So women are on an objective basis, unequal, but then one simply claims they are equal, and that the term equal means treatment as they get, and they are then equal.
That's called in an another world, lying?
A) I am of the opinion that Islam does not deal with men and women in terms of equality because Islam is not a religion which advocates equality but justice and equity.
Equality means that all persons should be dealt with equally, irrespective of their needs, abilities, responsibilities, rights and strength or weakness. In other words, an Equality Bannered Society is one that places equal responsibilities on and gives equal privileges and authority to its members regardless of gender or any other kind of discrimination.
Justice means that a person should be dealt with on the basis of what he deserves. Simply put, a Justice Bannered Society is one that places responsibilities on and gives privileges and authority to its members according to their abilities and qualities and also keeping in perspective the specific characteristic of each gender.
Islam has based its teachings on the irrefutable basis that all human beings are not equal as far as their physical attributes are concerned, though they are equal in so far as they are humans in their individual capacity. Therefore, all humans are equal in the context of respect etc but they cannot be treated equal in the practical daily activities of life. Islam allows differentiation among individuals, but this is not based on the gender discrimination of the individuals rather their inherent abilities - inner potential. Islam wants to develop a sound social environment. It is possible only through strengthening the family set up i.e. the basic unit of society. Islam wants the family to become a well governed institution. Allah has created man and woman in such a way that they complement each other. In short, they are of the same genre yet are distinct from each other; they are two interconnected poles or two units of a pair, to be more precise.
Hence, the difference in their mental, physical and emotional qualities decides for them different spheres of activities in the family.
According to the Qur’an, a husband should be the head of the family. For this, it presents two arguments:
i) Men have been given the responsibility of earning livelihood for the family i.e. to strive for the provision of the financial requirements of the family.
ii) Men are given more suitable mental, physical and emotional qualities for this purpose. On the other hand, women are given certain qualities that make them more suitable for responsibilities in other spheres. So, it is only in the particular relationship of husband and wife that Islam gives a degree of authority to man over woman. Beyond this sphere, both are considered equal. So, it would be wrong to say on this basis that Islam gives women lower status in the social set up as compared to men. In fact, Islam gives different rights and assigns different responsibilities to men and women according to their inherent abilities.
B) Now, I come to the other part of my proposition i.e. ‘should a witness borne by a lady be considered half in comparison to that of man?’ My critique on this view is based on the views of Mr Javed Ahmad Ghamidi.
First of all, I want to clarify that there is no verse anywhere in the Qur’an, which directs a court of law to consider a woman’s witness to be half reliable as that of a man. As for the verse 282 of Al-Baqarah, which is presented to substantiate the viewpoint in question, it has quite a different meaning and implication than what is construed from it. The conclusion drawn from this verse is not more than a logical fallacy, in my humble opinion. For my thesis, a close analysis of the verse is submitted here.
The above quoted verse is presented by the proponents of this view. They stress that women are deficient in terms of intellect. This conclusion derived from this verse is absolutely erroneous. In fact the real context of the original verse itself does away with this misconception.
Actually this verse addresses the common man. It does not relate to the law and thus gives no directive regarding judicial matters. In other words, it does not call upon the state, the legislative council or the legal authorities. This verse just invokes the common man’s attention for taking precautionary measures in case of a particular situation of conflict. It is a piece of advice to a common man in a matter far beyond the jurisdiction of law and order unless conflicts somehow arise to make it a point of law; but this is entirely another scenario.
http://www.renaissance.com.pk/Julrefl12y4.html
You may also want to read
http://www.renaissance.com.pk/septrefl12y2.html about the witness thing.
