WAEC Islamic Religious Studies (IRS) 2019 Theory — Question 6

Model answer

CONDITIONS OF WOMEN IN PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIA: • They buried their female children alive (female infanticide). • They detested having female children because they believed girls would not be useful for war. • Women did not inherit anything from their family's estate. • Women were often shared with other 'property' if they were still young, upon a husband's death. • A man could divorce his wife and take her back repeatedly, more than three times, without proper limit. • Women generally had no say in the choice of their own marriage partners, and marriages were arranged without their consent. (Note: the original source material listed five such conditions; a sixth — lack of consent in marriage — is included here for completeness, as the question asks for six.)