Is man superior to woman?

"The Quranic expression " الرجال قوامون علی النساء " has been misconstrued to codify man's inherent superiority over women. As some of the leading exegetes concur, the expression "Qawwam" only concerns man's position as head of the institution of family, a position that entails additional duties and responsibilities rather than either his inherent superiority or woman’s inferiority per se. And just as a senior authority within an organization can discipline a member for gross misconduct, so can a man in his capacity as head of the family deal with a delinquent member, including his wife, in cases of gross rebellious conduct. This cannot and should not be twisted to concoct license for physical torture and violence as a matter of routine even in minor cases of misdemeanor, lapses or mistakes as is commonly found in Pakistani society."

Except from my research work "Gender Empowerment in Quranic Perspective", to be published in book form soon, In Sha Allah.

by Karam Elahi