THE TESTIMONY OF WOMAN

4. The status of woman ~ 67 ~ value upon memory per se. This is a matter of practical requirement, and does not discriminate against women or grant superiority to men. 56. Qur’an, 2:282. 57. The Times of India (New Delhi), January 18, 1985. AN ADDITIONAL, NOT A SUPERIOR QUALITY Here is a verse of the Qur’an which reads: “Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because God has given the one more (strength) than the other.”58 Fadilah is the Arabic word used in the scriptures to indicate the additional, masculine quality of protectiveness. For a household to be properly run, it should, of necessity, have a guardian. Guardianship is rightly entrusted to the family member who is best qualified to undertake this responsibility — namely, the husband, for protectiveness is a virtue which has been granted by nature in greater measure to men than to women. Far from mentioning absolute masculine