The role of women in Islam has been a really polemic topic all around the world, it has been part of many debates, and in many discussions. One of the things that really catches my attention is how women are seen less than man. This is a very controversial topics about how women have fewer rights than man. In many societies the women are seeing as incapable of doing lots of things such as; leading a company, or being presidents of a nation. In the eastern culture we don’t witness many of this actions but in many western/muslim societies, women are seen a thing that it owned by the male gender. Most of the women in the muslim countries don’t have a proper education, and they are not allowed to do certain things such as working, or getting their own wage. They have to wear this hijab thing so they are “protected” from other men that are not their husbands. Where are all of this rules imposed to the women come from?

The hijab is a piece of clothing that is worn in the head by many muslim women all around the western society. The hijab hides the identity of women. They have to cover all of their faces (and sometimes bodies) so, that they can’t be looked at by other men that are not their husbands. In my opinion the hijab takes away the real identity of the women, making them property of their husbands, which is senseless. Marjane Satrapi is the author of the book called “Persepolis”, and she agrees. She had lived a normal childhood when the schools started to implement the hijab. “I really didn’t know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde” Pg 6 , thanks to this quote, we can see how the veil was judge in the time, most girls did not know what to do with it, and Marjane sounds like if she had to pick one of the 2 sides, being really religious, or being modern, there was no intermediate you were one or the other, also the government and the society are oppressing the people into only being religious.

The book of the muslim religion is called the Qur'an its the bible for the muslims and this book contains the rules of the muslims. While analysing some parts of this book. I learned that the women in muslim countries (according to the Quran) are very valuable and very praise to the men. The husbands have to take care of them by giving the protection, food, a place to sleep etc. Also the marriage in the muslim religion is based on equality so, when a couple is going to get married, the couple share their belongings. So the money that the husband makes at work, is money that the wife can also use. Adding to this broad equality topic, the Quran states that women can work, and they have the same “rights” as men. They have to share their wages. We see equality in this book and also the book shows the women as strong, independent, and equal as men. So if the Quran that as previously stated is the bible of the muslim religion why aren’t the men treating the women as equal as them, why are we facing the problem of gender inequality, and women shown as less than man.

In only a few parts of the holy book there are differences from men and women, and these parts of the book are being analyzed by both genders all over the world. When a part of the Quran says that the men are “better” than women, its is understood that men are responsible for the financial support of women. The Quran permits a Muslim man to have 4 wives, but its states that all of the 4 women have to be treated equally, and with the same respect and also all of them have to be economically equal.

Now that we have clarified the role of women according to the Quran, lets dig a little bit more on how the women are being treated. In the book “I am Malala” we as can see how she had few rights in her country. Thanks to her really conservative father,  her education possibilities were much abroad. Malala lived in Pakistan her whole childhood, and she had a family which was no ordinary one, because the were very liberal, by this I mean that his father was very open and he tought that women should have also the right to go to school and have a proper education. Her father was as equal with her brothers and Malala. Also, during the book we can highlight the respect that Malala father has towards his wife, he cares for her, and he supports her in every aspect.

Malala also lives a lot of unfairness, and something that is really curious, is when Malala said that her mother, has a slight preference for her to younger brothers. We could interpreted this in many different ways; the first possible way, is that the mother has a special affection for her two sons, and the second possible way is that, she had been raised with the mentality that the women are less than men. This is another example, that show us how the men in the western muslim society are thinking that they are better than women, but the women themselves are starting to think that men are superior than them. “Our men think earning money and ordering around others is where power lies. They don't think power is in the hands of the woman who takes care of everyone all day long, and gives birth to their children.” Malala thinks as I do. Her argument is that she thinks that the woman's job is as important as men’s and even more important because they benefit everyone in the family, not only them. In this quote, I think that she is trying to say that even tho women don’t work in elegant offices, and travel in fancy suits, with fancy cars, they are as capable and as helpful in the family.

The role of women of in Islam is very controversial, and there is many true story about brave women out there who are fighting this non-sense. There are really shocking autobiographies that can really show you the reality of some women all around the world. People such as Malala, and Marjane, that swam upstream and got to the top. This are women to value and to give pride. I invite you to read their books because with them, you can see how women are being discriminated all around the world.