Women in Islam

WOMEN IN ISLAM It is not a news flash that Islam has been painted as a religion that oppresses women. In fact, the Westerners especially are very progressive in proving this by starting to put the idea that there is no difference between men and women thus they must be equally treated. Those who are ignorant about Islam would perceive that this religion is very oppressive to women by looking at the surface of the issues that involve women’s right such as hijab, polygamy and inheritance. These issues lead to the misconception of Muslim women all over the world, leaving Islam as a bias religion which denies women of their rights and freedom.
What people do not understand is that Islam gives both men and women their rights according to their natures. Women and men are different in nature thus they have their own rights which suit their natures. According to Abdul Rahim Green in his talk, Women in Islam: Liberated or Subjugated? , he stated that “Islam gives men and women their rights by defining for them their natural positions and natural situations. Islam is liberating us by returning us to our natural conditions which Allah created us.” He made his point by starting to make people understand that men and women are equal in the sense that both are granted soul, intellect and the choice to be or not to be an obedient servant of Allah. However, they are different in the fact that Allah has created men with capabilities and responsibilities and so do women. He mentioned that “There is something that Allah made men better at and there is something that Allah made women better at”. Both have been given specific capabilities and strengths which later bound them to certain responsibilities and rights.
Despite the differences of their natures, men are women are equal in the eyes of God. This is the fundamental concept in Islam. Dr. Ingrid Mattson, the President of the Islamic Society of North America has quoted to say that in the Qur’an Allah says, “The one who is