Women might make up some 50% of the world's population [give or take] but that doesn't mean that their position in any way equals that of males - be that in commerce, employment, income, rights and religious freedoms, etc. etc.
The Nation reports the results of the 2009 Global Gender Gap report:
"And the winner is... Iceland! According to the 2009 Global Gender Gap report of the World Economic Forum, the land of glaciers and puffins, population 319,000, is the most gender egalitarian country on earth, with women having closed 80 percent of the gap with men. Finland (2), Norway (3), Sweden (4) and Denmark (7) are in the top ten too, as is New Zealand (5). You could try harder, Spain (17) and Germany (12)--in 2007 you were in the top ten. And O, Canada: 25. Very sad.
The WEF measures the gap between women and men in four areas--economic activity, education, health and political representation--regardless of the absolute level of resources."
Meanwhile, another perspective. This time on the position of Muslim women. Writing on Information Clearing House in "Speaking Up for Muslim Women" Huda Jawad says:
"If one were to decide the biggest threat to Islam in the twenty-first century, the most blatant answer is found within us: our apathy towards fellow Muslims. The religion of Islam was sent as a blessing to mankind and a liberating force for women. Prior to the advent of Islam, females had practically no rights and were ignored socially and religiously. However, we too are ignoring female suffering at the hands of fellow Muslims and appear to be offended when the media uses these incidents to defame Islam. Rather than lobby to help these women, we focus our energies on combating the propaganda spread against Islam, and in turn, we are losing both battles."
And:
"The life course of thousands of young girls can be brightened if we allow them the opportunity to obtain what most of take for granted: an education. Their social weakness is being taken advantage of, and instead of condemning the force child marriages carried out in the Muslim world, we are overcome with dispassion and indifference towards them. The very least that we can do is ensure the world knows that Islam and Muslims will not tolerate such actions in the name of our religion and lobby to protect young girls from being treated as sub-humans. Instead of leaving it to human rights lawyers and journalists who may or may not have the best intentions, it is our responsibility to advocate for these young girls and ensure they too are protected."
The Nation reports the results of the 2009 Global Gender Gap report:
"And the winner is... Iceland! According to the 2009 Global Gender Gap report of the World Economic Forum, the land of glaciers and puffins, population 319,000, is the most gender egalitarian country on earth, with women having closed 80 percent of the gap with men. Finland (2), Norway (3), Sweden (4) and Denmark (7) are in the top ten too, as is New Zealand (5). You could try harder, Spain (17) and Germany (12)--in 2007 you were in the top ten. And O, Canada: 25. Very sad.
The WEF measures the gap between women and men in four areas--economic activity, education, health and political representation--regardless of the absolute level of resources."
Meanwhile, another perspective. This time on the position of Muslim women. Writing on Information Clearing House in "Speaking Up for Muslim Women" Huda Jawad says:
"If one were to decide the biggest threat to Islam in the twenty-first century, the most blatant answer is found within us: our apathy towards fellow Muslims. The religion of Islam was sent as a blessing to mankind and a liberating force for women. Prior to the advent of Islam, females had practically no rights and were ignored socially and religiously. However, we too are ignoring female suffering at the hands of fellow Muslims and appear to be offended when the media uses these incidents to defame Islam. Rather than lobby to help these women, we focus our energies on combating the propaganda spread against Islam, and in turn, we are losing both battles."
And:
"The life course of thousands of young girls can be brightened if we allow them the opportunity to obtain what most of take for granted: an education. Their social weakness is being taken advantage of, and instead of condemning the force child marriages carried out in the Muslim world, we are overcome with dispassion and indifference towards them. The very least that we can do is ensure the world knows that Islam and Muslims will not tolerate such actions in the name of our religion and lobby to protect young girls from being treated as sub-humans. Instead of leaving it to human rights lawyers and journalists who may or may not have the best intentions, it is our responsibility to advocate for these young girls and ensure they too are protected."
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