Religion and Gender Inequality

Feminists argue that women’s oppression is shown in almost every religion as they criticise that in almost all the religions, the gods are male although Karen Armstrong holds strong arguments against this and shows that from the start were not always about male dominance. The earth mother was a women/goddess and female priesthoods were found throughout the east around 6000

Throughout centuries of human existence, women have been deemed as inferior to men in multiple different cultures and religions. Men have developed a norm to be the individual who carries out duties to help maintain a stable life for himself and the family in which he is providing for. Because of this fundamentalist approach towards how society should be, women’s rights have been suppressed throughout political, social, and cultural actions. The Islamic religion in particular, is fond of abusing the rights of women and empowering the rights of men in such a way that it has created a permanent existence of conflict within countries who follow Islam. In fact, in the Quran it states that women must have lesser authority than men, therefore their

“The world is still sexist.” — Barbara Broccoli. From the creation story to modern day, women and men still struggle with a power dynamic of inferiority and superiority. The problem of sexism has been ever-present throughout history, and although it has been acknowledged by many, it has not been eradicated or resolved. Although the acknowledgment of sexism has grown over the course of the modern era, it is heavily rooted in society’s developmental process, which makes it continuously difficult to annihilate. Furthermore, throughout many historical texts, women are often represented as objects instead of real people. Within texts, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Bible, the Quran, and the Torah, women are constantly regarded as inferiors instead of equals with men. Throughout these texts, there is a clear separation between the treatment of men and women, with women always being referred to as property.

In the Hebrew Bible, a significant section where this idea can be seen is in the beginning with the story of Adam and Eve, specifically in Genesis 4. When Eve is manipulated to eat the forbidden fruit, it poses the idea that the suffering of humankind was caused by a woman, showing the idea that woman react without consideration or senselessly, when really Eve was only acting on a very human trait, curiosity. When Eve convinces Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, one of gods punishment to Eve is “Your man shall be your longing, and rule over you” (p.97). Or when God describes Eve as “his woman”, God is essentially saying she is not her own independent person and is meant to be owned by men. This passage alone shows that women are viewed as people that were meant to be controlled; that men were always meant to be above them.

According to Islamic Hadiths and the teachings of the Quran, men and women are seen as equal “Verily, women are the twin halves of men”(Abu dawood #234, Tirmidhi #113). Men and women are seen equal in regards to their humanity but in regards to their

Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them, forsake them in beds apart, and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. (64)

For example, if a women decided to become a doctor, this would be impossible because she wouldn’t be able to operate on her patient if she was wearing the required dress. Although the Quran states that women are equal to men, there are also man made books, called the Hadith, which put women on the same level as animals. As stated in the Hadith, “Women are naturally, morally and religiously defective.” Although this may sound odd, the more traditional Muslims prefer the Hadith, over the Quran even though it is their religious book.

With few exceptions, our male dominated society has traditionally feared, repressed, and stymied the growth of women. As exemplified in history, man has always enjoyed a superior position. According to Genesis in the Old Testament, the fact that man was created first has led to the perception that man should rule. However, since woman was created from man’s rib, there is a strong argument that woman was meant to work along side with man as an equal partner. As James Weldon Johnson’s poem, “Behold de Rib,” clearly illustrates, if God had intended for woman to be dominated, then she would have been created from a bone in the foot, but “he

In “An Introduction to Muslim Women’s Rights,” Azizah al-Hibri discusses how patriarchy affects the interpretation of Quran. She argues that Muslim jurists that interpreted the Quran and Islamic Law, lived in a patriarch world. Their views about men and women are based on the patriarchy in their societies, hence, their interpretation of the Quran and Islamic Law represents patriarchy. Al-Hibri argues that throughout the Quran, God emphasizes his Oneness and says that all humans were created by him from one soul. This emphasizes the concept of tawhid; there is no God but Allah and that Allah considers all human beings equal regardless of their gender. Furthermore, she argues that for Allah, the one who is the most pious is the most honorable, hence, gender plays no role and does not make one superior than the other. Moreover, she argues that considering men to be naturally superior to women is the same mistake that Satan committed. He considered himself to be naturally superior to others and refused to bow to Adam. Aziza Al- Hibri also gives suggestions for what important changes need to be made in order to improve the status of Muslim women in the society. She argues that any interpretation that may be harmful towards any member of the society should be re-evaluated, which include issues such as guardianship, polygamy and divorce, so that Muslim women are given the rights that their religion gives them. Al-Hibri’s work is useful for my research as it argues that the way jurists translated the Quran was affected by the society they lived in. Hence, they interpreted the Quran in a patriarchal context and manipulated it to validate that men are superior to

Throughout Ancient History, there is a trend where women are inferior to men. Even to this day, in some communities, men are superior to women. Women’s rights have been a popular topic of conversation today. People all around the world are striving to bring equal rights to the genders. Gender equality is where men and women are represented equally. It doesn't mean that both genders are the same but rather the same value; thus both genders should be given equal treatment. In the fight for equal rights, many feminists have pointed to the Middle Ages as an example of where men are superior to women, and that women had virtually no rights. However, during the Middle Ages with the development of individualism, women had a considerate amount of rights similar to their male counterparts. The most significant development in gender equality in Western Civilization before 1350 C.E., was the development of individualism in the Middle Ages.

I believe gender and religion is a very interesting topic because there are many ways these two topics intermingle and affect each other. There are many ways that one could go about analyzing the complex and ever-changing relationship between religion and gender. It is important to look at the higher spiritual being or beings that are worshiped, the religious leader such as a priest or rabbi, and also the members of a certain religion and asses how gender affects it.

At the same time, they are advocating equality for all and mean no difference between the status of men and women. Generally speaking, all Muslims belong to one family, regardless of their size or

Unfortunately, the era of men and women being equal was hasty. Briefly after Mohammed’s death Islamic society changed, so did the interpretations of the Quran to meet different circumstances. Almost simultaneously women became inferior almost being viewed as possessions and property. Having choices was no longer an option for women, whatever the man said became the law. Girls at birth could be killed by their father’s because boys carried the name of the family while girls usually were concubines, workers, or sold. Most significantly women’s roles depended largely on what the husband’s economic status was. If the husband was a farmer the wife had to help in the fields or if the husband worked in the city she had to help run the business.

The Bible is controversial on the matter of gender equality. There are numerous contradictions about the status of women in Christian society. Historically, the most prominent interpretation has been rather negative toward women. The Christian Church, with principally male authority, emphasizes the idea that women are inferior to man. They focus on Eve’s sin leading to a punishment that “her husband will have authority over her.” (Drury, 34)

          You might have heard at some time or the other that Islam teaches that women are