Lesson video

Hello, and welcome to this lesson on Gender Equality.

In this lesson, we're going to be examining traditional compared with modern Christian and Islamic views on the role of men and women in our society.

And I'm sure you are looking forward to the lesson.

So when you're ready, let's begin.

Good.

Before we begin, there are five things that you will need for this lesson.

Firstly, a pen or a pencil to write with.

You want a paper or an exercise book to write in, another coloured pen for corrections, a quiet space, and of course, a curious brain.

So make sure you've got those five things before we begin our lesson today.

You want to make sure that you've got removed any distractions as well.

So turn off your TV, turn off the music if you've got it playing, turn off your notifications on your mobile phone if you're using at the lesson and your current discussion.

And of course, close any desktop application that you may be using if you're using a desktop, and make sure you put your mobile phone on silent and put it to one side.

Well, in this lesson we're going to be looking at Gender Equality.

If this is a sensitive topic to you, please make sure you check with a trusted adult before starting a lesson or doing the lesson with a trusted adult nearby.

And of course, if anything you're taught about in this lesson affects you, please speak with your parents or carers, and you can of course contact Young Minds if you require further support.

So pause the video at this point to just make sure you've got everything that you need to begin the lesson.

That you've got your pen and pencil, your equipment, you're in a quiet space ready to learn, and of course, you've got a curious brain ready for this lesson.

So pause the video at this point and when you're ready, let's continue.

Good.

Let's get on with the rest of our lesson then.

So in this lesson, we're going to be looking at gender discrimination.

So we'll talk about gender equality.

So we'll look at traditional Islamic and Christian views on gender equality on the roles of men and women in society, and we'll also talk about modern Islamic and Christian views on the role of the men and women in society.

So let's get on with our lesson.

We're going to start up with a question; "What is gender discrimination?" So I want you to think about that for five seconds.

What is gender discrimination? How would you describe that? Good.

I trust you've been able to think about some definition in your mind.

Didn't have to write anything down at this point, but let's look at the definition for gender discrimination.

It says, "The unjust or prejudicial treatment of people based on sex or gender." You remember what we said in a previous lesson that sex and gender often is used interchangeably.

So when we talk about gender discrimination or gender equality, we're talking about both the biological features of male and female, but also the sociological and psychological features that are associated with those different sexes.

So again, remember here that's sex and gender is being used interchangeably to refer to biological and other characteristics as well.

But it is about treating people unfairly based on their sex and gender.

So it's really important to take note of that definition.

So pause the video for a moment and just write down this definition for me on your paper or in your exercise book.

Good.

Well done.

I trust you've been able to do that at this point.

Let's continue with our lesson then.

So we're going to start off by looking at some examples of gender discrimination in contemporary British society today.

There are five examples that I'd like you to know by the end of this lesson.

The first is Unequal Pay.

And that is when men and women are paid different salaries or wages for the doing the same job.

So unequal pay is one type of gender discrimination that we find in contemporary British society.

We also have Promotion Caps, which is when a woman is not given a promotion or limited in terms of what promotions you can get based on her gender.

So another type of discrimination we've got in contemporary British society.

The third is Gender-Based Employment.

And this applies to men and women when they are prescribed specific job roles based on their sex or gender.

So it may be that a man is expected to be in a "manly field" like carpentry or engineering, but women are not expected to be in those fields, or rather, are expected to be in "feminine fields" like nursing or teaching.

So these are gender-based employment as well, and that's another form of discrimination that we find in our society.

What about Prescribed Gender-Based Roles? And that is when society expects men and women to do different things based on their sex or gender.

So for example, society may expect women to be housewives and men to be the breadwinner, to bring things and provide for his household.

And finally, the fifth one is Harassment, and this is in the workplace mostly, but also in society as well, where men or women are harassed or disturbed persistently because of their sex or gender.

This is very common with women, and it's another form of gender discrimination.

So five types of gender discrimination that we've looked at in this lesson.

That is unequal pay, promotion cap, gender-based employment, prescribed gender-based roles and harassment.

So let's start off with some quick-fire questions before we continue.

So which of the following is NOT a result of gender discrimination? In five, four, three, two, one, zero.

Right, having different gender characteristics.

So being different is not discrimination.

It's when that difference is used to treat people unfairly or unjustly.

What is harassment? In five, four, three, two, one.

Brilliant.

If you said, when men or, more commonly, women are persistently disturbed because of their gender, you would be correct.

That is correct definition of harassment.

Which of the following is an example of gender-based employment? Brilliant.

