Was Woman Created for the Sake of Man? A Study of Philosophical, Feminist and Islamic Discourses

Abstract

The question of whether woman was created “for the sake of man” has persisted as a central theme in religious, philosophical, and cultural thought. This article investigates the evolution of this idea across three major traditions: Greek philosophy, Christian theology, and Islamic philosophy and exegesis, with attention also to contemporary feminist reinterpretations. In Greek philosophy, Plato’s ambivalent account and Aristotle’s essentialist biology laid the foundations for centuries of hierarchical interpretations of gender, where woman was positioned as derivative of man. Christian theologians such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas further systematized this hierarchy by synthesizing biblical exegesis with Aristotelian natural philosophy, affirming spiritual equality but enforcing temporal subordination. In the Islamic context, Avicenna perpetuated Aristotelian views of biological inferiority, while Ibn Rushd revived Plato’s more egalitarian vision, though his perspective remained marginal. Finally, Muslim feminist thinkers, including Amina Wadud, Asma Barlas, Riffat Hassan, and Ayesha Chaudhry, offer alternative hermeneutical frameworks that challenge patriarchal readings of creation and argue for the Qurʾānic affirmation of equality between man and woman. By tracing these trajectories, the article demonstrates how the question of woman’s creation has been shaped by intersecting metaphysical, theological, and exegetical frameworks, and how contemporary feminist scholarship reclaims interpretive space for gender justice.