Political Participation of Women in the Islamic Awakening: Right or Duty?

By examining the political activities of people, and conduct of the Islamic society in the early Islam, we realize that because of the special customs and conditions of that time, the political activities of Muslim women were different from those of the women of modern society in terms of method and form. Some of the elements of the political activities of women in early Islam are the presence of women in Jihad, their Hijra (migration) to safeguard Islam, allegiance to Prophet Mohammad (S), support for Villaya (guardianship) and their protest against the rulers. Prophet Mohammad (S) and the Imams (S) approved of the presence of women in the political arena and this shows that Islam supports the participation of women in political and social activities; however, because of the changes in the social and political conditions and the social institutions, the form and method of social and political activities of women was different at that time. At the present time, the political participation of women, especially in the Islamic awakening can be analyzed from different aspects: their role in the continuation and fulfillment of the Islamic awakening, participation in elections, protest against despotic rulers, participation in political gatherings and social and political decision-makings and the like. The present article aims to answer the following questions: Is the political participation of women only a social right or a legal and religious duty as well? What is the viewpoint of Quran and Imams (S) about it?