Women in Islam and Human Rights in the Contemporary Age

In today’s contemporary age, due to the pervasive chauvinist and repressive experiences of the women in Islam, Muslim women felt that the only way to be emancipated intellectually, socially, politically and economically was through fighting for their basic human rights. There is a mounting growth of Muslim women demanding for their rights guaranteed to them by Islam to be applied in their societies. Equally, women are advancing to the ranks of Islamic scholars, therefore providing their correct literature and voices different from what had been addressed by men. This study analyses the challenges and conditions that women in Islam have, their inherent human rights, and their emancipation to create exemplary influential roles among fellow Muslim women. This study relied mainly on secondary data through the doctrines of the Quran, Sunnah or the practices of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Hadith or spoken sayings ascribed by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and content from various journal articles, books, and major publications. The objectives of the research are to examine the conditions and challenges facing Muslim women in a rapidly globalizing world and to analyze how Islamic religious precepts have been overshadowed by conservative cultural practices and traditions of some Muslim societies. This research similarly aims to explore the gross distortions, misconceptions, falsehoods, and misinformation about the nature of Muslim women’s rights, and to analyze how the continued tradition-bound suppression has not helped the cause of gender development in many Muslim societies. It seeks to bridge the gap that women in Islam can still have their inherent human rights amidst the challenges involved within the framework of their cultural societies and in International Relations.