Whatever we define our success and our failure by becomes something that controls us and something we submit to. Furthermore, the Western idea of feminism takes God out of the picture and instead defines a woman's worth, success and failure to that of a man. The mentality developed goes along the lines of: if a man can join the army, so can a woman, and if a man can wear whatever he wants, then so can a woman.

This mentality of "feminism" and "gender equality" has only existed because society has accepted the fact that whatever a man does will be far better than whatever a woman does. The literal definition of feminismis the advocacy of women's rights based on the equality of sexes. However, since Islam already declares women and men as equals in both their rights and values, the concept of "feminism" has already been pre-established.

We have accepted that a woman will forever be inferior unless and until we become like men. Since we were young, stories like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White have shown us that a woman needs a man in order to be complete. This idea of men being the superior force that completes us is an idea that forces many Western feminists to feel that woman should also take up this persona of a superior force. This desire for equal representation is what causes women to want and need everything that men have.

Even as a little girl surrounded by sisters, I would often wonder what would happen if I was born a boy. Would I get more quality time with my father? Would my mom trust me to fix things like a "man?"

Fortunately, these thoughts were quickly stomped away by my parents. I was taught instead that being a girl would've been no different than being a boy. My parents would love me, trust me and spend quality time with me just the same. Just because I was a girl didn't mean I couldn't play soccer, prefer Thomas and Friends over Cinderella, learn karate or fix a sliding door. I could still like stuff thing that boys liked, and I would still be respected equally, if not more.

Being a girl was my superpower. It was something that I took great happiness in. I learned that Allah (swt) made a man and woman equal, not in the way they carry out day-to-day responsibilities, but rather in their duty to God and their rights as human beings. So I understand why some woman feel pushed by society to prove themselves as equal to men through a series of tasks instead of celebrating how they're different and learning to be okay with that.

In fact, instead of "equality among genders," many feminists have turned to a more idealistic goal in which women and men switch "traditional roles" so that women hold the top of the social hierarchy. This notion eliminates the uniqueness of a woman and replaces it instead with the uniqueness of a man. The idea of balancing the roles and power between women and men is gauged by worldly factors, like money. This contributes to issues like the wage gap, where independence and authority are usually associated with money.

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Since traditionally, men are the ones who earn income for the family, society deems them independent and more powerful. So in an effort to balance the roles of women and men, society encourages women to work so that they can also earn an income and have a degree of power and authority. We associate independence with money and further use that to judge the male and female power dynamic.

In Islam, however, this power dynamic is nullified, as power and superiority are not judged by the amount of wealth or income an individual has, rather, it is judged by the connection and level of faith that one has with their Lord.

Advertisements and beauty standards in the West have also shaped a woman's image to be more appealing and attractive to men. Wherever we look, we are constantly reminded of how we should look, how we should dress and how we should fit into society. Essentially, because of her beauty and her "attractiveness," a woman becomes an object of enticement, tailored for the pleasure of men, which Western feminists try to combat by trying to make "masculinity" the new "femininity." Everything considered "feminine," like being a stay at home mom or being emotional and sensitive, becomes an insult or is seen as a degradation.

However, Islam recognizes that each individual is different and special regardless of their gender. Women and men both set their standard to a relationship with Allah and strive not to be the same as the other gender, but rather to define their worth and their life by the pleasure of their Creator. Instead of becoming slaves to the concept and pleasure of men, Muslim women strive to become slaves to Allah and His pleasure through religious worship.

By doing this, a woman no longer finds the need to showcase her body, become an object of beauty for the crowd or be just like a man. Instead, a Muslim woman strives to showcase her faith to her Lord, be a better Muslim and follow the teachings and actions of the Prophet (pbuh).

Islam values the male and female in their unparalleled identities, which further equates them. However, in today's world, a woman's identities is not her own, because Western feminism seeks gender equality by equating two different identities (male and female).

So then how does Islam view gender equality?

In Islam women and men are equal, but their identities are not.

We can see that even Western culture subconsciously applies and understands this concept subjectively. When it comes to education, school and job opportunities, women and men are deemed equal. However, when it comes to sports like the Olympics or even fashion events like runway modeling, society recognizes that a separation between women and men is needed due to a difference in their physical bodies or because of the different standards of beauty in relation to their gender.

Depending upon the field of competition, society judges whether or not women and men are equal. A person's identity, whether female or male, does not determine an individual's importance, worth or achievements in life. A woman doesn't need to be a man to have value and a man doesn't need to be a woman to have value. In the eyes of God, both women and men are equal in their value and instead need to focus on God as a means of gaining more value.

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To put gender equality into perspective, imagine two exams, both of which receive the same score. However, on question number one, student A gets the answer correct while student B doesn't. We find that student A has a degree of advantage on question number one and its topic while student B doesn't. Similarly in Islam, women and men are equal (like the scores on the test), yet God has given them different advantages in different roles (like the different questions each student got right).

For example, a woman's physical body gives her an advantage in child-bearing and nursing — something a man cannot physically do. Despite the apparent differences in the roles of women and men in society, Islam still considers them equal. They both are supposed to have an equal opinion and voice. They both have the same access to human rights. They still have their freedom of choice, and they both have equally important responsibilities.

Allah (swt) reminds Muslim believers that men shouldn't set a standard to be like women and women shouldn't set a standard to be like men. Instead, by focusing on the standard of faith set by God and by accepting our unique and separate identities we can eliminate the acceptance of male superiority or a woman's subjugation to men.