The Principle of Division of Labour
In human society, ongoing activities are divided into different spheres. One of these is the sphere of government, also known as administration. The role of this sector is to manage the affairs of the state. In the present democratic age, those who work in this sphere generally change every five years. At the end of one term, elections are held for the next, and those elected assume responsibility for the administration during the following term.
This forms the political system of a society. The success of this sphere depends largely on whether free and fair elections are held at the end of each term, and whether the elected representatives discharge their governmental responsibilities with honesty and integrity.
Apart from this, the remaining activities of society may be broadly divided into two major areas. The first consists of productive activities, including agriculture, industry, and other sectors responsible for producing and supplying the necessities of life.
The second area is the sphere of education. It includes both formal and informal forms of education. With all its branches, this sector is responsible for educating and training each new generation, so that humanity may continually receive capable individuals who can carry civilization forward.
According to the principle of division of labour, the first sphere of human life—the productive sector—should primarily be managed by men. By using their God-given abilities constructively, men should continue to bear the responsibility of meeting humanity’s material and economic needs in every age.
The second sphere of life—the educational sphere—should primarily be entrusted to women. Women possess natural abilities that make them especially suited to this task, and they can often perform these functions more effectively than men.
This second sphere includes a wide range of fields, such as education, journalism, radio, television, literature, and other related areas. It bears the primary responsibility for shaping human character. In the modern age, new methods of communication have expanded the influence of this sphere more than ever before. Today, it can be managed in a more organized and comprehensive manner than in the past.
The conditions of our time require that, while remaining committed to essential moral principles, women assume leadership roles in both formal and informal education and dedicate themselves to the intellectual and moral development of humanity. As educators and nurturers of future generations, they should fulfill the historic role that nature, according to its creative design, has assigned to them. For women, this represents both a noble mission and a meaningful profession.
According to Islam, both men and women are equally entitled to dignity and respect. In matters of rights and responsibilities, they hold equal status. Equality, however, does not mean that they must perform identical roles. In other words, they are equal in respect but different in their roles.
An aircraft, for example, carries both men and women, but its safe operation depends on different people performing different tasks. If everyone insisted on doing exactly the same job, the aircraft could not even take off. And if such a dispute arose during the flight, it could end in disaster.
The truth is that the division of labour is a fundamental law of nature. Human life depends on this very principle. The same division of labour that is essential for society as a whole also applies to the relationship between men and women. In reality, what is needed is an effective distribution of responsibilities, not uniformity of roles.
By following this natural principle, a balanced social order can be established in which men and women fulfill their respective responsibilities, enabling society to continue functioning successfully without falling into chaos.
