The Effect of Akhbārī Jurisprudential Views on Women’s Lack of Social Presence

Gaining familiarity with the school of thought of jurists, the cultural atmosphere of society, and their influence on women’s issues throughout history are among the prerequisites for judging the Islamic perspective on women’s issues. One of the influential schools in this field is the Akhbārī School. In this study, an attempt is made to present the effects of the views of Akhbārīs and the political atmosphere of the Safavid era in the field of women’s social participation. Also, it analyzed the scientific and practical behaviour of the Akhbārīs of the Safavid era on women’s confinement at home and examined their jurisprudential views on the prohibition of women’s social presence and encouraging them to stay at home. The issue of women’s participation and banning them from leaving the house was not limited or prohibited in this way before the emergence of Akhbārīs. Akhbārīs, especially Sheikh Ḥurr al-ʻĀmilī, have played a significant role in creating this restriction through fatwās and traditions that are sometimes incorrect. The preference (Istiḥbāb) of keeping women at home, the prohibition (ḥurmat) of seeing non-maḥrams, the unwillingness (kirāhat) to greet women, the unwillingness (kirāhat) to leave the house with the husband’s permission, the preference (istiḥbāb) of women’s spinning, and similar fatwas have affected the restriction of women’s presence and lack of social participation. It should be noted that before Akhbārīs, such chapters and fatwas about the limitations of women’s social presence did not exist or were not so strong in the earlier books.