The Issue of Gender (In)equality in Modern Intellectual Discourse; The Comparative Study of Updated Readings of Q 2:228

One of the most controversial verses of the Holy Qur'an, which has brought gender inequality to mind in the modern era, is Q 2:228. Muslim scholars within early and medieval centuries, affected by statements attributed to companions and their followers, were believing that the Qur'anic verse Q 2:228 means the absolute superiority of men over women in terms of legal aspects. This reading was considerably popular until the beginning of the 14th/20th century. However, the new updated interpretations have been offered in modern era in accordance with socio-cultural developments in order to meet the emerging needs in Muslim countries. Focusing on prominent contemporary interpreters of the Holy Qur'an, the authors aim to conduct a comparative study of all new interpretations that have been provided for the holy verse Q 2:228. In this research, the various theoretical frameworks which prepared the ground for those new updated interpretations have been identified, which are: Highlighting the concept of duty rather than right, highlighting the concept of difference rather than superiority, and replacing the concept of relative superiority with absolute one.