Gender Equality and Islam

Gender Equality

Gender equality is, first and foremost, a human right. This signifies building women's rights identical to men's and also making men's rights equal to women's. Gender equality is the quantifiable equivalent representation of women and men. Gender equality does not mean that women and men are the similar, but that they have equal value and should be accorded equal treatment. 

Pakistan has a population of about 180 million, over half of which are women. It is a smart economics to guarantee gender equality as a certification towards economic self dependence. By neglecting greater part of the segment from the economic mainstream we cannot generate better economic outcomes in this generation and the upcoming.

There is a gigantic space among genders to cover, mainly in areas of primary education, health care and equal opportunities for mainstreaming women in economic process. Similar to other low and middle-income developing countries, Pakistan has made some growth towards removing inequality in primary education by enhancing girls' enrolment proportion. In the current past when women had representation of 33% in local government level, a noteworthy development was achieved in delivery of community services at society. Legislation work concerning to all growth procedures predominantly relating to social sector was facilitated due to existence of women legislators who by nature are more anxious with interests of humanity as a whole.

Some people and surveys say that women faces unfairness in our society but is it possible that men are now being discriminated?  When the job advert explicitly declared that female candidates are preferred, in some families, wife is most dominant person we all know this fact. (Smiles)I believe that when there is a call for gender balance this stand for providing an even playing field where men and women could compete equally without favoritism or preference.

In Islam, there is no discrimination of male and female sex as the teachings of Holy Quran show that ALLAH (SWT) has created all human being equivalents. Several Verses of the Qur’an and Prophetic Traditions enjoin gender equality which definitely proves that reality.

“O mankind! Fear your Lord Who (initiated) your creation from a single soul, then from it created its mate, and from these two spread (the creation of) countless men and women.”

 “And according to usage, women too have rights over men similar to the rights of men over women.”

In Islam both men and women benefit from equal opportunities in all fields of life. However, it is also essential to differentiate between the responsibilities Islam has placed on both so, that they could develop their capabilities accordingly in the most excellent way, within their particular spheres and do not have to encounter any social anarchy. So far as the assignment of different tasks to women on the basis of competence is concerned, Islamic history is replete with examples.

I think that the matter of gender equality should not be seen in the religious point of view; rather it should be looked at from a broader angle. This issue is cultural, social, sociological and economic. It is class-based instead of faith-based. Had this subject been spiritual one, five women would not have elected as prime ministers in different democratic countries of the Islamic world. Contrary to this if we come across the western world, it appears that women were granted right to vote in the last century. So far as the top state office is concerned, no woman has so far reached in an enlightened country like the US. The similar is the case of the mainstream European countries.

In the deficiency of gender equality a society would face deprivation, economic disparity and other social harms. We as a whole should have to struggle to over come it. Education is the instrument that can facilitate the society to break the pattern of gender discrimination. There should be a discussion in Pakistan to confront such wrong concepts of gender inequality and make awareness to the society that it is Islam who has the power to demolish it.