Sher-e-Hindustan: In history, there are parallels to the apparently contented subordination of seemingly docile female populations that is seen in some Muslim societies. The example that most immediately comes to mind is the Russian institution of "the terem." When in the early 18th century the westernizing tsar, Peter the Great, abolished the terem, a social practice that physically separated respectable and mainly upper class women from the broader society, and particularly from male society, opposition was strong among the very women he was attempting to free. The terem certainly provided these women with status and security, however it's widely accepted that freeing them from the terem ultimately enhanced their dignity, options and power. You shouldn't make the mistake of concluding that the willingness of some populations to accept certain kinds of institutionalized social oppression proves the value of such oppression.