Interrogating the Condition Precedent to the Exercise of Women’s Right to Work under Shari’ah in the Face of the Contemporary Challenges

Abstract

The popular notion and misconception is that women are disallowed to work under Shari’ah. The notion
continues to infatuate the minds of many in view of the fragile nature of women and the protection offered
them under Shari’ah. However, in the recent time, there exist many circumstances necessitating women to
work like their male counterparts even outside their households. The cases of single motherhood
syndromes and harsh economic condition have changed the narrative in most Muslim communities
thereby necessitating women to fend for themselves and their dependents. In the face of the contemporary
challenges in Islamic world, there is need to therefore interrogate the condition precedent for women to
work under Shari’ah jurisprudence. In doing so, the study adopts doctrinal method of legal research. The
study finds that freedom is very germane to ability to work; that right to work is subject to the overall
commandment of Allah under Shari’ah; that the expected role of women in society ordinarily does not
grant them freedom to work outside their home because their primary duty is to take care of their
husbands and children; and that the freedom granted women to work outside their households is
conditional with genuine case of Dharuurah (necessity). The study concludes that in the face of the
contemporary challenges bedeviling some women, they can exercise right to work subject to the
conditions stipulated under Shari’ah.