is islam misogynistic?

In light of these stark generalizations of devout Muslim countries as being misogynistic, which has been attributed to a Qur'an that allegedly perpetuates male supremacy, it's important to address the fact that misogyny and male supremacy can be found in every major world religion, and that it's thus unfair to label only Islam as a religion in which women are sometimes regarded as subservient. I wrote this post not intending to entail the shortcomings of all of these religions when it comes to advocating for women's rights, but to make a distinction between culture and religion. In most religious countries in which women have a lower standard of living than men, it can be owed to the country's culture and not its main religion; because of my belief in this, I don't agree with the widespread interpretation of Islam as inherently misogynistic. The misconstruing of Islamic principles that fuels the poor treatment of women in predominantly Muslim countries is due not to Islam itself, but to the prevalence of poverty and a lack of education.

Verily, men who surrender unto God, and women who surrender, and men who believe and women who believe, and men who obey and women who obey, and men who speak the truth and women who speak the truth...and men who give alms and women who give alms, and men who fast and women who fast, and men who guard their modesty and women who guard (their modesty), and men who remember God much and women who remember – God hath prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward. 

- Verse 33 of the Qur'an 

Verse 33 of the Qur'an, as quoted above, advocates for gender equality in terms of spirituality, in that should they worship Allah in the same way, men and women are equal in His eyes. The Prophet Muhammad and the Qur'an both advocate for the education of males and females equally. The Prophet publicly stated that seeking education is a religious duty for both Muslim men and women, and that it's no less of an obligation for women as it is for men to educate oneself, build upon one's intellect, and employ one's talents to provoke positive change in society. The Prophet and his wife, Aisha, taught both women and men, and allowed women to pursue education not in simply religious studies and subjects concerning home management, but in whatever interested them. Rape is considered a serious crime in Islam; by the hadd zina, the rape victim is considered innocent, while the male perpetrator is subject to prosecution. The belief that Islam perpetuates domestic violence may, additionally, be a matter of the Qur'an's mistranslation. In the verse that supposedly condones the beating of one's wife in the event of alleged adultery, the Arabic word in the verse, w'aḍribūhunna, which is understood as "strike" in English, comes from a root with a variety of other meanings. Another translation could simply be that one should leave their wife in the event of adultery. Coupled with the fact that the Qur'an states, "There is no compulsion in religion" (2:256), it's made clear that the Taliban's goal to eject all girls from schools because it defies the way of Allah, along with forcing Muslim women to cover themselves, refrain from dancing, and be consistently accompanied by a male whenever they venture out in public, is, by Allah's own word, nothing short of radical.

Aisha was considered the Islamic world's first feminist, and she was one of the reasons why feminism and women's empowerment were introduced in the Islamic world far before they were introduced elsewhere. Though Aisha's marriage with Muhammad was consummated when she was only ten, that was due more to the gender roles prevalent across the world during the sixth century AD, and nothing not specific to Islam. She was revered by Muhammad as his favorite wife because he found her intellectually stimulating despite their large age difference; she was notably well-versed in a wide variety of subjects, from medicine to law, which was why Muhammad never considered himself especially superior to Aisha. In contrast to the belief that Islam prohibits men praying in the presence of women, Muhammad very openly prayed in front of Aisha and didn't oppose women being equally involved in religious pursuits. Even after Muhammad's death, Aisha involved herself in war, debated on topics concerning religious law, gave public speeches, and devoted herself to spreading the principles of her late husband.

The University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fes, Morocco, is the oldest university still running today, and also houses the world's oldest library, all founded by a Muslim woman, Fatima al-Fihri, in 859 AD. The University attracted Gerber of Auvergne, who went on to introduce the concept of zero and Arabic numerals to medieval Europe. The institution already had 8,000 students by the 14th century AD, and it produced an almost unquantifiable amount of great minds who made strides in Islamic philosophy. al-Fihri's sister, Mariam, built the breathtaking Andalusian Mosque also in Fes, within its medina. The mosque became the second-largest religious institution in Fes after the University of al-Qarawiyyin and one of the largest in North Africa. Both Fatima and Mariam al-Fihri welcomed in with open arms refugees from Islamic Spain and generally contributed to the larger belief of women being equally as suitable as men to participate in the advancement and spread of Islam.

Yes, it's true that Muslim countries have the largest gender gap in terms of education. The reason for this is, ironically, still the lack of education, as comprehensive Islamic education would explain that Aisha, the Prophet Muhammad, and Islam overall advocate for women's schooling. It's also worth noting that this gender gap is nonexistent among university students; in Qatar, which is simultaneously predominantly Muslim and the world's richest country, the ratio of women to men in tertiary education is nearly 7 to 1. Saudi Arabia may be considered to be one of the world's most female-oppressive countries, largely because of its ban on female driving (again, due to culture and not religion), but it also has more female than male university students. In Kuwait, 41% of the common female population attends university compared to 18% of males. In the modern world, women's employment rates widely vary; in Pakistan, 16% of women are economically active, whereas in Indonesia, 52% of women are.

The aspects of Islam that paint it as misogynistic stand side-by-side with the Islamic world's introduction of feminism and its advocacy for women's education. It's important to acknowledge that an intersection between misogyny and all major world religions exists, and that this cannot be attributed singularly to Islam. It's also important to acknowledge that the oppression of women in some Islamic countries is largely due to the promulgation of radical Islam in those countries coupled with the prevalence of poverty and the rarity of education, and that the oppression of women, by the definition of any educated Muslim, is blatantly un-Islamic.