Thanks to Daphne Bramham for a great article on Tayyibah Taylor the editor of Atlanta-based Azizah magazine – the so-called voice of Muslim women. Ms Taylor who was born in the Caribbean, raised in Toronto and married an American is one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world. As for gender equality she says (and I paraphrase), whether we cover our bodies (eg. in hijabs) or not, all judging of women based on their bodies is less about religion and more about both our American and Islamic patriarchal social values. It is patriarchy, not Islam that keeps girls out of school, promotes child marriages and keeps women out of power. She said the solution is through reading. The Qur’an, or the Islamic holy book apparently promotes gender equality. Women just need to read it. [Source: Vancouver Sun, 3 March 2014]