Of course it is not permissible for a woman to go outside without a valid need, working is not one of these needs unless there is no man to provide for her. It is never the obligation of a woman to work when there are males in her family that are able to support her, people have forgotten this and become Beghairat, they allow their wives, daughters, sisters to go out and mix with men without any need, except for perhaps a faster car or bigger house, selling their Izzat for Maal. As for staying at home and doing housework then this is the duty of the woman and the means by which she gains immense rewards and combined with other forms of service and obedience to husband and taking care of his children, this is her way to Jannah and her purpose in life. Many women of today say they want to be like Sayyidah Khadījah رضي الله عنها yet they do not realise she gave her business and property to RasūlAllāh ﷺ and promised to serve him all her life, this is different to the feminist camp who want to neglect husband and children for the sake of career. Sayyidah Khadījah رضي الله عنها said, “O Muhammad (peace be upon him), this wages is too little but if you wish, I can get you married to a woman who is both honorable and rich, and all the wealthy men of Arabia and even non- Arabs wish to marry her but she is not convinced. If you agree then I can try to make her Nikah with you but she has a defect. She was married before and her husband has passed away but if you still agree then she will serve you all her life.” Sayyidah Khadījah رضي الله عنها said to him, “All my wealth, properties, slaves etc. are yours now.” How many of these Westernised modern women would be prepared to say that?
So what are we teaching our women in our masaajid? Please post links to relevant speeches on the topic.
This is the biggest myth being told to women - that they need to work, enter the corporate world and 'become something', 'achieve something'....from my experience, corporations are a complete waste of an individuals skills, abilities and time....what do women achieve working up the ranks in a corporation while neglecting their homes and family? All for what? A job title? Why is this so important when, as mentioned in another recent thread, this world is not worth a fly's wing?
We should be discouraging Muslim women from careers* in Finance, Marketing, Accounting, Engineering. Healthcare, teaching and maybe Legal are the only fields that we actively need women due to the nature of the world we live in (e.g. female doctors and nurses needed in hospitals and medical clinics; female teachers needed for girls schools). * Not saying they shouldn't learn the skill and apply it somewhere that assists Islam; but they shouldn't pursue it as a profession in the corporate world.
In older times, men and women would pair up and marry, with the man working and providing for the household and with the woman looking after the house and kids. With women entering the workforce, you now have these same couples competing for a limited number of jobs. You've effectively doubled the workforce with out necessarily creating jobs to match the increase. Naturally you'll end up with households that can't support themselves sufficiently. For example: Say there are 100 households in a town, with each household composed of a married man and woman (so 100 of each, total population of 200) Say each man is employed as there are 100 jobs available; therefore each household is provided for If all 100 women seek jobs, now the workforce has increased to 200 even though there are only 100 jobs Assume 50 women obtain jobs; 50 men in turn lose theirs since only 100 were available (so 50 men working and 50 women working) Say each of these women with jobs are married to men with jobs as well - therefore 50 households are earning double incomes while 50 households are not provided for anymore This is a bit of an extreme example but regardless of the factors (number of jobs, how many incomes in the household, etc.) you're going to end up with a worse off economy and society with women in the workforce.
