Pre Islam Arab Women 4th to 6th century C.E. 
Women in Islam. 21st century 
Women in Iran Sassanid era (226–651 C.E.) 
Scythian woman warrior. Ancient pre-Islamic Persia had female warriors and chieftains. 
A Persian Sassanid Female Warrior. Before Islam. 
Muslim women in Iran. 21st century 
Artemisia was a daughter of Hecatomnus, the founder of the Hecatomnid house that had ruled Caria since the beginning of the 4th century. She was the warrior-Queen of Halicarnassus (now in modern western Turkey). 
Artemisia statue in Bodrum, Turkey. 
Muslim women in Turkey. 21st century. 
Al-Uzza, Warrier Goddess. Pre Islamic Arabia. 
Allah, the moon god and his three daughters, Goddess Al-Lat, Goddess Al-Uzza, and Goddess Manat. Pre Islamic Arabia. 
Pre Islamic Arab pagan goddess Al-Uzza temple, Petra, Jordan. 
Islam brought this slogan. 
Khadija Bint Khuwaylid was a successful business woman. She inherited her father’s business and made it a much more profitable one. She was from a noble family. She earned three titles: Ameerat-Quraish (Princess of Quraish) and al-Tahira (the Pure One), and Khadija Al-Kubra (Khadija the Great). She was a nice and a kind woman. She helped the poor. Khadija was a very wealthy woman, many men asked for her hand in marriage but she refused to marry them. Some of her relatives requested her to hire a man called Muhammad from Quraish tribe. Even though he was illiterate he was known to them as a clever man. Khadija employed Muhammad as an agent for her trade with Syria. Muhammad used Khadija’s trade caravans for work. He helped her make profit in business. He was considered a trustworthy hard working man. Khadija was so impressed that she doubled Muhammad’s salary and then decided to marry him. She was 40-year-old when she married Mohammad, a 25-year-old man. Khadija married twice before marrying Mohammad. She gave birth to three daughters when they were together. Khadija had other children from previous marriages. Mohammad had his first revelation when he was 40. He was financially dependent on Khadija. He did not marry other women until Khadija died. After she died, Muhammad married 12 more women including a 6-year-old child.
Muhammad was worried that his wives might get angry with him and leave him. He was so jealous that he revealed some verses.
The Quran: 33.30 O wives of the Prophet! If any of you were guilty of evident unseemly conduct, the Punishment would be doubled to her, and that is easy for Allah.33.31 But any of you that is devout in the service of Allah and His Messenger, and works righteousness,- to her shall We grant her reward twice: and We have prepared for her a generous Sustenance
He was worried that his wives would attract the attention of other men. So he asked them to wear veils.
33.32 O wives of the Prophet! Ye are not like any of the (other) women: if ye do fear (Allah), be not too complacent of speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire: but speak ye a speech (that is) just. 33.33 And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former Times of Ignorance ; and establish regular Prayer, and give regular Charity; and obey Allah and His Messenger. And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, ye members of the Family, and to make you pure and spotless.
Muhammad desperately wanted his wives to be submissive. He threatened his wives.
The Quran: 66.5 It may be if he divorced you (all) that his Lord will give him instead of you, wives better than you, Muslims (who submit to Allah), believers, obedient to Allah, turning to Allah in repentance, worshiping Allah sincerely, fasting or emigrants (for Allah’s sake), previously married and virgins.”
Many verses of the Quran and the Hadith (Sayings of Muhammad) prove that Islam did not elevate the status of women, rather it was the cause of the humiliation, subjugation, denigration of women. Here are a very few examples.
The Quran 4.34 Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.
Bukhari Hadith Volume 1, Book 6, Number 301 says
Once Allah’s Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) o ‘Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, “O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women).” They asked, “Why is it so, O Allah’s Apostle ?” He replied, “You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you.” The women asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?” He said, “Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?” They replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn’t it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?” The women replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her religion.”
