All Women Experience Oppression in the Same Way - Dissertation Example

All women experience oppression in the same way Introduction 1 Definition The Oxford English Dictionary (2009) defines oppression as ‘treatment in a very harsh and unfair way’ or an ‘act of making someone feel distressed or anxious’. Qualifying this with ‘all women experience’ is an attempt to generalization of the act of oppression in women irrespective of their social, economic, cultural, geographic, religious, political or any other class they may belong to. This expression is true in all its totality in context of civilizations, cultures and religions as women have always experienced oppression in one form or the other, and continue to do so even now. The women oppression may be defined as: ‘Social, economic, cultural, geographic, religious, and political (or any other explicit/implicit) exploitation that as a class subjugates their position of parity with man’. This definition reasonably stands true because women experience oppression in situations and forms which are the consequence of geographical isolation, traditions, social customs, religious dictates, legislations, and political maneuverings. 1.2 History The oppression of women did not always exist. In fact it is a relatively new phenomenon in historical terms. It arose with the division of society into classes and the emergence of class society some 6,000 or so. Prior to that, in the period described by the American anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan as primitive communism, classes, the state, private property and family did not exist. There was no domination of man over women, or man over man. As there was no surplus created, only enough to survive, there was no exploitation, which only emerged with the development of the slave empires of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome. As explained by Richards & Saba (1990), the oppression to women evolved as a part of social and cultural evolution, where the basis of women’s oppression lies in her vulnerability during pregnancy and childbirth. The movement to fight against injustices to women and for their equal rights with men, the feminist movement started in 1970s in the West. A major success of the movement was when on the Election Day in 1920, millions of American women exercised their right to vote for the first time. It had taken activists and reformers nearly 100 years to win that right, and this campaign was not easy. All through this period there had been disagreements over strategy and that had really threatened to cripple the movement more than once. When on August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was finally ratified; it enfranchised all American women declaring them for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. 2. Main Body 2.1 All women experience oppression in the same way 2.1(a) Who are they? The definition of women oppression given earlier, ‘Social, economic, cultural, geographic, religious, political (or any other explicit/implicit) exploitation that as a class subjugates their position of parity with man’ finds relevance in most situations. However there is some interesting relationship how dictionary defines man and woman. The dictionary describes ‘Woman’ as the ‘adult human female’, ‘a female worker’ or ‘employee’, ‘a wife’ or ‘a lover’. On the contrary, a man is defined in addition to ‘an adult human male’ and ‘husband or lover’ as ‘a person’ and ‘as human beings in general’. The distinction between the description of two opposite sexes of the most evolved life form is not mirror opposite, instead man is the generalized expression for the human species and women is distinguished as a class by describing it as ‘a female worker’. In Genesis 5:1-2, God calls both genders as “man”. This probably sets the theme for exploitation, besides innumerable other instances where interpretations are made to claim superiority of man and deny women parity, making women become captive, underpaid workers, slaves, prostitutes, etc. In dictionary term ‘all women’ obviously covers all adult females, and not children. Female child is not covered under this term as issues on female child are different and find attention separately. Women oppression is not a feature of any one country or region but universal, and is spread to all continents and civilizations, equally, and this is visible from feministic revolution, women’s visible unrest, their raised voices in forms and expressions, even radical thoughts and actions, as female suicide bombers! Women oppression is as much a problem in Asia, as in Africas, West Asia, Europe, Americas, Far East, and elsewhere. Women who revolt against the oppression by radical means again fall in the trap like the female terrorists and human suicide bombers. 2.1 (b) How are they treated? Richards & Saba (1990) explore women oppression, their causes and their basis. The feminist movement has tried to understand why early oppressive division of labour became all-embracing. Feminists such as Sheila Rowbotham, Elizabeth Fisher, Barbara Ehrenreich, Marilyn French and others have traced women’s history and found it full of struggle. They have documented women’s fight against oppression by men, and the state. By sustained and brutal attack under early capitalism, on the sexual and productive autonomy of European women, hundreds of thousands of women were tortured and killed, including peasant, artisan ,women healers, midwifes who expressed independence of spirit. The oppression was enforced because the state required absolute sovereignty, especially over reproduction of the future labour force, and the control over capital accumulation. The treatment