When Women Are No Longer Just a Role

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In many early civilizations, including the period known as the age of jahiliyah, women were often reduced to social objects. Their bodies were positioned as instruments of desire, while their existence was equated with property that could be inherited, exchanged, or traded. This reduction was not merely a matter of social inequality, but a denial of a fundamental principle of humanity “the recognition of human beings as moral subjects with inherent dignity”.
Simply put, when a person is treated like an object, they are no longer seen as a whole human being. Yet in the classical philosophical tradition, human worth does not come from usefulness, but from the capacity for reason and moral responsibility. Aristotle described humans as rational and social beings. Immanuel Kant went further, insisting that humans must be treated as ends, not as means. Within this framework, reducing women to objects constitutes a serious ethical violation.
The Islamic narrative of creation offers a different perspective. Eve’s presence for Adam did not arise from a functional need, but from an existential experience of loneliness. Woman was created as a companion and life partner, not as property. This relationship is built on togetherness, not ownership. Woman appears as a subject invited to walk alongside, not something to be possessed.
This worldview is then translated into concrete social practices, one of which is the concept of mahr. Within Islamic ethics, mahr is not a price placed on a woman’s body or her value. It is a symbol of responsibility and respect. It marks a shift in marital relations from economic transaction toward moral trust. Marriage is understood not as a sale, but as a commitment.
However, in contemporary practice, this meaning often shifts. In several local traditions, including some regions of Sulawesi, mahr and uang panai are frequently understood as indicators of economic value and social status. Not rarely, high monetary demands instead create burden and distance. When human relationships are measured in numbers, the meaning of humanity slowly erodes, and the logic of ownership returns.
Within the Islamic theological framework, men and women are positioned equally as servants of Allah. Human worth is not determined by gender, social status, or wealth, but by moral quality. Equality here does not mean erasing differences in roles, but recognizing that dignity is inherent in every human being from the very beginning.
This view aligns with philosophical ideas of justice. Justice is not merely about making everything the same, but about placing each person fairly without diminishing their human value. Difference does not automatically imply inequality. On the contrary, difference can become a space for mutual complementarity.
Ultimately, discussions about women are not merely about social roles. They reflect how we understand human dignity itself. Women are not simply cultural constructs or social functions, but complete human beings. Their value and dignity are not granted by tradition, numbers, or status, but are inherent from the start. In this awareness, women are understood as full moral subjects, with responsibility and worth connected to consciousness of the Divine.