Muslim women empowerment is one of the key
 issues that has been talked about within Muslim countries in the past years,  but in reality, today Muslim women are one of the least empowered segments   of society. Whatever the reason, it is undeniable that Muslim women are the   largest part of society. Some people argue that corruption and un-Islamic   traditions imported from other cultures are some of the reasons for the lack  of empowerment. Many men still believe that to seek women’s advice is not  Islamic. Unfortunately for the Ummah, we are not able to empower a   fundamental human resource because of a lack of understanding and proper   Islamic knowledge on the issue of women empowerment, when the glorious

  Qur’an declared

[And  (as for) the believers, both men and women – they are friends and  protectors of one another: they [all] enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and are constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and pay heed unto God and His Messenger.]
  (At-Tawbah 9:71)

The glorious Qur’an and the Hadith also
  emphasize protection of the rights of women, including the rights of
  education, worship, freedom of opinion, choice of spouse, economic freedom,
  and social role. An empowered woman would be one who is self-confident, who
  critically analyses her environment, and who exercises control over
  decisions that affect her life.

Bangladesh is one of the rare examples of
  Muslim women empowerment in the Ummah today, but it has not been achieved in
  a day. Bangladeshi society is traditionally very conservative, and it was
  not so long ago when the women were neglected throughout society.
  Historically, Bangladeshi society believed that women should stay at home
  and manage the household, and even be denied the basic rights given by
  Islam. It was a time when women were forbidden to acquire knowledge. Men
  were the dominating force and they were born to dominate everything. Women
  could not eat if the men were not eating.

As in other Muslim societies, the Bangladeshi
  social system did not consider the contribution of women to be important to   society. Unfortunately we were ignoring the economic contribution of 46 to  55 percent of society. Today, time is pushing women to equip themselves to   face the challenges of the new millennium, to share responsibilities, to   improve their position, and to be in the front line. Government agencies and  non-governmental agencies play an important role behind the empowerment of
  Bangladeshi women. Can you believe a society that has gone from being   dominated by men to having women leaders elected as the prime minister and   the opposition leader? Traditional views are moving toward a modern   mentality through proper education and a foundation upon the understanding   of human rights. However, there are some other reasons why there is   empowerment of women in Bangladesh. Moreover, more than half of the credit   goes to women for their own empowerment amidst the conservative Bangladeshi
  society. Bangladeshi women now have equal rights, benefits, and the freedom   to have a career in society not only because they are getting various
opportunities from the government and society, but also because of their
hard work and sacrifices.

Even though men are appreciating, supporting,
  and helping women in some aspects, on the domestic front, while women have
  taken on the additional role of providing an income to their families, men
  have not yet taken up their share of the responsibility in family life.
  Responsibility for the children, for instance, is still seen as belonging to
  the mother only. Although women have equal rights to men today, they are
  facing many challenges and hardships through working both inside and outside
  the household. Traditionally, mostly men worked outside while women stayed
  at home and took care of the children and household duties. Today, both men
  and women have similar work patterns; therefore, they are both facing
  conflict in their relationships for not providing that extra time to share
  and care for the family. Women are working two shifts, which creates
  pressure and a burden on them. Modernity brings revolution in our social
  lives; however, with so many advantages, modernity has also brought with it
  some problems to family life.

Although it is true that many men in Bangladesh
  now appreciate women empowerment and want their partner to be in the same
  position as they are themselves, they are giving up the mental support
  needed by their partners and the responsibilities of the household. In
  Bangladesh, increasing numbers of women are working toward their own
  empowerment. Women themselves are very active, brave, and courageous; they
  are motivated and work hard to establish their rights even after going
  through a lot of struggle and challenges. Bangladeshi women are involved in
  every sector, especially business and politics. A significant number of
  women are now driving forces behind the family income. Women’s invisible
  contribution to the economic development of the country is significant, as
  much as 85 percent.

Bangladesh has initiated tuition-free girls’
  education up to Class 8-Intermediate if girls are eager. In the garment
  industry women laborers are well appreciated for their work ability and
  sincerity. The garment industry has initiated women’s economic
  participation. A five percent increase in the number of seats reserved for
  women in Parliament is another step toward empowerment. Government offices
  have reserved quotas for women. All of this is well documented by the Human
  Resources Division under the United Nations as well as the fact that
  Bangladesh is a pioneering country in gender empowerment with many success
  stories. The progress made in gender empowerment in many sectors has been
  recognized by donors. The interrelation between poverty alleviation,
  sustainable development, and women empowerment is much emphasized. One of
  the unique features of women empowerment in Bangladesh is that it is not
  limited to the big cities. Bangladeshi rural women are also empowered at a
  similar speed to women in the big cities. Rural women are staying at home
  but are contributing a lot to the country’s economy.

With the changes of time and the empowerment of
  women, there have also been changes in attitude toward women among the
  masses of Bangladeshi society, which was once male dominated. The more
  educated in the urban areas are more flexible and positive about women
  empowerment although women’s position can still be controversial. The
  tremendous achievement of women within a short period of time in Bangladesh
  can be an eye-opener for many Muslim societies where women empowerment is an unfamiliar word to many.