Islam does not discriminate on caste, creed and gender basis

Islam does not allow any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, gender or social level of an individual. The deviation from the Islamic code of conduct comes from those who claim Islam to be their religion but seldom practise it in its real sense.
This was the general understanding that was expressed by eminent scholars on the concluding day of the conference on 'Different Facets of Islamic Ummah in a Globalised World'. The conference was jointly organised by Karachi University Area Study Centre for Europe (ASCE) and Goethe-Institut, Karachi.
Dr Ibrahim Na'iya Sada from Nigeria read his paper on 'Improving the Status of Women in Northern Nigeria: The Role of Shariah'. He said that Muslim women in northern Nigeria, like others across the world, have often been subjected to cultural and traditional practices that violate their rights. Some of these violations were carried out in the name of Islam despite the fact that such practices were against the teachings of Islam although Islamic prescriptions in respect of women, if genuinely applied, can serve as a model for other societies. He said that the most of the women-related problems, such as girl-child marriage and marital relationship, divorce, custody of children, economic rights, access to justice, access to health and reproductive health services, inheritance, property ownership and political participation are decided according to Shariah. It is a fact that Islam is a complete code of life and it encompasses all conceivable problems facing humanity.
Razlinawati Razali, a legal officer of a Malaysian NGO, spoke on 'The Truth about Polygamy'. He said that this practice is mostly attributed to Islam, and the Western media never stops from ridiculing Islam although it is not confined to Islam only. Islam neither invented nor encouraged polygamy. Unrestricted polygamy was an existing practice in the Arabian Peninsula prior to the revelations of Qur'an. Professor Zahra Shojaie, from Iran, who teaches Political Science and Sociology in Alzahra University, Tehran, spoke on 'The Status of Women in Islamic Societies and the Experiences of Iran'.