Women's History Month 2022

The month of March is Women's History Month. This year's theme is, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” which is both an acknowledgment of the ceaseless efforts of healthcare workers during the pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of roles that women of all cultures have played to support their community throughout history. During this pandemic caregivers and the frontline workers remained optimistic and learned to think positively about the future. They made conscious decisions while focusing on the good.
Hope, optimism, and success are directly related to education which plays a significant role in the growth of an individual. Seeking knowledge is a sacred duty in all religions and Islam is no different. When it comes to Islam, the social status of Muslim women and their rights to education are commonly debated topics. The biggest misconception about Muslim women is that Islam prescribes women to be deprived of justice and freedom. But, unlike common belief, Islam gives women equal status to that of men. The Holy Qur'an states, "…Men shall have the share of that which they have earned, and women will have the share of what they have earned…" (4:33). The truth is that Islam prescribes specific roles and responsibilities for every single member of society regardless of gender.
In recent times, there are examples of many famous Muslim women who have played crucial roles in education and leadership such as Sheikh Hasina and Khalida Zia of Bangladesh who served as prime ministers, and Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia who was the president of Indonesia. From UAE, we have HE Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, who has been elected as UAE’s Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development since 2017. She is responsible for promoting the local culture at international levels and supporting emerging creative communities through national initiatives and policies. Another prominent example is Malala Yousufzai, a Pakistani Muslim girl, and Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2014. She was 14 years old when she was attacked by the Taliban for standing up for her birthright of education. So, it is a shame she had to fight for it when the Holy Quran provides clear-cut evidence that a woman is completely equal to a man in terms of her rights and responsibilities. It also emphasizes that Muslim women stand on the same level as Muslim men and they both can attain the same spiritual rank. Being raised in a Muslim-majority country, I have personally witnessed that Muslim girls are always encouraged to pursue education. As a matter of fact, girls outnumber boys in several universities and colleges.
Throughout history, Muslim women have made prominent contributions to the improvement of social and economic position in their societies since their faith has endowed them with equal rights. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) emphasized that "There is no claim of merit of an Arab over a non-Arab or of white over a black person or of a male over a female…." In honor of March being Woman's History Month, I hope that we can all understand the true teachings of Islam and show respect towards all women of the world.