In Islam, women have been given a high status which no past nation ever achieved and which no subsequent nation has been able to attain, because the honor that Islam gives to humanity, includes men and women equally. They are equal before the rulings of Allah in this world and they will be equal with regard to His reward and punishment in the Hereafter.
Allah says (what means): "And indeed We have honored the Children of Adam." [Quran 17:70]
And (what means): "There is a share for men and a share for women from what is left by parents and those nearest related." [Quran 4:7]
And (what means): "And they (women) have rights (over their husbands as regards living expenses) similar (to those of their husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect) to what is reasonable." [Quran 2:228]
And (what means): "The believers, men and women, are Awliyaa' (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another." [Quran 9:71]
And (what means): "And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honor. And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: 'My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was young'" [Quran 17:23-24]
And Allah says (what means): "So their Lord accepted of them (their supplication and answered them): ‘Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female.’" [Quran 3:195]
And (what means): "Whoever works righteousness -- whether male or female -- while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter)." [Quran 16:97]
And (what means): "And whoever does righteous good deeds, male or female, and is a (true) believer [in the Oneness of Allah (Muslim)], such will enter Paradise and not the least injustice, even to the size of a Naqeera (speck on the back of a date stone), will be done to them." [Quran 4:124]
There is nothing in any other religion, nation or law that can compare to the honor, which a woman is granted in Islam. Roman civilization decreed that a woman was a slave who belonged to man, and had no rights at all. In Rome a major gathering met to discuss the status of women, and decided that she was a being who had no soul, and that therefore she would not inherit life in the Hereafter, and that she was evil!
In Athens women were regarded as chattels; they were bought and sold and were regarded as evil, the handiwork of the devil. The ancient laws of India state that disease, death, Hell, snake venom and fire were all better than woman. Her right to life came to an end when her husband's -- or master's -- life ended. When she saw her husband’s body burning she would throw herself into the flames; if she did not do so, she would be subject to curses.
With regard to women in Judaism, the ruling on her in the Old Testament is as follows: "So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly. I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains…" (Ecclesiastes 7:25-26 - New International Version).
It is known that the Old Testament is venerated and believed by both Jews and Christians. This was the situation of woman in ancient times.
With regard to her situation in the Middle Ages and in modern times, this will be explained by the following: The Danish writer Wieth Kordsten explained the view of the Catholic Church towards women. He said: "During the Middle Ages, very little care was given to women, following the teaching of the Catholic Church which regarded woman as a second class creation."
In France a council in 586 CE decided to research the status of women and whether they were to be counted as human or not. After some discussion, they decided that woman was human, but she was created to serve man. The 217th clause of the French law states the following: "A married woman -- even if her marriage is based on the condition of separating what belongs to her and what belongs to her husband -- is not permitted to give anything as a gift or to transfer any of her property or use it as collateral, or to take possession of anything whether in return for payment or otherwise, without her husband being a party to the contract or agreeing to it in writing."
In England Henry VIII forbade English women to read the Bible. Until 1850 CE women were not counted as citizens, and until 1882 CE they did not have any personal rights. (Silsilat Maqaarinah al-Adyaan, by Dr. Ahmad Shalaby, vol. 3, p. 210-213)
As for contemporary woman in Europe, America and other industrial nations, she is a creature that is degraded and abused for commercial purposes!! She is a feature of advertising campaigns, where she takes off her clothes in order to advertise products on posters, and sells and displays her body according to the systems devised by men, so that she is no more than an object of pleasure for them.
In such societies, a woman is cared for only as long as she is able contribute something physically or mentally. When she becomes old and cannot give any more, society -- individuals and institutions alike -- forsake her and she lives alone in her house or in an old age institution.
Compare this -- and there is no comparison -- with the teachings of the Noble Quran, in which Allah says (what means): "The believers, men and women, are Awliya' (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another." [Quran 9:71]
And (what means): "And they (women) have rights (over their husbands as regards living expenses) similar (to those of their husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect) to what is reasonable." [Quran 2:228]
And (what means): "And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honor. And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: 'My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was young'" [Quran 17:23-24]
Since her Lord has honored her in this way, it is clear to all of humankind that Allah Almighty has created a woman to be a mother, a wife, a daughter and a sister and prescribed certain laws which apply exclusively to women and not men.