NOTES: SOURCES FROM WIKIPEDIA..
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Female employment
The labor force in the Caliphate were employed from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, while both men and women were involved in diverse occupations and economic activities.
Women were employed in a wide range of commercial activities and diverse occupations in the primary sector (as farmers, for example), secondary sector (as construction workers, dyers, spinners, etc.) and tertiary sector (as investors, doctors, nurses, presidents of guilds, brokers, peddlers, lenders, scholars, etc.). Muslim women also held a monopoly over certain branches of the textile industry,the largest and most specialized and market-oriented industry at the time, in occupations such as spinning, dyeing, and embroidery. In comparison, female property rights and wage labour were relatively uncommon in Europe until the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries.
In the 12th century, the famous Islamic philosopher and qadi (judge) Ibn Rushd, known to the West as Averroes, claimed that women were equal to men in all respects and possessed equal capacities to shine in peace and in war, citing examples of female warriors among the Arabs, Greeks and Africans to support his case. In early Muslim history, examples of notable female Muslims who fought during the Muslim conquests and Fitna (civil wars) as soldiers or generals included Nusaybah Bint k’ab Al Maziniyyah a.k.a. Umm Amarah, Aisha,Kahula and Wafeira.
A unique feature of medieval Muslim hospitals was the role of female staff, who were rarely employed in hospitals elsewhere in the world. Medieval Muslim hospitals commonly employed female nurses. Muslim hospitals were also the first to employ female physicians, the most famous being two female physicians from the Banu Zuhr family who served the Almohad ruler Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur in the 12th century.[40] This was necessary due to the segregation between male and female patients in Islamic hospitals. Later in the 15th century, female surgeons were illustrated for the first time in Şerafeddin Sabuncuoğlu's Cerrahiyyetu'l-Haniyye (Imperial Surgery).
Employment patterns today
Patterns of women's employment vary throughout the Muslim world: as of 2005, 16% of Pakistani women were "economically active" (either employed, or unemployed but available to furnish labor), whereas 52% of Indonesian women were.
Women are allowed to work in Islam, subject to certain conditions, such as if a woman is in financial need and her employment does not cause her to neglect her role as a mother and wife.
It has been claimed that it is the responsibility of the Muslim community to organize work for women, so that she can do so in a Muslim cultural atmosphere, where her rights (as set out in the Qur'an) are respected.[44] Islamic law however, permits women to work in Islamic conditions.[44]
The work should not require the man or the woman to violate Islamic law (e.g., serving alcohol), and be mindful of the woman's safety.
If the work requires the woman to leave her home, she must maintain her 'modesty' just as with men.
Due to cultural and not religious beliefs, in some cases, when women have the right to work and are educated, women's job opportunities may in practice be unequal to those of men. In Egypt for example, women have limited opportunities to work in the private sector because women are still expected to put their role in the family first, which causes men to be seen as more reliable in the long term.
An indicator of the attitude of the Qur'an to women in the workplace can be seen in the quotes regarding working women. These are the examples of two female shepherds Qur'an 28:23, and Khadijah (prophet Muhammad's wife), who was an eminent businesswoman. Khadijah is called up as a role model for females in the Qur'an.
Dress code
Main articles: Hijab and Hijab by country
Hijab is the Qur'anic requirement that Muslims, both male and female, dress and behave modestly. The most important Qur'anic verse relating to hijab is sura 24:31, which says, "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts and not to display their adornment except that which ordinarily appears thereof and to draw their headcovers over their chests and not to display their adornment except to their [maharim]..."
There are regional and sectarian variations of the veil associated with hijab. Depending upon local views regarding female modesty, they may or may not cover the face or the eyes, or the entire body. These variations include:
A map showing dress code types in Islamic countries, 2008.
Hijab - A scarf covering the hair.
Chador - A cloak covering the head and body, but leaving the face uncovered; worn by many women in Iran when outside the home.
Shayla - A long rectangular scarf, pinned or tucked at the shoulder, leaving the face uncovered; worn by many women in the Persian Gulf region.
Khimar - A long rectangular scarf, covering the head, neck and shoulders, but leaving the face uncovered.
Burka - Covers the entire head and body, including the eyes; the wearer sees through a cloth mesh eye veil sewn into the burka.
Al-Amira - A two-piece veil that includes a close-fitting cap and a tube-shaped scarf covering the head and neck, but leaving the face uncovered.
Niqab - A veil that leaves the eye clear (although it may be worn with an eye veil), and worn with a headscarf.
The hijab, and the veil in particular, have often been viewed by many as a sign of oppression of Muslim women.
The wearing of the hijab has become controversial in countries where Muslims are a minority, and where majority secular opinions regard the hijab as violating women's freedom, especially in Europe amid increasing immigration of Muslims.
The 2006 United Kingdom debate over veils and the 2004 French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools are two notable examples. However, it is argued that if it is acceptable for a Christian Nun to cover her head and body for religious reasons, then why is it not for a Muslim woman?
In France, the law banning the wearing of a face veil in public is being enforced. Sentencing includes a 150 euro fine and a citizenship course. Two women were detained in April 2011 when the law came into force.
In some countries where Muslims are a minority, there is much less public opposition to the practise, although concerns about it are discussed. Canadian media, for example, have covered controversies where concerns have been raised over the veil being a possible security risk, as in cases where Muslim women have refused to remove their niqab or burka veil for voter identification at polls. In 2007, the federal government of Canada introduced a bill to ban face coverings for voter identification, but this bill was dropped as not required:
it was pointed out that thousands of Canadians have no photo ID. Requiring them to show their faces would be meaningless without photo identification against which to verify their identities. The Elections Act gives voters three ways to prove their identification in order to cast a ballot: provide a government photo ID; provide two pieces of approved ID, at least one of which must state their address (but neither of which must contain a photo); or have another voter registered in the same district vouch for them.
not yet finish, to be continued....
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