A CLARIFICATION OF
A MISUNDERSTANDING

An anthology of the Quran prepared by English orientalist Edward William Lane (1801-1876) was published in 1843. It carried a foreword by way of introduction to Islamic teaching, which, among other things, stated that “the fatal point in Islam is the degradation of woman.”

This ill-considered observation gained such currency that it was commonly repeated as an established fact. More than a century and a half has elapsed, but this conviction has only deepened. It has even been quoted as gospel truth by a prominent person in one of the court cases.

Suppose a doctor tells his patient that his eye is a delicate organ of the body to be treated gently and with great care, unlike his fingernails, which can be cut and filed if necessary. The doctor’s instruction does not mean he degrades the eye vis-a-vis the nail. He is only pointing out the difference between the nail and the eye.

If all laws in Islam are based on this fundamental reality that men and women are of two different genders, it is because their distinctive differences are established biological facts. This being so, male and female spheres of activity cannot be the same, whether in family or social life. There must necessarily be differences in the kind of work they do and their places of work.

All scriptures have held the same concept of women without ever being doubted. In modern times, it has been challenged by the women’s liberation movement, which holds that men and women are alike in every respect and that both should be given equal opportunities.

This movement first reared its head in Britain in the 18th century and later spread across Europe and America. In 1772, the momentum increased with the publication of ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women,’ written by Mary Wollstonecraft. The author asserts that women should receive the same treatment as men in education, work opportunities and politics, and the same moral standards should be applied to both genders. Such was the zeal and fervour with which this movement was launched that it spread far and wide. Both men and women participated, and differences between men and women have been brushed aside as a sign of backwardness. By the beginning of the 20th century, this trend established its hold worldwide, and laws were made or modified accordingly. All doors were to be thrown open to men and women alike.

In practice, however, this experiment has been a failure. Even after a struggle of almost 200 years, women have failed to achieve equal status to that of men. The situation is the same today as it was before the launching of the "women's lib" movement. The only practical result has been that women have become a part of every field and work alongside men. This has created new problems, and society is paying a heavy price.

The failure of women’s liberation has been established through wide-ranging research employing strictly scientific methods. Finally, the patent biological differences between men and women have been scientifically proven. These differences have been a reason for women’s failure to find an equal place in every department of life. Where philosophers had erroneously doubted the religious concept of women—scientific findings have now re-established this concept’s veracity.

For instance, the following research, though specifically related to the medical field, can draw our attention to understanding that gender differences are a part of nature and not a creation of society. They are real, and one cannot just wish them away.

Catherine Woolley, the William Deering Chairperson in Biological Sciences, Professor of neurobiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, and a Women’s Health Research Institute member at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, has this to say:

“The importance of studying gender differences in the brain is about making biology and medicine relevant to everyone, both men and women. No one studies things such as who is better at reading a map or why more men than women choose to enter certain professions.”

Male and female brains operate differently at a molecular level; the research team reports in a new study of brain function involved in learning and memory, responses to stress, etc.

For 20 years, Woolley avoided studying gender differences in the brain until her data showed that differences between females and males were fundamental.

“Being a scientist is about changing your mind in the face of new evidence,” Woolley said. “I had to change my mind because of this evidence.”

“We are not doing women—specifically women’s health—any favours by pretending that things are the same if they are not,” Woolley said.

Currently, much research is focusing on these differences. Science has supported the religious concept of men and women being different as being correct. Still, the allegation continues to be made that Islam has ‘degraded’ women. The Islamic concept of womanhood considers the two genders “equal in respect but different in roles.”

Unfortunately, well-read people have said that religious laws about women were socially reactionary. Such remarks are made so indiscriminately and so frequently that it is time one considers the possible root causes. One of the root causes is that the research results on the differences between men and women have remained only academic. These findings need to be transformed into a popular intellectual revolution. The social penetration of these ideas will have to take place on a vast scale. This is not far-fetched since modern science has provided all the arguments in its favour. It is only a question of engaging wholeheartedly in disseminating those findings.