Rights of Women and Islam
By Fazeela Wadan
Fairfax, Virginia

In the 1920s, Susan B. Anthony led a women’s suffrage movement for equal rights and treatment of women. The voices of women were finally heard in the Western society. However, a man who went by the name of Muhammad helped grant these rights to women 1,400 years ago. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) fought for the equal rights of women throughout his life. He established the rights of inheritance for women. At that time, only male members could inherit wealth or land and Prophet Mohammad's efforts constituted a huge leap forward. He also advocated equal treatment of daughters and sons and sometimes may have stressed the gentler care of daughters. Although the concept of feminism is less than a millennium years old in the Western society, Prophet Muhammad introduced it a long time back in the deserts of Arabia. Isn’t it ironic that Muslim women are the ones who are viewed as oppressed?