Feminism: An Analytical Study in the Context of Human Civilizations and Religions

حقوق نسواں: انسانی تہاذیب اور مذاہب کے تناظر میں تجزیاتی مطالعہ

Abstract

Before the advent of Prophet Hood, women were not considered as part of the human race.  The poor woman was groaning under the burden of torture and oppression. A woman who at one time was defined as a gentle soul, a source of peace, and a delicate gender, then at another moment she was also described as a slave, a daughter, and a source of corruption. Women were considered inferior to men, and their worth was often measured solely by their ability to bear children and maintain domestic duties. The status of the woman was degraded and based in most nations. They did not consider her a human being with a soul; rather, they used to believe that she was created from a base soul and that she was the source of evil and sin. The distinction that Islam gave to women set a precedent in the history of mankind fourteen centuries ago. Under the customary tribal law existing in Arabia before the rise of Islam, as a general rule women had virtually no legal status; fathers sold their daughters into marriage for a price, the husband could terminate the union at will, and women had little or no property or succession rights. In Islam, there is no difference between men and women as far as their relationship with Allah is concerned, as both are promised the same reward for good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct.