Were the female convicts worse than the male convicts - Essay Example

Were the female convicts worse than the male convicts? Were the female convicts worse than the male convicts? In the Australian history, the tales and evils that the Australian women underwent have remained one of the tales that this history cannot evade. This theme has been discussed by numerous analysts and researchers in history, all in an endeavor to bring out the plight of the Australian woman in the earlier centuries. Other historians emphasize that the events that took part in Australia at that particular point in time cannot be forgotten not in the decades to come since the suffering that the Australian women went through is almost unheard of. This work shall aim at conducting an intense research on the sufferings that women went through in the era of colonization; thereafter comparing it with that of men, and taking a stand that the women actually went through immense suffering. In the research conducted by Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand Conference, Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand (2001) the period of colonization in Australia saw the breeding of slaves in the form of women, as compared to wives, as nature depicts. Additionally, a huge percentage of women at that time were reduced to prostitutes especially in the first fifty years of colonization. In specific dates, the period between 1788–1840 marked women as mere prostitutes to the colonizers (Daniels, 1998; Robson, 1993). This was based on the fact that all women that had been transported to Britain were mere slaves and objects of the colonizers. In light to this argument, therefore, the colonizers justified themselves as having the full right and obligation to do what they wanted with the women of that particular period of time. Under the punitive colony of the time, the white women were categorized as convicts of the time; as well as the social stratification of the time subjected the women to such tough circumstances. In fact, the concept of women being slaves and objects of the time became a stereotype. The same was applied to a great percentage of women who were transported to the colony at that particular time. With this change of status of women being free beings to objects, the extent of suffering on them under the punitive colony can simply not be interpreted in words, but in the feeling one gets as they browse through the films and works of historians of the time. In the research conducted by Barker and Chalus (2005), the convicts that were transported to Australia comprised 11% of women. The women have been indicated to perform numerous jobs like needlework, worked as maids for the masters, servants amongst other factors. The conditions in which these women worked were not appealing at all. Having been conversant with these skills, the women were expected to work at odd hours of the day and night so as to always please the colonial masters. Worse still, the women were expected to adapt to the environmental conditions in their new homes, no matter how difficult it was for majority of the women. In contrast to 89% of the men who arrived in Australia, the 11% cannot be ignored especially being the women subjected to hard labor and torture (Damousi, 1997). Generally, the women were simply stacked together like boxes and regarded as whores who were useless. The term being stamped and repeated in the history of Australia means that the extent of torture and degradation of the women was indeed not to be ignored. By 1841, studies indicate that the number of female convicts stood at over three thousand as compared to that of twenty eight thousand. In comparison to the 188 convict females in 1788, and 529 males, it is evident that the number of women convicts increased as much as that of the men (Daniels, 1998). The women are indicated to suffer twice as much as that of the men, with the demand for their services augmenting. In the colonies, there existed factories run by women. This is yet evidence that explains women suffered just like the men did. These factories comprised women who were under punishment, pregnant women or others who waited to be assigned duties. This explains that the women were expected to be at work at all times despite the conditions that these women were through (Docker, 1994). In the case of the pregnant women, for example, it was expected that these women went through long periods of rest, had special food and treatment, but that was not the case. According to the employers of those women, the persons doled out to them were free of any responsibilities; as a result, they had the right to enforce regulations on them, and exploit their ‘assets’ to utmost productivity. With the institution of these female industrial units by the late 1840s, it is conspicuous that it was certified that women had to work untiringly and ardently (Oxley, 1996; Robson, 1993). It is also of vast substance to note that these factories operated under certain conditions. For instance, the convicted women had to work extra hard so as to have their terms shortened by the masters. In the event of a convicted pregnant woman, the degree of anguish by the same cannot be explained. In the event of bad behaviors, the women were also reprimanded from time to time, punishments that were dictated by