Women in World History - Report Example

Women in World History The place of women in the society has been controversial and a matter of debate fordecades with women advancing over time in some areas and remaining stuck in others. Beginning with the creation story in the book of Genesis, woman has been given a subservient position to men. The man was given dominion over all creatures of the land, sea and skies and a woman was created from one of his ribs to be his helper. She was also portrayed as a sinful woman who fell to the cunningness of the serpent and made man to fall too leading to their banishment to earth. Since then, women have been portrayed as the weaker sex and whose role is in the home in a patriarchal society dominated by men. All relationships in social, economic, cultural and political spheres including the churches, mosques and temples are patriarchal in nature as women are rarely given places of leadership. Even with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations, women have not yet gained equality with men or gained equal opportunities in various areas of their life. They continue to be treated as lesser that men who are just supposed to obey and be submissive. This discrimination is also rooted in the English common law which treats women as lesser beings. However, through the actions of feminists and other activist groups, women have been able to gain much ground by being able to participate in political and social life such as in voting. However, their status varies across various cultures and regions. This essay will discuss the extent to which women’s status has changed for the better across regions and cultures to gain insight into the factors that have elevated or prevented women from gaining positive change. In ancient history, gender roles determined the place of women in society. Starting with the creation story, after Eve and Adam ate the forbidden fruit eve was given the task of painful child bearing and acting as helper to man while man was given the task of providing for the family through his toil and sweat (Genesis 3, 16). In Genesis chapter 1 God said “it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (1:18, Xiii) and in Genesis chapter 3 He said “in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you” (3:16, Xiv). The subordination of women thus did not start recently but is as old as the world itself. Men and those who like subjecting women to unequal conditions have a tendency to cite this creation story to justify their actions. In Christianity, women are required to be submissive to their husbands as they are the heads of the house and thus they have no option but to follow the patriarchal Christian values. Even in Indian tribes who practice Hindu, it is the same case as evidenced by the story of Rama and Sita. Sita claimed that it is the wife’s dharma to be at her husband’s side hence she followed him to the forest when he was banished by the king. Dharma was a kind of personal duty and eternal law and often regarded as God of justice and adherence to it made someone agreeable in the next life. For the ancient Greeks, gods ruled and goddesses obeyed. For example, Zeus was the supreme ruler and all men obeyed his commands. This depicting god or God as a man is a good example of the patriarchal nature of religion in whatever culture. This subjects women to a subordinate place to men in all spheres of their lives. However, modern religions do allow women to preach and act as Bishops or heads of the church hence they have advanced abit. The patriarchal relationship was mostly apparent in ancient societies especially in Europe where monarchs were considered divine rulers. Women had no business in political leadership as their role was in the kitchen and given their caring nature, to nurture the family. A good example, Roman Empire who required the subjects to perform sacrifices in his honor and those who refused to do so like the North African Christian Martyrs were executed (Perpetua 24). Perpetua a staunch Christian refused to offer this sacrifice together with her servant Felista hence were executed. However, their experience in prison and death is what brings out the difference between women and men. The men martyrs were mauled by leopard or bear while the women were stripped and brought in nets dressed in gowns to be gored by a mad cow as it was deemed appropriate for them. Besides enduring the religious patriarchal structure, they also had to encounter two other versions of patriarchy in the form of the Roman Empire and the father who constantly urged Perpetua to submit to the authority for the sake of her child. This was not easy for a woman martyr and she had to appeal to God father to deal with these two fathers (25). Women in ancient societies had little value hence were treated as sex objects by men. The story of La Malinche shows how women were devalued in Hispanic culture. Having lost her father at an early age, she was given as a sex slave to the Spaniards in 1519. However, she was taken by Hernan Cortes as his concubine and mother of his son, thus from her came the first Mestizos (of mixed European and indigenous American ancestry). Would it have been in Virginia, she would have served her master two additional years according to colonial law of Virginia General Assembly of 1662. Most women who got pregnant as free or slaves were considered promiscuous disregarding the fact that they might have been raped. For example, Malinche is considered by the early Mexicans as evil, immoral and promiscuous for being a concubine of Cortes and a wife to someone else. This was not only in Mexico, in China as narrated by Min, sexual relations were not allowed by the communist party. The need for love was secondary to the will of the communist party. However, in this case the man was to blame and was often executed. This was the reason Min had to hide her affair with Yan and also the supervisor in the film studio. A medieval phenomenon which has been brought into light in modern times owing to gender discourses is homosexuality and more so lesbianism. In patriarchal society, sexuality is also patriarchal in nature in that only heterosexual relations are approved in society and the norm. Other sexual orientations such as gay and lesbianism are considered deviant. Gay and lesbianism are same-sex relationships and contract with Christian teachings which view this as an abomination. However, as we shall learn from Medieval Arab literature, lesbianism was a norm in the Islamicate culture and considered a medical condition (Amer 215-236). Lesbianism in this culture was regarded as sahq while lesbians were sihaq. It was attributed to inborn factors such as the mother eating certain kinds of food which caused itching in the labia of the baby. As such, it was considered a lifelong condition whose only treatment was rubbing not by anything but by another labia. This gave justification for lesbianism as only another female labia could be used to rub against the other and on reaching orgasm ejaculate a cold substance that stopped the itching. Sexual intercourse with a man was not preferred as men ejaculate hot semen which would accelerate itching. Women during this time were taught how to enjoy lesbian sex and lesbian couples were not ashamed to be known