Women’s Status in Era of Jahiliyah

TEHRAN (IQNA) – In the era of Jahiliyah, there were ugly phrases used to refer to women and there were very limited good characteristics attributed to women by the people in that era.

There are three different views about the conditions of women in that era. Some believe that women had a lofty status in that era and had an active political and social presence.

There are others who say women in the era of Jahiliyah had a low and insignificant status. To prove their view, they refer to issues like burying girls alive, polygamy, various forms of marriage and divorce, etc.

Some others, though, hold a medium view.

It should be noted that the era of Jahiliyah refers to between 50 to 200 years before the appointment of Muhammad (PBUH) to prophethood.

Some of the aspects of the character and freedom of women in that era are as follows:

1- Women were mostly referred to as seditious persons who seek to deceive men.

2- Women were accused of being ill-omened.

3- Another cultural belief of the time was that women were lacking in intellect.

4- There were literate women in that era and some of them held positions like judgment.

5- Women attended the Tawaf (circumambulation) and other rituals during the Hajj like men. In that era, some men and women did the circumambulation while naked. Men did it in the day and women at night.

6- Among the religious acts women did like men was Nazr (making a pledge) and the covering of the Ka’aba with a silk covering was the result of one these Nazrs. In the era of Jahiliyah, women’s Nazr was not conditioned on whether or not the husband approved of it.

7- There were few women who could read and write and medicine in that era was mostly a field of science that was handed down from a generation to the next.

8- In the era of Jahiliyah, many women were good at poetry like men. There are 504 names introduced as poets in that era, many of whom were women.

9- Bravery, generosity and big-heartedness were known as good characteristics common among Arabs in the era of Jahiliyah and many women also had those characteristics.

10- In the era of Jahilliah, Iffat (chastity) for women was among valued moral virtues.

The society at the time was a class society and more importance was attached to chastity among higher classes than lower ones.