Women in Islam & refutation of some common misconceptions

For a long time there has been a misunderstanding of the status of women in any religion in general and Islam in particular. Throughout the ages, many nations and cultures have placed women in the lowest position against men. Men have dominated their lives and properties. This included the Arabian culture before Islam, known as the Age of Ignorance. In the Greek culture, for example, women were looked on as an item in the house. She was subject to buying and selling in the market. She was deprived from the right of inheritance and was thought of as filth and a product from the deeds of the Satan. In the Roman society, the woman used to suffer all worst punishments by men such as burning her body with hot oil, tying her to posts and pulling her behind speeding horses. All of this took place for no other reason than being a woman. According to the English law, up until 1805 men could sell their wives as they would with any property. In Islam, however, women are respected as partners of men. Their role in life is complimentary rather than contradictory. The woman in Islam has all rights of property ownership, business deealings and choosing her husband. In facing responsiblities and earning rights she is perfectly as equal as man. Men have even bigger responsibilities in carrying the burdens of earning for the family and supporting spouses. Protecting their chastity and reputation honor women. Unfortunately, many a time, the Western culture has been degrading the status of women into the level of mere commodies. To write a book on this subject is very much needed, and I am very much happy to present it to the readers. For a serious reader this book is a must, so that s/he will know to what extent women are respected and protected in perfected Islam.