In particular, broad generalizations about the treatment of women in the Muslim world have been widely used to paint Islam as brutal or inhumane.

尤其是對女性在穆斯林世界遭遇的普遍認知被廣泛地用來渲染伊斯蘭教為暴力、沒有人性的。

But for many of the world’s one and a half billion Muslim men and women, this does not ring true.

但是對這世上 15 億的穆斯林善男信女來說，這並不是事實。

So, what does the Western world often get wrong about women in Islam?

所以西方世界通常對伊斯蘭教的女性有什麼錯誤的認知呢？

To start, public debate in the west often characterizes women in Islam as subordinate to men and in some ways, inferior as a result of Islamic scripture.

首先，西方的公開辯論常認為伊斯蘭教的女性是男性的附屬品，而且在某些方面因為伊斯蘭經典而屈於劣勢。

Men having multiple wives, women being forced to wear facial coverings, and not allowed to leave the home are often used as examples of such oppression.

男士可以有許多妻子、女性被強迫穿戴面紗、不允許離開屋子，這些都常被當成壓迫女性的例子。

Many believe that Islam’s holy book, the Quran, dictates these rules, and is thus inseparable from the values of Islam.

許多人相信伊斯蘭教神聖的經典─可蘭經註明了這些規則，也因此無法從伊斯蘭教的價值觀分離。

But this is not quite true. While there are, in fact, Quranic verses which say that men are “in charge” of women, the Quran also stresses fairness and justice towards women.

實則不然，事實上，可蘭經的詩文雖紀載男性負責掌管女性，不過可蘭經也強調對女性的公平正義。

For example, although polygamy is often justified by a passage in the Quran, that same passage says,

舉例來說，雖然可蘭經的一個章節授與了一夫多妻制的合理性，不過同一章節也提到：

“if you fear that you will not be able to maintain justice between your wives, then marry only one.”

「如果你害怕你沒有辦法在你的妻子們中，秉持公平正義那麼就只娶一個。」

Values concerning the respect of women in the Quran are often overlooked in interpretation and practice.

可蘭經中關注女性尊嚴的價值觀常常在釋義及實施的過程中被忽視。

Moreover, the overwhelming majority of “rules” found in Muslim majority countries which are oppressive to women do not have a direct basis in the Quran.

此外，大多數伊斯蘭國家用來對女性施壓的那些所謂的「規則」其實在可蘭經裡面都沒有直接的依據。

Instead, they are the result of rulings by Muslim jurists since the 10th century, long after the death of the prophet Muhammad, and the writing of the Quran.

它們其實是由十世紀起，穆斯林神學士所制定的規範而來，遠在伊斯蘭先知穆罕默德過世及可蘭經的撰寫之後。

A closer look at the inequality women face in certain countries shows that it is not Islam, or Islamic teaching which promote oppression,

仔細觀察後便能發現女性在特定國家受到的不平等待遇，並不是伊斯蘭教、或伊斯蘭教義所提倡的，

but oppressive governments using religion to maintain control over the people.

而是高壓政府利用宗教來維持他們對人民的控制。

One frequent example is Saudi Arabia, where women suffer from some of the worst inequality in the world.

一個經常舉的例子就是沙烏地阿拉伯，一個女性遭受到一些全世界最不平等待遇的國家。

Their prohibition from driving, or leaving the home without a chaperone, comes up again and again in the media.

他們禁止女性開車，或是在沒有伴侶陪同的情況下不能離開房子的限制一再地在媒體中出現。

But Saudi Arabian oppression extends to many other groups, including minorities, and even other sects of Islam.

不過沙烏地阿拉伯的迫害還延伸到其他群體，包括弱勢族群、甚至是部分伊斯蘭分支。

And those rules against women driving aren’t found in any other country.

而且那些禁止女性駕駛的法規在其他國家是找不到的。

In other words, oppression in Saudi Arabia is largely a problem with Saudi Arabia, not with Islam.

換言之，在沙烏地阿拉伯出現的壓迫情況大多是他們國家自己的問題，而不是伊斯蘭教的問題。

Meanwhile, Muslim women in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia see considerably greater freedom, and higher rates of education, while keeping within Muslim tradition.

與此同時，在其他國家，像是印尼、馬來西亞的穆斯林女性能在保有穆斯林傳統的同時，擁有更多的自由及更普及的教育。

In Indonesia, women have a roughly 90% literacy rate, as compared to Pakistan where the rate is closer to 40%.

相較於巴基斯坦女性 40% 的識字率，在印尼的女性則有約 90% 的識字率。

These more liberal countries are marked by greater democracy, and a blend of cultural influences from other religions.

這些較為自由開放的國家被認為有更好的民主，並且融合了不同信仰間的文化。

For Muslim women living outside of politically unstable monarchies and theocracies, life is considerably better.

對那些不是居住在君主或是神權國家的穆斯林女性來說，她們的生活好上許多。

And while passages within the Quran do place women in a somewhat deferential role to men, that is arguably also the case in all three Abrahamic religions, including Christianity and Judaism.

儘管可蘭經內的章節的確把女性與男性做出某些區隔，不過按理來說，這些區隔都存在於三個源自於亞伯拉罕的宗教，包括基督教及猶太教。

And in all cases, the real issue is governments and movements that build control around religion.

而且所有情況背後的真正問題是建立在宗教信仰上的政府及群眾運動。

It's important to understand that the repression of women is not simply a factor of extremest Islam, but of extremism as a whole.

重要的是要了解到對女權的打壓，並不是由於極端的伊斯蘭教的因素，而是源自於所有宗教的極端主義。

But women are fighting back, both against repressive governments and Western misunderstanding.

不過女性們正在反擊，反擊高壓政府以及西方世界的誤解。

Check out this video by Seeker Stories to learn about how women in France are taking back the veil.

看看這個由 Seeker Stories 製作的影片吧，瞭解法國女性如何重新接納（伊斯蘭）面紗。

The veil then has come to symbolize the simmering undercurrent of Islamophobia in the country;

（伊斯蘭）面紗已成了這國家潛在醞釀著伊斯蘭恐懼症的象徵；

One that's only intensified following the Charlie Hebdo and Paris terrorist attacks.

這種現象只有跟著 Charlie Hebdo 事件和巴黎恐攻強化。

But Subbamamud, professor of sociocultural anthropology at UC Berkeley, argues that Islamophobia in France goes way deeper than the veil controversy.

但 Subbamamud ，UC Berkeley 的社會文化人類學教授，提出伊斯蘭恐懼症在法國不僅僅止於（伊斯蘭）面紗的爭點而已。

It's a measure of the walked way that some non-muslims in France see minority groups.

而是在於非穆斯林民眾是如何用一種習以為常的態度看待法國少數名族。

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謝謝觀賞 TestTube News，別忘記給這個影片一個讚，並訂閱我們的頻道觀賞每天更新的影片！