SDGs for Gender Equality: Is there a Clash between the Western and Islamic Perspectives

Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) is the United Nations' goal to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. It has been set to ensure equality of rights of both genders. However, when we look at the targets in the goal, we find that they address the female gender exclusively. The United Nations is an institution led by Western ideologies, and the call for ensuring gender rights for all the member nations encompasses Islamic nations as well. The question therefore arises whether the targets are compatible with Islamic beliefs. If they do not comply then Islamic countries would not be motivated to realize them. In order to assess this aspect this paper looks at each of the targets in this goal and evaluates them from the perspective of the Quran, Sunnah and views of contemporary Islamic scholars. The analysis reveals a number of issues that are questionable from the Islamic perspective while there are areas where a change would be beneficial for Islamic communities if implemented with moderation.