Eski ban madam musalmane gagn droit travail dans "mixed" environments?

Question ID: 
1944
yan***@gmail.com asks:

Question

Assalaamu'alaykum.

SUBJECT: Eski ban madam musalmane gagn droit travail dans "mixed" environments?

Are muslim women, even those observing proper hijaab or purdah, allowed to work in confined spaces and where they have to interact with ghayr-mahram colleagues throughout the day? This is the case for the overwhelming majority of offices, where MOST of our muslim sisters work nowadays. I see this scenario in the office where I work myself everday, where some muslim women sit next to ghayr-mahram men and interact with them from morning till afternoon for work purposes, and inevitably also develop "informal" relationships with those non mahram men and discuss private matters with them, some of whom are even non-muslims. When I see this, I am not surprised that many muslim women in Mauritius end up in zina. Although I also know many muslim sisters at work who behave like proper and pious muslim women, I am still very confused as to whether it is halaal or haraam for muslim women to work in "Mixed" offices or environments.

JazakAllah.

Answer

Wa alaikumus salaam Warahmatullaahi wabarakaatuh,

According to the Shariah, it is not permissible for a woman to leave the precincts of her home without a valid reason. This prohibition is aggravated if she has to go out to work, especially in a non-Islamic environment where the laws of pardah are not being maintained as it is the norms in the workplace. This prohibition is based on the requirement of a woman to safeguard her chastity and uphold the laws of modesty and pardah. The laws of parda are not restricted to covering the entire body only. Rather it also implies that a woman should not interact freely with non-mahrams to the extent that they should even seclude themselves from the sight of non-mahrams as far as possible. Therefore, it is not permissible for a woman to work in such a place where her imaan and her deen are at stake.