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INTRODUCTION
The word ‘patriarchy’ literally means the rule of the father or the ‘patriarch’, and originally it was used to describe a specific type of ‘male-dominated family’ – the large household of the patriarch which included women, junior men, children, slaves and domestic servants all under the rule of this dominant male. Now it is used more generally “to refer to male domination, to the power relationships by which men dominate women, and to characterise a structure whereby women are kept subordinate in a number of ways”.
The concept of patriarchy is defined by different thinkers in different ways. Walby defines “patriarchy as a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women”. She explains patriarchy as a system because this helps us to reject the notion of biological determinism (which says that men and women are naturally different because of their biology or bodies and, are, therefore assigned different roles) or “the notion that every individual man is always in a dominant position and every woman in a subordinate one”.
Patriarchy, in its wider definition, means the manifestation and institutionalization of male dominance over women and children in the family and the extension of male dominance over women in society in general. It implies that “men hold power in all the important STRUCTURES of society” and that “women are deprived of access to such power”. However, it does not imply that “women are either totally powerless or totally deprived of rights, influence, and resources”.
PATRIARCHY IS A FORM of STRUCTURED INEQUALITY
- Patriarchal ideology silently exaggerates biological differences between men and women, making certain that men always have the dominant, or masculine, roles and women always have the subordinate or feminine ones. This ideology is so powerful that “men are usually able to secure the apparent consent of the very women they oppress”. They do this “through STRUCTURES such as the Education, Religion, and the family, each of which justifies and reinforces women’s subordination to men without much notice”. So patriarchy is a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women.
- Patriarchy, which pre-supposes the natural superiority of male over female, shamelessly upholds women’s dependence on, and subordination to, man in all spheres of life. Consequently, all the power and authority within the family, the society and the state remain entirely in the hands of men. So, due to patriarchy, women were deprived of their legal rights and opportunities patriarchal values restrict women’s mobility, reject their freedom over themselves as well as their property. The subordination that women experience at a daily level, regardless of the class they might belong to, takes various forms – discrimination, disregard, insult, control, exploitation, oppression, violence – within the family, at the place of work, in society. For instance, a few examples are illustrated here to represent a specific form of discrimination and a particular aspect of patriarchy. Such as, son preference, discrimination against girls in food distribution, burden of household work on women and young girls, lack of educational opportunities for girls, lack of freedom and mobility for girls, wife battering, male control over women and girls, sexual harassment at workplace, lack of inheritance or property rights for women, male control over women’s bodies and sexuality, no control over fertility or reproductive rights.
- So, the norms and practices that define women as inferior to men, impose controls on-them, are present everywhere in our families, social relations, religious, laws, schools, textbooks, media, factories, offices. Thus, patriarchy is called the sum of the kind of male domination we see around women all the time. In this ideology, men are superior to women and women are part of men’s property, so women should be controlled by men and this produces women’s subordination.
- Subordination is the situation in which one is forced to stay under the control of other. So women’s subordination means the social situation in which women are forced to stay under the control of men. In this way to keep women under men’s control, patriarchy operates some social customs, traditions and social roles by socialization process. To preserve the male supremacy, patriarchy created ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ characteristics, private-public realms by gendered socialization process. Socialization is considered to take place primarily during childhood, when boys and girls learn the appropriate behaviour for their sex.
- All agents of socialization process such as the family, religion, the legal system, the economic system and political system, the educational culture that has characterized much of human history to the present day. Patriarchal institutions and social relations are responsible for the inferior or secondary status of women in the capitalist wage-labour market. The primacy of the sexual division of labour within the family has several consequences for the women who seek wage employment.
PATRIARCHY AND STRUCTURAL SUBORDINATION OF WOMEN IN INDIA
- Discrimination against women constitutes a subordinate position of women and a violation of basic human rights and is an obstacle to the achievements of the objectives of women’s equality, development and peace. In the last few decades, discrimination against women emerged as one of the silent structural inequality in India which generates women’s subordination. Male domination and women’s subordination are the basic tents of Bangladeshi social structure. All forms of discrimination constitutes the social, political, economical, religious and cultural differences between men and women and establish male dominated society. It also eliminates women’s equality with men, forms women’s subordination and constructs a social system which produce women’s subordination.
