Patriarchy Is A Conception That Is Built From The Stigma Of Polarization In Which The Leadership System Is Held By Men, Starting From The Smallest Scope In Which The Dominant Function Is Men. Men Are Superior And This Is Recognized By Most People, Both Men And Women. The Objectification Of Women Only As A Complement To The Household And Not Having Their Own Space As A Leader Is Part Of The Patriarchy Which Even Though In This Pluridimensional Era Does Not Close All Forms Of Patriarchal Culture It Just Stops Here. Gender Awareness Is Not All Touched By Society And The Position Of Women As Sweetener Objects, Whether It’s In The Home, School Or Work Environment, Is Still Common. The Number Of Women Occupying Formal Jobs Is Still Low And Even Far From The Percentage Of Men.
The Discussion About Women Is Indeed Very Contextual And Will Never End Because Women Have Always Been An Important Part Of All Lines Of Life. It Is Not Uncommon To Find The Word Woman Combined With Wealth And Throne Which Are Considered Endless As Three Important Factors In Worldly Matters.
In Direct Comparison With The Story At The Time Of The Prophet Muhammad, In The Past Women Were Also Considered Lowly, Dwarfed And Marginalized. Even At That Time There Was A People In Arabia Who If A Mother Gave Birth To A Baby Girl It Was Considered A Family Disgrace, A Burden For Which Her Life Had To Be Killed. Rasulullah Saw Strongly Criticized This Activity Because It Was A Form Of Discrimination Against Women/Women, So The Word Of God Was Revealed Through Qs: 16: 58 – 59 Which Revealed That Women Are Also A Gift From God. It Is Clear That Islam Gives Equal Space To Women As Men, Especially In The Field Of Science.
In Social Life, There Must Be Reciprocity Between Individuals With One Another. Society Is Filled With Men And Women. By Nature, The Difference Between Men And Women Lies In The Physical, Where Men Are Identical With Broad Chests And Mustaches. For Women, It Has Its Special Features, Such As The Growth Of Breasts And Menstruation Every Month. The Roles Of Men And Women Themselves Also Have Their Respective Functions. When Talking About Roles, It Is The Same As Mentioning Gender. Gender Is A Perception Or Stigma About The Roles And Functions Of People Who Are Male And Female. This Perception Is Built From The Community Which Leads To Social Construction In An Area Or On A Large Scale Such As A Country. Gender Roles Can Differ From Time To Time Because Times Are Always Evolving So Society Is Always Changing. Gender Is Different From Sex Which Is A Natural Biological Condition. From Historical Developments, Gender Or Roles Between Men And Women Previously Focused On Blindness To Women. Women Are Considered Gentle, Emotional, Solve Problems With Tears, And Uneducated. Meanwhile, Men In The Stigmatized Position Of Society Believe That Men Are Brave, Should Not Cry, And Are More Realistic. Things Like This Are Traits That Can Be Reversed From One Another. In Islam, Regarding Gender, Men And Women Have Their Respective Roles Without Dropping One Of Them. Allah Swt Stated In Qs Al-Hujurat: 13 And Qs Al-Qiyamah: 39, That Allah Swt Created Men And Women In Pairs, Both Of Whom Are Noble Creatures Of Allah Swt.
The Position Of Women Is Now Widely Echoed As A Vital Part Of The Strategic Progress Of A Nation. The Stigma That Women Are Creatures That Are Lower Than Men, Marginalized, And Only In The Domestic Sphere (Household) Has Now Begun To Be Abandoned. This Is Due To The Development Of An Advanced Era And Countries In The World Are Competing To Become A Modern Country (Welfare State). Where These Countries Focus On Equal Distribution Of Education, One Of Which Is Education About Gender Equality Which Is Now Not A Taboo Subject To Be Disseminated. Thus, Women Are Considered As Objects Of Change For Good Progress By Opening Up Wide Opportunities For Women To Be Able To Reflect On Themselves And Explore The Potential That Exists Within Themselves So That They Are Also Useful For A Nation And Their Country. This Is What Is Meant By The Pluridimensional Era Which Views Women Not Only From One Dimension Or One Aspect But From All Existing Factors.
In The Past, The Position Of Women Was In The Abyss Of Injuring Their Rights As Human Beings. Women Are Bad Luck, Bringers Of Disaster, And Hostage To Their Space Of Movement. Look From Its History Starting From The Time Of The Prophet, The Dark Ages, The Middle Ages, And So On. In Qs An-Nisa: 34 Says That “Men Are Qawwal And Are Responsible For Women”. Therefore, Many Commentators Give A Blunder (Confusion) Meaning By Being Caught By Their Adherents That Men Are Superior And Dominating Creatures. Reflected In The Opinion Of An Expert Commentator, Ashgar Ali Engineer, He Said That The Qur’an Has Given The Stipulations And Advantages Of Each For Women And Men. There Is A View That Men Are Better Than Women Because Of The Social Reality Where Ordinary Men Earn A Living, Occupy Power, And Are Household Leaders.
