Patriarchal Custom
\r\nWomen's rights in Islam is an issue that will not be explained away by reference to the fact that Islam honoured women in the Arabia of the seventh century, that women's rights are enshrined in the Quran, or that women dominate the private space in Islamic life. All of these are true, but they bear little relation to the real condition of women in Muslim societies and the raw deal they receive under the camouflage of the Shariah. Seeking a balance in the male-female relationship in Islam requires not only a reexamination of the roots of inequality but also a redefinition of the role of men according to the Quran and the Shariah. Balance is not a compromise between equality and inequality, but a separate state that strives for a harmonious, just, and stable outcome. Womens rights in Islam cannot be enhanced without a parallel insistence that men must also adhere to Quranic injunctions concerning their behaviour and conduct. Not only the women are to observe modesty and courtesy in their outer behaviour and inner disposition; men are also obliged to do the same. But Muslim societies are mainly patriarchal, often reflecting historical, tribal values that privilege males over females. These attitudes have persisted into modern times, so that the Quranic standards of conduct demanded of men, especially in terms of fairness to women, are often ignored or flouted in practice.
\r\nThe textual data of Quran and hadith can accommodate different understandings of gender equality, if one is open to attempting such and willing to moderate one's views and approaches to issues. The textual guidelines of Shariah should not be read so rigidly as to insist on closing the door to healthy adjustment and ijtihad as well as to reasonable acceptance of the often inevitable influences of science and civilization. The decline of ijtihad and the decidedly damaging prevalence of blind imitation and taqlid, the influence of entrenched patriarchal custom, as well as the prevailing demands of modern society and secularist culture are among the factors responsible for the present state of imbalances in gender justice and Islamic family laws of many Muslim societies. It is now widely recognized that certain aspects of the fiqh rulings that bear the vestiges of medieval society values call for revision and systematic reform in the true spirits of tajdid (renewal), Islah (reform), and ijtihad that resonate to the spirit of Quranic guidelines on promoting and accepting that which is beneficial and good, and rejecting that which is harmful, excessive, oppressive, and unjust.
\r\nCompiled From:
\r\n \"The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam: The Qur'anic Principle of Wasatiyyah\" - Mohammad Hashim Kamali, p. 193