Islam honors and respects women

I see that this is your first debate at debate. org, as this is my first as well. This should be an interesting debate. My opponent's resolution is "Islam honors and respects women". I will define honor and respect. Respect - to consider worthy of high regard[1] Honor - a showing of usually merited respect[2] For our purposes, honor and respect are virtually synonyms. Since my opponent is making a positive affirmation, it is her responsibility to prove that Islam honors and respects women. But in order to do that she must prove that (a)In Islam humans are considered worthy of high regard and women are considered equal. (b)In Islam humans (or men) are not of high regard, however women are an exception. The first two verses my opponent uses state that a man cannot harm her wife, marry her against her will, and show kindness. However, here's another verse from the Quran. "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great" [3] This verse shows that women have to obey their husbands or else they will be removed from their bed and beaten. Basically, obedience or the whip? This sounds a lot like slavery. If your wife does your bidding, you really don't have a good reason to be mean or harm her. Therefore, it is invalid to believe that Islamic men respect or honor their wives. Also note the opening verse. "Men are in charge of women". Does this phrase sound like women are treated equal? Does this phrase sound like Islam honors women? This sounds more like women are of low regard. Here are some more examples of women being undervalued by Islam: "And call two witness from among your men, two witnesses. And if two men be not at hand, then a man and two women"[4] If Islam respects women so much, why do you need a man as a witness? Why are two women needed to replace one man as a witness? "And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them in kindness, and men are a degree above them. "[5] The above passage clearly demonstrates that the Quran views men as better than women. "Allah chargeth you concerning (the provision for) your children: to the male the equivalent of the portion of two females" [6] Clearly, it is disrespectful for the male to obtain twice the inheritance as females. ". .Who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess. .. " [7] This passage defends ownership of women, sex outside of marriage, and having sex with women against their will. My opponent states that the reason that women wear garments is to protect their modesty, and this is not a form of oppression. However, why can't we embrace the women's beauty rather than shun it? Should the portrait of the Mona Lisa be covered from its beauty to avoid being insulted. Likewise, if a women chooses to wear less garments, why should Islam enforce this? Shouldn't a women's freedom be respected as well? What about on warm days, where wearing long garments could cause overheating? Shouldn't we respect a women's right for comfort? Furthermore, there is no proof that wearing long garments will avoid one from being insulted. And, assuming the premise to be true, it's still a women's choice of clothes to wear. If I wore a skirt and a tank top (I'm a male), I would surely be insulted. However, I still have the right to do it. The Islam fate also severely punishes women for lewdness. Lewdness is a desire for sexual intercourse. In many cultures, especially western cultures, women engage in lewd behavior. "The fornication of the eyes is to look with lust; the fornication of the tongue is to speak lustful things; the fornication of the hands is to touch with lust; the fornication of the feet is to walk towards lust; the fornication of the heart is to desire evil. " – Muhammad Behavior in western and many societies engage in many of these behaviors, and therefore these women would be guilty of lewd behavior. Women are severely punished for this: "As for those of your women who are guilty of lewdness, call to witness four of you against them. And if they testify (to the truth of the allegation) then confine them to the houses until death take them" [8] The verse that you showed, Quran, 4:19, actually demonstrated that men can actually "inherit women" (marry women against their will) if the women have lewd behavior: "O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will. …………… except where they have been guilty of open lewdness" It is important to note that this resolution claims that Islam respect women, include non-Muslim women. If women in western civilization and other cultures are not respected, because of their lifestyle, then Islam is still disrespecting women. To summarize the debate so far: -Pro claims that husbands respect their wives. However, I have shown passages from the Quran that negate these claims -Pro claims that women are treated equally as men, Con again show Quran passages that negate these claims -Pro claims that the wearing of long garments is not oppression, since it is to avoid insults from others. Con claims it is disrespects women's freedom . -Con claims that the Islam faith shows special disrespect to ‘lustful' women, like those in western civilization I look forward to Pro's response. [1] . http://www.merriam-webster.com... [2] . http://www.merriam-webster.com... [3] Quran(4:34) [4]Quran(2:228) [5]Quran(2:282) [6]Quran( 4:11) [7] Quran(23:5-6) [8]Quran(4:15)