Women have been denied equal rights to men for a long time in history. Western women have achieved equal rights for quite some time now but most of the eastern women are still in the shackles put on them by men. What rigid religious scholars and preachers do not let us know is that women have equal rights to men in Islam. A Muslim woman has equal rights to man in freedom of expression, in education and quest for knowledge, as well as in working.

This has also been mentioned in the Holy Quran:

“Their Lord responded to them: “I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female – you are equal to one another.” [3:195]

Women are even allowed to do business, and the opportunity that is there in Islam is that a woman does not have to share the profits or the wages she earns with her husband or family. She can spend it on her own will while the husband has to share and support the wife. This means that Islam gives equal in fact more rights to women. The only thing is most of the Muslim women do not know. Muslim women should stop following what these rigid scholars tell them, and now in the modern world translation is easily available. They can get it, read it, understand themselves, and know the things that others usually hide.

Women are in immense need to educate them to change the mentality of male dominating society. As mothers they can guide their sons, as sisters they can become mentors for their brothers and as a wife they can be very good friends of their husband. This way they can teach the men in their lives to respect woman, treat them equally and remain in the circle of Islam. It can only happen if the women are themselves educated and aware of their rights and duties laid upon them by Islam.

“And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women.” [2:226]

Same kind of message we see when we read the UN Human Rights Declaration. The very first article states:

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 3 states: Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.

Now one might ask When Islam and the United Nations provide similar teachings then where lies the problem. The problem lies at the place that we people do not study Islam ourselves and blindly follow what others are doing. Modern Muslim woman still faces many problems in her life thanks to the handcuffs put on her by the society. Most of the Muslim women are not allowed to get education, job, or even go outside home. It is such that people in some societies make their own rules to suppress the women.  Women are suppressed in Muslim countries by being denied the rights to higher education, jobs, and freedom. The Freedom to expression, freedom to step into the community side by side with man and freedom to live a life of their own will. The places where Muslim women are being treated in such a way are mostly the countries situated in Asia. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Iran are still living in the dark ages, following old cultures fearing to step in the new ones, and thereby hindering their own progress and prosperity.

“And of His signs are these: He created for you helpmates from yourselves that ye might find rest in them, and He ordained between you love and mercy.

[Holy Quran, 30:21]

A Muslim woman has many different roles to perform. One of those roles is of being a wife. As a Muslim woman, she is always faithful to her husband, takes care of the children herself instead of leaving them in someone else’s hands. There are less divorces and less cheating on spouse in Muslim countries. In Islam, husband and wife are as a cloth, which covers each other, and they are supposed to live in love and peace. In Islam Wife is considered like an ointment for her husband who supports him through tough times.

As a wife, a Muslim woman enjoys many things as for example:

The husband has to keep the promises that he made to his wife during the time of marriage. The husband has to provide her food, and fulfill her needs. He must respect her and pay attention to her, and listen to her advice in every situation. He cannot beat his wife.

The sad thing is that these rights are not enjoyed by most of the Muslim Women, and people of other countries are following these simple things and enjoying a peaceful life. This certainly is something that compels the person to stop and think what they have lost by not following the golden rules of Islam. Islam is based on simplicity and focuses on family life. Roles of husband and wife are well pre defined. For the sake of peaceful and blessed society, it is a must for both husband and wife to follow the true principles laid by Islam and fulfill the duties laid by Quran.

Muslim women are not inferior in any role they play. The male dominance and lack of information have disturbed the beautiful balance in the society.

Muslim women have long been devoid of doing job or business both of which are allowed in Islam. In fact, Islam gives women the option to keep the profit and earnings herself and spend the way she likes. People especially in the Muslim countries hardly gave women the permission to study. Those who studied were prohibited by their parents or husbands to work in offices thus reducing the number of working women more. Islam allows the women to spend her money in a business and earn from it. A country’s power is seen through its population. People are the ones who drive a country towards progress. Now what would happen if in a country where women are not allowed to work are suddenly allowed? Won’t there be a competition for better jobs? Won’t the country and its economy progress? You will have twice the working labor power.

Nowadays since the 911 attacks people are hesitant to give jobs to Muslims, especially the Muslim women due to their dressing style. What women should do is that they should also change their dressing ways a little. Times are changing. Nowadays we can’t hide our full faces like women used to do in ancient Arab Times.  Hijaab can be there but it is not necessary to hide the face. What matters is that the dress should be modest. There should be simplicity and sophistication in your whole attire. The dress code for Muslim women at work is the same as in the home in front of namehrum. It does not necessarily mean to wear burqa (long overcoat type dress worn over the clothing) when a Muslim girl goes to work or job but if the dress is enough to cover them properly it is all that they require. Covering oneself properly means to discourage people from staring at your body parts and treat you like sex objects in offices or other public places.

Muslim women need to educate them to get equal opportunity based jobs and this they can do if they stick to the basic principles of Islam. Education and information is bliss, especially for the women in Islam.

Since the terrorist and suicide bomb attacks that happened after the 9/11 catastrophe, people all over the world began to fear the Muslims, and especially the Muslim women for their veil and scarf. Some of the Muslim women wear hijaab that covers them from head to toe and most of the people fear them since the incidents. Some people are even prejudiced against such women. What we should remember is that there are always two sides of the coin. Women do not always wear hijaab so that they can hide a bomb strapped to them and perform suicide attack, but in fact, it is to cover them up. They do it because it decreases the unnecessary attention of men towards them. If we compare the number of rapes in other countries to a country with majority of Muslim women, we find that the later has less number of rape cases.

People however do not look at the positive side. It is because of the fear that some of the black sheep who call themselves Muslims have spread among the people by forcing some women to do suicide attacks or engage in terrorist activities. Islam is a religion of peace. We submit ourselves to Allah almighty, and we view all the other persons as our brothers as sisters. Why then would a woman try to kill her own brother and sister? If she has to correct them or stop them from something there, are other ways like discussing and reaching on a conclusion peacefully.