Sociology

Abstract
The way the society has positioned the two sexes in the society, the male sex is viewed as superior than the female one. This lays in the mind of people who have been socialized to perceive so. Gender is known to be the sexual identification accorded to a person in line with his way of socialization. Hence, gender discrimination involves positioning of men higher in rank than women because they have accessibility to power, wealth, education and possessions among other aspects. This build up gap between the men and women have a great impact on the community. Failure to create a balance, evil is bound to strike. Women will constantly be abused in all aspects of life. In different societies one sex is preferred to the other based on their capabilities. There is however no agreement as to which physical differences between the sexes various societies has beliefs that tend to favor one to the other. This research paper will therefore identify key discrepancies in the valuation and treatment of women compared to men. This valuation will be defined by a womans rights, Religious beliefs and roles assigned to women, Public and private roles, and Sexual exploitations among the Muslim religion. Furthermore, this paper will show how dehumanizing these positions have contributed and continues to promote a growing disparity toward women in religiously based countries. It is the hope of this writer that a womans worth is not predicated on her gender, but on her contributions that she has made and continues to make as an individual.

Introduction
Women sexuality is an important aspect of life today which ultimately is tied to personal adjustment and relationships. It serves numerous functions ranging from the psychological fulfillment to other personal desires. Islam has however complicated this aspect of life through its religion on the whole issue of sexuality and is believed to be the main debate that Muslim scholars are currently discussing. Although no solution has been reached, important progress is being made on the matter. Sexuality in Islam is considered part of human beings identity which God distinguished from that of animals during the creation of mankind. (Arvind and Young, 2002, 13-27)

Based on the understanding of the Koran, Muslims confine marriage to an affair between a husband and a wife legally united through marriage. Although there is that natural attraction between individuals which is needed to initiate a relationship, sexual relations outside marriage is not allowed outside marriage. Previous research and public outcry in the recent past show that Muslim women are suffering in silence being victims of their religious beliefs this paper therefore intends to discuss all issues pertaining Muslim women and their sexuality especially in terms of family honor. It will also look at what the Koran and specifically Prophet Muhammad says about women sacrificing their sexuality at the expense of the bringing honor to their families. Finally, it wills at issues like honor killing, family views, judicial point of views etc. (Carolyne, Margaret and Janet, 2005, 320-352)

Problem Statement
Approximately one million Muslims live in almost very continent of the world today in conditions of diverse religious, cultural, political and social backgrounds. Against a backdrop of harsh religious beliefs, Muslim women endure similar forms of indiscrimination and sexual inequality most of which range from psychological attitudes and cultural mores that condone violence, to denial of active participation in economic or political activities. With advancement in technology, globalization and modernization, women sexuality is becoming a source of conflict among the present generation. Religious political forces are continuing to believe that it is time to disregard old traditional and religious practices that deny women their sexual rights. Women rights groups and other activists fiercely fight for the elimination of religious and traditional mechanisms that had been designed to deny women their personal control over their own sexuality. (Arvind and Young, 2002, 13-27)

Literature Review
History of Muslim Women Sexuality
The initial roots of controversy in this issue of Muslim women sexuality can be traced back to the Koran writings. Muslim researchers have pointed out the fact that there has been a contradiction between male perception and female sexuality based primarily on patriarchal misinterpretation of the Koran by religious male authorities. There has been a visible contradiction of the views of both classical figh texts and other revelations by the wahy5 concerning the same.  Both of them had placed logical considerations on the fact that women even in the days of Adam and Eve had betrayed the men and they should suffer from that cause. The latter however, argues that social order and cultural pragmatisms should be the basis within which sexuality should be viewed. In that context, most legal authorities have interpreted the texts and found women guilty of misappropriating their bodies in the pretext of sexual satisfaction and equality hence the need for some kind of limitations. (Badawi, 1995, 61-86)

