For ages, men did not treat the woman-folk with justice and fairness. That woman was inferior to man in intelligence, was, for long, regarded as a self-evident truth. All the dull and uninteresting tasks were, therefore, assigned to her. In the civilization man built up, woman had to be content with an inferior role. It is only recently that woman has begun to assert her rights and claim equality with man. Though the intellectual climate of the present age is generally favorable to woman's demand for equality, the question of its validity has not quite emerged from the smoke of the controversy.

No doubt, there are differences between man and woman, but they are in fact far fewer than those which used to be quoted. Even these few are largely biological. A potent difference is that in physical prowess. The male surpasses the female not so much in his capacity for endurance as in the intensity of his muscular action. He generally runs faster and punches harder. His red blood corpuscles which carry oxygen from the lungs to the muscles are ten percent more abundant than those of the female. Then her feminine (biological) peculiarities and maternal duties not only consume her energies to no inconsiderable extent, but also confine her indoor for long periods. All these factors supposedly keep her weaker of the two. Hence the tasks demanding great physical strength or regular out-door activities, such as fighting and hunting, were naturally assigned to the man, while the woman generally took over the lighter and domestic tasks, such as cooking and washing. As physical strength was an essential value for a primitive group constantly threatened by other hostile groups, man soon secured for himself a dominant position in the tribal set up. As this state of affairs continued for long ages, men consolidated their position of dominance and ruled over the women-folk with a high hand. Gradually women were reduced to the position of serfs.

The truth slowly dawned on man's mind that he had over-estimated the value of physical strength and military prowess. He realized that other abilities are equally valuable. In modern society, intelligence is valued more than bodily strength. The psychologists tell us that woman is man's equal in intelligence and some other abilities. Man is superior to woman in some abilities but inferior to her in others. For instance, he excels her in mechanical skill while she surpasses him in linguistic ability.

It is now generally admitted that woman is, on the whole, man’s equal. Nevertheless, deep down in her unconscious, the inferiority complex handed down from the immemorial past is firmly lodged. In the advanced countries of Europe and America, women are working shoulder to shoulder with men in the fields of science, industry and administration, but they too are impelled by an unconscious urge to make themselves attractive to men. The greater part of the money they earn is wasted on dress, make-up and finery. All the time they can spare, they devote to beautifying themselves. Obviously their main purpose is to make themselves fascinating and glamorous. This is because women have been told all the time, on religious authority, that God originally created man and woman was created subsequently because man felt lonely. She is, therefore, driven to the belief that she does not exist for herself but only to fulfil the wishes of man: hence her unconscious desire to become as attractive to man as possible.

The inferiority complex from which woman suffers has its roots in the remote past. The social framework which has remained basically unchanged assigned to her a status much lower than that of man. Man regarded her occasionally as a goddess, usually as a slave, but rarely as a comrade. In this man-made society, the dice were heavily loaded against her. The powerful forces of custom, law and religion were ranged against her. She could not own property in her own right. She could not choose her own mate. The father could give her in marriage to any one he liked. If the husband died even when she was still young, she was not permitted to remarry. Widowhood was her lot for the rest of her life. Sometimes she was even expected to die with her husband. The barbarous custom of Sati required her to sit on the funeral pyre of her dead husband and be burnt alive. Religion too was not kind to her. The Biblical story of Adam and Eve is hardly fair to her. It is said that God first created Adam, and then, out of his rib, He created Eve. The rib is crooked and so devout men were quite prepared to admit the same crookedness in the nature of woman. The sequel of the story shows that woman is not only crooked but also weak. She quickly succumbed to the seductions of Satan and tempted Adam into sin. The story of Adam and Eve, in which Eve plays the role of a temptress, is widely believed in throughout the Christian world. The attitude of the Christians towards women is, therefore, tinged with fear and hostility. To preserve their purity, devout men thought it necessary to avoid all contact with women. Marriage was looked upon as a necessary evil. Celibacy came to be regarded as a virtue. Woman was a hindrance to spiritual progress so, at least the priest, whose sole concern was the soul, had to remain unmarried.

