The Role of a Woman

that God’s promise was true. But most of them do not realize this. (28:7-13) This part of Moses’ story gives us an interesting example of how a woman can play an important role. Moses’ sister, Mariam, just fifteen years old at the time, was able to enter Pharaoh’s palace—where it would have been impossible for a man to go. It was possibly because of her youth and femininity that she was able to do so. From this it would appear that sometimes a woman can play a more subtle role than a man. And the above incident gives a very fine example of this reality. According to the Quran, men and women are born different from each other in nature. The Quran holds that men and women are both equal in the sense of being worthy of respect, but that they are different in the roles they play. Men can perform certain tasks better than women, and at the same time, women can perform certain tasks better than men. This is according to the creation plan of God. The Quran propounds the equality of men and women as human beings, but does not apply this rule for every kind of task to be undertaken. The above-mentioned story provides a good example of this. The Quran holds that men and women are both equal in the sense of being worthy of respect, but that they are different in the roles they play. Human life has different aspects; it requires different abilities for different kinds of undertakings in every walk of life. That is why God Almighty created men and women with different qualities. This difference is exactly in consonance with specific needs. A good human life can be built only by accepting this reality of creation.