the masters. Moreover, the women were also humiliated and mortified by shaving their head to the likening of a male. These conditions can in simple terms be described as desolate and violating the rights of humans (Dixson, 1999). A good example is the female factory at Parramatta where the women slept in deplorable conditions with no mattresses or bedspreads to shelter them from the cold nights (Daniels, 1998). Those who did not manage to find space here had to rent lodgings, which at most times were paid with sexual favors. The men, on the other hand, took advantage of this fact to exploit the women. The women were also classified on the basis of the conditions that they went through, the crime who were shaven and notorious, the merit class who had improved their behaviour and recently jetted in from England, and finally the general, convicted of minor offenses. This explains the divisions and discrimination of the women and conditions for survival in the factories (Daniels, 1998). Worse still, the women were selected for marriage from the factories through written notes, just like goods would be bought from a stall. These women were not only deprived of their rights, but also a chance to lead a normal social life. From another point of view, marriage for women in Australia was determined by the government. The government needed to initialize a free colony, thus, put conditions that no woman was allowed to have relations outside marriage. Convicts were directed to marry, and the other women were to be servants (Oxley, 1996). The British government also embarked on a move to ship more women so as to have a native populace. The manner in which bargaining of these women took place is devastating, as if the women were goods, with the men being at liberty to send them away at will (Quartly, 2001). The acquisition of the women was also not legal; thus, the women had no bargaining rights or voice their complaints in the case of mistreatment. In turn, many women opted to be prostitutes so as to have a ‘decent’ life in contrast to that offered by these men. Other women were wary of being termed as whores, and were forced to share a house with fellow convicts to retain their status. Generally, the women lived a lie, all in an endeavor to attain the status of a decent British woman who was expected to bear the characteristics of courteous, upright, modest and a family person. This clearly indicates the degree of suffering the women underwent in that historical moment (Wood, 1993). Based on historical evidence, Jeffery and Becke (2000) indicate that the voyages cannot be ignored in relation to the women and suffering. Huge numbers of women died during and after the 1868 voyages. Other women were abandoned, and were viewed with a lot of disgust and low opinion. Children were fathered in the course of the voyages, while other women accepted the fact that their sexual prowess was the only way to better their conditions in the tough times. False promises were made to the women upon their release, but the end of the whole course proved different. Basically, these women were almost left with no option, but to surrender to the circumstances of the time. Conclusively, it is validated to argue that women suffered equally as the men did. This chronological indictment is one that proves the deplorable conditions the female convicts went through whilst on ‘duty’ (Prentis, 2008; Wood, 1993). From the analysis, it is obvious that the women were left for no choices to make, but to live with the pain that their dignity and ambitions had to be derailed for a while, or better still forever. Though some women ended up establishing themselves despite the conditions, the humiliation effects way outweigh the benefits that the female convicts underwent. Reference List Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand Conference, Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand., 2001. Crossing Borders: Refereed papers. Australia: Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand. Barker, H. and Chalus, E., 2005. Women’s History, Britain 1700-1850. London: Routledge. Damousi, J., 1997. Depraved and Disorderly: Female Convicts, Sexuality and Gender in Colonial Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Daniels, K., 1998. Convict Women. New York: Allen & Unwin. Dixson, M., 1999. Real Matilda: Woman and Identity in Australia - 1788 to the Present. New York: UNSW Press. Docker, J., 1994. Postmodernism and Popular Culture: A Cultural History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Jeffery, W. and Becke, L., 2000. The Naval Pioneers of Australia. New York: Echo Library. Oxley, D., 1996. Convict Maids: The Forced Migration of Women to Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Prentis, M., 2008. The Scots in Australia. New York: UNSW Press. Quartly, M., 2001. Convict history. In G. Davison, J. Hirst and S. MacIntyre (eds.), The Oxford Companion to Australian History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Robson, L., 1993. Convict Settlers. In Gillan Whitlock and Gail Reckie (eds.), Uncertain Beginnings: Debates in Australian Studies. Brisbane. University of Queensland Press. Wood, G., 1993. Convict Origins. In Gillan Whitlock and Gail Reckie (eds.), Uncertain Beginnings: Debates in Australian Studies. Brisbane. University of Queensland Press. Read More