Page 101 - Vimarsha Volume 2

When it comes to Islam, Muslim women have several restrictions. There is a
particular way of behave for them according to their religious teachings. Muslim

women are required to cover their bodies with the exception of the hands and face.
They are expected to hide any action that may display a sense of attraction to men.
This includes avoiding eye contact and keeping the gaze lowered in modesty. In

Sri Lanka it has a mixed legal system, with common laws applying to all citizens,
as well as three types of personal law governing three religious or demographic

groups: the Muslim law applies to all Muslims, while the ‘Thesawalamai’ applies
to Tamil people with origins in the Northern Province, and the Kandyan law
applies to all Sinhalese of Kandyan regional ancestry. Muslim law is different from

the strict Sharia, or Islamic law, but it contains aspects of those laws. The Muslim
law does not specify any minimum age of marriage. Girls under the age of 12 need

only special permission to marry. The minimum age of marriage for all other Sri
Lankans is 18. And also the marriage registration form under Muslim law does not
have a place for the bride’s signature, but instead has a place for a male guardian

of the bride to sign in consent of the marriage. Most of the times women are
suppressed under Islamic rules and norms.

E.g.: Here are some rules in the Quran that oppress women.

 Your women are your fields, so go into your fields whichever way you like…
(The Quran in Sura, Chapter 2:223)

 Wives have the same rights as the husbands have on them in accordance with
the generally known principles. Of course, men are a degree above them in status
(Sayyid Abul A'La Maududi, The Meaning of the Qur'an, vol. 1, p. 165)

 The share of the male shall be twice that of a female (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 311)

 Let two men from among you bear witness to all such documents [contracts of

loans without interest]. But if two men be not available, there should be one man and
two women to bear witness so that if one of the women forgets (anything), the other
may remind her. (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 205) and (Arlandson, 2005).

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