Early Islam gave rise to unequal gender roles, where women were inferior and subordinate to men, as in accordance with the Quran. This led to many issues like female infanticide (now forbidden for Muslims), unequal rights such as men allowed to have multiple wives, while women were not allowed to have multiple husbands. Sexual relationships were also unequal. Men were permitted to have sex with female slaves, but if a woman were to engaged in any sexual taboo "honor killing" was allowed as well as clitoridectomy which is where the females genitals would be cut. Although this occurred in the Islamic world, it was not limited to this and practiced across the world at the time and even still today.
Branches off of mainstream Islam, like the Sufi, shared different views. Given equal treatment, women in Sufi orders were able to practice alongside men. Rabia was a well known early Sufi practitioner (and Sufi saint). She freely debated with men and denied many marriage proposals. In Shia Islam women teachers were mullahs and some achieved high levels of learning like their males counterparts.
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| A depiction of Rabia and a Sufi prayer. |
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