- The systems of patriarchy in India are commonly identified by “patrilineal descent” (influence of patriarchy) and patrilocal residence (i.e. the practice of women living with their husband’s relatives after marriage. Patrilineal descent in India is mainly organized along the patrilineal lines, “which has direct consequences to the position of women in the society”. A boy is the perpetrator of the patriline, he will inherit the family name. On the other hand, a girl is treated as subordinate to men and of no or little value.
- After marriage a girl goes to her husband’s house. So our families think that girls are burden for them. Sons will earn and will look after their parents. So the oppression of a girl starts from her family. As a wife comes to her husband’s house after marriage, so her husband thinks that she is in a subordinate position and he is more powerful than her. So, here a girl is also oppressed and discriminated. This experience of subordination destroys women’s self-respect, self-confidence and self-esteem and sets limits on their aspirations.
- Women’s dependency upon and subordination to men is conditioned by a whole range of institutional practices embedded in the family and the Kin-group. It is these aspects which provide the constituent elements of the well-documented system of patriarchy in India which institutionalizes the female subordination of women and their structured dependency on men. Some aspects of patriarchy in India are as the following:
- In India, people mostly prefer new born male children to female. When a woman gives birth to a girl her husband and other members of the family start to oppress and undermine her and the child.
- Discrimination against girls in the domestic menu, food distribution is still a common feature in maximum household. Probably for lack of food and care in India maternal mortality rate is high.
- Burden of household work is mostly on the women and young girls, while men are executed on the plea of their economic activities. But patriarchal society like India has no recognition to this work.
- Girls have to cope with lack of educational opportunities because their parents think education is primarily necessary for the male children. In patriarchal society, a woman from her childhood doesnot get equal chance with a boy to develop her qualities.
- Lack of freedom and mobility for girls is another main feature of patriarchy in Bangladesh. They can not go out to work, meet with their friends or come back any time, they have to return home before dusk.
Wife battering is quite common in the country. Patriarchal norms that naturalize domestic violence are not freestanding, they are embedded in a larger culture of discipline. - Sexual harassment at workplace is another common feature. Many women workers are thrown out of their job when they are not willing to give in to the demands of their bosses.
- Women face discrimination of inheritance or property rights. In the social structure of the patriarchal family women are deprived of their property rights which are granted.
- Male control over the female body or gross sexuality is a common feature. Women possess no control over fertility or reproductive rights. It is mostly the husbands who decide on family planning methods.
- In most cases, women have no rights to choose their husbands; rather the male members of their families impose decisions on them. After marriage, women are traditionally not allowed to provide support to their own relatives.
- In our patriarchal society, most of the woman has to cover her self fully with cloth which is called purdah. Patriarchal structure operate this purdah on women’s voice and movement to keep women in private place. Thus,purdah is a complex institution that entails much more than restrictions on women’s physical mobility and dress.
Despite reservations of seats in Local Self Government (Panchayati Raj) and substantial women’s representation, the actual decisions are taken by husbans (Sarpanch-Pati). - It is observed that all practices and structures support women’s subordination in practice which undermine women’s position in India. In India, women bear many of the marks of a “disadvantaged minority” in the social, economic and political realms. The traditional society of India is permeated with patriarchal values and norms of female subordination, subservience, subjugation and segregation. The reality of the women of India, (most specifically, the rural poor women and those living in the urban slums) is that they remain a vulnerable, marginalized group that is yet to enjoy equality in status, and access to services and resources with male counterparts.
- Women are found at the “bottom rung of poverty, illiteracy, and landlessness.” Women are the most affected by negative impacts resulting from discrimination at birth leading to deprivation of access to all opportunities and benefits in family and societal life, such as education and health. This puts them in the most disadvantageous position and also the victims of worst forms of violence Some advancement of women does not prove that women are not subordinated. Though some changes have occurred, but such changes are marginal, superficial modifications in the ways in which men exploit women. Rather, male violence against women is systematically condoned and legitimated by the states’refusal to intervene against it except in exceptional instances, though the practices of rape, wife beating, sexual harassment etc. are too decentralized in their practice to be part of the state itself.
