According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index (2016), the 10 worst countries for gender equality are those in which Islam is the dominant religious demographic. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has undertaken even an ounce of research into the core doctrines and common traditions associated with this extremely patriarchal religion. Whilst Islam is not a monolith and many variations exist with regards to beliefs, practices, degrees of adherence, etc., it is noteworthy that those societies which treat their women the worst all zealously adhere to a religion that sees women as inherently inferior to men.
The Worst 10 Nations on Earth
- Yemen
- Pakistan
- Syria
- Saudi Arabia
- Chad
- Iran
- Mali
- Morocco
- Côte d’Ivoire [1]
- Lebanon
Gender Inequality in the Central Pillar of Islam
As per the Qur’an, which is the central pillar of Islam, women are inferior to men in almost every conceivable way. The Qur’an is explicit with regards to the disparate rights and privileges afforded to men and women. To be fair, the Qur’an does offer the pointless platitude regarding the spiritual equality of men and women (Qur’an 3:195), which I’m sure most rational and sane people will agree, means absolutely nothing in the actual world. The Qur’an holds: A sister is entitled to only half of that which her brother is entitled with regards to inheritance (Qur’an 4:11). A woman’s testimony is only half as valid as that of a man’s (Qur’an 2:282), the reasoning for which was elaborated upon by the “Prophet” in the Sahih al-Bukhari in the following words: “Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?” They [the women] replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her intelligence…”
Further, a woman’s husband can physically assault her for exercising her autonomy by disobeying him (Qur’an 4:34). A husband is entitled to have sex with his wife how and when he pleases (Qur’an 2:223). Female sex-slaves are expressly rendered the chattels of their male slave masters (Qur’an 4:24, 23:5-6). A man may have multiple wives (Qur’an 4:3) and he need not treat them all equally (Qur’an 4:129), yet a woman may not have more than one male overlord at a time (This is not in the Qur’an, it just a given in Islam).
This is just a small sample of the acute gender inequality that exists within the central and superlative source of the Islamic religion. Now, add to this the rampant misogyny and gender inequality found in the secondary pillar of Islam, namely, the hadith. Finally, if we wish to be thorough, we could also take into account the gender inequality that has been infused into the fabric of Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic traditions established over the last 1,400 years. So, I ask you, is it any wonder that countries at the bottom of the list for gender equality all faithfully adhere to this extremely misogynistic religion?
Anticipated Objection: It’s Culture, Not Religion
To argue that culture is to blame here and not religion, is to be ignorant of the interdependent relationship between religion and culture. Societies and cultures vary in this regards, I do concede, however one need only examine the extent to which a given culture has its ethics and morality informed by the dominant religion to establish the extent to which one can place blame on the religion which regulates the culture in question. In the 17 worst nations for gender equality, religion plays a major role in informing the values, ethics and morality of the offending societies. I sincerely hope this has answered your objection.
End Note
- Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) has been disputed by some readers as not qualified to be included as a country in which Islam is the dominant religious demographic. At present, the President of Côte d’Ivoire is a Sunni Muslim (Alassane Ouattara) and Islam is the dominant religious demographic. In Chapter 30 of their book, Travel and Tourism, National Geographic says: ‘Islam is the dominant religion of the two countries [Senegal and Ivory Coast]’. Further, in How the World’s Religion’s are Responding to Climate Change, Veldman, Szaz and Haluza-Delay state: ‘The incursion of Muslims resulted in conversions to the extent that Islam is now the dominant religion in Côte d’Ivoire’. Although Côte d’Ivoire does have a significant Christian population, and there exists a degree of Syncretism between the Abrahamic religions and indigenous beliefs, Islam is the dominant religious demographic.
Michael A. Sherlock (Author) 
Na jene j bhittihin kotha bollen tatei bujha gelo kotota oshikhhito lekhok ba lekhika ta! Hashi pelo Lekha pore! Jaihok nij dhorme monojogi hon onner ta na khochay! Daktar dekhate paren chulkani bodhoy beshi apnar! Bokachoda!!!
“ a woman’s husband can physically assault her for exercising her autonomy by disobeying him (Qur’an 4:34). A husband is entitled to have sex with his wife how and when he pleases (Qur’an 2:223). Female sex-slaves are expressly rendered the chattels of their male slave masters (Qur’an 4:24, 23:5-6). A man may have multiple wives (Qur’an 4:3) and he need not treat them all equally (Qur’an 4:129), yet a woman may not have more than one male overlord at a time (This is not in the Qur’an, it just a given in Islam).”
Wrong. There’s story and explanation behind each verse. Do not put any verse without understanding them properly.