If you said, she is more suited to nursing than him because it's a woman's job, that would be an example of gender-based employment.

Joanne did not get the promotion because she is a woman.

What type of gender discrimination is this? Good.

If you said a Promotion Cap, you would be correct.

So well done for making sure you've understood and you've mastered all of those five examples of discrimination that we have in contemporary British society.

Really, really well done.

Now, let's look at some traditional views between Muslims and Christians when it comes to the role of men and women.

Traditionally, in Christianity, this is among all branches of Christianity, men and women are considered equal, but they are also considered different.

That is to say that even though they have the same rights, their roles may be different because of the difference in their sex or gender.

Now, women are also seen in traditional Christianity as a companion or a help for the man, a help that is suitable for the man.

And this is based on texts that we find in Genesis 2:18, where it says, "I will make a suitable companion to help him." And in this early creation narrative, God is shown as making a woman in order to be a companion for the man, who was lonely.

And therefore many Christians, early Christians or traditional Christians interpret this to mean that the woman is a support for the man, and this is why, traditionally, women are seen as housewives and men are seen as the head of the home.

They make the decision, they're the provider, the breadwinner for the home, as the woman looks after the home and looks after the family and children.

So that's what we find in Genesis.

But of course, there are different interpretations of these creation stories because there is more than one creation story as you would have learned in your study of Christian beliefs.

There are different creation stories and people interpret those creation stories differently.

So what about Muslims? What do they think? Well, traditional Muslims, both Sunni and Shi'a Muslims and all the dominations thereof, think that men and women are equal, but also different.

That is to say the agree in principle with Christianity, in that men and women have got the same rights so they should be treated the same, but at the same time, they are different, and therefore they've got different roles and different things that they need to do.

Men are considered breadwinners.

They provide for the family, but of course in Islam, it's not just a nuclear family, but it's also the extended family.

So they provide for the extended family including the vulnerable and the elderly family members that they may have, and making sure that all of their relatives are cared for.

Men are expected to dress modestly as well as women.

So women may wear a hijab, and of course, this is a choice.

The burqa is also a choice, and that is because they want to be modest in their attire.

Women are often seen as housewives.

In Islam, they are prescribed that role.

They're expected to be people who look after the home, that is a role that they play for the family.

But of course it's different, it's not something that is competitive.

Men and women are not competing for different roles, but in Islam, men accept that they've got a specific role, and women also accepts that they've got a specific role, and these roles are complementary.

And both of them are equal in their roles, even though their roles are different.

So we know that women dress modestly.

In the Qur'an it says, "Tell your wives and daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves part of their outer garments." And that's the instruction there for women to veil themselves, to dress modestly, so they're not harassed by men, so they're not known that other people outside of their family.

So we've got that in traditional Islam as well.

Good.

Let's see if you understood that information that we just went through.

You've just acquired some really really great new knowledge.

So I want you to spot the mistake of the two different views that are on your screen at this point.

So you've got the traditional Christian view and you've got the traditional Islamic view, which of those is incorrect? In five, four, three, two, one.

Brilliant.

If you said traditional Muslim view is incorrect, you're absolutely right, 'cause remember women are equal to men in traditional Islam.

It's often a misconception that women are not equal to men, but they are equal to men in traditional Islam.

Which of the following is incorrect? The man was made as a companion for the woman for traditional Christians, traditional Muslims, men and women are the same.

Brilliant if you said traditional Muslims position is wrong.

Men and women are equal, but they're not the same, they are different.

They've got different roles and different responsibilities that they play with the family and with the Muslim community as well.

Good.

Which of the following is incorrect? Women should be housewives, women should wear a hijab by force.

Good.

If you said, women should wear hijab by force, that's incorrect.

You're absolutely good.

Well done, you've got it correct.

So traditional Muslims do not believe that women should wear a hijab by force, women choose to wear a hijab, and they may choose to wear a burqa or more for a garment as well.

So that's up to women, they make that decision.

Good.

One more? Traditional Christians say men and women are the same, traditional Muslims say men should dress modestly.

Good.

If you said traditional Christians positions are wrong, you are correct.

So men and women are not the same in traditional Christianity.

They are equal, but they are different.

They've got different roles and responsibilities.

So well done on showing your really, really good understanding of that.

But let's talk a little bit more about the traditional Islamic position on the role of men and women, this is both Sunni and Shi'a.

Women have got particular rights in Islam.

They've got a right to an education, though this may differ from country to country in terms of how much education they're given.

All women across Islam have the right to education.

They have the rights to marry, and to choose who they marry.