to women took all forms of oppression, some of which are covered below: (i) Prostitution, Rape & Pornography: Some more common forms of women oppression are prostitution, rape, pornographically films and porn literature, female-based advertising, etc. Prostitution is the oldest form of women oppression. This oppression is the consequence of deeper causes like poverty, exploitation, women trafficking, and as an organized trade. It continues to be an acceptable part of most societies as sex is practiced in consent as a trade. In several countries there are localities with concentration of prostitutes. Prostitution accompanies other crimes like drug trafficking, and women are part of these criminal systems. Rape and pornography are wide spread in Europe and the USA. In porn literature and films, women are portrayed as sex hungered and men as docile creatures. They perform unnatural acts, and such acts are permitted and given wide acceptance in the name of freedom causing health risks, and epidemics of diseases like HIV. . Sexual violence in warfare is dismissed as ‘inevitable’, but the crime is perpetuated not because of the sex urge but more due to the hate component. Meger (2010) with respect to rapes conducted in Congo identifies many forms other than gratification of male soldiers: ‘recreational rape’ when sex starved, ‘national security rape’ employed by a nervous state losing control; and ‘systematic mass rape’ as an instrument of open warfare. A number of patterns are identified; the motivation is greater when the victim is a foreigner, women are of a different ethnicity, the captured women belong to the other camp. Rape humiliates men who cannot save their women. Rape conducted to humiliate the men of opposite group is considered as a morale boosting reward. A leading South African gay rights organization has revealed that a staggering 86% of black lesbians from the Western Cape live in fear of sexual assault, with up to 10 new cases of "corrective rape" every week. Though South Africa had legalized same sex marriage in 2006, men target black lesbians for rape and then murder them. They tell their victims that the attack is due to their being lesbian. The government authority declares that such hate crimes are not on its priority, and the police do not track offenders. There have been rapes of Kashmiri women by Indian forces, where Indian troops laid siege to a village, the army assembled at several locations and then entered homes, and raped women. Though the number of women raped was high, many declined to report the incidents due to the stigma of rape. Feminists recognize that the characteristics most valued as ‘masculine’ are socially constructed. Thus masculinity is not a natural trait and is socially constructed and achieved. Research on the construction of masculinity in Nigeria found that both men and women hold expectations of men’s roles and both genders expect men to be evaluated on social expectations of masculinity (Barker 2005). The military in most places is a patriarchal institution based on violence and hypermasculine ideology. In the arena of social, cultural, and political institutions, power and social values are disproportionately endowed in men as a group. And this is done at the expense of women as a group. The consequence is the men are an empowered lot to indulge in women oppression in an uninhibited way, where the society, power and state give them a helping hand. (ii) Patriarchal Society & Traditional Links Several traditions and practices prevalent in different parts of the world have their genesis to patriarchal system and its values where man has the predominant role and control of the society. If there is any threat to this prominence, the patriarchal society reacts, and imposes measures of oppression on women, some being even cruel. The traditions and customs have evolved along with the societies, and women have adapted to those conditions. The women in those societies even accept the practices as normal, while across the cultures these are looked at with awe, and as sign of backwardness. Some of the practices are traditional, like Female Genital Cuttings (FGCs), honour killings, and dowry. The women’s involvement in terrorist activities and as suicide bombs is a very new trend. These practices are gendered and exploited for different vested interests: Female Genital Cuttings (FGCs): The practice of FGCs is prevalent in several parts of Africa are seen with awe, fear and as a sign of cruelty. It is no surprise that male circumcision practiced in Jews, Muslims and also Christians raises no concern. Many in the USA go for male circumcision soon after birth. The advantages of male circumcision are protective against cervical cancer of women. FGCs are anti-women and oppressive, and have evolved from the same concept of man’s supremacy and desire to control women. A study by Wade (2009) on FGCs’ concludes that it was used by US journalists as propaganda to attract American public as a way to support feminist activism on behalf of women everywhere. The effort there was to denigrate non-western culture against western culture and trivialize gendered oppression in the US, and to affirm US superiority, positing US situation as mild, and others’ as serious. Opponents of post-colonial theorists however claim that FGCs are being used to equate prevalent oppression in the USA. Honor Killings: A study of karo-kari practice of honor killing in tribal areas of Pakistan has been studied by Patel & Gadit (2008) by using media and non-governmental organization reports for case studies and analysis. Although the practice is not legally allowed, the socio-cultural factors and gender role expectations