Let me correct your mistakes
a woman’s husband can physically assault her for exercising her autonomy by disobeying him (Qur’an 4:34) <- It is forbidden to physically abuse wife by her husband. The husband can only talk to her and scold her. No physical abuse is allowed in Islam nor in Quran
. A husband is entitled to have sex with his wife how and when he pleases (Qur’an 2:223). <- A husband can’t touch his wife without her will and permission.
Female sex-slaves are expressly rendered the chattels of their male slave masters (Qur’an 4:24, 23:5-6). <- there’s no rules of having slavery. Quran doesn’t support slavery nor Islam. It was from the story of time back then when in prophet’s time there were slavery businesses all over the world. But prophet rescued women from slavery and set them free.
A man may have multiple wives (Qur’an 4:3) and he need not treat them all equally (Qur’an 4:129)<- a man can have 4 wives only then if he can have equal feelings and can treat all of them equally . This rules was made because no human can have equal feelings for multiple person. Because everyone is different. So that man cannot marry more than one wife islam made this rules for them. (We don’t even get equal feelings for both of our parents. How come you can have equal feelings for your multiple wives).
Please do not copy and paste any verse from Quran and translate them without understanding the explanation and verses. Each verse has its own explanation. Some rules were made in the time of prophets which you’re not allowed to apply in today’s world. If you’re non-Muslim and writing this article. Please do not write things you don’t have any idea about. Or if you’re a Muslim then you’ve lack of proper knowledge.
Letting you know all Top 3 religions in this world were preached by Islamic prophets just because of miscommunication and no proper entries in holy books we were divided into Catholics, Jews and Muslims.. and we started follow what our ancestors believed. We have almost same values and morals . So do not blame Islam for abusing women. It’s the people who lacking proper knowledge. It’s mankind’s fault not the religion.
A very biased writing or analysis of Islam.Surely the writer has no indepth knowledge of the religion mentioned here.Religion and the influence of other factors on religion like the geography , history and chronology are two different concepts though often confused which needs intense studying .
Such a misleading write-up!
UNREAL! BENGHAZI LIAR SUSAN RICE Shows Her Radical Racist Roots With This Outrageous Comment About National Security
https://100percentfedup.com/unreal-benghazi-liar-susan-rice-shows-her-radical-racist-roots-with-this-outrageous-comment-about-national-security/
look this is a propaganda speech
i am christian gender inequality is also in Christianity hinduism judaism and buddhism
there is gender inequality
Scandinavia
In america
In Israel
in CHina
In India
In brazil
In russia
In australia
Gender in equality has been a common human problem
Look i respect your belief system
how would you feel if there was a propaganda article that states
research shows that the most immoral ppl are aethists(by the way there is a research)
thats gonna be bullocks right?
for the ppl who is gonna moderate that comment If you censor it just because its not your liking you are inhibiting free speech and crticism
for example you have the right to criticize other view points but if you believe i dont have the right to criticize your view points you are just being hypocritical and you are the same as those ppl who abuse aethists
Inequality in the USA is even worst and there are people of all religions here….
Since when is cote d’Ivoire Islamic?
What’s worse is that when these nations are attacked by a known super power (for the purpose of coveting resources and cultural infiltration), these societies are driven to even lower extremes. It is their obscene and misguided way of maintaining their culture and protecting it from external influence. War pushes fathers to marry daughters off young to not burden families, men who die at war leave behind many women, who become victims of a male dominated society. Most of their actions are based on pre-Islamic culture, then backed by religion to form laws. It happens with every theocracy, no matter what religion. Pointing out abuse is one thing, but being directly involved in why it intensifies, then criticizing the situation is hypocritical.
I would like to interact with you
Pretty sure I would have put Somalia high on the list due to infibulation
Bullshit dude, you’re a racist. India has been deemed most violent towards women and they are not a “Muslim country.”
Besides, what’s the point of your idiotic statement when men have been raping torturing murdering women GLOBALLY by the millions for 5000 YEARS without pause?
Stop trying to incite racism by gaslighting people. The problem is men. And it doesn’t make a piss shit of difference what race, class or religion they are.
I clicked on this with the intent of writing “No shit, Sherlock!” But thenIsaw the name of the author. Good article!
