The apostle Paul wrote the following to the church in Corinth:

"As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church."

(1 Corinthians 14: 34-35)

It's important to remember that whenever one interprets Scripture, it must be interpreted in light of its overall context. What was the writer writing about? What is written above the verse? What is written below the verse? What does the Bible say in other areas of Scripture in relation to the passage we are looking at?

When looking at what is written in (1 Corinthians 14:34-35) one might come to the conclusion that the apostle Paul was forbidding all women from speaking in a public worship service (under any circumstance). The apostle Paul, however, had previously acknowledged in his letter to the church in Corinth that women both prayed, and prophesied, in its public worship services (and he did not say that it was wrong for them to do so). (1 Corinthians 11:5)

In (1 Corinthians 14:26-40) we see however that during the public worship service of the church in Corinth, there was disorder (prophets were speaking at the same time and it would also seem that there were those who would speak in tongues at the same time with no interpreter etc.) It would, also, seem that there were married women, within the church, who were being disruptive by asking questions during the worship service. (1 Corinthians 14:33-35) The apostle Paul instructs these women (those who were being disruptive) that if they had questions, the public worship service was not the place to ask it. If they had questions, let them ask their own husbands at home.

It’s important to note that if the apostle Paul was addressing this to all women within the Church, he would not have said that they should ask their husbands at home (something an un-married woman could not do).