- However, patriarchy does not operate in a vacuum. Our normative social practices are deeply embedded in a disciplinary culture that condones or even encourages violence. Women’s rights, under the Constitution are often not implemented. There are lots of evidences, the rights which are granted in the constitution are often not enforced in a male dominated patriarchal society. Thus, the patriarchal argument that women are subordinated by religion is not completely true. Rather the proponents of patriarchy in the society use religion as a tool to conserve their dominance over females.
PATRIARCH & SOCIAL INEQUALITY TWIN BORN
From the above discussion it is clear that in our country women are victims of subordination (e.g. under male domination), exploitation (e.g. unequal pay, low wages), oppression (e.g. violence). The issues of son preference, discrimination against girls (e.g. food distribution, burden of household work, lack of education, freedom and mobility), dowry, violence against women (e.g. wife-battering, rape), unequal wage, discriminatory personal laws, the use of religion to oppress women, the negative portrayal of women in the media, all of these patriarchal practices exist.
Women in India are apparently guaranteed gender equality by the constitution and the general law. But patriarchal interpretation of the law continues the dominance of patriarchal attitudes. That is said the ‘legal situation of Indian women is far better than the actual situation’. Legally women are not to be discriminated against in any sphere say in familial, social, political, economic and cultural life and specific legal provisions are to be in place to deal with any in infringement of the equal rights of women.
Despite some recent reforms purporting to improve women’s status, there is no real change in the situation of patriarchal domination. It is also argued that the dominant patriarchal structures, with the interlinked forces of religion, tradition and seclusion, are sustained not only in women’s family life but also in every sphere of life. The main cause of women’s subordination are the negative impact of tradition, religion, patriarchy, seclusion or purdah and paternalistic attitudes in the socio-economic and legal spheres. But among these factors patriarchy is the prime cause and other causes are the by-product of patriarchy. As because the main problem of subordination is not really religion or tradition, but patriarchal influence and authority, it is men who have interpreted religion, molding it perpetuate the patriarchal domination which has strong links with the issue of gender inequality.
CONCLUSION
Thus, to raise women’s position, it is urgent to protect women from patriarchal subordination. It is patriarchal ideology which makes us feminine and masculine, which assigns different roles, rights and responsibilities to women and men. But those so-called ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ qualities are human qualities and not specific to either men or women. Since all works are done by both men and women, there is no reason to differentiate works on the basis of sex. Men made this differentiation of work only for their privilege, for their material benefit. Not every child in the family, just male child is allowed and encouraged to grow and flourish. So the culture which has been developed on the basis of gender should be changed. Family can play a great role by bringing a new dimension in reconstructing the ongoing socialization.
Moreover, if men become more like women i.e. look after children and old people, run homes etc. It will make man more gentle, sensitive and human and will relieve women of some of the burden of work. And if bravery, fearlessness, rationality, efficiency are considered ‘male’ then women should definitely imbibe and practice these traits. Our double standards of morality and our laws, which give more rights to men should also be reformed.
All that is needed is the recognition of justice and the courage to put an end to this injustice, male discrimination and double standard. Given the fact, that patriarchal oppression of women is rooted in the home/family sexuality, and man-woman relationship, so this patriarchal oppression and exploitation of women within families should be protected by “personal matter of families are addressed, analyzed to change.
Time has come to bring a radical change in the dominant ideology of patriarchy. This dominant ideology, which is produced from patriarchal structures is found in all areas of social relations. It is said that it is not enough to change only family value system, the laws of inheritance, property distribution, right over children should also be changed. To bring equality, it is essential to establish equal right between men and women in all respects of life. The responsibilities of women should also be equally distributed. In fact, I believe that real democracies and egalitarian societies can only be established if we practices democracy, equality and mutual respect within the family. Real peace in society can only be established if we experience peace at home.
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