GENDER EQUALITY — Equal Partnership

GENDER EQUALITY Equal Partnership GENDER equality means equality between men and women. This concept is said to have originated and flourished between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. But in fact, it is a natural concept that can be traced back to the beginning of human history, when the first man and woman were born and settled in a place referred to in the Bible as the Garden of Eden, and in the Quran as jannah, or Paradise. According to the Quran, when God Almighty created the first pair of Adam and Eve and settled them in Paradise, He said to them: “O Adam, live with your wife in Paradise and both of you eat freely from it, wherever you may wish.” This narration tells us an important fact. Here, “Eat freely” is a symbolic expression. It covers all kinds of human activities. It means: ‘Both are allowed free participation without any restriction in every activity of life’ that a man and a woman share with each other; both are equal partners in the activities of life. Together, both have to try to fulfil the purpose of life. This proves that gender equality is part of nature. It is a part of the creation plan of God and no one can change this status of the two genders. Gender equality is a part of the creation plan of God and no one can change this status of the two genders. As far as the religion of Islam is concerned, it acknowledges that there is equality between the two genders. Two references are mentioned here, one from the Quran and the other from the Hadith which are the sayings of the Prophet of Islam. This equal status of the two genders is mentioned in the Quran in these words: “You (man and woman) are members one of another.” Then, the Prophet of Islam has said: “An-nisa shaqaiq ar-rijal.” It means that men and women are two equal halves of a single unit. It is a social fact that life is based on equal partnership. No single man or single woman can perform any meaningful activity alone. In this world any activity takes place through mutual partnership. This is the law of nature, and the law of nature cannot change.