In my experience, traditional Muslim families tend to have their daughters grow up thinking their main priority in life is cook, clean, caretake, get married and repeat. Young Muslim women are often raised to believe they do not need an education, do not need to go to college, or worry about anything that is a “man’s” business because that is left up to their husband; the patriarch of the family.
Sexism and gender stereotypes are a serious issue in the Islamic community. These limitations can be detrimental to Muslim women in achieving their goals. Twenty out of 23 countries say women are beneath their husbands in status and must obey them. Due to preconceived notions about what their place in the world is, Muslim women are often prohibited from achieving their greatest potential in society.
In my personal experience as a young Muslim woman, I have seen gender stereotypes play out right before my eyes. Growing up, I was always the one washing dishes, learning to cook, cleaning the house and doing laundry. While spending time “inside” the home, my brothers would be playing sports, doing homework and being kids. In traditional Muslim culture, this is often the case. Men play sports, work, get an education, and run the house. In line with this tradition, men do not cook, men do not take care of children, men do not have to wait, and they should be respected at all times.
As the oldest girl in the house, I was told to put schoolwork after household chores. Versus being a deterrent, this pushed me to stay ahead in all my subjects at school because I knew I was capable of more.
I grew up with these stereotypes and still see them around me today. However, as I get older, I am noticing more and more how biased this traditional system is.
I started recognizing all the impact women have in my community. I also started noticing all the work that women do, and how often the credit is given to someone else.
Learning history in Middle School made me see that women have made some of the most significant positive changes in the world. Almost every major historical event has the imprint of a woman. Despite the continued sexism, biases, misogyny and ignorance that exists, I am convinced that women are the future of this community and of the world.
As a closing note, I never quit doing my household chores, but I do still put my education first.