There is a significant problem with the modern place of women
within Islam. There is plenty in the actual teachings of Islam
to promote an equality of both sexes under the law and in
society. In fact, the teachings of Islam integrate well with
many of the ideals of the Western feminist movement. It is no
coincidence that mistreatment of women is not endemic to Islam
but rather to several third-world nations that happen to be
Muslim. The appalling mistreatment of women in countries like
Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan is not a consequence of Islam,
rather it is a consequence of a society that has lacked contact
with modern ideas and still embraces traditions and practices
that in the rest of the world were stopped many decades ago. It
is not the result of Islam but of backwards economical,
technological, and societal development mainly due to the
effects of war, politics, and a patriarchal and conservative
sector of the population that refuses to change its ways. Islam
teaches equality in its most basic aspects.