Quran’s View on Equal Rights of Men, Women
This is according to Hojat-ol-Islam Mohammad Ali Ayazi, an Iranian academic, who made the remarks while addressing a conference on gender equality. Here is a summary of his remarks:
My presumption is that men and women have no difference when it comes to public and civil rights. When referring to the position of humans, the Holy Quran does not differentiate between men and women. For instance, there are some verses that point to the issue of humans acting as deputies of God on earth. “When your Lord said to the angels, ‘I am appointing someone as my deputy on earth,’ they said (almost protesting), ‘Are you going to appoint one who will commit corruption and bloodshed therein, even though we (are the ones who) commemorate Your Name and glorify You?’ The Lord said, ‘I know that which you do not know’.” (Surah Baqarah, verse 30)
To highlight that humans enjoy the capacity to play this role, the Quran says in the next verse: “He taught Adam all the names. Then He introduced (some intelligent beings) to the angels, asking them to tell Him the names of these beings, if the angels were true to their claim (that they more deserved to be His deputies on earth).” (Surah Baqarah, verse 31) This caliphate that the Quran speaks about is where divine manifestations come to the surface. Gender has not been discussed here. Also, when referring to satan’s refusal to prostrate, the Quran does not talk about gender.
Discussing the issue of Amanah, God does not talk about gender either. “We offered Our Trust (Our deputation) to the heavens, to the earth, and to the mountains, but they could not bear this burden and were afraid to accept it. Mankind was able to accept this offer but he was unjust to himself and ignorant of the significance of this Trust.” (Surah al-Ahzab, verse 72)
Another group of verses points to a kind of “honor” bestowed by God. “We have honored the children of Adam, carried them on the land and the sea, given them pure sustenance and exalted them above most of My creatures.” (Surah Al-Isra', verse 70)
There is no difference between men and people in verses which point to the right of living such as “For this reason, We made it a law for the children of Israel that the killing of a person for reasons other than legal retaliation or for stopping corruption in the land is as great a sin as murdering all of mankind. However, to save a life would be as great a virtue as to save all of mankind. Our Messengers had come to them with clear authoritative evidence but many of them (Israelites) thereafter started doing wrong in the land.” (Surah Al-Ma'idah, verse 32) Here, too, gender has not been discussed.
Another category of verses refers to God’s making different things and phenomena subservient to people, such as “He made the sun and moon, each following its course, and the day and the night all subservient to you.” (Surah Ibrahim, verse 33) Again, there is no reference to gender here.
Meanwhile, verses that talk about rewards and punishment do not also differentiate between men and women. “All righteously believing male or female will be granted a blessed happy life and will receive their due reward and more.” (Surah An-Nahl, verse 97)
One can also see this in verses that talk about the creation, such as “People, have fear of your Lord who has created you from a single soul. From it He created your spouse and through them He populated the land with many men and women. Have fear of the One by whose Name you swear to settle your differences and have respect for your relatives. God certainly keeps watch over you.” (Surah An-Nisa, verse 1).
Other verses that talk about prayers, fasting, Hajj, etc. do not also contain any differentiation between men and women.
