Numerous legal provisions adopted in Algeria claim to establish absolute equality between men and women. From a conversation I had yesterday with a close friend, I drew several conclusions:
1. This “equality” has doubled the suffering of the Muslim woman.
2. The mentality of the Muslim man has not changed with these equality laws ; instead, he has simply demanded more obligations from the woman-obligations she cannot bear.
3. The man, who is supposed to be the provider, now evades his financial responsibilities, pressuring the working woman and treating her income as if it were his own. This contradicts Islamic law, which grants the woman full financial independence and does not obligate her to support the household.
4. Society pressures women harshly, refusing to excuse them from household and marital duties, even while ignoring their professional burdens outside the home.
5. The emotional, psychological, and physical exhaustion women experience accelerates their exposure to illness, while their sacrifices remain unrecognized.
6. With rare exceptions, men do not assist their wives at home. Algerian men-old generation or new-generally still treat women with the same harshness their forefathers displayed.
7. Instead of granting justice to women, state laws have aggravated their suffering. Boys are raised to believe in their superiority over girls, in the absence of genuine religious education that affirms equal dignity, humanity, and spiritual worth for both.
Conclusion: We ended up with an oppressed woman, not with true equality between men and women.
