A Gender Equality and Women's Employment

Abstract

Gender equality gives men and women equal access to all cultural, social, and economic facilities so that the rights of neither sex are suppressed or exploited. The present study takes a scientific look at the issue of employment from the viewpoint of Islam. After a critical reviewing the viewpoints of sociologists and feminists, we demonstrate that the employment of women, subject to certain criteria, could be the right decision. These criteria include a congruity between the job and feminine characteristics, wearing ḥijāb, chastity with no commingling of men and women at work, and compliance between the woman's job, the rights of her husband, and her motherhood responsibilities. These criteria conform with the terms and conditions that indicate gender equality in women's employment from an Islamic viewpoint. In line with gender equality, this paper also suggests a part-time employment model for women