Bukhari Hadith Volume 3, Book 43, Number 648 says
‘…Then ‘Umar went on relating the narration and said. “I and an Ansari neighbor of mine from Bani Umaiya bin Zaid who used to live in ‘Awali Al-Medina, used to visit the Prophet in turns. He used to go one day, and I another day. When I went I would bring him the news of what had happened that day regarding the instructions and orders and when he went, he used to do the same for me. We, the people of quraish, used to have authority over women, but when we came to live with the ansar, we noticed that the ansari women had the upper hand over their men, so our women started acquiring the habits of the ansari women. Once i shouted at my wife and she paid me back in my coin and i disliked that she should answer me back.She said, ‘Why do you take it ill that I retort upon you? By Allah, the wives of the Prophet retort upon him, and some of them may not speak with him for the whole day till night.’ What she said scared me and I said to her, ‘Whoever amongst them does so, will be a great loser.’ …’
Bukhari Hadith Volume 2, Book 18, Number 161 says
‘I also saw the Hell-fire and I had never seen such a horrible sight. I saw that most of the inhabitants were women.” The people asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! Why is it so?” The Prophet replied, “Because of their ungratefulness.” It was asked whether they are ungrateful to Allah. The Prophet said, “They are ungrateful to their companions of life (husbands) and ungrateful to good deeds. If you are benevolent to one of them throughout the life and if she sees anything (undesirable) in you, she will say, ‘I have never had any good from you.’
Bukhari Hadith Volume 4, Book 54, Number 460 says
Allah’s Apostle said, “If a husband calls his wife to his bed (i.e. to have sexual relation) and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels will curse her till morning.”
Sahih Muslim Hadith Book 008, Number 3466 says
Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Woman is like a rib. When you attempt to straighten it, you would break it. And if you leave her alone you would benefit by her, and crookedness will remain in her.
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arungupta
July 7, 2012 at 9:02 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
In “Women and Gender in Islam”, Professor Leila Ahmed (she has a new book out on the veil) narrates:
“That women felt Islam to be a somewhat depressing religion is suggested by a remark of Muhammad’s great-granddaughter Sukaina, who, when asked why she was so merry and her sister Fatima so solemn, replied that it was because she had been named after her pre-Islamic great-grandmother, whereas her sister has been named after her Islamic grandmother.”
Snoof
July 7, 2012 at 9:51 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
The first image (which I presume to be Pre Islam Arab Women 4th to 6th century AD) appears to be missing.
An interesting comparison, nonetheless.
Pierce R. Butler
July 7, 2012 at 10:01 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
… fasting or emigrants (for Allâh’s sake), previously married and virgins.
Muhammad and the writers of the hadith seem inordinately fond of non-sequiturs.
lordshipmayhem
July 8, 2012 at 12:00 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Yet again we are able to demonstrate that the writers of a religious text were driven not by a holy revelation but rather by local, contemporary issues and the authors’ prejudices, fears, and desires.
Like the Higgs Boson, no gods involved.
Lincoln Phipps
July 8, 2012 at 12:04 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Taslima Nasreen, your small kernel here easily outweighs the vast but rotten feast of claims by Islamics about the historical role of women. Keep planting the seeds of doubts in their rhetoric.
sumdum
July 8, 2012 at 12:24 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Holy crap, Morag the immortal from Oglaf is Al-Uzza!
(p.s., Oglaf is very NSFW, google at your own peril)
sumdum
July 8, 2012 at 12:30 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
On a more serious note, that Bukhari hadith 301 is a stellar example of circular reasoning. Allah is a dumbass.
Abdullah Al-Saraireh
December 17, 2012 at 9:59 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
hilarious since Christians don’t know whether jesus is god or his fuckin son make up ur mind at least mother fuckers
BobHollyJr
December 23, 2012 at 4:50 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
For Catholics, Jesus IS god, god’s son and god’s ghost. it’s still more respectable, barely, to follow the made-up teachings of a fictional man/god/ghost than the perverted rantings of a pedophile. Go. I can hear the lunacy in your head calling you home… go be with satan, you filthy pig.
Shakatany
July 8, 2012 at 1:22 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Didn’t the Kaaba belong to three goddesses before the time of Mohammed? I keep reading what terrible bloodthirsty deities they were but I can’t help thinking that history is written by the winners.
Praagya Singh
July 8, 2012 at 2:43 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Very well written Taslima.. The muslims in times of Muhammad were tyrants and arrogant because of their growing military power and wealth…but, the muslims of today are either just plain ignorant or choose to turn their eyes away..
Same holds for any religion for that matter!
Keep writing and keep well!
