In the enduring relationship between man and myth, it is the image of the woman that has got tarnished. Pandora brought her box full of life’s perennial problems. Satan, it is believed, found in Eve an ideal target for his evil-tongued eloquence, and she in her turn exploited Adam’s uxoriousness. Consequently somewhere in the deep collective unconscious of man, the image of the woman is that of an omen of inauspiciousness, deserving of severe suppression. Steps are taken to...

Whenever any of them is given the joyful news of the birth of a girl, his face darkens and he is filled with suppressed anger, avoiding people …debating [in his heart]: Shall he keep this child despite disgrace or bury it alive in dust? Evil indeed is whatever they decide” ( Qur'an – 16:58-59).

In 2005, 90 million women were estimated to be missing in seven Asian countries, apparently because of sex-selective abortion. It is estimated that by 2020 there could ...

Have you ever heard that a person getting another one killed is awarded compensation? You haven’t, might be. But, like many odd things, this also happens in India. According to a report (Indian Express, August 5, 2001) Rita Jadhav, a resident of Dhova village in Bhavnagar and mother of three daughters, wanted a male child. So she consulted a gynaecologist Sushma Iyer when she became pregnant for the fourth time in October 1992. Iyer sent the uterine fluid sample to Surat base...

As one grows through the difficult experiences of teenage, enjoying the liberty of education, exploring the joys of womanhood, it is nauseating to know that someone will never feel the thrill of the first shower of rain, never breathe the air of freedom, will never be the person she could have been, without any fault of hers but only because she was a girl, a woman in the making.

One of the greatest threats to our contemporary civilization is the menace of skewed sex ratio. The...

Since time immemorial, women have been looked down upon and treated inferior in principle and practice. While one religion considers woman as an instrument of the devil, the other holds the birth of a son essential. The nature of atrocities committed against women varies from time to time and place to place, but it does exit. The news of baby girls being buried alive was common to hear, historically. In this hi-tech era, we have grown up with new ideas. Female infanticide is changed into fe...

Human behaviour in the case of his progeny is very dubious. He thinks and plans how many children he should have as if he is the master of the situation. The ever-increasing Western mania towards keeping higher and higher standard of living has overcast very negative effect on his thinking process.  The more he is educated, the more chauvinistic is his lifestyle; the more iconic social status a family possesses, the greater importance it gives to the choice: “whether to have...

The Chhattisgarh state may lose a superior position in the country regarding its general sex ratio status, if the state fails to check ‘alarming’ decline in the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) as indicated in the latest estimates of the Sample Registration System (SRS).   

CSR – number of girls per 1000 boys in the age group of 0-6 years, has been steadily coming down at a rate of 57 girls per thousand males in a span of five years (2001–06) in a st...

Whenever any of them is given the joyful news of the birth of a girl, his face darkens and he is filled with suppressed anger, avoiding people …debating [in his heart]: Shall he keep this child despite disgrace or bury it alive in dust? Evil indeed is whatever they decide” ( Qur'an – 16:58-59).

In 2005, 90 million women were estimated to be missing in seven Asian countries, apparently because of sex-selective abortion. It is estimated that by 2020 there could ...

Policy planners and public both have been aware of the steep decline in sex ratio (Census of India 2001 figures). Women have respected status in almost every religious text. In India, among Hindus, they are even worshipped. In the Hindu mythology, they symbolise strength and knowledge both. On one hand she is portrayed as Durga and Kali and on the other as Saraswati and Laxmi. In modern India, they have entered in every profession, including politics. Indian Parliament is in the process of ...

All human life is sacred in the eyes of Islam, from conception to natural death. Only God (Allah), the Creator of all, can create life or ordain that it be taken away. The moment of death has been fixed in advance by God Almighty.

Our bodies belong to the Creator, and neither men nor women have the right to treat them as they wish. This includes all or part of our bodies and anything else arising from conception.

Suicide, euthanasia (assisted suicide or “mercy ...

