In islam mothers have been given the most important role and respect in the family; the verse 15 from chapter 46 in the Quran illustrates this fact because in there was a man who went to Prophet Muhammed and asked "who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship?" and the Prophet replied "your mother", and the man asked "then who", and the Prophet replied "your mother", and this pattern continued twice more and then came the father (Reem:2012). This is a verse from the Quran many children hear from their parents to illustrate the importance of a mother in the family; and in my personal case my father has told me this story which shows that if Islam had anything to show male dominance in family this would not be the case, and the Prophet would have not spoken of "mothers" in this sense. Some may think it is alright for the man to be "wrongful" towards his wife, and treat her ill but what God says according to Barlas (2002:14); "God" never does any zulm to anybody and to do"zulm" and if God does not do zulm ; in that case God's "people" cannot do zulm either. .
In a rapport by Lutz (2014), it is stated that cultural biases are compounded by poverty; and this leads to many poor families in for example Middle East; parents who can only send some children to school will see boys as a better investment for the family. The reason behind this is also cultural, since in middle eastern countries; sons stay with their families and support them even after marriage whilst girls move to the husband and do not hold any economical responsibilities for her own family. This is one factor why boys education attendance is higher than girls; and clearly does not have to do with Islam. One could look at the world figures where it is stated according to The United Nations Development Programme that two thirds of the population in the world who cannot read are female, and nearly 70 % of the world's poorest people are female; with only 16 countries in the world have female representation in national parliaments above 25 % (Alsaleh, S:123).