The Shift From The Unidimensional Era Which Initially Saw Women From One Aspect Only, That Women Were Only A Means Of Reproduction, Complementary Objects In The Household To Help With Housework Such As Cooking, Washing, Breastfeeding, And Educating Children Has Moved To The Pluridimensional Era As Mentioned Above. In This More Pluralistic Era, Such Stigma Has Been Greatly Reduced, Regarding Women Where To Breed And Breastfeed Children, It Is Indeed A Woman’s Nature That Cannot Be Changed, Unlike Gender, Which Is Always Changing. Because Women Biologically Have Wombs And Breasts To Carry Out Their Natural Duties As Women, It Means That They Cannot Be Replaced By Men. In Contrast To The So-Called Gender Roles, Such As Cooking, Washing, Or Educating Children, These Are Roles That Can Be Taken By Both Men And Women.
Women In Islamic Perspective
Women In An Islamic Perspective Cannot Be Separated From Talking About How Women Were Created In The First Place Which Was Drawn From A Historical Approach. Beliefs And Religions That Are Classified As Part Of The Beliefs That Developed In The Arabs, Namely Judaism, Christianity, Islam Mention A Human Called Adam In The Form Of A Human Being Who Is Male, Created Earlier Than The Opposite Sex, Namely Female (Eve). In The Qur’an, The Azbabunuzul Of Human Creation Can Be Traced From Several Verses, One Of Which Is In Surah An-Nisa Verse 1. The Verse Explains That Men Were Created First Than Women, Allah Swt Created Himself And Then Created His Wife.
In Qs Al-Imran Verse 59 Allah Swt Also Reveals How The Creation Of Humans Is None Other Than His Permission, Men And Women Can Live Life Side By Side And Carry Out Their Duties As Leaders On Earth (Malisi, 2012). The Creation Of Humans Who Represent Men And Women Is Also Found In The Hadith Which Of Course Is Also A Source Of Law In Islam, In The Hadith, It Orders Muslims To Always Be Kind To Women (Prof. Dr. Musdah Mulia, 2014).
The Qur’an As A Guide For Muslims Has Arguments Regarding The Rights Of Women And Their Equality To Men. Some Verses Show Rights And Obligations, Some Describe The Privileges Of Female Figures In History. Talking About Rights Men And Women Have Equal Opportunities Depending On What Has Been Attempted, As Explained In Surah An-Nisa Verse 32. Where This Verse Explains That Allah Swt Has Divided The Portion Equally For Men – Men And Women, Everything Must Be Balanced With The Effort. Indeed, What Is Happening In The Current Era Has Not All Been Realized Smoothly From What Is Said In The Qur’an. Islam Does Not Look At Which Is Higher And Lower Than Humans, But All Are Equal Before Allah Swt And Islam Never Demeans The Dignity Of Women, The Position Of Women Can Also Be Leaders And Seek Knowledge As High As Men. This Very Flexible Era, Really Supports What Has Been Regulated In The Qur’an About Women To Be Implemented, Because The Space Today Is More Plural.
Nowadays The Position Of Women Is More Strategic And Profitable Also For Women. How Can This Condition Be Reversed From A Woman’s Position That Was So Dark To A Bright One As It Is Today Because It Is Also Supported By Education And Women’s Resistance Movements Against Previous Gender Inequality (Feminism). Feminism Is A Women’s Emancipation Movement That Demands Equality And Equal Rights Between Men And Women. This Movement Emerged At The End Of The 18th Century Which Departed From Discrimination Against Women And Feminism Was Present As A Form Of Resistance. The Emergence Of Critical Awareness Of This Oppression Has Resulted In The Recognition Of Protection For Women Globally Through The 1979 Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw).
Essentially, Women Are Creatures That Are Glorified By Allah Swt. But For Some People Think That Women And Islam Cannot Be United Because They Are Seen As Placing Too Many Limits On Women.
The Nature Of Women Or Women Before, Was Indeed Created To Accompany Prophet Adam As, So Many People Interpret It With Language That Is Not Open / Conservative In Religion (Especially Islam) Which Ends Up Saying That The Woman’s Place Is A Well, Kitchen And Mattress As Mentioned Earlier. This Correlates With The Stigma Of Society That Is Built Up Where Men Are Considered To Be Established And Successful If They Have Mastered Three Important Aspects Of The World, Namely, Wealth, Throne And Women. In This Pluridimensional Era, Such Views Have Begun To Diminish Because Of The Progress Of The Times And Education On Gender Equality Awareness Is Starting To Build Everywhere.
Way Of Thinking Is Too Sentimental Towards Islam Should Be Reduced Or Even Eliminated. If We Examine Further, What We Find In Islam Towards Women Is Protection. We Can See How Much Damage Is Caused Because Women Violate The Boundaries That Have Been Set In Islam. Although The Original Purpose Of Allah Swt Creating Women Was To Accompany Men, But In Islam, Allah Swt Also Strengthens The Rights And Honors For Women Or Women Themselves. That Is Allah Swt, His Nature Is Almighty, But Power Here Does Not Mean Arbitrarily. Because Allah Swt Is Very Just. So That Allah Has Power Over His Justice.