In a world where equality and human rights dominate public discussion, issues such as the impact of strict Islamic family laws on women's career advancement in the U.S. remain largely overlooked.

An important characteristic within strict Islamic families is the absence of tolerance. It means total and complete submission to Allah in one's life (Qadoos & ŞİMŞEK, 2020). Religion is not solely observed as a practice but as a social institution shaping our culture (Sitzmann et al., 2021), forming societies and the future of the next generation.

The traditional interpretation of Sharia law overpowers all other reasoning and can be seen as a political question rather than a legal issue today (Patwari & Ali, 2020). Especially considering Islam, cultural laws are seen as statutory laws of lands such as Bangladesh (Patwari & Ali, 2020). Thus, many strict families not only enforce but do not tolerate any acts that result in such laws being miscarried.

In 2008, Yaser Abdel Said was convicted of capital murder in the deaths of his teen daughters, known as "Honor Killing" (Su., 2022). Although Yaser is seen as an extreme and rare case not representing the Islamic community, it begs the question of what makes one become such an extremist and at what point further education and studies may be needed while conservative voices continue to use arguments to justify discrimination against women (Geeta Rao Gupta et al.,2019).

This study aims to provide a qualitative perspective with a cross-cultural analysis to provide better policy implications and support social awareness and change. Moreover, much of the existing literature is limited, especially in examining strict family laws and how these affect future career outlooks. The lack of research on this issue has created a gap and a barrier.

References

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