Women and Religion: Portrayal of Women in Christianity and Islam

Status of women has been the subject of consideration and discussion over the past few years. In contemporary times, women studies, feminism, women rights and gender equity are the buzz words. If we try to reach out to the history to know as to what has led to this situation that so much is being done for one gender; the answer lies in the fact that since the time immemorial, there has been a drastic distinction between the roles of men and women and religious doctrines and interpretation of religious texts have played a major role in creating and upholding this gender based dichotomy. So this paper is an attempt to understand the portrayal of woman in religious texts and the status of women in context to the different interpretations of sacred literature of the very popular religions; namely, Christianity and Islam. The methodology for this exposition has been primarily descriptive and referential, based on secondary sources, mainly the commentaries on the sacred texts of both these religious faiths.