پژوهش نامه اسلامی زنان و خانواده
سال دوم شماره 4 (پاییز و زمستان 1388)

The present article is a jurisprudential study in the area of 'forbidden trades and occupation's (Makasib Muharramah) in respect of the rules about concealing defects (tadlis) by adornment, covering the face, attaching hair extensions or using a wig, removal of the hair from the face, arranging the teeth and tattooing. The rules concerning these acts have been studied carefully with reliance on eight narrations in chapter 19 (Trades and Occupations) of Wasail Al-Shia. The meanings, applicability of the narrations and also their chains of transmission have been investigated. Previous scholars and jurists benefited from other juristic proofs and legal principles when they encountered weak narrations. In this study, following in the footsteps of the predecessors, some rules and principles such as the principle of permissibility, the law of tolerance in the proofs within the traditions, reputation for compensation of weakness of the chain of transmission and the law of annexing weak narrations have been explained. The conclusion is that concealing of defects or misrepresentation is forbidden, covering the face is abominable, attaching hair extension is also abominable, if it is human hair and it is free of objection if it is artificial hair. As for removing hair, arranging the teeth and tattooing, we came to the conclusion that they are not forbidden but abominable.

In this study, female employment has been studied according to Islam. 'Employment' signifies a full-time job outside the home with fixed salary, and 'women' refers to three groups of married and unmarried women and those in charge of a family.As per Quranic verses, narration and traditions of the Infallibles, women's right to engage in legal occupations has been substantiated. The employment standards to be taken into consideration according to Islamic perspective are: consistency of job with the woman's characteristics, modest covering, chastity, unisexual environment, agreement of woman's work with her matrimonial obligations and motherhood duty. The appropriate model of female employment and indicators of development according to Islam are based on proper gender consideration, employment related opportunities, the economic importance of housework, preferring part-time job, respecting women's privacy in a work environment and providing necessary facilities for them, promoting rural jobs and finally paying an all-inclusive attention to Islamic values.

The present article seeks to answer the protest of some individuals concerning divine injunction in verse 34 of chapter Al-Nisa about corporal punishment of disobedient wives. This inquiry has first criticized some of the answers given in this regard whereupon it has examined and assessed the views and opinions held by jurisprudents and commentators about the verse.In this article, the two injunctions, i.e. corporeal punishment in Islam and man's right of guardianship over women in the family environment which has also been unequivocally mentioned in the beginning of the verse are the two accepted presuppositions for the rule concerning corporal punishment of women. Considering these two bases and the purposefulness of God's command about corporal punishment, albeit when it proves effectives and entails correction, and in view of the conditions which jurisprudents have mentioned for fulfillment of this divine command, it is concluded that corporal punishment of a noncompliant and disobedient woman is not immoral and it is not unreasonable either.

Feminism is one of the movements that are opposed to the culture of Islamic countries. It is a movement which has overtime and after going through some stages proved to be in clear and direct contrast with Islam and religious doctrines. The history of feminism can be divided into three waves. The first wave extends from the beginning of the nineteenth century till a few years after the end of World War 1. The second wave of feminism is characterized by two major feministic theories: radical feminism and liberal feminism. The third wave refers to postmodern feminism. Postmodernism, which gave rise to basic questions about the concept of women's identity, caused confusion about feminism. Feminism movement arrived in Iran concurrently with modernism and intellectualism. Westernism began from the era of King Fathali Khan of Qajar dynasty with military advisers invited from the West, and it continued as Iranian students were sent to the West. Feminism spread in Iran in the sense of women's freedom and emancipation from motherhood and its functions. Mother is the pillar of the family system which, if removed, causes the whole system to collapse. When a discussion arises concerning the natural differences between men and woman, some consider these differences to be the cause of woman's deficiency and man's perfection saying that they are a source of man's superiority over women whereas there is no such thing as deficiency and perfection. This article defines feminism and explains its chronology and the advent of this movement in Iran. It also elaborates on the nature of woman and her existential difference with man, the how-about of her creational features and mutual responsibility of a man and a woman.

The concept of freedom in the West is deeply influenced by the aberrant feministic though existing therein. Western freedom in all its aspects means an unhindered personal freedom from all limits and restrictions. It means total absence of impediments or rules and regulations. Obviously, such an understanding from freedom, in reality, amounts to a kind of slavery in the sense that one becomes the slave of his carnal desires, bodily and worldly temptations. Such a person is not only free but he or she languishes in the dark and suffocating prison of the material "self". Such an interpretation about woman's freedom is pervasive in Western perspective. They consider woman's freedom equal to "sexual" freedom and they stress that anything that hinders woman's sexual freedom or restricts it or deprives her of this right, is condemned and objectionable. This article briefly studies the sources and origin of definitions and the contexts of freedom of woman in the West, the present status of women in the West and the baseless motto "freedom and women's rights".

Family is one of the basic units of the human society, one of the oldest, most common and effective social institutions. In reality, family is the source of social life and great human civilizations. For this reason, sociologists consider family to be the "main pillar of civilization and civilized societies". There are varied approaches towards this social phenomenon which however imply the diversity and multiplicity of its functions and the role which it plays in answering the basic individual and social needs irrespective of whether the needs are material or spiritual. The great capacity of the functions of family is so obvious and tangible that even primitive societies were not unaware of. However, the West's new approach in the presence of feminism which is based on humanist cognitive foundations has not been able to consider an appropriate place for the family, marriage and motherhood nor has it been able to explain them properly. Feminists who claim to be striving to achieve for women a position equal to that of men, have described motherhood to be confined to a minimal sphere which is procreation and the likes. They strongly condemn motherhood in its broad sense.The present article delves into the various approaches and tendencies within feminism and studies them in relation to family, marriage and motherhood.