GENDER (IN)EQUALITY: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE CHRISTIAN AND ISLAMIC RELIGIONS AND LITERATURE

Gender (in)equality is presently a topical issue in both academic and social discourse. This is because of the increasing wave of campaigns and activism from different parts of the world, especially from women and feminist movements that are clamouring for a paradigm shift. Many of these people belonging to different schools of thought believe that gender (in)equality has its roots in both the Christian and Islamic religions. In their views, the Supreme Being instituted gender disparity. In this work, the authors, through a textual analysis of the Bible and the Koran, look at the position of both religions and religious scholars on (in)equality between men and women and the cases for and against as professed by both religions. It concludes that it is a matter of interpretation as there are cases in both literatures that promote both positions and are interpreted differently by the different scholars depending on the side of the divide they stand.

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