as it was “a lifestyle worthy of emulation” (Amer 221). In fact it was considered better than heterosexuality since women were more devoted and loving to each other and because heterosexuality was dangerous; those accused of illicit relationships outside marriage (adultery or Zina) or concubinage were punished. This means concubinage was acceptable in Islamicate culture. There was no punishment for homosexuality (liwat) even in the Quran. Lesbianism is thus a modern Western concept. Modern notions of sexuality have developed and now connote biological sex, national origin and citizenship. This is a setback for the Arabic world one-sex model as the Western binary view is adopted in modern times. In many countries, lesbianism is prohibited and punishable by law. In the Chinese culture as narrated by Min, it was a means of sexual release as any kind of sexual activity between youth was prohibited. That was the e reason Min became attached to Yan and this later developed into love and lesbianism. In Medieval Arabia, cross-dressing, staying in women communities or refusing to get married was considered as a lesbian-like behavior but today, women are accustomed to wearing men clothes and it would be ridiculous to consider them lesbians. Women also have formed communities to help and support each other and thus cannot be considered as lesbians. Modern women are free to express themselves and dress elegantly without being labeled lesbians hence this is advancement. Another area where women have advanced abit is in the laws dealing with family and relationships. Women in most societies were considered inferior and most of them served as servants and were often abused by masters. This led the Virginia General Assembly to formulate laws to guide such conduct although at first, the laws were discriminatory against women. A woman who got pregnant by a master was supposed to serve him for two more years whether it was rape or consensual according to colonial laws of 1662. However, a new law was formulated in 1662 giving the responsibility to sell the two years of service to church wardens and payment used for the parish to prevent masters from misusing women to get more years of labor. The children of servants were also supposed to attain the condition of mother hence matriarchal side determined the future of child; if mother is slave, the child became a slave too by birth. In 1691, new law to prevent children of doubtful parentage was passed and these were a setback for English women as they prevented them from marrying a Negro, mulatto or Indian man. Free English women who did so paid 15 pound sterling within one month after birth and failure to pay led to possession by church warden for five years. However, their child did not become slaves but remained with wardens until 30 years of age. If the woman is slave, she was to be sold by church warden for five years after expiry of her time with her master and child became slave too. This was a hindrance for white women more so because the term of service was increased from 2 to 5 years. For the black women servants, having a bastard child meant compensation to the master or mistress for one year or pay 1000 pounds of tobacco and the father if free was also to provide child support and if servant, compensate his master as well as the woman’s master according to a 1705 law. In 1769, law of castrating slaves or Eunuchs was changed and now Master had no right to castrate them unless they attempted to rape white women. These laws are an example of intersectionality between class, race and gender. Women suffered more than one form of discrimination as women, as blacks and whites of lower class. This meant white women were superior to black men as they could accuse them of rape to avoid penalties. However, in modern times things have changed and woman occupies a better place although this has been and still is a long struggle which is far from over until equality between men and women is achieved. The discourse about gender began in the enlightenment period in France as Medieval and ancient writings do not talk of women but men’s sexuality. It was also difficult to have women writers as this was considered a man’s job. The first woman in Europe to earn a living from writing was Christine De Pizan (De Pizan 164). Other writers included Mary Wollstonecraft. Rousseau was among the enlightenment thinkers to talk about women and to champion their virtue and freedom of equality with men. However, he was critical of educated women and thought that the virtuous women learn from an early age from their parents and exhibit it naturally (Rousseau 248). He thought that education corrupted women’s morals and as such, men should not marry educated women. He also that men and women are equal and the only difference between them is sex. For him, women with virtue and pleasing are able to command men to submit to their demands and have pleasurable life. However, he was against men marrying women of higher class as they would dominate them and make their lives a misery. However, Wollcraft was against this notion that education corrupts morals since men have the same education that means they are also corrupted. If they become wise through education, then women should do the same and gain knowledge and understanding hence become virtuous wives (252-253). More over women are rational beings thus she cooperates in learning to be virtuous only if she knows she ought to be virtuous. Freedom thus strengthens her reason until she comprehends that it is her duty to be virtuous and this strength comes from education. Pizan on the other hand, blames men for women’s woes. She thinks it is men who portray women in bad light as evil creatures in order to cover their wicked ways, to make up for their defects in own bodies, gain pleasure from slander, and due to pure jealousy 9Pizan 168-170). She thinks education is good in teaching virtue but also advises women to be submissive, humble and patient so as to change their men for better. These feminists have done a great deal in advancing women rights as evidenced by the Beijing conference in 1995 and the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). These articles make various declarations aimed at ensuring women are treated with dignity and equality and their social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights are safeguarded. These include rights to vote, equal opportunity in employment, equal treatment under the law, equal pay for equal work among other rights. This is a great advancement by modern feminists towards betterment of women. Conclusion The advancement of women has been a long struggle from ancient to medieval to modern society. Women suffer discrimination based on their gender, class and race and this began at the beginning of the world whereby men were given power to rule over women. This is especially so in the patriarchal society where everything even in religion portrays men’s dominance and women are not allowed to express their sexuality. However due to feminism and activism women are slowly gaining their place in society and treated more equally as men by being granted their economic, civil, cultural, social and political rights. However, they still have a long way to go to achieve equality and full rights. Read More