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INTRODUCTION<br />
The Islamic and Arabic world today has been influenced in many<br />
areas by the western world, through various channels including<br />
colonisation, -the media, translations.<br />
ýliteraturej, or through the<br />
, presence, <strong>of</strong> Muslim-students in western countries. One <strong>of</strong> the<br />
, principal. areas to have been! affected, is the, status <strong>of</strong> women. - ýý<br />
Muslim women have been, -and still are, <strong>of</strong>ten portrayed as<br />
submissive and subordinate to their male counterparts. While there<br />
are many parts <strong>of</strong> the world-in which women in practice seldom enjoy<br />
real equality with, men., Muslim, and Arab women are repeatedly singled<br />
out as. illustrative <strong>of</strong>-suppression, and degradation brought about - it<br />
is held<br />
- by the teaching <strong>of</strong>., their faith. - Since the last century,<br />
different schools <strong>of</strong>, opinions in the, Muslim countries have hold -<br />
contrasting views, as to -the status <strong>of</strong> Muslim women.,! At, one'end'<strong>of</strong><br />
the spectrum, -unconditioned<br />
liberation <strong>of</strong> the Muslim and Arabian<br />
women, and equality with men was advocated. ý, The beginning, <strong>of</strong> this<br />
C6-<br />
appeared in the writings <strong>of</strong> Rifa, aý, Rafiýal-Taht; wiAn Egypt. -He<br />
0 IN<br />
called for-co-educational schools, -as an, end-to, segregation <strong>of</strong>ýthe-,<br />
sexes from an early age. and, for., the removal <strong>of</strong> -the-, -veilý' Qisimýý -<br />
Amin in Egypt contributed two books to this field;<br />
(Taýir.<br />
(al-Marlah<br />
- the first called<br />
al-Marlah) "Liberation <strong>of</strong> Woman" in 1898. His-second, book<br />
al-JaZdah) I'The, New Woman",, established his reputation<br />
amongst some readers as an extremist due to the uncompromising<br />
arguments and. proposals it contained. 2 There was also Huda ShFarawl'<br />
in Egypt. who is considered to be the founder'<strong>of</strong> the Egyptian womenlsý<br />
l... For more detail, see MuDammad. Atmads al-Marlah al-Mauriyyah Bayn-al-<br />
Magi Wa al-Ua4ir, (The Egyptian Woman between the past and the present).<br />
P. 46.<br />
2, Ibid, P* 47<br />
2