There has been increasing public discussion in the UK, in recent years about misogyny. What it is, how it manifests and why it continues to shape women’s lives despite decades of progress on equality. Yet the term is still often misunderstood or deliberately minimised.
Misogyny is not simply a dislike of women. It is a system of attitudes and behaviours that devalues women, polices their presence and seeks to control or punish them when they step outside roles deemed acceptable. It shows up in overt hostility and just as often in quieter more corrosive forms such as silencing, undermining, exclusion and character assassination.
And misogyny is not an abstract concept.
It is lived, felt and experienced daily by women in public spaces, workplaces and too often within communities that claim moral or religious authority. It shapes who is heard, who is believed and who is allowed to lead.
In some cultures and community settings misogyny remains deeply entrenched. Women are still treated as secondary, expected to serve rather than lead, to organise rather than decide. Their competence is tolerated only up to the point where it threatens established hierarchies. When women are articulate, confident and capable some men respond not with growth or self-reflection, but with fear.
That fear often manifests as control.
False narratives are created. Motives are questioned. Reputations are attacked sometimes subtly sometimes openly. Slander becomes a tool to put women back in their place particularly when they refuse to be small or silent. Allegations are made without evidence or proof not in pursuit of truth but to preserve male dominance and authority.
This pattern is especially visible in so called community leadership spaces. Women are welcomed to make the teas organise events and tidy up afterwards but leadership, decision-making and public authority remain stubbornly male. The moment a woman challenges that imbalance, the atmosphere changes.
Such behaviour is not only inequitable, it robs communities of talent, insight and balanced leadership and deprives young girls of powerful, visible role models signalling that women’s excellence is unwelcome or threatening.
A community that sidelines women does not preserve tradition. It weakens itself.
Living in a modern democratic society requires honesty. Misogyny is not strength, it is insecurity. And slander is not leadership, it is moral failure. Men who feel threatened by capable women often resort to character assassination, because it is easier than accountability or self examination.
Real leadership demands confidence without cruelty, authority without fear and integrity without ego.
For faith communities, particularly Muslim ones, there is no theological excuse for misogyny.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ , often described as the best of men, treated women with dignity, respect and trust. He consulted women, valued their intellect and affirmed their moral and social worth. He taught that the measure of a man’s character lies in how he treats women.
Islam also takes an uncompromising stance on slander.
The Qur’an condemns false accusation as a grave sin particularly when it destroys a person’s honour. These teachings were revealed following the public slander of a woman and they establish a clear moral principle that accusation without proof is injustice. To spread suspicion, rumours or unverified claims is not righteousness. It is corruption.
To malign a woman’s reputation in order to protect male authority or fragile ego is not piety. It is a betrayal of faith.
Islam granted women rights to dignity, property, inheritance and voice at a time when many societies treated them as chattel. Any culture that silences women, excludes them from leadership, or targets them through character assassination, is not upholding religion. It is contradicting it.
Cultural change requires courage. Communities must stop excusing behaviour they would never tolerate if directed at men. Leadership must be measured by integrity not control. And men must learn that equality is not a threat. It is a responsibility.
Respect for women is not a modern concession. It is a moral obligation.
Until that truth is lived rather than spoken misogyny will continue to hide behind culture, silence and misplaced authority. And that is something no ethical or faith based community should accept.
Soulful Spaces 