Rousseau's Emilius and Sophia (1763) contains many such ideas. In Britain, an entire genre of conduct books was devoted to inculcating such beliefs and values among women. They include James Fordyce's Sermons for the Young Women (1766), Hester Chapone's Letters on the Improvement of the Mind (1773), John Gregory's A Father's Legacy to His Daughters (1774), Thomas Gisborne's An Inquiry Into the Duty of the Female Sex (1797), and Jane West's Letters to a Young Lady (1811).

Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) presented a detailed critique of such sexist ideas of Rousseau, Fordyce, Gregory and other philosophers.

Women's subservience to and their need to tailor their life to satisfy the needs of men were embedded in the Victorian psyche. European colonists spread such ideas in colonies and shaped indigenous gender ideologies and practices. Thus, many Victorian notions of women's status and roles entered Muslim societies and even gained a quasi-religious colouring.

In Islam, men's and women's roles and responsibilities are determined by their relation with God, not with the opposite gender. Obedience to humans is conditional to obedience to God. God has set certain boundaries which all believers are obligated to maintain and not to transgress.

Moreover, in Islam, basic responsibilities of men and women are largely the same, and both genders are complementary to each other in leading a righteous life. The Qur'an (9:71) states, "The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakah and obey God and His Messenger. Those—God will have mercy upon them. Indeed, God is Exalted in Might and Wise."

The Qur'an (33:35) contains a long list of attributes of believing men and women, including "men who fast and women who fast." That is to say, the command to fast in the month of Ramadan is identical for Muslim men and women. Verse 2:183 says, "O you who have attained to faith! Fasting is ordained for you as it was ordained for those before you, so that you might remain conscious of God."

But do men and women get equal opportunities to make the best of the fasting month?

One key aspect of fasting is that believers are required to abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk. According to Muhammad Asad (1900-92), among the reasons why God has prescribed the fast is "to make everyone realise, through his or her own experience, how it feels to be hungry and thirsty, and thus to gain a true appreciation of the needs of the poor."

Muslims are supposed to consume less food in the month of Ramadan. But the reality is far from this ideal scenario. Most Muslims have deviated from the true teachings of Ramadan by turning the practice of fasting into feasting. The price hike of food items in Muslim countries during Ramadan is an incontrovertible proof that, instead of consuming less, Muslims consume more food in the holy month.

In her essay "Roshona Puja (Worship of the Tongue)," Begum Rokeya says, "Regrettably, in Ramadan the food frenzy among Muslims reaches the highest point. Instead of abstaining from the worldly activities and devoting oneself to heartfelt worship, the whole day is spent preparing for iftar [the evening meal for breaking the fast]. As a result, food intake [in Ramadan] increases instead of Muslims exercising restraint."

Muslims' food habit in Ramadan contradicts the spirit that should characterise the holy month. There is a tendency to prepare sumptuous and abundant food for iftar and sehri (pre-dawn meal). This results in a lavish gastronomic extravaganza, which in turn leads to food waste. Consequently, in most Muslim countries, the amount of food waste in Ramadan is much higher than it is outside the fasting month.

The food frenzy in Ramadan has gender implications because, in domestic life, women are expected to cook. Even though it is common knowledge that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) performed household chores, not many Muslim men are eager to follow his example. Men expect women to prepare food and put it on the table for them.

In fact, like Muslim men, Muslim women need to get closer to God through increasing their devotional practices in Ramadan. However, if they have to spend long hours in the kitchen to fulfil the illogical culinary demands of family members, how can they engage in prayerful activities and devote more time to reading the Qur'an and performing other righteous deeds?

By expecting Muslim women to shoulder the full burden of household chores, caregiving and other domestic responsibilities, Muslim men are turning away from the Prophet's teachings. By the way, if preparing iftar and sehri is a virtuous act, it is so for both Muslim men and women.

Transforming Ramadan from a month of fasting into one of feasting and then forcing women to cook extravagant iftar and sehri meals ruins the purpose of the holy month. During Ramadan and beyond, Muslims should organise family life in such a way that both men and women have equal opportunities to engage in devotional activities and achieve God consciousness.

Dr Md Mahmudul Hasan is professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at the International Islamic University Malaysia. He can be reached at mmhasan@iium.edu.my.