Individuality
\r\n Surah al-Mumtahana (The Tested Woman) Chapter 60: Verse 12
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"O Prophet! When believing women come to thee to take the oath of allegiance to thee, that they will not associate in worship any other thing whatever with Allah, that they will not steal, that they will not commit adultery (or fornication), that they will not kill their children, that they will not utter slander, intentionally forging falsehood, and that they will not disobey thee in any just matter; then do thou accept their allegiance, and pray to Allah for the forgiveness (of their sins): for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
The individuality of a woman is a principle of religion. In Islam, a woman is an independent entity, and thus a fully responsible human being. Islam addresses her directly and does not approach her through the agency of Muslim males. A woman would assume full capacity and liability once she has attained maturity and has received the message of Islam.
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\r\n Moreover no woman is said to have truly accepted the message of Islam unless she does so out of her independent will. Admission to faith is entirely a personal matter; indeed, faith cannot be adopted by proxy. Women, just like men, would come to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and pledge their own allegiance to Islam and the Prophet.
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\r\n If embracing Islam by a woman is an entirely personal matter in the Islamic tradition and cannot be done through proxy, so are all obligations and duties, which Islam enjoins on her. No one else can do them on her behalf. She performs her acts of worship purely on the basis of her own intention; and as such these are treated in Islam as her personal achievements.
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\r\n On the basis of her own action, a woman earns reward or punishment. No man is allowed to plead or intercede for a woman, nor is he held responsible for her actions and their consequences. The doctrine of ultimate accountability does not take the family as a unit for collective responsibility; rather, each individual male or female, is an autonomous unit of reckoning in front of God, and is held directly responsible for his or her actions or his or her share in joint acts.
Compiled From:
\r\n "On the Position of Women in Islam and in Islamic Society\" - Hassan al-Turabi