30 Rights of Muslim Women: A Trusted Guide - Softcover

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Daisy Khan is an award-winning speaker, author, activist, commentator, and the founder of Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE), the largest global network of Muslim women committed to peacebuilding, gender equality, and human dignity. She has been involved in grassroots efforts combating anti-Muslim bias for twenty-plus years and is renowned as a thought leader on Muslim women’s rights and Islam in America. Her memoir, Born with Wings: The Spiritual Journey of a Muslim Woman, published in 2018 by Random House, depicts her spiritual journey as a modern Muslim woman and her circuitous path to leadership. Khan has lectured at major institutions, like the Council on Foreign Relations, Aspen Institute, Chautauqua Institution, World Economic Forum, Islamic Society of North America, and many others. She is a media commentator and an Op-Ed writer who has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, PBS, and BBC and is featured in documentaries and publications like TIME, Guardian, Newsweek, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Elle, and many others. Khan was listed among TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential” People

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Despite the overwhelming evidence favoring women’s political and civic participation and leadership, certain cultural biases in some newly formed patriarchal empires persisted in women’s subordination to male authority and their exclusion from civic participation. The concern over women assuming public political and civic roles was mainly due to some Islamic scholars' interpretation of Quranic verse 4:34. It reads, “Men are the caretakers of women, as men have been provisioned by God over women and tasked with supporting them financially.” (CQ 4:34, An-Nisa/The Women) This verse is misapplied to mean that since men are qawwamun (caretakers) of women, they have authority over them. Conversely, if a woman cannot be above a man, she has no authority to rule over him. Yet this verse gives no indication of men’s superiority over women regarding intelligence, piety, or any other attribute; therefore, it makes little sense to interpret this verse to mean that men are superior to women.

Furthermore, the verse solely deals with family affairs and does not address public life. It refers to a married woman whose husband is commanded to be the wife's primary caretaker. According to Amina Wadud, various translations render this as “in charge of,” or “in charge of the affairs of,” or “managers of the affairs of.” It addresses the man’s responsibility to ensure that a woman is not burdened with other duties while she is fulfilling her child-bearing function, thereby equalizing their responsibility to the family.