Inequality of women in PA society: "A woman should obey her husband" - Religious duty or outdated bias?

Inequality of women in PA society: "A woman should obey her husband" - Religious duty or outdated bias?(PalWatch).The Palestinian Authority religious establishment believes that a Muslim woman must obey her husband and must not reject his request for sex - because it is "his right." However, a satire broadcast on PA TV critiquing the inequality between men and women indicates that there are now different voices being heard in Palestinian society. PA religious establishment demands women obey their husbands.
In a series of questions during a special Ramadan religious program, the PA Mufti, the PA's highest religious authority, stressed that according to Islam, a wife must obey her husband in all areas of life. The overriding principle, according to the Mufti, is that she "should obey her husband and please him." 

Some of the specific areas explained by the Mufti were:

 1- A woman must not deny her husband sex when he wants it. "It is his right." Even if she wants to refuse because he did not fast or pray during Ramadan, she "has no right to deny him this right [to sex]."
 2- "A woman must [only] leave home at the discretion of her husband." Therefore, if he permits her to go shopping for food in the middle of the night, it is permitted.
 3. A woman should get up before dawn to prepare the pre-fast meal for her husband, if he asks her to. If she prepares the meal, she will get two rewards: one for participating in the religiously significant meal, and the second for obeying her husband.
 4- Another PA cleric, Abada Sabri, wrote in the religious section of the official PA daily that the focused individual worship [I'tikaf] that is customarily performed in a mosque during Ramadan should be performed by a woman in a mosque only if her husband gives her permission to go. If he refuses her request, she should perform the worship at home.

Challenging inequality of women.

A recent PA TV satire, however, expressed a different perspective that implies rejection of a subservient role for women and highlights the inequality between men and women in Palestinian society.
In the skit, a husband refuses his wife's demand for equality and help with the housework:
Wife: "I want equality, but not to do work plus more work... What would happen if you helped me with the housework?"
Husband: "Listen. Get up. Straighten up the house, wash, cook, and I'm going inside to rest. When you finish cooking, come and wake me." [PA TV (Fatah), Aug. 11, 2012].
The contrast between the official religious rulings promoting "obedience" and the satire challenging inequality, both broadcast by official PA media, may signal a growing debate within Palestinian society over women's rights. However, it is important to note that by presenting their opinions as Sharia (Islamic law), the Mufti and religious leaders impede the chances for change in Palestinian society regarding women's rights. According to a poll by the Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies in 2010, 99% of Palestinians said religion was either important (85%) or somewhat important (13.7%). The poll found that "less than 1% considered religion not important." With religion playing such a dominant role in Palestinian society, change of social norms will be hard to achieve without the backing of the religious establishment.Read the full story here.

 Video : Satire of a woman asking for equality.

  .