The author has successfully misquoted ALL of her evidence from the Quran and Sunnah! Bravo to her and to everyone who thinks she is making a logical conclusion.
here are the replies to all the grossly MISQUOTED ayahs of the Quran:
inheritance: the woman gets less share as her WHOLE SHARE is ONLY for HER (she can burn it all and not be answerable for it). the male gets more because he has financial responsibilities over the females under his care. he HAS to spend it on his FAMILY (WIFE) / SISTERS / MOTHER otherwise he will be held responsible for not providing sustainence to them (i.e. paying for rent, bills, meds and groceries etc.). It is not the female’s burden to bear in Islam. She can work (like the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon him)’s wife Khadijah who was a businesswoman 1440 years ago. But unlike men she gets to keep all her income and can do with it whatever she likes.
witnesses: The hadith has been misquoted. The hadith says “so that of one forgets the other reminds her”. there is no question of women being less intelligent than men. Women were amoung the first scholars of Islam even in religious matters and were incouraged to grow intellectualy. An example is Aisha bint Abu Bakr who was a religious scholar respected by all the “men”.
Verse 4:34
a man can hit his wife.
translation of verse 4:34 provided by author:
“Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband’s] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance – [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.”
this is a very rough translation which means if the wife has an extramarrital affair (is not guarding her chastity) the husband has to first talk to her than not sleep with her to show he is upset. and then hit her very lightly (with a straw) just to scare her but not cause any physical harm, so she stops having her affair.
and if she listens to him he is not to keep reminding her or use her past against her.
there are 4 conditions to “hitting” and all conditions need to be met before he can think about hitting her:
1.he fears she has an extramarital affair
2.he talks to her about making amends about her affair and she doesnt listen
3. he sleeps separately to show he is angry at her and still she doesnt listen
4. he can only hit her lightly (like hitting with a straw) and not on her face, not too hard that it leaves bruises on her, no bleeding or broken bones. just hit lightly with a straw (how hard is that!) the purpose is to scare her to stop having her extra marital affair… physical abuse is not allowed by Islam.
mind you women wives and girlfriends are beaten to death with bruises and broken bones, kicked on their pregnant bellies in the west by their drunken partners or husbands. this is not an exageration. 1 Australian woman dies from domestic violence every. single. day. This is a government statistic. look it up.
If the man cheates on His wife:
However if the woman thinks her husband is not treating her like a wife, without love and respect, or he hits her or gets angry at her for no reason or oppresses her in any way (financial/physical/emotional) she is commanded by the quran to immediately seek help and she can get divorced right away. (This provision is given by the same surah to the wife. Surah 4) However the husband cannot immediately give divorce to his wife who has an extra marital affair. he has to first do all the steps above and if she still doesnt love him like a wife should only then can he approach someone else or divorse her.
Who is empowered by the Quran? The Wife.
“A husband is entitled to have sex with his wife how and when he pleases (Qur’an 2:223).”
translation of this verse, “Your wives are a place of sowing of seed for you, so come to your place of cultivation however you wish and put forth [righteousness] for yourselves. And fear Allah and know that you will meet Him. And give good tidings to the believers.”
this is taken out of context, the ayah is simply saying you can come in whatever way you like i.e. from the top or bottom or front or back. it doesnt say “whenever you like” because the Quran never contradicts itself. The Quran tells men to not have sex with their menstruating wives in Surah 2. So they (men) cant just have sex whenever they like. Also, according to hadith he needs her permission. ALWAYS. He has to verbally ask her every sinlge time. thats why the ayah goes on to say “fear Allah”.
A man may have multiple wives (Qur’an 4:3) and he need not treat them all equally (Qur’an 4:129)
translation of verse 4:3 (from the link provided by the author)
“And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one or those your right hand possesses. That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice].”
it SPECIFICALLY say dont marry more that one if you think you wont treat them equally.
translation of verse 4:129 (from the link provided by the author)
“And you will never be able to be equal [in feeling] between wives, even if you should strive [to do so]. So do not incline completely [toward one] and leave another hanging. And if you amend [your affairs] and fear Allah – then indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.”
the ayah simply says in your heart you might love one more than the other but DO NOT incline towards just one wife and leave the other hanging in mid air, so shes not single and she doesnt feel like she has a husband either. Meaning: deal with them JUSTLY.
a man can have mutiple wives in islam ONLY if he treats them equally.
in the western world today all men can have as many girl friends and extra marrital affairs they like. and the women can have as many boyfriends as they like!
wow! do they think have liberated the sacred bond of marraige? or reduced it to its worst state in human history?
the author says “female sex slaves are allowed in Islam according to verse 4:24”
translation of verse 4:24 provided by author
“And [also prohibited to you are all] married women except those your right hands possess. [This is] the decree of Allah upon you. And lawful to you are [all others] beyond these, [provided] that you seek them [in marriage] with [gifts from] your property, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse. So for whatever you enjoy [of marriage] from them, give them their due compensation as an obligation. And there is no blame upon you for what you mutually agree to beyond the obligation. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.”
if a man used to be very poor and couldnt afford to marry he was allowed to marry his slave and then his slave was not to be made a prostitute of. she was to become his wife. she wasnt allowed then to take boyfriends and he wasnt allowed girlfriends now that they are married. this is also given in the same surah, surah 4 of the quran. so that the man gets to marry and the slave girl gets protection from being abused by many men and not having any rights like those of a wife.