Punishments
Criminal jurisprudence and punishments in the Muslim world does not in any way discriminate men and women but are normally severe for women. Women are more vulnerable to sexual crimes such as fornication (Zina) than men. In this case, women may be found to be guilty easily due to visible evidence of pregnancy. For a case of rape, Muslim women in some Arab regions do not receive adequate justice because there needs to be stringent requirements for proof as stipulated by some interpretations of the Muslim laws. This has lead to minimal punishment for male offenders or even victimization of the rape victims themselves. (Ahmed, 1999, 21-46)

Extreme Practices against Womens Sexuality
Some Muslim practices that are considered unjust to women and are still believed to be currently practiced include

Any evidence produced in a religious court of law by a Muslim woman is taken to be worth half value what a male counterpart would receive if he gave the same evidence in the same court of law
A man can divorce his  wife by saying the  word divorce thrice and a woman has no authority to question the decision

Children are taken as the property of the father and the mother is only aw caretaker of them
A woman who is found not to be virgin  during her first intercourse at the first day of marriage may be killed by the male relatives of the husband at will

The legal age for a girl to be married is 9 years in Iran
A rapist can be allowed to marry the victim he has raped without prosecution
A woman cannot leave her country without her husbands permission etc.

These and other practices are considered to be part and parcel of injustices, unfairness and mistreatment Muslim women undergo while at their hands of their families or husbands. Although women all over the world are striving for other equality statuses, Muslim women are still struggling to meet the basics of women rights including the right to sexual satisfaction. Recent and past experiences show that Muslim women are finding it difficult to compare with other women around the world when it comes to such issues as divorce, marriage, sexuality, same-sex practices etc. (Brooks, 1995, 73-75)

Honor Killings
Honor killings are usually identified with the Muslim community and have been condemned as the harshest form of punishment that a woman is subjected to. Some Muslim scholars view the practice as a cultural practice that is very common with Muslim around the Mediterranean region and the Arab world. The most recent incident of honor killings was the Nigerian case where a woman was to be stoned to death by the Muslim law but when subjected to the governments law, it was otherwise hence not possible to integrate the  two decision making organs. Moreover, a majority of Muslim believers have adopted the Sharia law, which supports the practice. However, in the mainstream Muslim community, honor killings is forbidden and not encouraged by the Koran. Honors are exclusively for women who are perceived to have brought some kind of shame to the family through their sexual acts. (Emerick, 2002, 33-56)

Family Honors
Family honor in the Muslim world is considered an important feature of their culture that requires women (girls and young women) to observe. The women, especially when it comes to sexuality and their bodies, are required to completely abide to what their men say. In fact, some even require that a woman should not travel long distances without the company of their husbands. Although it sounds awkward to a non-Muslim, but believes me, this is just a tip of the iceberg on what Muslim women go through daily when it comes to sexual life.

Women are considered the public image of the family and any bad behavior is translated to affect the familys image in the presence of the society. This means that a woman who commits an act like fornication is rightly punished to ensure that the familys honor is kept intact.  This practice has led to unfair treatment and limitation of the womens social and sexual lifestyle. Despite the fact that women in the Muslim community uphold the right to have sexual satisfaction, they are limited to only one person-the husband. On the other hand, the husband is allowed to marry more than one wife and treat them equally in terms of sexual satisfaction. (Leonard S, 1988, 121-135)

Human Rights Groups and Their View on the Issue
This practice has also been a source of condemnation from all human rights groups including the United Nations Human Right Department. Social movements have   also been formed in some countries like Australia, turkey and Yemen to champion for the rights of women to proper and acceptable sexuality. The fact remains that, only the Muslims can change this kind of practice through reformation and proper policies and commitment by all concerned.

Muslim practices in terms of honoring their families  is a grave matter that has not been resolved up to this moment but  the worlds attention is raising sharp  focus on the issue especially women groups and activists who feel that the practice must end to ensure that all women in the world are equally treated. In the Middle East for example, Muslim women are beginning to get the necessary attention from   western media regarding their rights to engage in sexuality the way they feel like. This is because it has been considered that lack of information has affected the parallel rise of the practice. (Badawi, 1995, 61-86)

Most Muslim women are compromising their sexual satisfaction in the name of protecting the familys image. This is because the female member of the family is considered a curse in the Muslim community and anything regarding their sexual acts is even worse and may be punishable by stoning.The Muslim law and the Koran upholds female sexual relationships when they are still not of age but may even be extra-marital sex. In case of sexual misconduct, Muslim women are singled out for punishments while their male counterparts who may include rapists may be treated with impunity A woman may need to produce four witnesses to be able to convince a court of law that she has been sexually abused and must have seen the sexual act by them.

