Karim Belaid
Aug 27, 2017 · 4 min read

Dear Riad,

Thanks for the contribution and for dispelling some belief tenets vis-à-vis some practices towards women in our Arab/Imazighen/other relevant Muslim societies that are still living the obscurities of illusions and damaging practices vis-à-vis unfairness towards women without any foundation that stems from the true and authentic teachings of the Islamic faith.

If anything the above monotheistic faith has liberated women and anchored their due rights in the right for women to be educated, the right to inherit from their family members and their rights to conduct business as men do and become successful enterpreneurs. For instance history corroborates that the leader of the Islamic faith, Prophet Muhammad (SAW)’s wife was a very successful business woman who was phenomenally successful and was instrumental in his prophetic mission (that is Khadija).

Knowledge seekers of all confessions — who will read and seek the authenticated sources of the faith, will be surprised on how much practices in the Muslim world are rather cultural practices and are void of true referencing to the fundamental sources of the faith.

These wonderful human beings-women, to whom we owe our existence on Planet Earth, deserve fairness and equality However, what prompted me to respond and grabbed my attention in your article is this:-Displaying in the article an obscured image of a woman with an Islamic scarf right at the top of the article while omitting other religious symbols of other confessions. This, in my view, insinuates, to non-educated or biased readers and laymen/laywomen, that the issue is inherently a Muslim society issue?!

To support my above claim and dispel the probable false tenet that may traverse some readers’ minds I have curated below some facts on the issue that exist all over the world, including and within the “Free World” — that is the United States of America:

The gender equality remains a big issue in the 21st century within secular and non-secular societies. This is to say that the problem is not innately and inherently Islamic or pertaining to Judeo-Christian or other, non-confession based- human societies:

I) “Harvard Business Review”:

· Leslie Gaines-Ross wrote an article (When the Media Covers Gender Inequality, the C-Suite Listens) and published it in the “Harvard Business Review” of October 21, 2015 (the article can be found on the Business Source Complete | (EBSCO) database). Following is an excerpt of it:

Women still have a long way to go when it comes to joining the ranks of senior management. A recent study by my company, Weber Shandwick, shows that the proportion of women in top management teams in Global Fortune 100 companies is only 12.5%. Nearly three out of 10 companies in our Index have no women at all on their senior management teams (29%) and not a single one is gender balanced. This is the meager state of affairs after decades of women demanding equal representation.”

II) “The Washington Post”, 06/15/2016:

· Jena McGregor, a Columnist with “The Washington Post” wrote an article on the 15 of June 2016 (article in my possession) on the Gender Inequality issue in the United States of America. Here’s a snippet:

“The White House convened its United State of Women summit on Tuesday to rally attention around gender equality issues. But when it comes to corporate boards of directors, the state of women isn’t all that encouraging.

III) The Recruitment & Employment Confederation of the UK:

o Lewina Farrell, solicitor/lawyer and head of professional services at “The Recruitment & Employment Confederation” (REC) in London, UK, www.rec.uk.com, wrote in the December 2016 issue an article about its spread in the British society. Here’s an excerpt:

“Despite over 40 years of equal pay legislation, pay inequality remains a key issue for women”. In April 2015 the over UK national gender pay gap was 19.2%.

IV) Women in the boardroom: Vince Cable urges top firms to diversify boards:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/nov/30/vince-cable-ftse-100-women-in-boardroom

IV) “Human Capital Online”

Published some stats on the issue in an article released on the 22 Nov 15:

An excerpt: “Gender inequality at work has been a major issue that not just India but most parts of the world are battling with. While organizations are doing their best to curb gender stereotypes and build a diverse culture where women are given equal opportunities. Yet, statistic reveals that it will probably take us about 81 years to bridge the gap.”

Source: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.sfpl.org/bsi/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=54adfaf3-b5f6-442d-ac12-98210b5f1e6e%40sessionmgr104

Anyways, for those who seek enlightenment on the issue, let them do a cursory online search — and they will find an extraordinary amount of facts/information on the Gender Inequality/Equality issue that women are facing all over the world, in many eclectic and “rainbow like” business environments and human societies.

So, the painful issue has not permeated only Muslim/Islamic societies: Sadly, it is Omnipresent in Human Societies of the previous and the current 21st century human societies.

Will it go away? Yes-and I am very optimistic and believe human societies will continue to evolve, regardless of their confessions and faith-based practices, to higher consciousness where women’s rights will become an integral part of our evolvement and sane conditions.

Best,

Karim Belaid

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    Karim Belaid

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