The Mahdi Times October 2011 | Page 26

of view. They are considered by some as individuals to be respected and revered. Others consider them objects. Women are mothers, sisters, daughters and wives. They can be the givers of consolation, the source of comfort, the path to guidance, the best friends.  They can also be the worst kind of people, leading astray from the right path, inciting jealousy and anger, and propagating evil. And women have the abilities to cause change, they can cause change in people, families, societies, cities, countries, and ultimately whole nations of people. This is the unusual and intriguing power that is held by the physically weaker gender. Of course, as mentioned earlier, women can be looked at in many ways. But the interesting point here is that out of the two genders, Islam has given women a different status. This places the situation in perspective that women and men have their own rights, where a woman’s right is to be given respect as individuals, just as men are.  Now it \