In Canada, the relationship of Quebec to other provinces is that they are different but equal. In other words, both are respected, but they are not the same. One is primarily French in its culture, and one is primarily English. But both are worthy.

 

There is an analogy between how Canadians think of the province of Quebec and the other Canadian provinces, and how Islam, and specifically the Quran, view men and women. Both are worthy, but they are not the same, even beyond the obvious physical and biological differences.

 

Men and women have different rights, because they are different genders and they have different responsibilities. The Quran is very respectful of women. It says that men and women have the same innate character, which implies that they have the same potential. Unlike the Christian Bible (King James version), it is not written in the Quran that the serpent (Satan) misled Eve, and then Eve is the one who misled Adam. In the Quran, both Adam and Eve are condemned equally for sinning and opening themselves up to evil. By doing what they were expressly told not to do, Adam and Eve as a pair are condemned. Eve is not singled out.

 

The Quran offers paradise to both women and men, not just men. If a woman is righteous and does what she is supposed to do while she is on earth, and passes her test, she will inherit paradise or heaven. Like the Bible, who praised the prophetess Deborah, the Quran also compliments specific women. Mary, the mother of Jesus, achieved a level of spirituality that few women (or men) ever obtained, and the Quran justly sings her praises accordingly.

 

The Quran feels that churches who promote celibacy are engaging in wrong thinking. The Quran teaches that there is nothing wrong or unclean about sex, as long as it is practiced under appropriate circumstances. In the Quran, also, women are depicted as not being a source of sin or a temptation for men. Women have dignity in their own right, and were not put on earth to tempt men.

 

Source: http://www.iranchamber.com/personalities/mmotahari/works/woman_rights_islam.pdf