F
July 8, 2012 at 3:59 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
I am always fond of those so certain of their beliefs that they openly admit that their personal problems are the cause of their beliefs. “I don’t like that, and it scares me that I have to deal with it.”
S Babu
July 8, 2012 at 3:59 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
This is good stuff, Taslima. I am sick of hearing from Islamist ‘feminists’ about what a great stride forward Islam was for women in the Middle East at that time. Maybe, MAYBE it was (though I doubt it), but what about now, when it seems to be a great leap backwards?
From your examples, I am also reminded of Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra (I think it is somewhere in Syria now?) who had fought campaigns against Julius Caesar.
In India’s Islamic period we had ONE female leader — Sultana Razia. What difficulty she had to cling on to power even for as long as she did!
From Mohammed and Khadija’s story, I conclude that Mohammed’s inflated ego was hurt by being in a marriage where his wife wouldn’t be submissive to him. Therefore he made it his life’s business to grind down his wives and women everywhere. What a disgusting person.
William Burns
July 8, 2012 at 5:37 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
When were these images of pre-Islamic women produced? They don’t look contemporary. How representative were these women of ordinary pre-Islamic women? Why is it considered liberating for a woman to be a warrior? Did Muhammad’s sayings about women differ from the conventional male wisdom about women before Islam? A lot of cherry-picking here.
Taslima Nasreen
July 8, 2012 at 6:55 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
The problem is, the history of culture and tradition of many regions were destroyed by the invaders and unfortunately if something was left was almost nothing but a few cherries. We find the evidences for women being warriors and goddesses. We at least can guess what kind of society let people worship women or let women to be warriors like men. The images of pre-Islamic period are not produced very recently. I used some reproductions. Muhammad’s sayings probably do not differ from the conventional male wisdom about women before Islam. But then we have to admit that Muahmmad was just an ordinary conventional man of his times.
William Burns
July 8, 2012 at 8:41 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
The worship of powerful goddesses has virtually no correlation with a high status for women, as can be seen in Hindu India or classical Athens.
sudhir kumar
September 10, 2012 at 12:08 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
For records:
i) Hindus don’t have a dress code for women.(like christians have in bible)
ii)ever heard of all the warrior princess from ancient India or Indian mythology? ..there are so many.
iii) ever heard of ‘swayamvara’ , the right given to a princess to chose her own prince out of all the princes. Can you give even one example of such apractice from your ancient history?
iv)Do you know, who was the first lady prime minister or head of a state on the planet Earth – Indira gandhi.
v)now come back to modern India- Have a look ate annual Secondary exams results of India .. Girls have a much higher average than boys.
vi) Out of 5 lacs Engineers India produces every year, 2 lacs are women. Check for statistics of your country now.
Ikram
January 23, 2013 at 4:45 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Taslima Madam,
Nowhere in Quran or Hadith, Muhammad (PBUH) claimed himself to be a Suparhuman or someone supernatural. It has been mentioned in the Holy Quran in so many places that Muhammad (PBUH) and all other prophets were ordinary men choosen by Allah for special purpose. So you are right saying “But then we have to admit that Muahmmad was just an ordinary conventional man of his times.” Muhammad (PBUH) lived an ordinary life, faced all kinds of conjugal problems and shared all the problems instead of trying to hiding or misinterpreting.
Your comparison between historic and present time arab zone women is pretty convincing (though authenticity of those drawings are questionable) for those who see things only on the surface. Do all the glorious histroric women represent all the women of that time? I think not. Exception can not be example. Pictures of women wrapped in black from top to bottom is also quite misleading. It is not how muslim women are told to wear Hijab. They should cover their head, bossom keeping face, hand up to wrist and foot open and they should not wear dresses that reveal curves of female body. On top of that, in Holy Quran, Men are advised to use and practice Hijab before advising women to use hijab.
You quoted many hadiths, but you never mentioned that unlike pre-islamic culture, islam orders men to give “Den Mohor” to women during wedding instead of taking dowry, and it is a must for men. This is only one example. Since you have read hadith a lot, I hope you have gone through all those as well. Now, what talibans or others do is their own view. There are fundamentalists in every religion. No one should blame a religion for some tribe’s or group’s way of practicing it. I have read Mr. Abdullah Al-Saraireh cutting negetive remark about Jesus (PBUH) and Mr. BobHollyJr cutting counter negetive remark. Both of them are wrong. Throwing mud at each other is not good. But for Mr. BobHollyJr I would like to say that it is a part of our religious faith as muslims to regard and respect Jesus (PBUH) as one of our holy prophets and our faith links back to Moses (PBUH) and previous prophets. We muslims respect all the prophets.