Prophet Muhammad
Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessing of God be upon him) was known for his mercies and is believe to have adored women and anybody accused of any crime be it a woman or a man be duly accountable for his or her actions. However, there is evidence that He was in that time unfair to women. Muslims believe that God made some statements through Prophet Muhammad which has not one well with women who abide by the Muslim faith. The deeds of the Prophet and what is believed God wrote through His men in the Koran plus those in the official Hadiths of Muhammad, on the rights of women have impacted negatively on the Muslim women all around the world. In fact, it is reported in some of the official records that Muhammad was quoted as saying that majority of the people in Hell are women. This shows the perceived nature of women from the Prophets point of view. Also in Sura 2 282 he says, The evidence of two women is equal to the evidence of one man. With such sentiments believed to be from the Prophet, most Muslim men believe that their women should be treated the way He treated them in the past. (Ahmed, 1999, 21-46)

Muslims also believe that Prophet Muhammad had set the standards to be followed as some of punishments. As long as there is any proof of adultery by a woman, she should be killed. It is even rumored that his youngest wife Aisha, was engaged in sexual intercourse with another man. He was greatly troubled in mind until God intervened and told that if there is no evidence from four witnesses, then He should not accuse His wife of the offence.

The Prophets view on women sexuality is therefore negatively portrait to the majority of people who are non-Muslims. Since He loved women very much and He treated them in an unfair way, then in the consciousness of many people, more Muslim men are behaving the way the Prophet behaved.

Koran
Koran is believed to be very clear on women sexuality among the Muslim community. First, it contains explicit details which concern unfair treatment of women in terms of their sexual satisfaction. It orders that the women should wear a burkah in public to cover their face so that they may not be admired by anybody else outside the religious group. It also reminds men of their control over the women when it comes to sexual rights.   It even advises men to keep off from women when they are in the menstruation periods until they are clean. It quotes, Your women are a tilt for you to cultivate.and you have a degree over them. This castigates the rights of women to even contemplate raising any issue concerning their sexual life which may include intimate sexual practices, sex techniques, children, pregnancy etc.

The Koran also does not mention anything to do with female genital mutilation and that it is a practice that developed among the Muslim community because of pressure from women groups against the practice which was in the past practiced in Africa.  It has since been adopted by most Muslim communities in Egypt, Sudan, and Algeria etc. just because the western people didnt like it-what ridicule. (Badawi, 1995, 61-86)

Christian Perspective of Women and Their Sexuality
Christianity as a religious sect has a lot of followers and there are several denominations that fall under the category of Christian denominations. For instance, approximately 75 of people living in the Northern America usually associate themselves with several Christian denominations where it is reported that the Roman Catholic dominates such religions.

In relation to Christianity we find that the attitude of Jesus is considered to be a positive attitude since he is the only person who did not disregard women as people who are inferior in the society and he does not portray it through the primitive Christian communal point of view of women and this gives out his feminist attitude which is referred to as feminism and is the personalism that is highly extended to women and is considered to be the constitutive part of the gospel which is the good news of Jesus. Jesus action towards the woman who committed adultery is really not to be questioned as far as positive attitude is concerned because in many occasions in the gospels Women were treated as second-class citizens and also treating women not as persons but as sex objects and they also expected Jesus as he was one of them to do the same. Seeing a woman as an evil sexual creature does not necessarily mean that she is was one of the points that Jesus wanted to get to the minds of the Pharisees when they saw the woman who came to wash the feet of Jesus with her hair when they were having dinner at a Pharisees house. (Ann, 1992, 19-25)

Jesus wanted to make a difference in the opinions that people had towards women since that was one of the only way he could give them hope because nobody could give the women a second chance due to their strong beliefs that women were not supposed to be treated as humans but did by showing them that women deserve equal treatment to men through his actions of forgiving the woman and not condemning her.