Women are not forced to marry anyone.

And they can keep their names once they get married.

They're not forced to change their names either.

Women may choose to get a divorce and they are permitted to do so given the waiting period that we talked about, but women can get a divorce in Islam.

They can inherit money and property, they can own property.

They can do that in Islam as well, they are permitted to.

So there's no thing that women are seen as property, a woman can, totally stuff they can do.

Women can participate in politics, that means they can vote for example.

And women can conduct business.

They can earn money from doing a business venture.

So there's lots of ways that women can work outside of the home, not just being a housewife.

There are things that they can get involved in.

Women can actually worship in a mosque also.

They can go there, there are separate areas, and that is for modesty and for keeping everyone concentrating on the purpose of being there, but they are allowed to worship in a mosque also.

I'm sure you would have touched on that in your study of Islamic practises.

Good.

So on the screen, you've got some of the rights of women.

You've got education, worship, marriage and divorce, conducting business, inheritance and property rights, and political participation.

I'm going to give you 10 seconds to try and remember as much as you can of these rights in the same order that you see them on your screen.

You've got 10 seconds.

You want to remember the rights and the order, okay? A tip, you can use mnemonic.

You can do whatever you want, association, but you've got 10 seconds to try and to remember all of these rights for women in Islam in the order that they are presented on your screen.

Good? Let's begin.

10.

Brilliant.

I trust you tried your best to remember them.

At this point, I want you to try and tell me what is covered up.

What is under those grey boxes? You get five more seconds.

In five, four, three, two, one.

Well done.

Did you get education, conducting business, and inheritance and property rights? I hope you did and you were able to remember them.

Let's do it one more time.

Which of them are covered up? Which of them are covered up? What's under those grey boxes? You get five more seconds.

Three, two, one.

Brilliant.

Worship, marriage, and political participation.

I hope you were able to remember.

So as you see in Islam, women have gotten lots and lots of rights.

Good.

At this point, what I want you to do is pause your video because we've looked at some texts, some evidence that supports particular Islamic or Christian views, particularly the traditional views, which we've been looking at so far.

What I want you to do is pause your video at this point, use the words in the white box to fill in the blanks of the text in the pink box.

So you're going to copy out a text and then complete the following scripture reference, okay? Pause the video at this point, and when you're ready, we can continue.

Good.

Well done.

I trust you've pause the video, and you were able to complete that task.

You want a pen for correction at this stage, let's go through the answers.

So it says, "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to live alone.

I will make a suitable companion to help him.

'" So those are the five words there that were missing.

I hope you got them right? Correct as you go along.

Good.

We're going to do this one more time, let's look at a text from the Qur'an.

This one says, "Tell your _________," and of course, what I want you to do at this point is to take the words in the white box, fill in the blanks in the words with the text in the pink box, you can copy out the text and then fill out the scripture references.

So pause the video again and complete this task for me.

Good.

Welcome back.

I trust now you have completed that.

Again, we're going to go through the same process.

Let's see if you got it correct.

So, "Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves part of their outer garments." That is veiling themselves, that's what's being referred to here.

So you can see that command for modesty for Islamic women, but of course, for Islamic men as well, all Muslims. Good, well done.

I hope you were able to correct them, and that you did really, really, really well.

Let's go on now to talk about some modern Islamic and Christian views on the role of men and women in society.

Now, in modern Christianity, views have developed somewhat and things are interpreted differently.

That's what's important to take notes of.

So men and women are still considered equal.

That has not changed from traditional Christian views to modern Christian views, men and women are equal.

However, some interpretations of things like headship have changed, and that's because of texts like Galatians 3:28, which says, "There is no difference between men and women." "No difference between men and women." So partnership is used more so than headship.

The man is not considered the head of the woman, neither is the husband considered the head of the wife, rather they are considered as partners.

They work together, they share domestic and parental and professional responsibilities, they make decisions together as well.

So, many modern Christians don't really subscribe to gender-based roles.

Men and women share the responsibilities and share the roles that they've got to play in the family and in society.

Now, modern Muslims also carry on some of the things that we found in traditional Islam.

For example, men and women are still considered equal.

Men and women are also still considered different, so there is not a change in that viewpoint.

However, many modern Muslims no longer subscribe to gender-based roles.

That is to say that women don't necessarily always have to only be housewives, and modern Muslim men and women are happy to accept that.

And men also take more responsibility for being involved in the domestic and parental responsibilities as well.

Women, therefore, are seen more in the public sphere in for example, contemporary British society, rather than just being at home.

They are more involved in business and in commerce than it would've been in the past as well.

