PIP: The tragic irony of Islam is that its sacred text, the Qur'an, is particularly solicitous of women's well-being and development, yet Islamic traditions discriminate against girls from the moment of their lamented births. Islam is proud to have abolished female infanticide, yet one of the most common crimes in many Muslim countries is the "honor killing" of women by male relatives. The Qur'anic description of marriage suggests closeness, mutuality, and equality, but tradition defines a husband as his wife's god in earthly form (despite the Qur'an prohibition against human deification as the one unpardonable sin), her gateway to heaven, and the arbiter of her final destiny. The Qur'an permits divorce without fault, but Muslim societies have made divorce both legally and socially very difficult for women. The Qur'an stipulates that both parents must concur on the raising of children and not use the children against each other, but in many Muslim countries divorced women automatically lose custody of their children when the boys turn 7 and the girls 12. Muslim traditions have misinterpreted the Qur'an's spirit and intentions in the matters of polygamy, inheritance rights, purdah (keeping women isolated and at home), and veiling. These customs were originally intended to protect women and even guarantee women autonomy; they have become instead instruments of oppression. The Qur'an does not prohibit family planning, a review of the literature suggests ample religious and ethical support for family planning, but there is the mistaken impression that family planning is anti-Islam. The challenge for all women, and especially Muslim women, is to move from a reactive mind set, in which women must assert their autonomy over patriarchal opposition, to a proactive mind set, in which they can speak of themselves as full and independent human beings with minds and spirits as well as bodies. Muslim women must work in full partnership with Muslim men, rejecting Western models of liberation, but also, and more importantly, asserting their own.