As part of this discussion of Jesus and the women it is good for us to take a close look at other instances where Jesus was seen to be supporting women in the bible or even in his mission. Most of Jesus disciples were men but he also had women disciples who also played a big role as far as his ministry is concerned. The attitude of Jesus towards women is seen to be a good attitude since he taught them the gospel, what the scriptures meant, and the truths in the Christian religion in general. According to Judaism some of the actions of Jesus towards women is considered to be very improper like teaching the women the scriptures and as it is recalled this was very wrong. Jesus was always seeing the potential of women which other people could not see and through this he tried his level best to break some of the customs deliberately in an extraordinary way since this custom was invidious to women

As the men tried to tempt Jesus with a question regarding the adulterous woman he did not tense because he knew that the same people who were condemning this woman were also sinners, he used a style of rhetorical questions where he did not have to answer them the way they expected him to do so. There were many women who were following Jesus both the married and the unmarried and they all wanted to be part of his ministry since they had been given the privilege to have a say in his ministry that made them feel like they belong somewhere since they had been feeling rejected by all people and they had been feeling very inferior in the society since nobody was in the position to give them a helping hand in their weaknesses. In the book of Luke 81 the presence of women in the number of disciples that Jesus had is felt since there are those who are even mentioned by name in the sentences with the twelve disciples when Jesus made his way through towns and villages and the twelve were with him preaching and proclaiming the word of God which was the good news of the kingdom of God. At that time the twelve disciples were with him as well as certain women who were there to provide for them the resources that they needed. The roles that were played by these women in early Christianity are the same as those played by the present deacons of the churches today since in the Greek language the words used in the bible such as provided for has the same meaning as the word ministered to as used in the gospel of Mark.

It is significant to appreciate the freedom of women being in a position to follow him and minister to him when it is recalled that women were not even supposed to leave their households whether married or still a daughter of someone and even being allowed to read the scriptures or study it in the more observant settings. The connection of women to Jesus is still very intimate even during his resurrection from the dead because there are other three accounts of the resurrection of Jesus in the bible that are all related to the raising of a woman, Jairus daughter in the book of (Mathew 918. Mark 522. Luke.841.) The second resurrection that was performed by Jesus was that of the only son of the widow that lived in Nain, Jesus had compassion on her and asked her not to weep and made his son well. The other resurrection that Jesus performed which was the third resurrection was that of Lazarus at the requests made by his sisters Martha and Mary who were also women in the book of (John 1143-44). For Lazarus to be resurrected it was the efforts of the women who were his sisters, at first Martha and Mary had sent for Jesus when Lazarus was ill and when he finally came, Lazarus had been dead for four good days and Martha pleaded with Jesus to resurrect him. Thus Jesus raised one person and the other two were raised at the request of women.

In the case of Jairus daughter Jesus touched her corpse but in the case of Lazarus and the Widows son Jesus just used words to raise them. We can wonder why He chose to violate the laws of the rituals of purity in order to help a woman and not men and also the message about his resurrection is revealed to a woman. Jesus is seen to violate the common code that was concerned with the relation between men and women when he found a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob and talked to her and yet the Jews were not allowed to talk to Samaritan women and a man would not also speak to a woman in public and once again the messianic nature of Jesus was also revealed to a woman. Jesus revealed himself as the resurrection, to Martha, the risen one and also revealed himself as the messiah which was his key role in his ministry to a woman again and she immediately bore witness of that fact to all the villagers that were around to come and see Jesus who was the messiah and this would seem like John the Gospel writer was trying to deliberately highlighting this event and clearly wished to reinforce thereby Jesus on the equal dignity of women to men that he saw.

As the Samaritans approached Jesus was talking about the field and the sewers and the way people would reap what others had sown. He was speaking of the souls of men directly and he did it in general and not only Jesus in particular though it would seem like the evangelist was also meaning specifically to include the Samaritan woman among those Samaritans since he added the mentioned verse Many Samaritans of that town had believed in him on the strength of the womans testimony. As far as marriage of women is concerned the most important stand of Jesus in relation to their dignity is his position on marriage.

