Are Women Second in Grade to Men?

You wrote:

I believe that today the world has become so biased in such issues of women that it is very difficult to do justice to Quran when understanding the rights of the two genders. Before we even look at the issue in Quran we already have some preconceived notions in our minds, for instance, giving birth to a child and raising them is considered inferior to running an office and earning money. This is despite the fact that only a woman has been bestowed with the quality of actually becoming pregnant and giving birth to a child and a man just cannot do it – God has not created man in such a fashion. It is indeed a terrible fallacy to suggest that giving birth to a child is any less important than any other job performed by a man, and those who believe it is inferior are actually being unjust by declaring one act inferior or superior over the other in order to convince one sex to drop their duties and start performing the duties of another.

In the bigger sphere of life, where a human through their death is going to meet their Lord, 'equality' is really the ability to succeed in the Hereafter. If a woman holds any lesser chance than a man only then it would constitute as not being equals to each other. However, that is not the case. God, in His supreme Wisdom, has promised absolute Justice to men and women alike. Therefore, in eyes of God, they are all equal.

No one can deny the fact that only a woman can give birth to a child. Men, on the other hand, may reveal their bravery in the battlefield but often are not fit to take care of a house or providing children with love and care that is much needed by them especially in the earlier phases of their lives. A few exceptions here and there will not change this overall structure and, based on this very nature on which God created men and women, He has prescribed spheres for both men and women which will create a successful family structure. The chances of success in the Hereafter for each soul are equal – all that is needed is the understanding of their responsibilities, performing them dutifully and striving for reward in the Hereafter. Quran says thus:

Therefore, in response to your first question, it is certainly wrong to believe that women are treated as second grade to men. On the other hand, there are some areas in which woman has been favored over the man and Islam acknowledges this diversity in roles. Based on that Islam creates a family unit and bases the structure of the entire society on this institution of family in which different responsibilities are shared by both the partners. The question of women as second grade citizens should be posed to those who, through mere rhetoric, degrade the womanly duties performed by them, make them believe that feminine activities are inferior to men's and through this process make them do what men should be doing for women.

You asked:

As far as the testimony of a woman is concerned, I believe it is a misunderstanding that it is half of men as a general rule. Consider the following case where the testimony of a woman is heavier than that of a man:

Clearly, a woman's testimony has out rules that of a man in the case above. At many instances, Quran has mentioned the need for having witnesses at various places but at no place has the gender of the witnesses been mentioned. It is only in the following verse where the need to have two woman witnesses in place of one man witness has been identified:

Dr. Khalid Zaheer, while explaining the issue writes:

To your question about inheritance, I have already explained that a man has been prescribed the responsibility of earning and providing for himself as well as the family. The woman has been not only been excused of such responsibilities rather her husband is made to provide for her. It is in keeping with these needs of men and women that the share of inheritance seems to have been made different. For the purposes of understanding – and in order to deal justly with the roles of men and women – one should look at it as if the inheritance is being divided between the daughter and the family of the son of the deceased. The son, required to provide for his needs as well as that of his family, has thus been prescribed twice the share as that of his sister by God Almighty.

You wrote:

I will request you to post me the specific verses which seem to give the impression you have stated in your question.

If by freedom of movement you mean the ability of woman to compliment her husband by helping him in various spheres of life, including sharing his hand in earning, but without transgressing any limits set by the Almighty, then Islam definitely does not constrict such movement rather it supports it. However if 'freedom of movement' is a phrase used to alter one's thoughts according to their wishes and desires, or according to the changing fashions of time and going forward with whatever movement takes air, without taking into account what the Almighty has ordained for us then definitely Islam not only constricts such a movement for women rather it does so for men as well. The reason is the simple fact that our aim here in this life is to achieve success in the Hereafter and if, because of the opinion of some people, that success is at the verge of being lost, it is indeed a great price to pay.