The Liberation of Women by Qasim Amin

The Liberation of Women by Qasim Amin

Education is analogous to a threshold opening to a better life in all aspects. Every one in this entire world deserves an equal right and a better life, therefore education should be provided to everyone equally regardless of age, religion, race or even gender. Men and women should have an equal chance for an access to education. With an access to it, this will not only develop the individual life but also relate to the development of society and nation respectively. One of the controversial writings concerning women education is The Liberation of Women written by Qasim Amin.

Qasim Amin was the Egyptian jurist and one of the founders of the Egyptain Nation Movement in the eighteenth century. Amin witnessed the period of the independent Egypt under control of the Western power, the British. The mainstream idea of most Egyptians during that time was no other than liberation. From Amin's perspective, the only way to liberate Egypt was to liberate women and the only tool to liberate them was education. Due to this idea, he wrote many writings concerning women education. The most controversial one of all his writings is The Liberation of Women. This book criticizes the Muslim society especially the way men treat women unequally which should come to an end. Moreover, he mentioned about woman's role toward her nation, her family and her children. And the only way to fulfill her mentioned roles was through the emphasis on education. Egypt of this present time in the twenty-first century is not different from what she was in the nineteenth century. She has no her own power. What she could do is leaning and depending on the Westerns. According to the UNDP report about education, the literacy rate is quite low , therefore, it is time that education should be focused on more which will eventually help liberate Egypt from what it is now and lead to a further development of the nation and the populations.

Firstly, Amin mentioned about women's role for their function in family. Their significant role in family is no other than being a wife of their husband and a mother of their children. The responsibility of a wife is to administrate the household including setting up budget for income and expenditure of the family finances, supervising the servants, making her home a pleasant place for all members of family and lastly being a person whom her husband can consult and share his problem and opinion with. Without a proper education, women could not achieve these responsibilities. Education gives them knowledge and helps broaden their minds and be able to provide their husband with suggestions.

Moreover, the most important responsibility is toward their children including their physical, intellectual and moral upbringing. "...children are products of their parents, and that mothers have the greater share in this relationship.", this quote from Amin's The Liberation of Women implies that the future and the success of the children depends on the mothers so that mothers without knowledge and education would not be able to bring up their children that well.

I totally agree with the aforementioned argument. Without education women will be more narrow minded. As a result, this could lead to social and economic problem. The ignorant women could not be a good and skilled housewife, they would not be able to satisfy their husband, then later leads to problem in family and then social problem in society. The ignorant mothers could not bring up their children that well. They would not be able to broaden their children's minds and this would lead to social and economic problem as well because it creates the lack of potential populations