The author should get a deeper knowledge about what they want to write about before producing an article which is not founded on any true or accurate facts/analysis. Mere opinions and misunderstandings have no literary value and are not treated as an authentic resource.
Excellent reply. Some also depends on interpretation.
Please add me to your email list. Thank you
Islam Islamic fascism is now CANCER and mental disorder for its sick extremist followers humanity and civilised world 🌎!
The first thing to remember is that Islam is not a religion. It is a theocracy, a government with a religious component. It uses the claim to be a religion to aid its take over of countries.
So then it must be like Stockholm Syndrome when most of these women cling to these Draconian excuses for a male counterpart?
Arabic to English translations are not correct and cannot be taken literally, if you knew Arabic you would know what I’m saying. This article is biased to a level of ignorance. Taken from someone who has traveled to all those locations on the list.
I’ve never seen any of the aforementioned comments. Yes there are cases of extremism, but that is present worldwide and in every religion. Even here in the USA. Using a picture of someone who went through trouble to get article views, and to push hatred for a type of people and religion signifies that you are just adding fuel to the hate.
If there was more love for one another, the world would be a better place. People like to push hate or ignorance just to have a better feeling about themselves in the end. I don’t agree with this article. Translations from Arabic to English are not correct and just the tone of a word in Arabic can change it’s meaning 10fold.
The language of the voice in my mind is in Arabic, the language that I speak out is English, when I go to translate from the voice in my mind to speak out there are always times in which I pause in the middle of a sentence to apply the correct English word and lots of times I have to change my whole sentence because the English language is not capable of the exact translation.
Perhaps a deeper understanding of the Arabic language can sort out the ignorance in most people trying to use literal translations of the language.
I’m not defending the people who have wronged others, but to defend a religion that has taken the most hate from all groups over the past 20 years. I’ve lived with and grew up with people hating me for what I believed. I forgave and will forgive all those people who hurt me, or caused hatred towards myself and my religion. In the end I always feel sorry for them, because they could never get to the point of understanding in which I am at now. Please don’t take this personally, I just needed to say something because most people don’t know, and take what they see or hear for exact truth.
First Lebanon is not islamic work more on your research and learn about each and every country before u decide to say such bad stuff we have alot islam refugees in lebanon and lebanese muslim citizens but trust me they are not even close to what your describing.
Feminism is leftist bait and switch.
The bait is women’s rights, equality, safety, all righteous goals, truly “a standard to which the wise and honest can repair,” as George Washington would say, with opposition largely confined to the ignorant, the bigoted, the malevolent, the incredibly stupid.
Then the left switches 180 degrees to support the very opposite. They ally themselves with a death cult that explicitly legitimizes and validates abuse and oppression of women, where the areas they rule are scenes of female genital mutilations, honor killings, legalized rape, sex slavery, child marriages, legalized wife beating and murder of assertive women.
Feminists end up defending and supporting, as in, aiding and abetting, as in, becoming rank apologists for, the worst, most misogynist faction ever to infest this planet.
I wish we could spread this article all around our United State of America ! Our nation needs to see the blatant
truth of the horrendous culture these nations are to their women.
Obviously these people don’t want to change because abusing women suits them. They living in a little bubble world and don’t want you to burst it . However justice will prevail whether they like it or not.
I feel for the women of the barbaric middle east – Islamic governing is in Colorado where I am – not to that extreme-yet.
I don’t care if they were born here- deport all Islamic men at least the men!!!
Considering the plague of Feminism in the West, Islam gets female nature right. It’s not misogyny; it’s reality. AC
Allah is fake just a made up reason to continue to be savage animals that they are.pigs
Fuck those uncivilized cock suckers!
India is one of the worst countries fo women tho. What about countries where ppl still practice FGM?
Excellent abridgment of Islamic women’s plight due to the qur’an and extreme religious beliefs.
Looks managed survey or its report…World media often portay India as the Hell for women living there, and shockingly it is missing in the ten worst nations/countries on the basis of gender inequality!
Keep this shit out of the USA and get them out of here.
