A Theological Reflection on the Meaning of Women’s Development and Flourishing

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Theoretical Foundations of Gender, Women and Family Research Institute, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Social Sciences, Women and Family Research Institute, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

This study, adopting a theological approach, re‑examines the concept of “women's development and flourishing” within the framework of Islamic anthropology. It seeks to answer: How can a comprehensive theological definition of female development be offered that goes beyond the prevailing statistical and managerial approaches in macro‑level policy documents? The central problem is that in strategic documents such as the Seventh Development Plan, the concept is often presented without a clear theoretical foundation and with a predominance of statistical perspectives, whereas in Islamic theology, female development is connected to divine attributes such as justice (ʿadl) and wisdom (ḥikmah) as well as to the question of the ultimate purpose (ghāyat) of creation. Consequently, the flourishing of female potentials is a manifestation of divine justice and wisdom in the human realm. In this article, first, the Qurʾānic concept of development (rushd) and its philosophical analysis based on the theory of potentiality and actuality (quwwah wa fiʿl) are examined; then, its relationship with gender (jinsīyat) within the system of Islamic theology is explained. The findings show that while men and women share a common human essence, their paths of development, in light of existential differences, are diverse and complementary. This analysis, while critiquing the two extremes of "gender‑neutrality" and "gender‑fixation" in Western theories, emphasizes that female development is meaningful only within the context of authentic female identity. The research method is qualitative, based on content analysis of theological texts, philosophical works, and contemporary writings in the field of gender theology. The conclusion is that a theological explication of female development not only provides the necessary theoretical foundation for enriching scholarly discussions but also has direct application in social and cultural policy‑making, and can, by offering alternative criteria, serve as a guide in reforming the approach of the Seventh Development Plan and in designing an indigenous model of gender justice and women's flourishing.

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