Role of a muslim woman.

� The first purify herself, inculcate in herself a firm faith in Allah and believe that His teachings are indeed both true and valid in all aspects of life. In addition, she is required to be consciously submissive to God, which means she should never place her own prejudices, likings and inclinations above the commands of Allah.

� The second stage is to view Islam as a complete way of life (deen) and therefore, to obey the commands of Allah in all aspects of her own life: not only in the acts of worship which are incumbent on all Muslims, that is, prayer, charity, fasting, remembrance of Allah etc., but also in dress, manners, behavior and so on. She should also equip herself with the skills, abilities and knowledge necessary to play an active role in society, within the bounds of Islamic law.

� Thirdly, the Muslim woman should have a spirited approach to her work; she should show patience and perseverance in persuading other Muslims that it is legitimate for her to be involved in social activities: enjoining right and forbidding wrong is a duty for both males and females in Islam.

� Finally, the Muslim woman should participate in the have found that Islam did have the answers to all the dilemmas and challenges posed by the Western challenge instead of importing new ideas, they should have simply applied Islam's teachings. With particular regard to women, Islam does protect their rights and dignity; if Muslim men were not observing these rights, then the logical thing to do would have been to make them apply it, instead of merely importing something different.

Many of the above responsibilities have to be shared. On the individual level, the duties and responsibilities of the male are identical with the female. At the family level, the man should treat his mother, wife or daughter in the way that Islam requires: he should accept her as an independent personality, with individual identity and rights. He should recognize that she, as an individual is responsible before Allah for her actions, therefore he should instill in her a self confidence which will allow her to perform her Islamic duties and responsibilities. Some Muslim men behave in such a way that they become an obstacle to the involvement of their wives or daughters in Islamic work. In actual fact they should not only permit such activities by their womenfolk, they should actively encourage them. Islam teaches that the role of a woman is not simply confined to her family duties, her duties extend beyond this: fundamentally Islam requires her to be a good and productive member of society. It follows from this that Muslim men should encourage and help Muslim women to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, administrative and organizational abilities, etc. which will enable them to be socially effective.

Source: "Islamic Teaching Course.Vol3" - Dr. Jamal A. Badawi