Gender Roles in Islam
Inborn Differences Between Men and
Women
In recent times, it has been
accepted as fact, on a purely academic level, that fundamental, inborn differences do exist between men and women. A detailed article on
the status of women in the Encyclopedia Britannica includes a section on
“Scientific Studies of Male-Female Differences.” Here the author points out
physical differences in the respective constitutions of the male and female of
the human species. “With respect to personality traits,” he writes, “men are
characterized by greater aggressiveness, dominance and achievement motivation,
women by greater dependency, a stronger social orientation, and the tendency to
be more easily discouraged by failure than men.”
Scientific Experiments Supporting Gender Differences
And there are a number of
latter-day scientific experiments to back this up. Researchers have found
greater dependence and docility in very young girls, greater autonomy and
activity in boys. One such experiment was conducted in the U.S. When a barrier
was set up to separate youngsters from their mothers, boys tried to knock it
down; girls cried helplessly. There are personality differences between the
sexes too. Some distinctions turn up remarkably early. At New York University,
for example, researchers have found that a female infant stops sucking a bottle
and looks up when someone comes into the room; a male pays no attention to the
visitor. Scientific researchers almost unanimously agree that hormones help
determine how people feel and act. Thus, the male-female differences are
entirely genetic in nature. The passivity found in women is due to the
particular nature of the female hormones. Differences between male and female
hormones exist from birth: they are not acquired later, as would be the case if
they stemmed from differences in environment.
Islam: A Religion Based on Human Nature
The tenets of Islam are based
wholly on nature. This is because Islam is the religion of nature. The laws
Islam requires us to follow are, in fact, our own instinctive human
requirements expressed in legal terms. And the teachings of Islam with respect to women are no exception. They too are based on nature.
Modern, psychological, biological and anatomical research proves women to be
more passive than men. This is the way their Maker has fashioned them. The
nature of their womanhood, the special part they have to play in society,
demand that they should be just as they have been made — that is, relatively
delicate as compared to men. It is this fact of nature on which Islamic
teachings have been based. Because of women’s delicate constitution, Islam
teaches men to be gentle with them. That way they will not lose heart or become too despondent
to perform their special duties in life. Women are not like iron and steel
ribs: they are fragile and delicate. It is best to let them be in their natural
state. If one treats them as though they were tough metal, one will only break
them.
For Further Reading:
- Women in Islam: Full Rights and Independent Personality
- Women: Complete in Intellect and Faith?!
- Women’s Role in Society and Family in Islam vs. the West
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Taken from the book Woman in Islamic Shariah by Sheikh Wahiduddin Khan.
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