WUNRN
Pew Research Center - Pew Forum on
Religion & Public Life
WUNRN notes mixed views on this
Survey/Report.
Direct Link to Full 226-Page Report: http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/Muslim/worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-full-report.pdf
Executive Summary: http://www.pewforum.org/Muslim/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-exec.aspx
Survey Methodology: http://www.pewforum.org/Muslim/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-appc.aspx
In nearly
all countries surveyed, a majority of Muslims say that a wife should always
obey her husband. At the same time, there also is general agreement – at least
outside sub-Saharan
Muslims
are less unified when it comes to questions of divorce and inheritance. The
percentage of Muslims who say that a wife should have the right to divorce her
husband varies widely among the countries surveyed, as does the proportion that
believes sons and daughters should inherit equally.
In some,
but not all, countries surveyed, Muslim women are more supportive of women’s
rights than are Muslim men. Differences on these questions also are apparent
between Muslims who want sharia to be the official law of the land in their
country and those who do not.
Muslims in many of the countries surveyed generally favor a
woman’s right to choose whether to wear a veil in public.30 This view is especially prevalent
in Southern and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Southeast Asia, including at
least nine-in-ten Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina (92%), Kosovo (91%) and
There is
less agreement among Muslims in the Middle East-North Africa region and
Sub-Saharan
Muslims in
most countries surveyed say that a wife should always obey her husband. In 20
of the 23 countries where the question was asked, at least half of Muslims
believe a wife must obey her spouse.
Muslims in
South Asia and
Across
In most of
the Southern and Eastern European countries surveyed, fewer than half of
Muslims believe a wife must always obey her spouse.
Muslims in the countries surveyed are not united on whether
women should have the right to terminate a marriage.31 In 13 of the 22 countries where
the question was asked, at least half of Muslims say a wife should have this
right. Most Muslims in Central Asia and in Southern and Eastern Europe hold
this view, including 94% in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 88% in Kosovo, 85% in Turkey
and 84% in Albania.
Opinion is
less unified among Muslims in
In
Southeast Asia, only a minority of Muslims believe women should be able to divorce
their husbands, including as few as 8% in
In 12 of the 23 countries where the question was asked, at
least half of Muslims say that sons and daughters should have equal inheritance
rights.32 Most Muslims in Central Asia and
in Southern and Eastern Europe hold this view, including 88% in
In South
Asia and
Across the
Middle East and
National
Context and Gender Attitudes
Attitudes
toward gender issues may be influenced by the social and political context in
which Muslims live. For instance, levels of support for equal inheritance by
sons and daughters is often more widespread in countries where laws do not
specify that sons should receive greater shares. Indeed, in most countries
where laws do not mandate unequal inheritance for sons and daughters, a
majority of Muslims support equal inheritance. For example, nearly nine-in-ten
Muslims in
Women’s Views on Women’s Rights
In some,
but not all, countries Muslim women are more supportive of women’s rights than
are Muslim men. For example, in 12 of the 23 countries where the question was
asked, Muslim women voice greater support than Muslim men for a woman’s right
to decide whether to wear a veil in public. In the remaining 11 countries,
opinions of women and men do not differ significantly on this question.
Similarly,
when it comes to the issue of equal inheritance for sons and daughters, Muslim
women in nine countries are more likely than Muslim men to support it. But in
the 14 other countries where the question was asked, the views of women and men
are not significantly different.
In none of
the countries surveyed are Muslim women substantially less likely
than Muslim men to support a woman’s right to choose to wear a veil or the
right to equal inheritance for daughters and sons.
Attitudes of both Muslim women
and men may reflect the prevailing cultural and legal norms of their society.
For example, in
Overall,
the survey finds that Muslims who want sharia to be the law of the land in
their country often, though not uniformly, are less likely to support
equal rights for women and more likely to favor traditional gender
roles.
Differences
between those who want sharia to be the official law and those who do not are
most pronounced when it comes to the role of wives. In 10 of the 23 countries
where the question was asked, supporters of sharia as official law are more
likely to say wives must always obey their husbands. Especially large gaps are
found in
Muslims
who favor an official role for sharia also tend to be less supportive of
granting specific rights to women. For instance, in six countries, those who
want Islamic law as the official law are less likely to say women should have
the right to divorce, including in Russia (-34 percentage points), Morocco
(-19) and Albania (-19). However, the opposite is true in
Additionally,
in seven countries, supporters of sharia as the official law of the land are
less likely to say sons and daughters should receive equal inheritance. And in
five countries, those who favor sharia as the official law are less likely to
believe a woman should have the right to decide whether to wear a veil in
public.
Footnotes:
30 The Quran states that a woman should dress modestly, but
it does not specifically require that she wear a veil. See Quran 24:30-31.
Informed by certain hadith, however, all main legal schools of Islam (madhhab)
mandate that women should veil. See Siddiqui, Mona. 2012. “Veil.” In McAuliffe,
Jane Dammen, general editor. Encyclopaedia of the Qur’an. Brill. See also
Hasan, Usama. 2011. “The Veil: Between Tradition and Reason, Culture and
Context.” In Gabriel, Theodore and Rabiha Hannan, editors. “Islam and the Veil:
Theoretical and Regional Contexts.” Continuum International Publishing Group,
pages 65-80. (return to text)
31 According to most major schools of Islam (madhhab), a
woman is permitted to divorce her husband under certain conditions. See Jawad,
Haifaa A. 1998. “The Rights of Women in Islam: An Authentic Approach.” Palgrave
Macmillan, page 8. (return to text)
32 The Quran specifies that a son should receive two shares
of inheritance for every one share given to a daughter. See Quran 4:11. (return to text)
33 Moroccan law does not require or forbid wearing a hijab.
See Gray, Doris H. 2008. “Muslim Women on the Move: Moroccan Women and French
Women of Moroccan Origin Speak Out.” Lexington Books, page 109. (return to text)
34 Moroccan laws adhere to the Quranic injunction that sons should receive twice the inheritance of daughters. See Sadiqi, Fatima. 2010. “Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa 2010 – Morocco.” Freedom House.