Woman Between Islam and Western Society
5. Position of Woman in the Islamic Shari‘ah
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MODERN RESEARCH
In recent times, it has been accepted as fact, on a
purely academic level, that fundamental, inborn
differences do exist between men and women. A
detailed article on the status of women in the
Encyclopaedia Britannica
includes a section on
“Scientific Studies of Male-Female Differences.”
Here the author points out physical differences in
the respective constitutions of the male and female
of the human species. “With respect to personality
traits,” he writes, “men are characterized by greater
aggressiveness, dominance and achievement
motivation, women by greater dependency, a
stronger social orientation, and the tendency to be
more easily discouraged by failure than men.”
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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.