Such ideas have been in vogue for centuries and, until recently, were to be found in all parts of the world. The Quran completely changed man's attitude towards woman. It placed the relation between man and woman on a basis of equality, exalting neither over the other.

The Quran does not say that man was created first and so has precedence over woman. It tells us that for every one, life originated from a mono-cell. The distinction between male and female came at a later stage, and when it appeared, both of them were very much there :

God created you from a single life-cell (نَّفۡسٍ۬ وَٲحِدَةٍ۬) and from it created its mate (زَوۡجَهَا : for man a woman and for woman a man) and from them twain, has spread abroad a multitude of men and women (4:1)

Thus, in the matter of creation, neither had any preferential treatment; nor was woman responsible for man’s first act of disobedience and his consequent expulsion from paradise. Both are said to have been led astray by Satan (2:36). According to the Quranic view, man and woman are equally capable of following the right path and equally liable to fall into destructive ways. Of course, they are not absolutely the same: in some things men are superior while in others women surpass them. It is a necessary consequence of the fact that their roles in life are complementary to each other. They are equal in worth although different in particular qualities :

God has so created you that one excels the other (بِمَا فَضَّلَ ٱللَّهُ بَعۡضَهُم) (in certain respects) (4: 34).

Not that man excels woman but one excels the other in certain respects and is surpassed by the other in other respects. For thousands of years, man has told woman that she is inferior to him not only in physical strength but also in intelligence and other abilities. Only recently has she realized that she can equal man in many walks of life. The Quran instills into her mind ideas of her essential worth and her own capacity. The Quran liberated woman from her age-long bondage to man. it says :

If men have the potentiality to develop their personality by harmonizing themselves with the Laws of Allah, then women also have a similar potentiality ; (إِنَّ ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ وَٱلۡمُسۡلِمَـٰتِ) if men can be members of a movement that aims at world peace according to the inviolable Laws of Allah, then women also can participate in it by becoming its members; (وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنَـٰتِ) if, men can restrain their capabilities so as to develop them within the Laws of Allah, so can women ; (وَٱلۡقَـٰنِتِينَ وَٱلۡقَـٰنِتَـٰتِ) if men can vindicate the truth of their conviction through its practical implementation in life, so can women vindicate it; (وَٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ وَٱلصَّـٰدِقَـٰتِ) if men can remain steadfast on the path they have chosen, so can women; (وَٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ وَٱلصَّـٰبِرَٲتِ) if men have the in-exhaustive capacity to be more and more in harmony with the Laws of Allah once they are set on this path, so have women this inexhaustible capacity ; (وَٱلۡخَـٰشِعِينَ وَٱلۡخَـٰشِعَـٰتِ) if men can sacrifice lower values for higher values, so can women; (وَٱلۡمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَٱلۡمُتَصَدِّقَـٰتِ) if men can exercise control and do not violate the limitations set on them, so can women; (وَٱلصَّـٰٓٮِٕمِينَ وَٱلصَّـٰٓٮِٕمَـٰتِ) if men can keep their sexual urge within the desired limits, so can women; (وَٱلۡحَـٰفِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمۡ وَٱلۡحَـٰفِظَـٰتِ) if men can understand the Laws of Allah and focus their activities in life on them, so can women. (وَٱلذَّٲڪِرِينَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرً۬ا وَٱلذَّٲڪِرَٲتِ) Now if both men and women have equal capacities and potentialities, their results should also be the same for both of them. Hence both will enjoy protection and security, and all other such benefits and joy that will come out of their deeds (33: 35).

This verse puts it beyond doubt that men and women are equal in all things that really matter in social activities. The path of progress is open to both alike and the reward for achieving it is the same for both:

And whoso does good work, whether male or female, and he (or she) is a Believer such will enter Jannah and they will not be wronged so much as the dint in a date-stone (4 : 124).

The Quran also leaves no doubt in the matter of her right to possess:

What man earns will be his and whatever the woman earns will belong to her (4: 32).

It will thus be seen that Quran treats man and woman as equals in all respects. The fact is that mankind will attain human stature only when it speaks about man and woman in terms of human beings, and not with reference to sex distinction. Woman (like man) has her own, personality, and the relation of personality to personality cannot be a relation of means and end; all personality is an end in itself.