Status of women's testimony in Islam

The status of women's testimony in Islam is disputed. Muslim societies' attitudes range from completely rejecting female testimony in certain legal areas, to conditionally accepting (half-worth that of a male, or with a requirement for supporting male testimony), to completely accepting it without any gender bias.^[1]

In Islamic law, testimony (shahada) is defined as attestation with regard to a right of a second party against a third. It exists alongside other forms of evidence (bayyina), such as the oath (yamin), acknowledgement (iqrar), and circumstantial evidence (qara'in al-ahwal). A testimony must involve certain knowledge of an affirmed event, and cannot be based on conjecture.^[2]

In the second chapter of the Quran, Al-Baqarah, verse 2:282 provides a basis for the rule that two women are the equivalent of one man in providing a witness testimony in financial situations.^[3]

O you who believe! When you contract a debt for a fixed period, write it down. Let a scribe write it down in justice between you. Let not the scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him, so let him write. Let him (the debtor) who incurs the liability dictate, and he must fear Allah, his Lord, and diminish not anything of what he owes. But if the debtor is of poor understanding, or weak, or is unable himself to dictate, then let his guardian dictate in justice. And get two witnesses out of your own men. And if there are not two men (available), then a man and two women, such as you agree for witnesses, so that if one of them (two women) errs, the other can remind her.

^ Rao, Dr Muhammad Atif Aslam (2020-05-24). "Islamization of Law of Evidence in Pakistan with Specific Reference to Testimony of a Woman". Rochester, NY. SSRN 3609096. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ Wael B. Hallaq (2009). Sharī'a: Theory, Practice, Transformations. Cambridge University Press. p. 347.
^ Fadel, Mohammad (1997). "Two Women, One Man: Knowledge, Power and Gender in Medieval Sunni Legal Thought". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 29 (2): 185–204. doi:10.1017/S0020743800064461. S2CID 143083939. SSRN 1113891.

[:2-1] Rao, Dr Muhammad Atif Aslam (2020-05-24). "Islamization of Law of Evidence in Pakistan with Specific Reference to Testimony of a Woman". Rochester, NY. SSRN 3609096. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[2] Wael B. Hallaq (2009). Sharī'a: Theory, Practice, Transformations. Cambridge University Press. p. 347.

[Fadel-1997-3] Fadel, Mohammad (1997). "Two Women, One Man: Knowledge, Power and Gender in Medieval Sunni Legal Thought". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 29 (2): 185–204. doi:10.1017/S0020743800064461. S2CID 143083939. SSRN 1113891.

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