Can Gaddafi be classified as a feminist, or is that a bit of a stretch?
As far as Muslim leaders go, yes he was an unequivocal, radical feminist and it got him into trouble with the conservatives - labelled a heretic, etc. for giving women such an equal role in society and the family.
The policies that he enacted immediately after the Revolution were more progressive on women's rights than a lot of Western countries.
He never said women aren't as important as men, and he never said that "women belong in the kitchen," or shouldn't get jobs. Anyone who put those words in his mouth. is a propagandist or a liar and I will fight them.
He acknowledged that women often want or need to work outside the home, and shouldn't be prevented from doing that.
At the same time, he had this thing where he idolized motherhood and felt society shouldn't set up so many financial and social barriers against stay-at-home mothers, since raising the next generation is very important work that often goes unpaid and unappreciated.
(I think the only thing that rubs some people the wrong way in the Green Book is that he insists on pointing out the natural differences between men and women and he gets a bit hokey and stereotypical about it. But in my opinion a lot of his observations are truer than anyone wants to admit, even though a lot of it is just due to societal conditioning.)
