Gender Inequality in Egypt

Paper Summary:

This paper argues that the misinterpretation of Islam has led Muslim men, in general, to mistreat their women and discriminate against them under a false cover of following Islamic rules. This discrimination is shown in the high rates of illiteracy for females, career opportunities, and marriage and divorce practices. The paper argues that it is culture and traditions that deny women equal rights and not the Islamic faith.

From the Paper:

"The works of Qasim Amin, one of Egypt's most important writers on feminist issues, prove that the subordination of females is a result of misinterpretations of Islam, and that the Egyptian feminist movement wants to apply the teachings of the religion, and not to copy the West. Amin demonstrated that the respect for female rights and equality was an obligation in correct Islamic practices (Phillip 28-29). Amin was supported by the leading Islamic Egyptian scholar, Sheikh Mohamed Abduh, who argued for feminism from a religious point of view. The argument they offered was that the Qu'ran established female rights and freed them from the inequality they suffered from during the pre-Islamic age, but misinterpretations of the Qu'ran transformed women into second-class citizens once again."

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