If you find it charming and interesting to humiliate Islam, you may. People have done so for ages and centuries. People did so against all the major religions. it’s not a big deal.
Through this writing I would like to request all the bloggers to read Quran and Hadiths themselves instead of relying something that had been quoted out of context. Read both with open mind and cur your remark. Everyone can cut bad remark, but islam dislike this, because islam is a peaceful religion and it believes in peaceful coexistence instead of fighting. You will realize it if you read it all.
May Allah bless us all.
Joseph Heston
July 8, 2012 at 9:38 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
I find it amazing that humans, who are supposed to be an intelligent species, is regressing instead of progressing. Won’t these male-dominated religions realize is that without women, there would be no humanity? Also to shift gears from Islam to Christianity, according to the bible, Jesus was supposed to be born of a virgin. Now where did the Y-chromosome came from? If virgin births are possible, wouldn’t the offspring be always female? When you get right down to it, all of the Abrahamic religions are misogynistic.
Shakatany
July 9, 2012 at 2:13 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Of course they realize that which is why the extremists of the three Abrahamic religions make all these laws to control women and their sexuality. Right now the religious right is passing all these laws to try to keep us homebound and pregnant and denying us control over our own bodies. However enough of us are not buying into this “god’s will” way of thinking and are refusing to return to the old ways…at least not without a fight. We’ll see what happens in November.
lorn
July 9, 2012 at 9:41 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
The amazing part of how Mohammed changed the world is not that he imposed his own lusts and desired upon the women he desired and the surrounding society. Most people will try to impose their will. No, the amazing part in this drama is that eh surrounding society was so gullible and easily fooled that even with a manifest lack of proof he was able to claim to be the mouthpiece of God, and they believed it.
Of course it seems that the history of credulousness is ongoing. A smooth tongue, a willingness to lie and manipulate, and the gall to do it without guilt or signs of deception, often brings both riches and acclaim. Done well enough, followers.
Shakatany
July 9, 2012 at 8:38 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
There’s a movie out right now called “Kumare” where an American filmmaker pretends to be a guru and actually acquires a following some of whom stick by him even after he reveals his deception. If it could happen today it could certainly happen 1500 years or so ago.
An Islam Women
July 12, 2012 at 9:58 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
You’re just running away from the truth. Soon, the truth will be revealed.
BobHollyJr
December 23, 2012 at 5:00 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Truth.
You are using that word; I do not think it means what you think it means.
lpetrich
July 13, 2012 at 5:03 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
I’m reminded of how Christian apologists brag about how pro-woman their religion allegedly is.
But where are all the female Christian religious leaders? They seem very recent, and in only some sects. Likewise for Islam. Where are all its female leaders?
Susan Jacoby concluded in Freethinkers that US feminism has mostly been secular. Might that also be true of feminism elswhere?
Jeremy
July 14, 2012 at 11:16 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
This is not true in any way, in the pre-islamic era things like infanticide were common, where girls were killed because families needed boys to do the work. Islam raised the status of women “Heaven is beneath the heel of the mother”. I’ve lived in arab countries and for the most part things like acid and people covering up their whole body is because people are uneducated, Islam encourages us to be modest not to cover up our entire bodies. Lets be realistic here with these “before
” and “after” comparisons, try and understand a culture before you try and look harder from your pedestal before soaking in this propaganda.
BobHollyJr
December 23, 2012 at 5:01 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Being murdered for not being covered head to toe is not encouragement, it is murder.
kumarpradeeksha
July 16, 2012 at 8:45 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Yes women had more freedom in pre-islamic period.So that mohamed first wife was a business women.