have given legitimacy to karo-kari within some tribal communities. Now there is evidence that in addition to its persistence in areas of Pakistan, karo-kari may be increasing in incidence in other parts of the world. In honour killings, the concept of honour is invoked as motivation for domestic violence. In these cases the danger to women are three fold: one, her family is against; second, community will not support as community pride is at stake; third, the state considers it as a part of cultural belief. This implies that the state accepts honor as a mitigating factor and condones crimes perpetuated in its name. Killings of female child (Faqir, 2001) is also carried out in the name of honour. Veena & Mirza (2007) have suggested adoption of human rights to get over the gender trap of cultural relativism within the liberal democratic discourse of multiculturalism. Forced Marriages: Forced marriages are performed by families in all parts of the world particularly in India and Pakistan. These are particularly enforced where pride of the family or honour is at stake, due to women’s involvement in unacceptable relationship. Protection of forced marriages by the UK government based on consideration of age is discussed by Ganguli (2009). Use of age as an independent variable to determine the state policy legislation on forced marriages is inappropriate, as it is not likely to affect forced marriages. Instead, it is discriminatory. The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 has increased age of sponsorship and marriage age for non-EU citizens. Here force marriages are gendered because more women experience it than man. Dowry Deaths: Deaths of young women due to dowry custom are prevalent in India. In this custom the newly wed bride has to bring cash and valuables along with her at the time of marriage. This is a tradition, under which the parents of the bride and the women (bride) herself has to suffer at the hands of her in-laws, leading to at times broken homes and even death of the bride. According to Babu & Babu (2011), the total number of dowry deaths and dowry-related suicides reported in India in 2007 were 8093 and 3148, respectively. Dowry-related deaths increased by 74%, during the period 1995 to 2007. Dowry related reporting of suicides increased by 31%. These incidences are a cause for concern not only that they cause high morbidity and mortality, but also as an index of the problem of women oppression prevalent in Indian society. Female Suicide Bombers: Female suicide bombers are a thing of recent times. Women sacrificing their lives as suicide bombers are not understandable in many cultures, because they are perceived as the gentle and naïve. Their participation in acts of carnage and devastating pain has aroused a mix of surprise and repulsion, and high public interest. According to Schweitzer (2006), despite the suicide bombers’ high profile, women play a marginal role numerically and in their organization structure. In various countries involved in these attacks the percentage of females was around 40 percent or low (Turkey, 40; Sri Lanka, 20-25; Chechnya, 43 percent). These women are not leaders in their organizations; instead serve as pawns and sacrificial lambs. Their situation is of oppression both as women and the risks they face as suicide bombers: they have not been trained as fighters, and as suicide bombers they required little investment in job training. Study by Berko & Erez (2007 ) has shown that Palestinian women who embark on terrorist activities are opting “no return” option and “no win” situation. The results demonstrate that although some women became involved in terrorism due to the sense of liberation that it provided, the women largely became disempowered in the aftermath of their offenses; rather than receiving praise for their activism as they had expected, they were shunned by others for their violation of gender expectations, and failure to fulfill traditional gender roles. (iii) Class Difference & Economic Power of Women According to Smith (1997) in spite of women’s struggle for parity with man, and some progress on this front, parity has not been achieved in America’s patriarchal society. Women in America are not held in the same esteem and they are discriminated, in wages, even in current times. Quoting a White House report Smith (1997) points “ women on average earned 75% of what their male counterparts earned in 2009”, and this difference is across all levels of education and job descriptions. The Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia has categorically stated that women are not protected by the equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment of the US constitution. At times, though women are more qualified and educated their incomes are lower. The class difference is clearly observed in the Republican policies which are anti-women, especially against the poor women class. She points to gender based discrimination in salaries of physicians –male resident doctors are paid higher as compared to female physicians. There is clear assault on teacher unions as against the male dominated professions. The assault on teacher unions is aimed at school, secondary and pre-school teachers which are mostly women. But no similar anti-union sentiments are found against male dominated professions of law-enforcement agencies, firefighters and construction workers. According to Marxism belief the emancipation of women can never be achieved under capitalist society, the objective of which is exploitation of working people, both women and men. The liberation of working class as a whole and women as part of it, holds the key to the solution. The feminists