted the one above the other, and on account of the outlay they make from their substances for them. Virtuous women are obe-dient, careful, during the husband’s absence, because God hath of them been careful. But chide those for who refractoriness ye have cause to fear; removed them into beds apart, and scrourge them. But if they are obedient to you, then seek not occasion against them” (Quran). The word obedient is said to be a practice for the wives as if they are dogs obeying their owners. We can clearly see men are seen as superior as Allah is often times referred to as a man. Even though in the Quran Allah is perceived to have no body and no gender, but can many times be referred to as a he. Placing the one subject every Muslim praises and looks up to as a man. Although both men and women are expected to practice modesty while out in public women have greater restrictions placed on them. Women dress so that they cover their entire bodies and hair and only show their hands. Wearing a hijab at all time while in public and not showing any skin to remain as modest as possible. If a Muslim women is seen showing her body or not having a hijab on it is assumed that she is ‘asking for it’ and being immodest. There is one exception and that in ancient Mali. In the travels of Ibn Battuta it is stated, “Their women are of surpassing beauty, and are shown more respect than the men” “A person’s heirs are his sister’s sons, not his own sons. This is a thing which I have seen nowhere in the world except among the Indians of Malabar” “Yet their women show no bashfulness before men and do not veil themselves, though they are assiduous in attending prayers. Any man who wishes to marry one of them may do so, they do not travel with their husbands” (the travels of Ibn Battuta in Mali). Women and men are allowed to be friends and even have ‘companions’ outside of their marriages and there is no problem with it. Other than this one ancient exception the women are treated like property and not actual human beings. “And it is a custom of his people that if one of them should have reared a beautiful daughter he offers her to the king as a concubine (ama mawtu’a) and he possess her without a marriage ceremony as slaves are possessed” ( Al’Umari describes Mansa Musa of Mali). Concubine meaning lower status than wife or a mistress. Taking young girls from there home to simply be there for his pleasure and for them to have no life other than that. The five pillars are the basic duties a Muslim must follow including “confession that there is but one god, Allah and Muhammad is his prophet; prayer to Allah: five times daily, with special prayer on Friday, facing Mecca; Fasting: observation of the penitential fast(from dawn to sunset) during the month of Ramadan; pilgrimage (Hajj), if possible, once in ones life to pray at Mecca; Alms giving to the needy, often collected as a standardized tax (tithe) under the Abbasids” (formation of Islam). These are the five basic rules that ever Muslim must follow and yet women are scrutinized and have harsher expectations put on to them to push modesty. 

While women faced sexism in both of these cultures and some still do till this day it is obvious that Muslim women face a harsher lifestyle. It’s stated in the Quran that many of them memorized as a child and it is embedded into their heads that they must remain modest and remain less superior to all men. While the Mesopotamians treated women unfairly the Muslim culture seems to take it to another level. Requiring difference in clothing and the way they are allowed to act. Although all Muslim women follow the rules and regulations stated in the Quran they will always been seen lesser than a man.