Equal yet Different

Equal yet Different

While men and women have equal rights as a general principle, the specific rights and responsibilities granted to them are not identical. Men and women have complementary rights and responsibilities.

Aside from external and internal anatomical differences, scientists know there are many other subtle differences in the way the brains of men and women process language, information and emotion, just to mention a few.

A socio-biology expert, Edward O. Wilson of Harvard University, said that females tend to be higher than males in verbal skills, empathy and social skills, among other things, while men tend to be higher in independence, dominance, spatial and mathematical skills, rank-related aggression, and other characteristics.

It would be foolish to treat both genders the same and to ignore their differences. Islam teaches that men and women have complementary, yet different, roles because it is best suited to their nature. God says:
https://livequranforkids.com/learn-quran-online
"And the male is not like the female."Qur'an 3:36

"Does not the One who created, know? And He is the Most Kind, the All Aware."Qur'an 67:14

The Family Unit

God created men and women to be different, with unique roles, skills and responsibilities. These differences are not viewed as evidences of superiority or inferiority, but of specialisation. In Islam, the family is of central importance. The man is responsible for the financial well being of the family while the woman contributes to the family's physical, educational and emotional well being. This encourages cooperation rather than competition. By fulfilling their mutual responsibilities, strong families are created and hence strong societies.

Also, emotionally, neither men nor women live a happy life without one another. Allah describes this beautifully by saying:

"They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them."Qur'an 2:187

Clothing provides comfort, warmth and security as well as making one look good - this is how the relationship between the husband and wife is defined in Islam.