So things are developing based on interpretation to Qur'an, and as we saw with the modern Christian view, based on interpretations of the Bible.

But of course, we can see that lots of things have been retained in the traditional views as well.

At this point, what I want you to do is to pause your video and answer the following questions on the screen for me.

The two questions are; How do modern Islamic views on the role of men and women differ from traditional Islamic views? And the second; How to modern Christian views on the role of men and women differ from traditional Christian views? So I want you to use this sentence starters for me and then compare traditional versus modern Christian and Islamic views on the role of men and women.

So pause your video at this point and answer the questions on your screen.

Good, welcome back.

I trust now that you have spent a few minutes answering those questions.

Let's have a look at some potential answers to these questions.

So you may have said on question one; Many modern Muslims tend to be less prescriptive about the role of men and women than traditional Muslims. Therefore, Muslim women have increasing involvement in the public sphere whilst continuing to care for the home.

That's one potential answer you could have given for that first question about the differences between modern and traditional Muslims with the concern of men and women.

Let's look at another one.

Christianity; How do modern Christian views on the role of men and women differ from the traditional Christian views? You could have said; For traditional Christians, men were considered the head of the home, and made major decisions.

However, many modern Christians, husbands and wives share in decision-making and in other responsibilities.

So you could have used an answer similar to this as well.

So correct your answers as you go along, of course, with your pen for correction.

Good.

Quick-fire questions then on the traditional and modern views of Muslims and Christians.

Which of the following is NOT a modern Christian view? Three, two, one.

Good.

If you said, husbands should make major decisions, you are correct.

That was a view that was taken with the traditional Christian view rather than the modern Christian view.

Most traditional Muslims believe that women should provide for the family.

Is that true or false? But of course, it's false.

Men are the traditional breadwinners or providers for the family, both nuclear and extended family.

Which of the following is NOT the view of a traditional Muslim? Good.

If you said, men and women have the same roles.

That is not the view of a traditional Muslim.

They've got equality, but they've different roles to play.

Men as the breadwinners, but of course, women as housewives.

And it was a complement rather than competitive roles.

Traditional Christians don't believe men and women are equal.

Is that true or false? But of course that one is.

False, yes.

Traditional Christians do believe that men and women are equal, even though they believe they are also different, and they have different roles to play in society.

Good.

At this point, I want you to pause your video.

You've learned now about traditional versus Christian views on the role of men and women.

What I'd like you to do at this point for me is explain two religious beliefs about the role of both men and women.

So you can refer to the traditional or modern Christian view or the traditional or modern Islamic view for this question.

And of course, we've looked at different texts that you can use now, different sacred texts, that means as it is from the Qur'an or as it is from the Bible, that you can use to support your points in this particular question.

But of course, you know that this question style is mostly to the AQA and Edexcel, but you must be aware of that and speak to your teacher about what exam board you are doing, but it's just to test your understanding of the different religious values when it comes to the role of men and women.

So pause the video at this point and answer that question.

Spend about five minutes answering this question for me.

Brilliant, welcome back.

Well done for answering that question, and for using the quotations to make sure you've got points, evidence and explanation throughout your answer.

Let's have a look at the potential answers to this question.

So you could say, for example; Most of modern Christians think that man and woman are equal.

That would apply even for traditional Christians, but I'm making a point here about modern Christians.

Evidence in the Bible suggests that "there is no difference between men and women." Therefore, modern Christians do not have prescribed gender-based roles.

So either they share responsibility, domestic, professional, and parental.

Most traditional Muslims believe women should dress modestly.

In the Qur'an, it says, "tell the women of the believers bring down over themselves, parts of their outer garments." And sort of dressing modestly there.

So there we go.

We've got a point, evidence in the explanation, point and evidence which will give you the marks that you need for a question like this.

But of course, you could add an explanation for that second point as well.

Good.

Well done.

At this point, you've been fantastic.

You've been able to get through the lesson, and now you know what gender equality and gender discrimination is.

You also know different examples of gender discrimination in contemporary British society.

You know the traditional views of Muslims and Christians, and you know the modern views of Muslims and Christians as well.

And you've been able to practise and use that throughout the lesson.

So at this point, complete your exit quiz.

It's just to test your knowledge and understanding your learning from this lesson.

Don't feel too much pressure.

Don't worry.

It's just a matter of learning.

And even this quiz is going to help you to learn, okay? Just remember that you need to continue reviewing and revising.

Really, really important to move that information from your short-term to your long-term memory.

Until next lesson, where we'll do some recap and practise, take care.