place women against men, but the socialist movement attempts to strike solidarity between male and female workers in the struggle against capitalist exploitation and parity between men and women. The founding-fathers of modern anthropology, in particular Lewis Morgan and his English counterpart Edward Tylor, based on material evidence from primitive tribes and other sources, have reconstructed a picture of the primitive human society. Morgan himself lived for some period among the Iroquois Indians, who still lived at the higher stage of savagery. They found that primitive society had no resemblance in terms of social structure, customs and institutions, to modern civilized society, and it was fundamentally different. Morgan shattered the common assumption that primitive life was a more basic and underdeveloped version of modern-day life. The assumption of some underdeveloped form of current system prevailing in primitive society was formed because it suited the proponents of capitalist society, who regard exploitation, classes and social division as eternal. In primitive life, private property, family and state simply did not exist. The ruling and ruled classes did not exist then. There was no domination or degradation of women by men, or men by men. Their classless society presumably was built on completely different egalitarian foundations. Morgan states that before class society, which embraced some 99% of human development - there existed two distinct phases of human society: Savagery, based on a hunter/gatherer life, corresponding to the Old Stone Age, and Barbarism, during which agriculture and stock rearing were practiced, the New Stone Age. During this long period of time, the structure of society was based upon a clan or tribal system. This system in turn was based upon kinship, in which women were respected and played a leading role within the clan. Production and distribution was carried out in common, and there were no privileges or elites. Women were held in esteem, as they were the bringers of life and future of the clan. (iv) Religions & Women Oppression Christanity: In Genesis 1:26-27, Adam and Eve were portrayed as equal , being created from God image. In Genesis 5:1-2, God calls both genders as “man”, interpreted God intends no discrimination. In Old Testament , in Genesis 2, reference that God looked at sleeping Adam and decided to create a helper from his rib, which Adam called Eve. Reference of women as helper and naming by Adam are contradictions to their equal status, and supports the view of women being subordinate to man. Adam’s downfall was believed to the result of Eve’s persuasion to eat forbidden fruit, which also portrays women in bad position. The Tertullian, the father of Latin Church described his female followers as the ‘Devils gateway’. The bible references (Exodus 20:17) describe women as possession of males. Aristotle thought women inferior to man. Such bias seems to be more misogynistic, in spite of bible’s original reference of both being equal. Several rights of women were curtailed over time, such as they were not allowed to leave house of father or husband, were subjected to punishment, not allowed to hold public office, and not allowed testimony in court. Their discrimination was removed in the19th century by Christian nations. Women who tried independence and were threat to man’s supremacy were exterminated. The treatments met to Mary Magdalene, Joan of Arc are examples of early day’s discrimination against women. The customs of those times have permeated to present day customs and women’s oppression. Islam: Several practices of Muslims perceived to be a part of Islam, are not allowed in Islam. The roles of both genders are divided in Islam, which does not undermine the position of women. However in practice women are subject to discrimination, man has authority over women, their testimony is not allowed in court; several of these denials are similar to those found in Christianity. Marriage is allowed with a girl on maturity (onset of menstruation) but consent of women is necessary. Prostitution, rape, dowry, forced marriages, domestic violence has no place in Islam. Some of these are considered very serious crimes and punishment prescribed is ‘stoning to death’. It is however another matter that in countries like Pakistan the implementation is not as per the Quranic laws. The veil or hijab of Muslim women is considered a sign of their backwardness. Afshar (2008) argues that it is ‘uninformed’ interpretation that hijab wearing women are submissive, oppressed or subjugated. Muslim women are engaged in interpretation of Quran, are seeking their rights that mirror the demands of the feminists world over. Contrary to common belief Quaran strictly prohibits aggression, honour killings like seen in Pakistan and elsewhere, and crimes like suicide bombing. 2.2 Women Strugglers of Oppression The fight against women subjugation would not have been possible without the daring work of several women from the Western, African, Oriental and other cultures. From current perspective, some daring women who have rendered voice are important examples of women brigade that took the task of setting the goal right. Grace Chirenje of Zimbabwe is a passionate feminist who has vowed to fight for women’s rights so that women are not viewed as second class citizens. A former Midlands State University graduate, her passion for success has seen her leading the Zimbabwe Young Women and focusing on issues of women’s participation in politics, democracy, and literacy. