Sunday, October 23, 2016

Week 10

In Afsaneh Najbadi "Crafting an Educated Housewife in Iran", she discusses the Persian books of ethics. In the book, it says what roles a Muslim man and woman should have. A man was in charge of the household and took care of the financial needs of the house. A woman was to take care of the house and that the only purpose is to property and to have kids. It was believed that the women could teach her kids while in the womb, but the need for educated women grew. The role of a Muslim changed from a housewife to manager of the household. She could teach her children growing up that would guarantee the prosper of the country.

In "Marriage, Money, and Sex" and "Lesser Evils: Divorce in Islamic Ethics", Kecia Ali discusses the position of women regarding the subject of marriage, money, and sex. A marriage obligates the man to pay a dowry to the brides family in exchange for considering her future children as a part of the family. Because of the dowry, it is believed that the man has the power over the woman and her reproductive ability. It is also said that Muslim women has their own sexual rights which are overpowered by the need to keep their husbands pleased.

Both readings had interesting views of a woman's role in societies. I found the concept of dowry interesting because it is a lot different that the Indian perception of dowry. The man would pay the brides family in order for her cute offspring to be a part of the family. Whereas in Indian culture, dowry is give to the mans family to marry a woman and take her off her families hands.

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