Feminism in Crisis… From Empowerment to Excess

Feminism emerged in the 19th century under the weight of systemic injustice against European women, taking complex and multifaceted forms. The French Revolution served as a major source of inspiration for women in France and later across Europe to demand a set of basic human rights. At the time, women were earning half—or even less than half—the wages of men, while also being denied virtually all other rights. They were also subjected to a societal view that deemed them inferior to men in terms of humanity itself. Simone de Beauvoir was even driven to cry out for the recognition of women as fully human beings, equal to men, and not merely animals in human form.

If the harsh conditions surrounding European women were the catalyst for the rise of the feminist movement—following the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in the late 18th century, then the spread of socialism across Europe, and the movement’s transition to the United States with its surrounding human rights struggles—then a question arises: why did this movement migrate to Muslim Arab countries? What motives drive feminists there to demand rights they already enjoy—rights that their Western counterparts never dreamed of, either before or after?

Masculine Woman

Feminism in Islam: An Honorable History

For the past 14 centuries, Muslim women have lived under a divinely revealed constitutional framework. Through a series of commands from Allah, Muslim women have enjoyed rights and duties that not only ensure equality but sometimes even preference.

Let us present some of these divine texts—examples that might astonish their Western counterparts. Allah says regarding equal reward for men and women who perform good deeds, emigrate, endure harm for His cause, and engage in Jihad: “And their Lord responded to them, "Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another. So those who emigrated or were evicted from their homes or were harmed in My cause or fought or were killed - I will surely remove from them their misdeeds, and I will surely admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow.’” (Aal Imran: 195)

In another ayah, Allah establishes the religious guardianship of believing men and women over one another, highlighting their equal responsibility and reward: “The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those - Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.” (At-Tawbah: 71)

Islamic legislation even sets specific laws to protect women from verbal abuse, preserving their dignity and honor: “And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses - lash them with eighty lashes and do not accept from them testimony ever after. And those are the defiantly disobedient.” (An-Nur: 4) Allah also states: “And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable.” (Al-Baqarah: 228)

It is not only Qur’anic ayahs that assert equality between men and women with clarity and ease. The prophetic hadiths also reinforce and confirm these clear meanings. ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, as reported by Ahmad: “Yes, women are of the same nature as men.” He is not her master, and she is not subordinate to him.

How Islam Protects Women's Rights and Emotions?

When and Why Did Feminism Arise in the Arab World?

At the end of the Ottoman Empire’s rule—or more precisely, during the period of cultural decline that continues to this day—Muslim women suffered from deep societal restrictions. These included denial of the right to education, employment, and political engagement—rights Islam had originally granted them, respecting their feminine (emotional) nature, physical limitations, and unique strengths in other domains.

To be fair, it was not only women who were deprived of their rights. Many men and entire social classes were also denied their entitlements. Poverty and ignorance spread. It was during this time that Qasim Amin wrote his book on women's rights. His writings did not stray far from the frameworks and principles established by Islam, but they nevertheless shocked society by challenging cultural norms that had stood for centuries. As the symbolic authority of the Caliphate neared collapse, feminist ideas became entangled with political ideologies, and legitimate calls for rights veered away from the Islamic foundations that had long regulated society.

How Feminism Deviated from Its Legitimate Path?

No fair observer denies that the emergence of feminism in Europe was justified by the circumstances in which it developed—even if those circumstances did not exist in Muslim countries. The movement’s original demands—fair wages, education, and voting rights—were legitimate. But over time, deviation from these rights caused many to lose sympathy with the movement.

This deviation included turning the relationship between men and women into a type of adversarial, biological conflict between the sexes.

It also involved attempts to strip women of their natural roles as mothers and wives, pushing them to mimic masculine traits—as though their humanity could only be fulfilled by becoming men themselves. This extremism alienated a wide segment of former supporters.

Another deviation was the attempt to replace men in various societal roles—political, intellectual, and social—regardless of the effect of female nature on decision-making. In many cases, this led to ideological extremism in those fields because decisions were made without regard for the natural attributes of women.

What began as a legitimate demand for justice turned into a fearsome ideology. Feminism today seeks to erase all natural differences between the sexes and to impose women into all roles—physically, mentally, and emotionally—whether suitable or not. This comes at the expense of many of their essential human roles, without which society cannot function properly.

Is it not time for the wise to intervene and restore balance—so that each gender may fulfill the role assigned to it, in accordance with its nature and capabilities?

Dark Reality for Working Western Women

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