A woman’s self-worth, the value of a woman to her society, and a woman’s independence from the male population are three apparent dissimilarities of females in the United States and females in Pakistan. Women in the United States have much more freedom than women in Pakistan. From birth, Pakistani women are taught that they do not exist. They do not have the right to vote, make their own decisions, and they definitely cannot voice their individual opinions in society, nor their husbands. Even the father of a Pakistani girl believes that his daughter is nothing more than a future breeding tool.
Cultural and social beliefs saturate faiths and work to oppress female followers, and certain religious practices keep many women from fulfilling their potential or from living with privileges that other women may have. Patriarchal religions revolve around a male god, and superior beings are created through the union of a divine male and a mortal female, thus creating a hierarchy of gender. This almost automatically places women in a position of disrespect and helplessness. In this paper I will consider Kambili and Beatrice from Purple Hibiscus by Adiche, Margo from The Bridge Stories, to support my thoughts that, religion, being a patriarchal institution, acts as an oppressor to women and contributes to the loss of women’s identity. To begin I would like to define patriarchy and religion.
Power tended to lean more to the husband than the wife, since men could work professional jobs, along with taking care of the family. Muslims are considered one of the several “people of the book”, and follow the word of the Quran. The Quran clearly states that women should be treated with respect, but eventually Islamic custom ruled that out. Women in Islam, all throughout 600-800 CE, were not treated with much respect, as it was for most other cultures. Women were usually uneducated, and in the household, they were expected to raise children, cook, and clean.
They do not have the right to vote, make their own decisions, and they definitely cannot voice their individual opinions in society. Even the father of Pakistani girls believes that their daughters are nothing more than a future “breeding tool. The role of these young girls once married is to produce as many males as their body will allow. That way, the women in Pakistan grow up with the mentality that they are just the backstage crew in the production of life. Sadly, it seems that the women in Pakistan honestly believe that they are below the men in their country because they continue to allow this behavior to continue, without revolutionizing like the women in many other countries, including the US, once did.
For instance, the hijab refers to “the veil which separates man or the world from god.” Hijab can also be used to refer to the separation of women from men in the public atmosphere. Although not all women choose to wear the hijab in non-muslim countries but those who do, do it for personal or religious beliefs. There are many reason as to why they choose to wear the coverings. Some feel compelled to honor what the Quran asks of them, or they feel that by covering up it will identify them to the world as a Muslim woman. Other say that covering up their physical beauty allows them to be appreciated for their mind, not their body.
Both women are also very different culturally but they are both suffering with cultural identity. What Khadra experienced was culture shock that was opposite to what Gelareh experienced. What shocked Gelareh was how stricter her old home was when it came to covering up and wearing certain clothing and make-up, but marriage was different. Apparently, not all men marry more women to help the women but to please the men instead. Then Khadra was shocked how not strict things were and how many things were happening that was against what she was raised to believe.
For example, there are many cases in the first several stories of Arabian Nights when women are disloyal and evil, but there are also stories about the wrong of men. This is because Shahrazad wanted to balance human wrong and she attempts to expose the wrongs of both sexes equally. According to feminism, the women's and men's rights are equal. So, she tried to explain that women can also make mistakes as men and it is not right that they take into account only women's mistakes (Smith, 1).
Gender Roles plays a huge part of the novel, Possessing the Secret of Joy, by showing the reader how women are treated unfairly and what this treatment can cause to the women. In this novel, Alice Walker portrays how society sees men as the dominant gender and how women are merely sex slaves and servants. The main reason for the female circumcision is to satisfy the men in the tribe needs. If it were up to most women, they would not go through this ritual, but unfortunately, they need to, according to the Olinkan tribe. The women get this done to their body so they are “cleansed”, so a man is able to marry them.
Many individuals feel that tattoos are for second class citizens or criminals when in fact for some it is simply a hobby or dedication to a lost family member, child, or a way to label themselves with something meaningful for them. Feminist are often seen as women who hate men, when in fact they can actually be the core reason for the act of choice in other women, and the reason women are allowed to vote in today’s society without having to do anything with whether they like or dislike men at all, and also senior citizens are also believed to be co-dependent and fragile when in fact there are many elder individuals who are healthier than some young adults. These stereotypes are often used negatively towards these groups of people and often effect how one addresses the needs, thoughts, or actions of these individual groups. Stereotypes often bring in prejudice that doesn’t exist into a topic when discussing a group of individuals. These biases can affect how
A woman is human” (Vera Nazarian). Women have always been considered as having a lower status then men. They are marginalized in society because of their gender. There are also many stereotypes about women for example, when a guy is scared to do something he is referred to as “a girl” implying that all girls are scared. We know this is not true because women have done everything in this world that men have including dangerous adventure sports yet they considered to be lower than men .Their talents are not as recognized as men’s talents are and they are mostly looked upon as not being fit for the same jobs as men are.