A woman is given the role of a mother; a role that Islam gives the highest respect to after Allah. People who disobey their mothers are held in God’s eyes as the worst type of sinners. Such is the place of women in the eyes of Allah. She is a "rehmat" or the bring of fortune and joy in the form of a daughter. And she is a wife; companion to man in all his social, physical and economic endeavours.
A woman is no commodity or slave but an equal to man in all spheres of life. She is in no way compelled to subjugate her will to the will of a man if she has the right stance. Thus, the examples of women suppression that we see in Middle Eastern countries are extreme misinterpretations of what Islam actually states about the due place of women in an Islamic society. In Islam the basis of submission is not that women are submitting to men, but that men and women together submit to God. So therefore, when you read the passages of the Qu’ran, it becomes very clear that the obedient from among both the believing men and women receive paradise, which is the greatest aim and objective in a Muslim's life.
The feminist movement of the 60s did much to gain recognition for women’s rights in the United States. But what it failed to do was recognise that men and women are different and women shouldn’t be exactly like men because they aren’t men. Islam recognise this major point, but what many Muslims fail to understand is that just because men and women are different, this doesn’t mean that men are made to do only "A", and women are made to do only "B". There is more overlap in their roles and contributions to society than there is clear-cut specialisation. Women belong in certain role whereas men belong in others but this does not give precedence to one over the other.
We can then say that Islam declares man and woman, as being of the same substance, ethics, feelings, mentality and one is not in a commanding position over the other. This then is the basic belief which if adhered to can eradicate a whole array of issues and problems that Muslim women face today.
Both men as well as women are adequately endowed with all the qualities required for understanding the basic realities and directives of God, which are necessary for success in the hereafter.
Both men as well as women are going to be separately and individually answerable for their deeds on the Day of Judgment; they shall get the reward and shall be punished only for their own deeds;
Both men as well as women are adequately endowed with all the qualities required for success in the hereafter; and
From a purely social perspective, men and women complement each other from various – psychological, physical, emotional, social and mental – aspects.
This should adequately clarify that the Qur’an has not stated whether men or women are more emotional or intelligent or sharp or sensitive, it has only stated that seen from a particular aspect, men and women are two separate parts of a pair and, thus, from this perspective, they complement each other. It is, in fact, in this particular sphere of life that the Qur’an wants each of them to take up and carry out the responsibilities, which are most suited to their particular dispositions and natural inclinations.
The separate roles of men and women have generally remained the same in all cultures over-time. It seems quite unlikely that these cultural roles have been a result of any planned implementation of a particular philosophical point of view, by those who shaped these cultures. On the contrary, it seems that these roles are only a materialization of the natural balance of the inclinations, interests and qualities of the male and the female species. These inclinations, interests and qualities of the male and the female species is precisely what most people have termed as their ‘natural’ or ‘inherent’ dispositions or qualities.
The question as to what exactly are these separate natural or inherent dispositions and qualities, can only be more precisely answered by psychologists and other experts on the basis of empirical data. Islam has not named or categorized these differences, it has only mentioned the fact that these differences do, in fact, not only exist but also provide the strongest of bases for the institution of family and society.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
