Women are caught between two traps: the strident feminism of the Western post-Christian world, and the debasement of much of the Islamic world, through seeing women as inferior.

Both extremes stem from the same mistake: that worldly power and status is what matters. Feminists see worldly power and status as the only things that matter, and if being a good wife and mother interferes with obtaining that success, it should be rejected. Islamic fundamentalists see women are inferior, and so equate being a good wife and mother with something that must be unworthy of respect, since only women have those roles. Both are wrong, because both reject God's vision of womanhood and God's understanding of spiritual power.

The example of the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of Our Lord, is the antidote to both these poisons. Her humble acceptance of a life of quiet virtue is an affront to sexual libertines, but her high status and essential role in Christ's incarnation is anathema to the Muslim vision of women as created inferior to men. The Blessed Virgin never ran for office, held a job, commanded an army or taught in a classroom. But she is Queen of the Universe, holiest purely human person ever born. God judged her by her will: she was always humble and obedient, she always said "yes" to anything God asked of her. And humility and obedience are not just for women: Christ Himself was obedient to her, as scripture clearly states. (Luke 2:51)

The Rosary reflects the Christian understanding of women's position: equal to men, but different; as coheirs of the kingdom, who have a particular role that is appointed and honored by God.