Editing Women's rights (section)

==== Religious scriptures ====

===== Bible =====
{{Main|Women in the Bible}}
Both before and during biblical times, the roles of women in society were severely restricted.<ref>{{cite web|last=Robinson|first=B.A.|title=The status of women in the Bible and in early Christianity|publisher=Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance|year=2010|url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/fem_bibl.htm|access-date=11 September 2010}}</ref> Nonetheless, in the Bible, women are depicted as having the right to represent themselves in court,<ref name="Hiers2012">{{cite book|last1=Hiers|first1=Richard H.|title=Women's Rights and the Bible: Implications for Christian Ethics and Social Policy|date=2012|publisher=Pickwick Publications|location=Eugene, Oregon|isbn=978-1-61097-627-5|url=https://archive.org/details/womensrightsbibl0000hier|url-access=registration|quote=women's rights in the Bible.|access-date=15 October 2017}}</ref>{{rp|56–62}} the ability to make contracts,<ref name="Hiers2012"/>{{rp|63–67}} and the rights to purchase, own, sell, and inherit property.<ref name="Hiers2012"/>{{rp|63–80}} The Bible guarantees women the right to sex with their husbands<ref name=CawBiblic>{{cite web |last1=Frank L. Caw, Jr. |title=Biblical Divorce And Re-Marriage |url=http://www.frankcaw.com/divorce-print.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030812232627/http://www.frankcaw.com/divorce-print.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 August 2003 |access-date=19 October 2015 }}</ref><ref name=Caw2005>{{cite book |last1=Frank L. Caw, Jr. |title=The Ultimate Deception |date=10 February 2005 |publisher=1st Book Library |isbn=978-0-7596-4037-5 |url=http://www.frankcaw.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980110011803/http://frankcaw.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 January 1998 |access-date=19 October 2015 }}</ref> and orders husbands to feed and clothe their wives.<ref name=CawBiblic/><ref name=Caw2005/> Breach of these Old Testament rights by a polygamous man gave the woman grounds for divorce.<ref name=CawBiblic/><ref name=Caw2005/>

===== Qur'an =====
{{See also|Early reforms under Islam|Women in Islam|Islamic feminism|Sex segregation and Islam|Concubinage in Islam}}
The [[Qur'an]] prescribes limited rights for women in [[marriage in Islam|marriage]], [[divorce in Islam|divorce]], and [[Islamic inheritance jurisprudence|inheritance]]. By providing that the wife, not her family, would receive a dowry from the husband, which she could administer as her personal property, the Qur'an made women a legal party to the [[Islamic marriage contract|marriage contract]].<ref>[[John L. Esposito|Esposito, John L.]], with DeLong-Bas, Natana J. (2001). ''Women in Muslim Family Law'', 2nd revised Ed. [https://books.google.com/books?id=MOmaDq8HKCgC&q=islam+early+reforms+women%27s+rights+Esposito Available here via GoogleBooks preview]. Syracuse University Press. {{ISBN|0-8156-2908-7}} p. 4.</ref>

While in customary law, inheritance was often limited to male descendants, the Qur'an included rules on inheritance with certain fixed shares being distributed to designated heirs, first to the nearest female relatives and then the nearest male relatives.<ref>Esposito (with DeLong-Bas) 2001, pp. 4–5.</ref> According to [[Annemarie Schimmel]] "compared to the pre-Islamic position of [Arab] women, [[Fiqh|Islamic legislation]] meant an enormous progress; the woman has the right, at least according to the [[Letter and spirit of the law|letter of the law]], to administer the wealth she has brought into the family or has earned by her own work."<ref>{{Cite book| last = Schimmel| first = Annemarie| title = Islam | publisher = SUNY Press| year = 1992| page = 65| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=m7oKd-H1BzYC| isbn = 978-0-7914-1327-2}}</ref>

For [[Arab women]], Islam included the prohibition of [[female infanticide]] and recognizing women's full personhood.<ref name="OxfordDicT">Esposito (2004), p. 339.</ref> Women generally gained greater rights than women in [[pre-Islamic Arabia]]<ref name="Espos">[[John Esposito]], ''Islam: The Straight Path'' p. 79.</ref><ref name="majid">[[Majid Khadduri]], ''Marriage in Islamic Law: The Modernist Viewpoints'', American Journal of [[Comparative law]], Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 213–18.</ref> and [[Middle Ages|medieval Europe]].<ref>Encyclopedia of religion, second edition, Lindsay Jones, p. 6224, {{ISBN|978-0-02-865742-4}}.</ref> Women were not accorded such legal status in other cultures until centuries later.<ref>Lindsay Jones, p. 6224.</ref> According to Professor [[William Montgomery Watt]], when seen in such a historical context, [[Muhammad]] "can be seen as a figure who testified on behalf of women's rights."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/articles/2000_watt.htm |first1=Bashir |last1=Maan |first2=Alastair |last2=McIntosh |title=Interview with Prof William Montgomery Watt |publisher=Alastair McIntosh's Home Page |date=27 May 2005 |access-date=30 August 2011}}</ref>