Woman Between Islam and Western Society
5. Position of Woman in the Islamic Shari‘ah
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passive than men. This is the way their Maker has
fashioned them. The nature of their womanhood,
the special part they have to play in society,
demand that they should be just as they have been
made — that is, relatively delicate as compared to
men.
It is this fact of nature on which Islamic teachings
have been based. Because of women’s delicate
constitution, Islam teaches men to be gentle with
them. That way they will not lose heart or become
too despondent to perform their special duties in
life. Women are not like iron and steel ribs: they are
fragile and delicate. It is best to let them be, in their
natural state. If one treats them as though they were
tough metal, one will only break them.
REMARK OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE
Giving his verdict in the Muhammad Ahmad-Shah
Bano case, Mr. Y.V. Chandra Chud, Chief Justice of
the Indian Supreme Court, has written a special
note in which he says:
Some questions which arise under the
ordinary civil and criminal law are of a far-