Please Jesus
July 30, 2012 at 6:53 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
construction builders
Thamine
August 16, 2012 at 8:56 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Good grief…. Where do I start? In some cases, you’re giving quotes without their original context, which can completely change the interpretation of a quote. Overall, your argument is purely based on your subjective interpretations. Take this for an example: “He was worried that his wives would attract the attention of other men. So he asked them to wear veils.” How does a husband wanting to protect his wives from the stares of other hungry men considered oppressive? You’re one line analysis did not sufficiently justify your view point. Just to make things clear, the veil was enforced in order to bring respect and honor to the wives of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.). Why is it empowering for women to walk around in bikinis but oppressive for women to cover? Tell me — aren’t the women in bikinis objectified? Quite frankly, aren’t they the ones that get hoots and hollers from men who only want to get in their pants? And this is all coming from a 17 year old hijabi who has experienced only the benefits of hijab. I am not oppressed and do not appreciate others who are solely basing their analysis on subjective interpretations to speak on my behalf. If you look at how the wives of the prophet actually lived, you can see that they had many rights.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m all for expressing viewpoints and educating others. However, you’re giving people wrong information, which they are taking as truth. I can’t respect that on any level.
BobHollyJr
December 23, 2012 at 5:09 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
An apologist arguing about context, I’ve never see that before! I could easily go to any pro-terrorist koran hosting site and find the most reasonably worded interpretation of that passage, and in under five sentences, explain the hatreds and fears of the “profit” and of the pedophiles who transcribed it’s words. I use “it” to describe the asshole because it was an inhuman beast, not fit to be fed to swine after the slaughter!
I see that you are not disputing the “Married a 6 year old” bit. or was she 9?
md dawood alam
September 7, 2012 at 8:27 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
taslima whatever you have said about Allah and his prophets is totally absurd as you too know? lets see what will happen after your death,the day will come when your pen will stop working and your whole body will just like garbage then you find what is truth now you enjoy and become celebrity of foolish but definitely you will be a big looser if you don’t return to Islam its my challenge.. you just remember my name and time.. ok
Praagya Singh
September 8, 2012 at 11:01 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Remember name and time?? Seriously?? lol
Getting personal ehh are we? 
Okay a couple of trivia question for you – Do muslim apostates suffer any more/less in hell than those who were never muslims (Top grade Kaffirs)in first place?
Number two – Do people get stoned for Zina in Jannah as well? There seems to be a lot of Zina going up there isn’t it??
zack moe
September 18, 2012 at 2:15 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
So, just because they cover their body means they have no rights???????? Get urself a life and stop complaining about people faiths.Be Atheist and be happy.DONT PREACH IT
BobHollyJr
December 23, 2012 at 5:14 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Because they are legally worth less than men, they have no rights. Because they are murdered for not covering head-to-toe in many islamic “nations” they have no rights. Because they cannot, by law, refuse the man that they are sold to, at age 9, sex, they have no rights. they cannot leave the house without a male relative to escort them, or they are killed.
Natasha Alexandria Sepehri
October 17, 2012 at 11:42 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
I am a Zoroastrian women. My father and relatives fled Iran during the revolution. I was born and raised in America. My mother is American. My interest in my culture has lead me to read much about the philosophy and principles behind Pre-Islamic Iran during Zoroastrian rule. I can say that IT WAS MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER FOR WOMEN. Any Pre-Islamic ancient history can tell you this much. We had rights, we had equal status, and we were educated. Ancient life for women wasn’t peaches and cream, don’t get me wrong. But the overall attitude towards the abilities of women was one of worth, of equal status. There are of course unintelligent women as well as there are unintelligent men, but women had way more opportunities to succeed if they could. I have no interest to visit Iran as it is today, that is not a country I am proud of. My roots come from Ancient Persia, I can tell this is where I get my fire from.
svensksvensson
November 10, 2012 at 9:13 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
Islam = Lies, Corruption, Dissimilation, Dodging of Historical Truth etc. etc.
…Thank you for telling it as it is/ Kheily mamnoon!!! 
I am not Zoroastrian but I have 10 000 times higher respect for that religion compaired to Islam!
Khoda hafez
/A Secular Christian or Atheist Guy
Mauri
January 11, 2013 at 5:55 pm (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
This article is not truth, it’s totally fictional.
“Women Had More Rights in Pre-Islamic Periods” - Bulletin Of The Oppression Of Women in Islam - Bulletin Of The Oppression Of Women in Islam
July 16, 2012 at 3:06 am (UTC 5.5) Link to this comment
[...] this article: Women Had More Rights in the Pre-Islamic Period for a wonderful post from Taslima Nasrin in her No Country For Women blog. With pictures too! [...]