In the earlier times, the status of women in Islam has always been a contentious one with women being considered as being lesser beings than their male counterparts. Indeed, this draws back to the early times when women were only represented by their husbands in public places. Moreover, Islam does not allow women to mix freely with men. A country that still practices this form of gender segregation is Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, women sit separately from men even in meetings and other social events. They learn in different learning and educational institutions. They also have their own recreational facilities such as the swimming pools among others. In fact, Nieuwkerk (p.32) reveals that the earlier Islamic teachings encouraged the oppression of women in the Islamic context. This has however changed with the western civilization as the Islamic women are given voice and their opinions respected even in public forums. The critics of women rights in the Islam context use the Quran as their point of argument that women should be oppressed though there is no such direct statement made in the Quran.