Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 230
230 primary duty of women is to look after the upbringing and training of the future generation, and the function of men is to provide the means for such upbringing and training. In order that man may be able to discharge this function properly he is required to spend most of his time out of doors; his sphere of activity lies in the streets and thoroughfares and other public places, but the proper sphere of action of woman is the home. Islam confers on both freedom of action within their respec- tive spheres, and places restrictions on the freedom of one within the sphere of action of the other. Men are told to obtain permission before entering a house, for that is where women are free. Women are not required to ask the permission of men when going out, but they must take the precautions described above, the reason being that Islam acknowledges that a woman might have legitimate business outside the home, and may, therefore, go out without having to ask permission. But a man can have no legitimate business inside another’s house without the permission of the women occupying it and so there is an additional restriction placed on him, viz. , he cannot enter it without obtaining permission. There is no question, therefore, of insult to men or women, in these restrictions. On the contrary, they are a golden means of moral improvement, and are disliked or opposed only out of habit and custom. There are instances of Western women who have adopted purdah or H ij a b and who find no discomfort or inconvenience in it, except a feeling of shyness and strangeness— which is but natural—for the first few days.