He had an unpopular attitude towards marriage though his stand highly sided monogamy and elimination of divorce since both the man and the woman were to have equal rights and responsibilities as they related with each other (Mk102 Mt.193 New International Version) This is one of the instances that was rather thoroughly assimilated by the Christian church though it can be doubtless since it was reinforced by many sociological factors and historical accidents like the present strength of the Greek world of the Stoic philosophy though the notion of equal rights between man and woman and their responsibilities as far as marriage is concerned was not extended very far in the Christian marriage. (Elizabeth, 1993, 41-65)

Jesus had never thought of women as people who could only have their roles as in restricted terms such as only being a housekeeper like when he visited the house of Martha and Mary and Martha was taking the typical role of a woman of being in the house and preparing food for the visitors and complaining that Mary was not helping her and Jesus responded by treating Mary first as a person and applauded her for putting his service as the priority in her life and told her that she had chosen the better part compared to Martha and it was not to be taken from her. In short Jesus was trying to let people understand that Martha was not doing a bad thing but the way she had put her priorities was the problem that he had since he wanted women to know that women also have the right to engage themselves in intellectual life and also acquire religious authority and spiritual life just as men were called to. (Elizabeth, 1993, 41-65)

If there is lack of logic for the attribute of the general denigration of the culture of women of the pagan goddesses though Christian abhorrence of pagan gods has never resulted in a Christian rejection of Gods male linage. As far as the life of Jesus is concerned talking of his attitude in various events is quite hard to understand since his attitude changes from time to time and from event to event because if we take a look at his attitude towards the laws of the Old Testament then we should be in a position to point out that his attitude was not straight forward since he wanted almost everything to have new interpretations from the way they had already been written and that in another possible way he tried to strengthen the laws. The fact that Jesus ignored speaking the large or great towns in Galilee and using a wide imagery of rural areas in his teachings also tells a lot about his social character and are at variance with the predominantly urban character of the primitive church and it gives no reason that the church concerns have dominated the gospels in the ministry of Jesus. (Elizabeth, 1993, 41-65)

Hypothesis
From this research we find that the most misinterpreted verses of the Holy book of the Muslim law- Koran, is the   chapter that empowers men to even beat their wives and orders women to be directly submissive to their male counterparts when handling issues of sexuality. It is quoted from Sura 434 and it says, Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because men spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those among you who fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them.  It continues to say that Good women are obedient As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to bed apart and beat them. This is not good at all and if men and women in the Muslim community want to be equal, they need to rewrite such verses if that is possible or simply disregard them for other just readings. This specific verse, to some extent allows men to   boast of their authority over women. Most people argue that the Muslim men are favored by the Koran over women in the aspect of sexuality although it does not explicitly allow seclusion of women when it comes to honoring the family through sexual obedience.

Muslim apologists and compromisers are not genuine when addressing the whole of injustices in the sexuality issue in among Muslim women. When these people are confronted with the womens plight, majority of them insist that their religion-Islam has been misunderstood. They continue to clarify that, women issues including their right to sexuality is actually granted by the religion and they blame the whole problem on tribal, traditional and western societies that propagate lies and mischief concerning the community especially with the rising cases of terrorism that is associated with Muslim extremists. (Swan, 1999, 63-85)

Research Methods and Analysis
Research Design
This study necessitated the researcher to identify how the Muslim women are discriminated on the ground of their religion. The researcher mainly concentrated on what the Koran and specifically Prophet Muhammad says about women sacrificing their sexuality at the expense of the bringing honor to their families.  Given that this study was an exploratory research it was based on desired activities and time-based plans, research questions, selection of sources and types of information required, outline of procedures for every research activity to be carried out and also it was based on the framework that specified the relationships among the samples identified for this research purpose.

