The issue of women in Islam is topic of great misunderstanding and distortion due partly to a lack of understanding, but also partly due to misbehavior of some Muslims which has been taken to represent the teachings of Islam. We speak here about what Islam teaches, and that is that standard according to which Muslims are to be judged. As such, my basis and source is the Quran--the words of Allah, and the sayings of the Prophet, his deeds and his confirmation. Islamic laws are derived from these sources. To facilitate our discussion we can discuss the position of women from a spiritual, economic, social, and political standpoint.

The best way to judge a nation's progress is to find out the status of women there. The position of women in a society is the true index of its cultural and spiritual attainments. Since the origin of society, women have formed an integral part of social structure. Her role in the various walks of life has contributed to the evolution of values which have counted for what may be described, all round progress. Her status is the measuring rod in assessing the standard of culture of any age. A major index of progress of any society is the position of its women vis-a-vis men.