Question: Is there anything wrong with Islamic sisters speaking to female neighbours in a loud voice from their balconies? Similarly, is it appropriate for women living in apartments above or below each other to call out to one another and have loud conversations?
Answer: This is very inappropriate, because in this kind of talking, there is a strong chance of non-Maḥram men hearing their voices. If Islamic sisters have something important to say to female neighbours, then they should use phones or intercoms.
Question: What about Islamic sisters raising their voices when shouting at their children?
Answer: It is a very inappropriate and unwise act for Islamic sisters to shout at their children in a voice that is audible outside their homes. Shouting at children in minor matters is also unwise because this will make the children even more ‘stubborn’. Therefore, mothers should use compassion more than constant chastisement. Constantly humiliating children in front of others will make their little hearts ‘disobedient’. Complaining about the child to a noble person in front of him with comments like, ‘Please tell him, he’s very annoying and naughty, he doesn’t listen to his parents’ etc. is unwise, because rather than improving, the child will feel, ‘My parents have humiliated me in front of so and so’.
These days many parents are distressed by their disobedient children. It would not be a surprise if one of the causes for this is excessive unnecessary scolding during adolescence and repeatedly humiliating and embarrassing them in front of other people.