Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
3. Womanhood in Islam
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And there are a number of latter-day scientific
experiments to back this up. Researchers have
found greater dependence and docility in very
young girls, greater autonomy and activity in boys.
One such experiment was conducted in the U.S.
When a barrier was set up to separate youngsters
from their mothers, boys tried to knock it down;
girls cried helplessly.
There are personality differences between the sexes
too. Some distinctions turn up remarkably early. At
New York University, for example, researchers have
found that a female infant stops sucking a bottle
and looks up when someone comes into the room; a
male pays no attention to the visitor.
Scientific researchers almost unanimously agree
that hormones help determine how people feel and
act. Thus the male-female differences are entirely
genetic in nature. The passivity found in women is
due to the particular nature of the female hormones.
Differences between male and female hormones
exist from birth: they are not acquired later, as
would be the case if they stemmed from differences
in environment.
