Regarding a Woman's Witness I have a reply/suggestion for the topic on your web page called "Questions on Misc. Issues: Regarding A Woman's Witness ". I know the Muslim women, or any woman for that matter, reading that 2 women = 1 man as far as a witness is concerned get overly anxious to understand why that is so. The answer is quite simple. It has nothing to do with a woman's intelligence, and I will give you a quick example of why this is so. If a crime occurs in which a person is killed, who is MORE likely to cover their face and be afraid to look: a man or a woman? The woman, of course, so therefore 2 women are needed as a witness. Reply In my opinion, the issue is not WHY a woman's witness is considered half as reliable as that of a man. I think the issue really is that SHOULD a woman's witness be considered half as reliable as that of a man. I have explained in my previous answer to a similar question that verse 282 of Surah Al-Baqarah , which has been the basis of the referred concept (i.e. a woman's witness is half as reliable as that of a man) does not imply anything of the sort. There is no verse anywhere in the Qur'an, which directs the court of law to consider a woman's witness to be half as reliable as that of a man. The point should only be discussed further if any one can come up with a verse of the Qur'an, which directly or indirectly gives a directive to a court of law that a woman's witness should be discounted. As far as your example is concerned, I do not think that the case regarding "who is more likely to be afraid to look at a corpse" can be generalized. I personally know men who feel nauseated at the sight of injury. Should the witness of such men also be discounted? On the other hand, such sights may not repulse female surgeons. Should we then make such women surgeons an exception from the rule? In my opinion, Islam has, rightly, not bound a court of law to accept or reject any witness. Accepting or rejecting a witness is actually to pass a subjective or a value judgment regarding the reliability of a person's statement. Thus, no objective principles can or should be framed regarding this acceptance or rejection of witnesses - especially any principles that distinguish between witnesses on the basis of their age, sex, beliefs or creed. A court may not be satisfied with ten male witnesses, due to their contradictory statements, while the statement of a single female witness may be so clear and convincing that the court may base its judgment on this one witness. I really do not think that Islam, in anyway, hinders any court to do so. I hope this helps. In case any aspect remains unclear, please feel free in writing back to me at your convenience. Regards The Learner