The Status and Role of Women through Religious Ethics

Abstract

This article aims to study the status and role of women in different religious ethics. In the past, in each society there was a fixed attitude towards genders’ status. In some traditions, men were superior to women, while in others it was the other way round. On the contrary, in today’s world, there are different ideas about women in different societies. Changes in women’s status in different societies have relied on how each society has developed their own distinct culture, beliefs and religious ethics. Until recently there has been a growing movement to address the role and status of women, especially because of the influence of the Western world. Under such influence, various campaigns, and academic activities, such as publications, research and conferences, all play an important role in raising the issues concerning women’s status. The theories of feminism are now more widely studied than in the past. Women are asserting themselves using various means including music, plays, literature, etc. These explanations have interpreted mainly from the Western theories based on materialism.
Feminists reject the interpretation by many religions that men and women are unequal. Nor is the equality of social status. The concept of gender equality, for example, suggests that women and men are equal in society. A good state must create equal human rights for both sexes. Participation in economic, social, environmental and political benefits should not be significantly different. The principle of feminism is in line with the philosophical outlook of existentialism which jean Paul Sartre says that we were born to be free or we are utterly responsible for the values we create through our choices.
This study focuses on the role of women as derived from the main teachings or scriptures of religions which based on idealism. At the same time, ethical attitudes focus on the concept of gender’s rights, duties and responsibilities between sexes such division between the sexes and how they are interpreted in each age which affects the value of human beings and how they are treated as human beings.