The Rights of Women in Islam

This book is a long-overdue reassessment of women's rights in Islam which have long been widely misunderstood and misinterpreted. The fundamentalists, unmindful of the social context in which Quranic verses on the subject were written, have tried to portray men as superior human beings to women. The author, a renowned scholar, has sought to set the record straight by reinterpreting the women's rights in the true Quranic spirit. He argues, quite convincingly, that the Holy Book gives equal rights to both the sexes and that it does not discriminate between them in respect of personal, democratic and human rights. An activist in women's struggle for equality, he has provided Muslim feminists with a powerful weapon in their fight for equality with men. He examines in depth the question whether in secular society Muslim Personal Law needs any change, and, if so, in which direction reforms should be undertaken. The related issue of introduction of a common civil code, doing away with religiously discriminating laws, is considered.