Women today play a complementary and important role in the life of men. Nature has gifted them with special attributes so that the human race would continue to grow and prosper. Thus while men have been endowed with virile strength, women are endowed with human sensibilities and emotion like love, compassion, and caring. These are extremely vital for the upbringing of the future generation, who are the hope of tomorrow. They are the fulcrums around which the family and our lives revolve. Thus as a wife, mother or sister they play an indispensable part in the in the life of men.

Intellectually they have also time and again shown, that they are second to none. A cursory glance at the high school or secondary school results, confirm a higher pass out a percentage of girls than boys. They are thus blessed with the same or even better mental and intellectual power counterparts. They are even venturing into new fields that were till recently considered to be the exclusive domain of males, like aviation, defence and even space.

Their contribution in the field of education and healthcare is a well-acknowledged fact. “The hand that rock the cradle rules the world.” Thus as a mother, she inculcates spiritual and moral values in the child. Outside home, she molds the destiny of the children as teacher, counselor, and guide. As a doctor, nurses or a social worker, she provides health care facilities to the community. Their contribution is indeed invaluable for the well-being, growth and economic development of society and the country.

Quantitatively too they comprise about fifty percent of the human population and also contribute the same percentage the GDP of the country. Taking note of their invaluable contribution, the developed and developing countries have accorded women their rightful to vote, but also have the same right to property, education and work, as enjoyed by men. This has resulted in their emancipation, and consequently a renaissance in the society, making it more progressive and modern. On the contrary, countries which have denied equal rights to them continue to be backward in all spheres, including technological and social. We, therefore, find women in most Muslim countries suffering from oppressive customs like purdah and polygamy, with no right to vote or inheritance.

Undoubtedly, men and women should have equal rights in all respects. The need of the hour is not to question this reality, but devise ways and means to ameliorate their lot. We should provide them proper and vocational facilities, so that they can grow and develop to their optimum potential, enrich the society, and lead to greater growth and development of the country.