FOREWORD

The world in general and the Islamic world in particular are faced with a real problem: a large segment of the population is simply not qualified to participate effectively in progress, change and development. This problem takes on critical dimensions within the framework of what is known today as “globalization”, branded by economic competition, and within the framework of the many developments in the fields of science, technology and communication.  From this derives the attention devoted to human resources by governments, organizations and associations in terms of education and formation as a necessary priority to create some sort of balance between the pressures resulting from scientific and technical progress and the realities of the rehabilitation of this world’s inhabitants.

The speed at which discoveries are made nowadays, the cadence at which information is circulating, the rapidity of its becoming outdated, and the fierce competition to occupy economic and strategic positions all emphasize the modern human being’s increasing need for education, training and rehabilitation.

Girl or mother, today’s woman is no doubt in dire need for education, the latter being the optimal way to enhance her position and the means to achieve a comprehensive development for society through her participation in solving family, environmental and economic problems, and in the democratization of society.

It is on this basis that this work aspires to study the exigencies of women education in the light of the requisites for developing Islamic societies, in particular, and human society, in general. This explains its adoption of a well-organized method of study and research, based on the following three general steps:

- Studying women’s basic learning needs at these levels: education, health, environment, family planning, productivity, and other fields.

- Laying down the bases and conducting preliminary studies which can be adopted in setting up a project or a program of women education, which requires identifying social, cultural, religious, psychological, educational bases for mapping out a women education program.

- Suggesting ways for implementing this program in terms of its contents, activities and educational aids.

This work is a contribution to consolidating the foundations of women education and to achieving its goals and objectives. We hope that this study will stimulate other researchers into new efforts to realize its goals and objectives, and to study thoroughly all of its components.

May Allah grant us success!