JULY 24

Equality of Men and Women

The historical study of men and women not just as social entities, but as major parts of God’s creation, shows them as having the right as such, to equal status and respect. Difference in their physique and capabilities reflects the degree of specialization in their biological make-up. If nature has decreed that man and woman should have different attributes and functions, it is so that, rather than duplicate each other, they should complement each other. And so long as they interact in this complimentarity the dictates of both nature and society are satisfactorily fulfilled.

From this respect men and women can be likened to a cart running on two wheels. Each of the wheels contributes equally to the running of the cart. Even if only one of the wheels goes out of order, the cart will stop. The way a cart traverses its path with the help of the two wheels, exactly in the same way, with mutual cooperation of men and women, the system of life can be run efficiently.

Thus the biological division of human beings into male and female is the result of purposeful planning by the Creator.

In Islam, a woman enjoys the same status as that of a man. There is no difference between man and woman as regards status, rights and blessings, both in this world and in the hereafter. Both are considered equal participants in the carrying out of the functions of daily living.

Here are some further quotations from the Quran and hadith regarding the position of women in Islam.

Women shall with justice have rights similar to those exercised against them. (2:228)

Women shall have a share in what their parents and kinsmen leave; whether it be little or much, it is legally theirs. (4:7)

...Those that have faith and do good works, both men and women, shall enter the Gardens of Paradise and receive blessings without measure. (4:124)