Why do Muslims/Islam constantly try to convince women that it is expected and natural to sacrifice and suffer in a marriage. Isn't that a sign the relationship is dysfunctional. But on the other hand, Islamic marriage is dysfunctional. Relationships are supposed to be rewarding, not make us miserable...
It's not just Muslims who are like this though. Sad to say but non muslim/non believer female friends of mine tell me that I will be lonely and will never get a man since I refuse to accept that drama and putting 'them' first is what a real relationship looks like.
There are no Muslim imams/scholars, or muslim advice pages in the lives of my female friends and yet one and all, they sacrifice any dreams they have, as secondary to the dreams their men have. I mean one can get an amazing job, good pay, but her partner thinks she should be flipping burgers...so where is she now? flipping burgers. She must also do this whilst returning home to do everything else. He can't do it see, because he works...(not flipping burgers for 10 hours).
But this is normal see. All my female friends nauseate me on this point. They are just secondary pieces to the main, the whole, the man. I've lost 2 friends to this sickness.
All Islam does, is represent an explicit set of rules that we in the West like to pretend we've done away with. To some extent many harsh rules are gone. Should these women ever choose to re-embrace their former selves, they can. They are able to exercise choices that Muslim women can't if they obey Islam.
But they are still bound by a set of implicit rules, modes of behaviour that retain sacrifice of the self, in favour of the man. I see it all and thank the gods that I could never love another partner enough to be willing to engage in these sorts of rules again.