Religion as a method of improving gender equalityAlthough women are still considered and treated as second-class citizens, the status of women seems to improve under Christianity, especially regarding social interactions. and Islam, particularly regarding legal rights such as inheritance laws. The improvement in the situation of women was particularly pronounced compared to the even lower status of women during the Greek and Roman periods. The improved treatment of women under Christianity and Islam is evident in the religious texts of both religions. Christianity's Gospel of Mark and Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians as well as Islam's central religious text, the Quran, provide concrete evidence of how the treatment of women under Christianity and Islam was relatively progressive. During the Greek period, women were considered inferior. citizens, without real rights. Although Greek drama features many strong and remarkable women, like Antigone, what Greek women actually experienced was very different. The role of free women in Athens, as in many other places in Greece, was limited to the private sphere of the home. Women were limited to childbearing and supervision of housework; a woman's worth was based on her ability to produce legitimate heirs and be a homemaker. Young girls were confined to their homes and received no formal education. Instead, their mothers taught them domestic skills, which were considered the only proper education for a woman at the time. Athenian women were considered unintelligent and submissive and therefore could not vote, buy or sell property, or take legal action. Thus, Athenian women were considered "idiots" because they were incapable of...... middle of paper ......ren (Cow 2:233). Letting a man dictate a woman's personal choices in this way may seem surprising in today's society; however, at the time, Islam was considered relatively progressive for women. As in the case of Christianity, Islamic women are not equal to men, but Islam gives them additional rights than before. Under Islam, women experienced more progress than complacency. Thus, the situation of women under Islam is more beneficial than under Greek and Roman rule. Overall, the status of women in society improved in many aspects – social, legal and otherwise – under Islam and Christianity, especially compared to the Greek and Roman regimes. Roman periods. However, women's efforts toward equality did not stop at improvements brought about by religions. Today, women around the world are continually fighting for equal rights with men...