EGYPT: A woman's voice equal to a man's

A deputy speaker in the Egyptian Parliament has challenged orthodox Islam by suggesting that a woman’s voice is equal to a man’s.

Zeinab Radwan, who is also a professor of Islamic studies, argues against mainstream interpretation of Sharia law, which holds that in business transactions and legal affairs a man’s testimony is equal to that of two women.

Radwan sparked further outrage in Cairo by suggesting that non-Muslims should have increased rights regarding inheritance of property. Human-rights groups have long criticized Islam for discriminating against non-Muslims.

Radwan contends her claims are based on different juristic interpretations of the Islamic faith.  However, her arguments elicited a storm of criticism among Islamist parliamentarians and senior clerics.

"No scholar or jurist said that a woman's testimony is considered equal to that of a man in all matters in the Islamic Shari'ah. This is a matter of consensus among all scholars," said Mohamed Raafat Othman, a prominent professor at Al-Azhar University. Another scholar dismissed Radwan's claims as "a miscalculated risk."

— Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo

Photo: Archival photograph shows Egyptian women demonstrating in a 1919 uprising. Credit: Wikimedia Commons