The golden era of globalization has bridged the cultural gap and strengthened the bond between human beings. This is also a contributory factor to the genuine mounting concern about the daily existence and human rights in other parts of the globe, one of which is the World of Islamic women.
Notwithstanding meticulous attention lavished on the plight of Muslim women who appeared to be “poor and oppressed” in both visible and tangible ways, there is scarcely any proper notice of the profound tragedy and trauma suffered by the self-aware Muslim women who are struggling to maintain their religious identity and personal autonomy in the face of the intransigence of Muslim culture.
It is true the notion of gender equality has also changed differently thanks to the rapid technology and industrial advancement in our contemporary world. However, female children in Islamic countries are still unaware of the extent to which their human rights have been violated by their male-dominated and male-centered societies and as usual, they have accepted the situation that female children who are regarded as a trial from God are discriminated against from the moment of birth. This predicament, therefore, has made a contribution to the access restriction of education. According to the Global Gender Gap Report, girls lag behind boys in school attendance, making up 54% of the out-of-school child population in the Arab states, a figure that has not changed since 2000. Of the ten countries that fare the worst for child school attendance rates, seven are Muslim.
In addition to education, marriage is an essential factor that should be taken into account. It is customary that girls are married when they are still minors and marriage in Islam is a contract and presupposes that the contracting parties are both consenting adults. Furthermore, Muslim societies have made divorces extremely difficult for women, both legally and through social penalties. In most Muslim societies, women are deprived of both their sons (generally at age seven) and their daughters (generally at age 12). The most consternation is one of the most common crimes in most Muslim countries (e.g in Pakistan) is the murder of women by their husbands. These so-called "honor-killings" which are defined as the act of shame caused to one member of the family by the other member, in fact, are extremely dishonorable and are frequently used to camouflage other kinds of crimes.
Nevertheless, there are now indications from across the world of Islam that an increasing number of Muslim women have become human rights advocates or activists. A prime example of this fact is Malala Yousafzai who is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. She is known for human rights advocacy, especially the education of women and children in her native Swat Valley of northwest Pakistan, where the local Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school. When her activism became more popular, she indeed became the target. “On the 9th of October, 2020, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends, too. They thought that a bullet would silence us, but they failed”. Said Malala. The fact that she risked her life for subsequent fights for education for girls and was so dedicated to her mission won her Nobel Peace Prize and her story has urged Muslim societies to change their prejudices, which shed light on the equality of human rights of women in Islamic countries.