In this chapter, Maududi describes some doctrines that were prevalent in ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and Christian Europe. I will not be detailing this portion, but in a nutshell, he disproves of the many Goddesses like Aphrodite and the belief that woman was the mother of all sins. I am more interested in his criticism of equality and independence. He believes:
- Equality between male and female threatens the family system.
- Economic independence of woman also leads to the collapse of family system.
- Free intermingling of the sexes creates sexual chaos.
My take on this is as follows:
- Equality between the sexes means equal opportunity in every domain of life. It means upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ Establishing an egalitarian society, by definition, grants everyone fair and equal rights. It does not marginalize rights or family order.
- Maududi is assuming that economic dependence of women on men is the main thing that binds family. In essence, he is implying that economic dependence holds the fabric of family life intact. That is an unreasonable thing to propose.
