A Woman's Worth

Growing up, I was always taught that women, like a diamond, are to be cherished and treated with respect. But when and where did that become the accepted view? As we see from observing the treatment of women in Naguib Mahfouz's Palace Walk, not to long ago, women where no more than objects, a mere possession of a gentlemen. A general characteristic of property or an object is the essence of being controlled or used for the benefit of someone else. The word “object” has an implication the entity, object, has no ability to choose, a right given to every human by God.In the novel, when the women are sent by a suitor to get a feel for Aisha and are misunderstood as to be observing Khadija, Khadija says:
What's this meeting that's being inflicted on me? Picture yourself in my place, surrounded by strangers. You don't know the least thing about them or their background. Have they come with good intentions or am I just an amusing spectacle for them? What will become of me if they are abusive faultfinders, like me...huh? She laughed briefly. “What can I do but sit beside them politely and submissively while they stare at me from left to right, front and back? I'll have to obey their orders without the slightest hesitation. If they ask me to stand, I stand. 'Walk'—I walk.'Sit'--- I sit. Nothing will slip by them: the way I sit or stand, if I'm silent or speak, my limbs and features. In addition to putting up with all this abuse, we must be nice to them and lavishly praise their kindness and generosity....(147).
Imagine attending a Art Gallery, but when you step into that dim-lit room filled with various works of art, there are women on display. What is one to think when a human being is being put out on display and looked upon as though he or she has been given a price or assigned some sort of material value? In this passage, the objectivity of women in the Islamic religion is made apparent through dialogue, marked by language.
When reading the section of the novel in which this passage is found, the thing that stood out to me was Khadija's use of the word “spectacle” as a noun to portray her, implying that there is something on display. As I said before, the thing that separates men or humans, from objects and animals is the ability to choose: the difference between a spectacle and a women is the same. Would a virtuous women show herself of and subject herself to this kind of treatment if she had a choice? The assumed answer would be no.
After reading a bit of the Qu'ran in translation, it if funny to me that it says that Muslims are to live with their wives in peace and harmony, but from Khadija's use of the phrase “I have to obey their orders without the slightest hesitation ”, that doesn't seem to be the case. How is it that man can live peacefully with his wife, when in his actions and treatment of her closely resembles that of his children? From what I understand, a wife is to be submissive to a man, but not to the extent that she would be considered a servant or lowered to the level of a child. Though Khadija is not yet married, it is apparent that she know that role of a women in their society and accepts, though not within, the “perks” that come along with being a women. I found it interesting that even though Khadija was mistaking in thinking that the visitors were there to observe her and was not yet married, she still had to act in a way that made her an object. This implies that in any circumstances relating to men, women are to subject themselves to objective treatment. So, my question to readers like myself is, what is the role of women in Islam and does she, whomever she is, have any choice in her life and the path in which goes