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is Africas first democratically elected female president. She has been a Liberian campaigner against rape and a woman who stood up to Yemens autocratic regime. She has won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of the importance of womens rights in the spread of global peace. She shared award with Leymah Gbowee from her country and democracy activist Tawakkul Karman from Yemen. Ghowee campaigned against rape by soldiers during civil war. Tawakkul Karman of Yemen is an activist fighting for democratic rights in Yamen, and is the first Arab woman to win the prize. 2.3 Scholars’ Views on Women Oppression In general scholars believe that women oppression is socially constructed. And this social construction has roots in religion and traditions. The basis of oppression is patriarchal society which protects males previleges at women’s expense. Following the September 11 attack of 2001, there has been a global focus on the status of women in Islam. According to Sonya (2009) anti-Muslim prejudice finds its roots in the history of the West since the time of the Crusades. Islam and its adherents have been cast as strange and deviant others. It is believed that the problems of the Muslim world are traditions like veil which have kept women isolated, and consequently backward, by denying them equal rights with men. Afshar (2008) however points out that women in Islam are seeking their rights in ways that mirror the demands of feminists word over. Women from ethnic minority have more in common than cradle Muslim brethrens. Muslim women are not impermeable to feminists demand and wearing hijab should not be constructed against home kinship. What is needed is cooperation and trust. The portrayal of Islam by the West as barbaric and veil its symbol (Hirschman, 1998) is deceived by many Muslim women wearing it voluntarily. Dowry related deaths (Babu & Babu, 2011) are a cause of concern and need policies to control this menace in the society. Merger (2010) argues that rape as a weapon of war and conditions that facilitate it should be understood. In Congo massive rapes have been carried out on women, which is the consequence of the country’s war history and social construct of masculinity. The American use of FGCs as an example of oppression of women in Africa is more to trivialize the women oppression and exploitation in the USA (Wade, 2009). 3. Conclusion: The perspective of women oppression is very wide and covers class, equal opportunities, traditions, religious practices, activism and measures to control oppression. In the recent times there has been more focus on veil, forced marriages, dowry deaths, FGCs, rape, etc. Juxtaposing cultural norms of one culture over the norms of another and alienating them from the common goal of creating a civilized world, where both men and women share equal rights, with no oppression of any sex, should be construed as the ultimate goal. The emancipation of women in Christian society is the result of education, scientific and technological advancements, and economic development. The Islamic countries on the other hand have not made advancements in fields of science and technology, education, and have stuck to traditions leading to economic backwardness. However, the two cultures need not be compared, for they were set in different conditions. 6. References: Afshar, Haleh (2008). “Can I see your hair? Choice, agency and attitudes: the dilemma of faith and feminism for Muslim women who cover”. Ethnic and Racial Studies 31 ( 2) pp. 411-427. Anitha, S and Gill, A.(2009) “Coercion, consent and the forced marriage debate in the UK” Feminist Legal Studies 17 pp.165-184. Babu, G.R & Babu, B.V. (2011) “Dowry deaths: A neglected public health issue in India” International Health, 3 pp. 35-43. Berko, A & Erez, E. (2007 ) “|Gender, Palestinian women, and terrorism: Women’s liberation or oppression?” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 30:493-519 Faqir, Fadia (2001). “Intrafamily femicide in defence of honour: The case of Jordan”. Third World Quarterly, 22(1) pp. 65-82. Gangoli,G & Chantler, K. (2009). “Protecting victims of forced marriage: Is age a protective factor? Feminist Legal Studies 17 pp. 267–288. Hirschmann, N. J (1998). “ Western feminism, eastern veiling, and the question of free agency” Constellations 5(3 ) pp.345-368. Meger, S (2010) “Rape of the Congo: Understanding sexual violence in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo” Journal of Contemporary African Studies 28 (2) pp. 119-135. Oracle Think Quest. “Female oppression”. Available at: http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/01443/fo_home.html (Accessed: 4th December, 2012). Patel, S & Gadit, A.M. (2008) “Karo-Kari: A form of honor killing in Pakistan” Transcult Psychiatry 45(4) pp. 683-697 Richards & Saba. Basis of Women’s Oppression. Encyclopedia of anti-revisionism on-line. Available at: http://www.marxists.org/history/erol/uk.hightide/basis.htm (Accessed: 4th December, 2012) Schweitzer,Y (ed). (2006), Female Suicide Bombers: Dying for Equality? Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University, Israel Sonya Fernandez. (2009) “The crusade over the bodies of women patterns of prejudice” 43 (3/4) pp. 269-286 Smith, Sharon. (1997)”Engels and the origin of women’s oppression” International Socialist Review. Available at: http://www.isreview.org/issues/02/engles_family.shtml (Accessed:4December, 2012) Meetoo, Veena & Mirza, Heidi Safia (2007). “There is nothing ‘honourable’ about honour killings: Gender, violence and the limits of multiculturalism” Womens Studies International Forum 30 pp.187–200. Wade, L (2009) “Defining gendered oppression in U.S. newspapers: The strategic value of female genital mutilation". Gender & Society 23(3) pp. 293-314 Read More