Unfortunately, a person outside of Christianity would not look at the text as it is actually taught and understood in the faith. Those outside of the faith would tend to cherry pick the Bible without understanding biblical history and the context on which the Bible was written. I was taught that yes, women are told to submit to their husbands, but the Bible also says husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. If you’re a Christian, this is equality as Jesus preached love for God first, and love others as the second most important. God is love in our eyes.
What a load of utter crap , there are non Muslim countries across the globe, that may say they treat women as equals but they don’t ..this list is laughable 🙂
This article makes me wonder, I am married to a Turkish Muslim man. I have no religion. All Turkish men are under thumb of their mothers, women are revered and obeyed. The all encompassing belief that all Muslim people are the same is so wrong.
If you wohld like to get much from this paragrapoh then you
have to apply such methods to your won website.
I would like to answers;
Gender Inequality in the Central Pillar of Islam
As per the Qur’an, which is the central pillar of Islam, women are inferior to men in almost every conceivable way. The Qur’an is explicit with regard to the disparate rights and privileges afforded to men and women. To be fair, the Qur’an does offer the pointless platitude regarding the spiritual equality of men and women (Qur’an 3:195) And their Lord responded to them, “Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another. So those who emigrated or were evicted from their homes or were harmed in My cause or fought or were killed – I will surely remove from them their misdeeds, and I will surely admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow as reward from Allah, and Allah has with Him the best reward.”
Here is nothing to explain, here you can see that men and women are equal. If you don’t understand then tell me.
The Qur’an holds: A sister is entitled to only half of that which her brother is entitled with regards to inheritance (Qur’an 4:11) Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two-thirds of one’s estate. And if there is only one, for her is half. And for one’s parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children. But if he had no children and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third. And if he had brothers [or sisters], for his mother is a sixth, after any bequest he [may have] made or debt. Your parents or your children – you know not which of them are nearest to you in benefit. [These shares are] an obligation [imposed] by Allah. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.
More explanation: In Islam, men are responsible (necessary, rights, obligation) to fulfill of all the needs of women and here women mean “wife, daughter, sister, mother” (women don’t need to do this) but here is no problem if women go for a job and contribute and support her men. So that’s why men are entitled two times regards to inheritance because he is responsible to run his family.
I can explain to you a better way if I meet with you.
A woman’s testimony is only half as valid as that of a man’s (Qur’an 2:282),
Now here I explain to you this thing. You know this time the total population of humans? And you know the ratio between men and women in this world? Please check it as well. The women population is more than men population in every country or everywhere, Like 1:2 or maybe 1:3
If you are dealing with stuff related to “witness” or “evidence”, ISLAM keeps “witness” or “evidence” of a man on two women because of the majority of women.
the reasoning for which was elaborated upon by the “Prophet” in the Sahih al-Bukhari in the following words: “Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?” They [the women] replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her intelligence…”
“intelligence “Now this is the different thing from stuff related to “witness” or “evidence” and regards to inheritance. Now check the scientific research, you will find in some articles that women are more intelligent than men and in some other scientific article men are more intelligent than women. This is just research depend on one or some people who write the article but if you see the history then you will find that men (in the majority) are more intelligent then women. So, it’s just related to intelligence it’s dozen mean that men have more value than women in every field OK.
If you don’t understand then please ask me, I will try to explain to you for many other reasons as well.
Last thing. I would like to say you that women are more respectful in ISLAM as compare to men, I can give you many references but it would be nice if you all guys and viewers and bloggers read full QURAN and know everything about ISLAM then you will understand everything much batter but not like this way if you just look this kind of article based on uncleared stuff.
Michael A. Sherlock (Author) please show and tell the whole story if you know or if you can but please don’t tell some part of the story which is just interested for you. If you don’t know then ask from me or just go and read all QURAN and know everything about ISLAM.
If you and anyone still don’t understand anything then please come to me, I will explain to you everything with the reference.
Was in Pakistan & India in 92 & 93. Would return to India but I wouldn’t step into Pakistan. You’ve explained part of the reason of no return and there’s plenty more.
This is a complete biased article intended to blame a certain religion.Do reality search to see the real gender discrimination in other countries where Islam is not a dominant religion.Women in Iran are more secure and financially more stable than in countries like India and Nepal.Besides gender equality where ever practiced is not in its true form.Some facts stated may be true but the context for understanding needs to be expanded.
Absolutely. In fact, in Iran, back when the monarchy tried to return to power, women were there supporting the Constitutionalists to prevent the royalist forces from returning in 1909-1910.
I was unsure if I could manage writing such a long article in the beginning. Well, your style definitely attracted my interest. It was another great article. Great Article Neil. This article is fantastic. Even though I read it only a couple of times and I did not make any comments. However, I thought the article was worth a mention.