Sampling Procedure
Before adopting the suitable sampling technique several factors for example cost of conducting the research, time constraint, accuracy of sources to be utilized, availability of population respondents, physical impossibilities of acquiring all the necessary items in the target population and the destructive nature of certain tests was considered in detail in order to avoid minor mistakes in the course of conducting this research. Probabilistic type of sampling technique was chosen since the sample identified gave each and every respondent a known likelihood of being included in the sample selected. For that reason, the research was conducted using simple random method of collecting data because it was difficult to reach all the participants in the population. Under this technique, the selected sample gave the person identified the opportunity to have an equal chance of being incorporated in the research work.

Target population
The target sample was mainly the Muslim women who have been the victims of the women discrimination.  However, some Muslim women were considered and given an opportunity too to air their views. Twenty Muslim women respondents were identified and questionnaires administered to them. However, the administering of questionnaires as a tool of measurement was based on the willingness of the respondents to adhere to the instructions thus in the process answer the questions in their best knowledge.

Techniques for Data Collection
Since a sample of the population was identified the researcher utilized both open and closed questionnaires to collect the required information from the respondents that were selected from the sample identified. This method was considered and found to be effective and efficient to the researcher since the researcher only dropped the questionnaires to the respondents and collected them at a later date. The reason for choosing both open and closed questionnaires to be administered is that they gave the respondents an opportunity to answer freely to the set of questionnaires that were administered to them during the study.

Policy Recommendations
The actual thing therefore that must be understood is that women should not be used as tools for protecting familial images to some perceived societal families that are not pleasing to the wider community. In my own point of view, the Muslim community should in one way or another disregard old practices that are considered prejudice to the rights of women. This can be done by doing extensive education either through Muslim scholars or women Muslims who are already in the public light to ensure that countries adopt new legislation that will ensure equal opportunities to sexuality issues. Review of demeaning Muslim practices can also be done by the Muslim leaders themselves to conform to what other human rights say or whet other religious groups such as the Christians believe on concerning the same.

Most modern scholars from the Muslim community and likeminded women believe that young women including the adolescents must have access to safe, affordable and effective methods of regulating their reproduction and also freely decide on all matters relating to their sexuality. Taking an example of a 12-year old girl in turkey in 1998 who was killed by her father because she had gone to escort a group of friends for a short distance this shows that people should be able to freely interact and associate with other people even if it is sexual relations. It therefore entails the fact most other communities including the Islamic communities  in environments such as the United States who have learnt  a lot from members if other religious groups and are beginning to disregard practices such as  family honor. This group of Muslims believes that everybody has the right to determine his or her own sexual behavior including the right to sexual desire and pleasure. (Swan, 1999, 63-85)

Human right for women in religiously based sects is a very important issue that needs to be address. It needs to be address and revisited on a local, state, and global level. As a society, we need to reach out to mainstream media, and newspaper. As a woman in todays society, I would encourage letters, marches, sit-ins, and petitions that would support equal rights to women and young adolescent girls every where were there is injustice. Every woman should be an advocate for basic human rights. It is imperative that we get the word out by any means necessary

Conclusion
Women sexuality and their bodies regardless of race, religion, age or color belong to them. That is a fact and it should be respected. Moreover, public order and general beliefs should not be the principle used by law to protect individual rights but rather the reflection of legal changes and processes. Policies and laws that are perceived to place and legitimize cultural and religious practices which put women sexuality and bodies at stake and disposal of the society, men and family must be disregarded. The responsibility squarely lies on the respective government to develop and implement laws and other regulations that are aimed at protecting the girls and women from the mercies of rape, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.

In summary, the issue of gender discrimination carries history from the moment one is conceived. The parents and teachers to a great extent play a major role in enlarging the gap between the two sexes. On the other hand, the surrounding factors like the media, occupations have a bearing on the notion of discriminating people in line with ones gender. Socially, the society has ideologies that put brackets between the two people- a man and a woman. Traditionally, people have been socialized to know that men occupy the front seat in the society and women are comfortable with the back seat.

To change such belief needs combined efforts from different groupings of people. Men and women should be included to voice the unjust the spirit of gender discrimination has caused on our society. The governing bodies in various countries should formulate policies that are friendly to the needs of the women. The human rights groupings should come up with public campaigns against gender discrimination.