Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Some sensible rambling...

Okay, this one's based on a report I presented on 'Patriarchy' for a class on Eco-feminism. This one will probably stick out like a sore thumb in the midst of all the other inane rambling, but this is one project for which I did do a considerable deal of research. Moreover, while working on it, I remember getting very frustrated at some of the things I observed/found out about. Hence, I decided to write about it now (a year after working on it)...hope the prolonged gap would have added weight to my perspective. On a lighter note, for all my friends who felt at sea when they read my more economic-oriented ramblings, hope this is right up your alley and suits your intellectual sensibilities better (Divs, Mittu are you listening?).

Now the original report I presented covered a more broad based theme of what is patriarchy, it's types, origins etc., but here, I'm going to be including only those parts of it that dealt with the actual, visible (yet, many a time unnoticed) manifestations of patriarchy in society today.

Before I begin, a note of introduction is to be expected. So will fulfil that obligation by a brief mention of what exactly patriarchy means. Now, the stereotypical view is that patriarchy refers to the male domination over women, but in a more realistic sense, the word has come to refer to domination of ANY manner or kind (hence, the gender issue doesn't play so much of a role here). And now, I'm guessing it's time to begin, which I shall do. A note to whoever attempts to read thus far, since these are excerpts, I'm giving up on trying to link the paras and maintain continuum.

Religion:

Religious institutions significantly contribute towards promoting the notion that patriarchy is God ordained. To illustrate this, I'm quoting examples (disclaimer: this is not intended to be sacrilegious or affront any particular religion...what applies to one religion can easily be traced in ALL others WITHOUT exception, albeit in slightly modified forms)

Take for example this quote from the Koran:

"Men stand superior to women in that God hath preferred the one over the other...those whose perverseness ye fear, admonish them and remove them into bed-chambers and beat them; but if they submit to you then do not seek a way against them."

So, the point I'm trying to make here is that religious institutions promote the idea of God-ordained differences between the sexes and the superiority of the masculine species. And this isn't restricted only to Islam. The Bible has something to the same effect where it talks about division of roles between men and women. The same holds true for Hinduism as well...ever noticed how all the three important deities who create, maintain and destroy the universe (Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva respectively) are all male. Or how Hindu mythology typifies the so-called negative qualities of temptation etc., as being feminine (Maya). Also, many a time female deities are left to playing the role of consorts and are worshipped only in their capacity as a consort! My take is that this duality mainly stems from the fact that religion is interpreted by men for men!

Jurisprudence:

Ever noticed the bias towards the male members in cases falling under the purview of Family Law, Marital law & Inheritance Law. BUT in cases pertaining to allotment of Child rights, it's the mother who usually gets the rights. Now, there's nothing wrong with that per se, my only grouse is that there seems to be this stereotypical image of women being nurturers but cannot be trusted enough to represent themselves in property disputes. Basically, what I'm trying to ham on is the whole issue of stereotypes.

Economics:

Heard of the concept of invisible labour? Basically, what it refers to is the non-inclusion of work like that of a house-wife into the calculation of economic indicators like national income. Why? Simply because they don't earn anything out of it. This is preposterous! In fact there have been attempts to include this 'shadow work' either by calculating the increase to the national product, if these people were allowed to work OR by calculating the amount that would have to be paid if someone were to be hired to do the same work (as opposed to getting it done, free of cost, by the woman), and these reports have shown that the increase (or decrease in the 2nd method) in national income is quite sizable! And given how in most cases, financial power translates into decision making ability, this problem gets further accentuated.

Media:

Ever wondered why Emraan Hashmi gets famous after certain scenes while his partner in crime, Mallika Sherawat gets branded a bimbette? Or why most movies portray the woman as the quintessential 'damsel in distress' or as the mother left to be defended by her sons? Or why Asha Bhonsle, despite being a singer in her own right, still is famous more as R D Burman's wife, and hence, covers of her albums have the latter's pics.

Phew! This getting TOO long winded... So I'll wind up with a couple of quotes that continue to infuriate me (Okay, don't kill me..Yet!)...

"Women have the right to work wherever they want, as long as they have the dinner ready when you get home."
- John Wayne, Actor

"Women make terrible leaders. They are better off as housewives."
-George Bush, (Does he really need an introduction???)

**** The End ***

4 comments:

Div said...

welcome me...my first comment! When you said u'd finally upadted with something i could comment on, i expected anything but this :P When i begain reading the post, i was wondering if it was an excerpt from a text book! :P No offence, the language rocked ;-) And was silently cursing myself for reading more theory on a break i was taking from my theory! Lol... but hell, it turned out quite interesting :) Now if i start saying something abt women and their role in all walks of life, it'd turn out to be one of those pick-a-topic-and-speak-in-the-name-of-placement-training-because-the-dumb-lecturer-is-too-lazy-to-teach sessions that i loath in college, considering the fact that i didn't register for placement training! The quotes at the end, and that too coming from GEORGE BUSH of all idiots, were quite infuriating. Anyway, we know who we are! And i liked your take on religion. By men, for men!

Ananya said...

Divs...you are welcomed! *Drum roll* :P
And you guys have placement training? Funny! And yes, I should have warned you about reading it before you did...was just being in a kinda crappy mood, so didn't bother! :P
But what the hell, it was worth hearing you say you're "reading more theory when taking a break from my theory"...made me smile at the irony!

Div said...

LOL, there! am glad i made u smile :P

Unknown said...

hey tat was some work nanya.. so true but so irritating..