We know that primitive societies had a communal mode
of production, which meant that there was no stratification in their society,
it was classless. Men were physically stronger, so they hunted, while women,
being biologically weaker, performed other tasks like looking after children
and gathering produce to eat. In those days, there was no legitimate father of
a child. Because people lived together in communes, even the mother had no idea
of the real father of her baby. Babies used to belong to the entire commune.
Women could accept or reject their mating partners by choice. With the
emergence of agrarian society, people started cultivating animals in their
field. Since then, men who were stronger began possessing woman as their
private property. Such individualistic mode of production gave rise to a
patriarchal society and institutionalized marriage, which became instrumental
in women’s domination.
We know that primitive societies had a communal mode of production, which meant that there was no stratification in their society, it was classless. Men were physically stronger, so they hunted, while women, being biologically weaker, performed other tasks like looking after children and gathering produce to eat. In those days, there was no legitimate father of a child. Because people lived together in communes, even the mother had no idea of the real father of her baby. Babies used to belong to the entire commune. Women could accept or reject their mating partners by choice. With the emergence of agrarian society, people started cultivating animals in their field. Since then, men who were stronger began possessing woman as their private property. Such individualistic mode of production gave rise to a patriarchal society and institutionalized marriage, which became instrumental in women’s domination.
In all ages, women are the center of attraction, and they are characterized by love and care. With the passage of time, they acquire different social roles like that of a daughter, sister, friend, wife, mother, and grandmother. Every man is related to a woman, Hindus believe that a woman is “Ardhangini,” half of a male body. Hindus define female as divine and creative, but they also have shameful stories like the Ramayana, where Sita was asked to walk into fire to prove her sexual purity. No man has ever been examined by a woman for his sexual purity and virginity.
Family is the center of women’s oppression. The
rearing of children, including gender based parenting and socialization are
based on male ideologies. In Nepal, practices like Chaupadi, Deuki/Jhuma, Badi,
and living Goddess Kumari are the outcomes of a male chauvinist society which
puts women’s lives in danger. If not, then why are menstruating females
oppressed in Hinduism, when they are respected before menstruation and after
menopause? Men are scared of women’s sexuality, hence the domination. A woman’s
behavior during her energetic and creative age is strictly regulated.
A simple look from a beautiful woman is enough to
accelerate man’s desire. A man can be muscular, handsome and strong on the
outside, but he knows that he is not as powerful as he appears. Research says
that females prefer a longer sexual intercourse, but men cannot last up to
women’s expectation. A woman can have multiple orgasms in one intercourse, but
a man can have only one. It is well known that men have only one sexual organ,
their genital, while each part of a woman’s body is alluring. Being unable to
surpass women in these respects, men want to dominate women through different
socio-cultural tools.
Men always want to be on top, because they know their weakness, and dominating women is a ploy to hide their weakness. If a woman tries to be playful during sexual intercourse, men suspect her character. Women always have to fear men; since their desire to be playful during sex could ruin their family life. They have to suppress their natural desire in order to be accepted by a patriarchal society. This suppression is the major cause of the appalling state of their reproductive health.
The fear of sex is behind the separation of men and
women in monasteries and camps. Women are conditioned in such a way that they
have to struggle hard to make space for themselves in a male chauvinist
society. Manu has said that women are the gateway to hell. Manu must have
wanted to be in heaven, but since he could not be, he spit out such an ugly
epithet for women. In fact, a woman is the gateway to heaven. She is mother of
all, a doorway to existence.
I remember a word in English dictionary, “Human
being” which, if twisted into a pun, means “the process of becoming a human.”
Most of us are not yet human, apart from a few advanced individuals. The
psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud has said that people have animal instincts. Social
rules, norms and values are protecting us, and if they did not exist, men are
ready to be animals at any moment. Abuse of women and rape of children and old
women could be a few examples to prove that men are still in the process of
becoming human.
Men are always lusting after women, and continue
to fight each other for women, like dogs during mating. Many movies, dramas,
and poems created by men, like the story of Trojan war and Ramayana are based
on men fighting for women. There are few movies or dramas by women which are
about fighting for men. It is hard to find a story or news of a woman raping a
man. Why don’t women lust after men or resort to violence for men? There must
be something wrong with men’s psychology.
Family is the center of women’s oppression. Gender
based socialization is based on narrow male ideologies. Most of our holy
scriptures, which are written by men, contains examples of domination of women.
In the story of Ramayana, Sita was used as commodity; a trophy for a bow
competition, likewise Draupadi was used as a commodity for gambling in
Mahabharata. Women are not treated as human beings, but as men’s property and
means of their entertainment.
And it is not only Hindus who dominate women; Muslim
women are conditioned through religion to cover their whole bodies so that no
one other than her husband can see her. Muslim women are not allowed to enter
some parts of Mosques, just as Hindu women are not allowed to touch some gods.
Christians believe that women are only helpers of men, and have no personal
identity except as a motherly figure like Mary. According to the Bible, woman
was created from the ribs of the first man, to be his “helpmeet”. There is no
concept of Goddesses in Christianity or Islam.
Sentences like Yatra Naryastu Pujyante, Ramyante
Tatra Devata (where women are honored, there divinity blossoms) just pay lip
service to womanhood. Women are given just two statuses in Hindu culture, one
is a Goddess (Devi) and another is slave (dasi). In-between the real woman is
missing. Inside, all men know that they are inferior, which is why they use
man-made social tools to dominate women.
The author is a sociologist
Published on 2013-04-16 01:10:23, Republica in
association with International New York times
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