History of Islam is littered with strong women and an entire Quranic surah is even dedicated to women. We have Asiyah who stood up to her husband the Pharoah, to Hajar who ran between the mountains of Safa and Marwa in search of water for her son Prophet Ismail (PBUH), to Khadija the businesswoman and wife of Islam’s final Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and their granddaughter Zainab who confronted Yazeed – a model of defiance against oppression. Now in a time
when women in South Africa are confronted with a pandemic of violence against
them from physical to mental, we interrogate the status of women in Islam.

To discuss this we are joined by Professor in the study of Islam at the University of
Johannesburg, Professor Farid Essack…