Gender differences in child rearing and education: some preliminary observations with reference to medieval Muslim thought

Abstract

The A. surveys several areas of medieval Muslim writing normative moral, legal and medical thought, in an effort to identify differences in attitudes towards male and female children. From the source surveyed it emerges that Muslim religious scholars condemned any expression of protest against the birth of female infants and supported, as did physicians, equal physical treatment to girls. However, gender differences are justified whenever socio-religious questions, like childhood rites, education, and child marriage are concerned. Here, in spite of remarkable individual differences amongst orthodox « ulama », which reflect the shifting boundaries between patriarchal ideals, on the one hand, and Muslim moral values, on the other, the inclination to adjust to the social structure, characterized by men's dominance, is overwhelming