Views of Women in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Koran

br God " but the husband is to "lead his family " and the wife "is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband " This is very similar to the attitude of Islam regarding women which gives ground for ambiguity and different interpretations

Anthony Layng in his article Women Remain Oppressed illustrates how the female 's position in the bible is inferior to that of the men by citing a few examples related to how women are secluded for two weeks from others after giving birth to a girl whereas they remain

alone if it happens to be a boy . He explains that women are treated in the bible as the cause of the expulsion of Adam from heaven and with that his curse and biggest mistake . Both the Koran and the new and old testament describe the creation of the female as an additional process that occurred when Adam started to feel lonely and needed a companion and caretaker . The woman thus depicted as negative influence on the male in the bible which is especially illustrated in the following verse "I will greatly multiply your pain , in childbearing in pain you shall bring forth , children , yet your desire shall be for your husband , and he shall rule over you (Genesis 3 :16

As Layng states both the Bible and the Koran are guilty of the suppression of the female and contain sexist texts that if literally applied would result in a system that completely subjugates women . This happened in Afghanistan under the role of the Taliban . The Western world has on the other hand moved beyond the fundamentalist literal interpretations of texts which has provided women with an opportunity to prove themselves in their respective societies . Islam is now in the forefront of debate because of its prominent role...