This is a matter which is so very close to my heart, obviously yes i am a woman so i will care about women's rights but not only that, through personal experiences as well as seeing other women being oppressed i believe this is a matter that needs shouting about. ALWAYS TREAT YOUR WOMEN AS BEST YOU CAN. Whether it be your sister, your mother, your daughter, or your wife. Sometimes people are oppressing others without even realising it and they think they are doing nothing wrong.

The stories i hear about my fellow sisters being oppressed through domestic violence, forced marriage, being pressured into a marriage they do not want, being lured into a marriage which isn't good for them or something they want, honour violence and sisters being at risk of honour killings are all too frequent. It makes me wonder what goes through the men and families minds that are subjecting these women to this. It breaks my heart and upsets me to know that this still goes on. Times have advanced yet this cruel behaviour remains. One of the main reasons this carries on is people keep quiet, i don't mean the victims (because they are too afraid to speak out) but i mean the onlookers, yes those who know the actions taking place are wrong but do nothing at all. Islam quite clearly states that if you see an action which you know is wrong you must act....

 On the authority of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudree (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say, “Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.” [Muslim]

So please do not just sit there and watch someone going through something, do something, take action as it is your duty as a muslim to stand up to injustice. If you know in your heart something isn't right then get up and do something about it. This ridiculous 'keeping quiet mentality' must stop now. It has been embedded into us, speaking up does not mean you are being rude or disrespecting elders, there is a way of doing it, by being humble and calm. As muslims, and even as humans it is our duty to speak up against what is wrong. A fine example is of course our beloved Prophet Muhammed (sallahu allayhi wasalam- peace and blessings be upon him), he stood upto his family and his tribe and all who were in a state of disbelief and going against Allah and his message, had he kept quiet and remained in fear we would not be here today. The Prophet Muhammad (sallahu allayhi wa salam)  was tortured and persecuted by his very own for going against them and what they had spent their lives believing, but he carried on. So why can we not stand up to injustices today to protect our sisters? This is why i say this 'keeping quiet mentality' must stop. This isn't what islam is about. Now please don't get me wrong, i am all for respecting elders, respecting people, and being kind to elders however when it comes to oppressing women and going against Islam i will speak up- always. Speaking up does not mean you are being insolent or disrespectful, it is our duty to explain to others when they are wrong, whether we are younger or older, in a humble way of course.

The Quran and Hadith have given so many examples of the status of a woman. Islam values women to a high degree and rules have been put into place to ensure a woman's honour is always protected, however unfortunately culture interferes and mindsets are effected by this. Here are some reminders, particularly for men- fathers, uncles, husbands, brothers, sons etc of how important women are.


Now i could go on all day long about the status of women in Islam and the repurcussions of oppressing them. I hope this can act as a reminder to brothers out there. My posts are not usually aimed at brothers but rather for sisters, however today this is aimed at brothers. Follow the example of our Prophet Muhammed (sallahu allayhi wa salam) and be good to your women. Remember oppression comes in many forms, emotional blackmail, deception, misleading, pressure, violence, verbal abuse, being miserly so have a think about how you can be better for the sake of Allah. Also if you know a fellow muslim who is oppressing a woman, speak to him, advise him- we all play a part. If we are aware of something wrong taking place we will be accountable to Allah if we do nothing.

Sisters- if you are being oppressed remember there is always support out there. Some links are attached below of organisations that can support you, never feel you are alone. Help is there so take it before matters get worse.