Woman Between Islam and Western Society
6. The Rights of Husband and Wife
~ 358 ~
Making man the maintainer in no way indicates that
man is superior to woman. This choice is based on
man’s capacities for management rather than on his
superiority. In a democratic system, everyone has
been granted an equal status yet when a government
is formed, one particular individual is entrusted with
supreme political power. This does not mean that
this possessor of power is superior to other citizens.
In a democratic system, the president or the prime
minister has one vote like all the other citizens. Even
then, in the interest of good management authority
is entrusted to a single individual.
Except for man’s role as manager, man and woman
have completely equal status. For instance, if a
woman kills a man, and the crime is proved, the
woman will be required to pay the penalty (Qur’an,
2: 178). Similarly, as a
hadith
tells us, if a man kills a
woman, after the crime is proved, “Verily the man
will be killed for having killed a woman.”
7
There is no legal discrimination in the eyes of
the
shari’ah
between woman and man. The laws
applicable to men are also applicable to
women.