In the (UK) Government Response to the Report from the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee on the Scientific Developments Relating to the Abortion Act 1967, the following request was made: “In view of the controversy on the risk to mental health of induced abortion we recommend that the Royal College of Psychiatrists update their 1994 report on this issue,” reported The Sunday Times on March 14, 2008.

The College has undertaken a literature rev...

The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons published a study entitled, “The Breast Cancer Epidemic” on October 3, 2007. The study showed that, among seven risk factors, abortion is the “best predictor of breast cancer,” and fertility is also a useful predictor, reports LifeSiteNews.com.

The study by Patrick Carroll of PAPRI in London showed that countries with higher abortion rates, such as England & Wales, could expect a substantial inc...

Abortion causes a number of physical and mental ailments. Some of them, culled from the various sources, are mentioned here in brief:

(1) Death: The leading causes of abortion-related deaths are haemorrhage, infection, embolism, anaesthesia, and undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies.

(2) Breast Cancer: The risk of breast cancer almost doubles after one abortion, and rises even further with two or more abortions. Recent US research based on...

Abortion causes a number of physical and mental ailments. Some of them, culled from the various sources, are mentioned here in brief:

(1) Death: The leading causes of abortion-related deaths are haemorrhage, infection, embolism, anaesthesia, and undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies.

(2) Breast Cancer: The risk of breast cancer almost doubles after one abortion, and rises even further with two or more abortions. Recent US research based on...

Today, unfortunately, the unborn child (called janin in the Holy Quran) is not recognised as a human being and has no legal rights!

In Britain about 600 innocent living unborn children are killed every day through abortion! Worldwide, abortion accounts for around 45 million killing each year!

According to the Islamic teachings, the unborn child is fully recognised as a human being, and has many interesting human legal rights as all other human...

Here are some of the statistics related to abortions:

       One in five pregnancies worldwide and one in three pregnancies in Europe ends in abortion, according to a new study published in a special female-focused issue of the Lancet.

&...

I have started feeling appalled why Islamic organisations and periodicals recurrently fall in the trap of the ideologues of the modern world, using their “concerns”, their “concepts” and their “definitions” to argue that Islam is also as much concerned about them, without highlighting the major differences in Islamic positions on those issues. I find many Islamic organisations regularly talking about human rights, women’s rights, interfaith dialogue...

The menace of foeticide, particularly female foeticide is rampant in Indian societies at large. It should not surprise anyone that over 5 lakh foetuses are killed at various stages of viability.

Development of ultrasound as a diagnostic tool has revolutionised the medical management but proved to be detrimental to this selective killing of female foetuses. Earlier methods of Amniotic fluid analysis for sex determination were neither easy nor widely available. In the last 25 year...

It was reported that Allah said:

“Son of Adam,

I provided for you in the belly of your mother a place of rest; 

I covered your face with a membrane so that you do not fear the womb;

I made your face turn towards your mother’s back so that you are not harmed by the smell of the food;

I made for you a cushion to your right and a cushion on your left: The one on your right is your liver the one on the left is your spl...

Women have been the subject of deprivation, discrimination, intimidation, and unjust treatment in society throughout history. The difference is only in the forms that differ from time to time and from society to society. Women are considered inferior, given secondary status, subjugated to the male, subjected to various ordeals and deprived of the basic right of existence. They are considered persons whose duty is to act on the advice of males, serve them, please and take care of them: first...

We originated Humanity from a product of mud. 

Afterward, We placed him/her as a seed in safe lodging. 

Next, We fashioned the seed into a mass of blood,

And then We fashioned the mass into a lump,

[That looked like] something chewed [like chewing gum].

Next, We added bones and clothed the bones with flesh. 

We then developed all this as a new creation. 

Blessed is Allah, the Best of Cre...

By acquiring three first positions including ten in top twenty-five for Civil Services Examinations conducted by UPSC, Indian women have exhibited that they are not less than men in any respect. It is indeed unfortunate that even now people in general, rich or poor alike, take birth of girl-child as bane rather than boon. Though in time to come, practically ‘Dowry’ system may take U-turn when it will become difficult to find suitable brides for eligible bachelor boys because of ...