Muslim women empowerment is one of the key issues that has been talked about within Muslim countries in the past years, but in reality, today Muslim women are one of the least empowered segments of society. Whatever the reason, it is undeniable that Muslim women are the largest part of society. Some people argue that corruption and un-Islamic traditions imported from other cultures are some of the reasons for the lack of empowerment. Many men still believe that to seek women's advice is not Islamic. Unfortunately for the Ummah, we are not able to empower a fundamental human resource because of a lack of understanding and proper Islamic knowledge on the issue of women empowerment, when the glorious Qur'an declared

The glorious Qur'an and the Hadith also emphasize protection of the rights of women, including the rights of education, worship, freedom of opinion, choice of spouse, economic freedom, and social role. An empowered woman would be one who is self-confident, who critically analyses her environment, and who exercises control over decisions that affect her life.

Bangladesh is one of the rare examples of Muslim women empowerment in the Ummah today, but it has not been achieved in a day. Bangladeshi society is traditionally very conservative, and it was not so long ago when the women were neglected throughout society. Historically, Bangladeshi society believed that women should stay at home and manage the household, and even be denied the basic rights given by Islam. It was a time when women were forbidden to acquire knowledge. Men were the dominating force and they were born to dominate everything. Women could not eat if the men were not eating.

As in other Muslim societies, the Bangladeshi social system did not consider the contribution of women to be important to society. Unfortunately we were ignoring the economic contribution of 46 to 55 percent of society. Today, time is pushing women to equip themselves to face the challenges of the new millennium, to share responsibilities, to improve their position, and to be in the front line. Government agencies and non-governmental agencies play an important role behind the empowerment of Bangladeshi women. Can you believe a society that has gone from being dominated by men to having women leaders elected as the prime minister and the opposition leader? Traditional views are moving toward a modern mentality through proper education and a foundation upon the understanding of human rights. However, there are some other reasons why there is empowerment of women in Bangladesh. Moreover, more than half of the credit goes to women for their own empowerment amidst the conservative Bangladeshi society. Bangladeshi women now have equal rights, benefits, and the freedom to have a career in society not only because they are getting various opportunities from the government and society, but also because of their hard work and sacrifices.

Even though men are appreciating, supporting, and helping women in some aspects, on the domestic front, while women have taken on the additional role of providing an income to their families, men have not yet taken up their share of the responsibility in family life. Responsibility for the children, for instance, is still seen as belonging to the mother only. Although women have equal rights to men today, they are facing many challenges and hardships through working both inside and outside the household. Traditionally, mostly men worked outside while women stayed at home and took care of the children and household duties. Today, both men and women have similar work patterns; therefore, they are both facing conflict in their relationships for not providing that extra time to share and care for the family. Women are working two shifts, which creates pressure and a burden on them. Modernity brings revolution in our social lives; however, with so many advantages, modernity has also brought with it some problems to family life.

Although it is true that many men in Bangladesh now appreciate women empowerment and want their partner to be in the same position as they are themselves, they are giving up the mental support needed by their partners and the responsibilities of the household. In Bangladesh, increasing numbers of women are working toward their own empowerment. Women themselves are very active, brave, and courageous; they are motivated and work hard to establish their rights even after going through a lot of struggle and challenges. Bangladeshi women are involved in every sector, especially business and politics. A significant number of women are now driving forces behind the family income. Women's invisible contribution to the economic development of the country is significant, as much as 85 percent.

Bangladesh has initiated tuition-free girls' education up to Class 8-Intermediate if girls are eager. In the garment industry women laborers are well appreciated for their work ability and sincerity. The garment industry has initiated women's economic participation. A five percent increase in the number of seats reserved for women in Parliament is another step toward empowerment. Government offices have reserved quotas for women. All of this is well documented by the Human Resources Division under the United Nations as well as the fact that Bangladesh is a pioneering country in gender empowerment with many success stories. The progress made in gender empowerment in many sectors has been recognized by donors. The interrelation between poverty alleviation, sustainable development, and women empowerment is much emphasized. One of the unique features of women empowerment in Bangladesh is that it is not limited to the big cities. Bangladeshi rural women are also empowered at a similar speed to women in the big cities. Rural women are staying at home but are contributing a lot to the country's economy.

With the changes of time and the empowerment of women, there have also been changes in attitude toward women among the masses of Bangladeshi society, which was once male dominated. The more educated in the urban areas are more flexible and positive about women empowerment although women's position can still be controversial. The tremendous achievement of women within a short period of time in Bangladesh can be an eye-opener for many Muslim societies where women empowerment is an unfamiliar word to many.