Scaling
the Height of Patriarchy by Stephen
Juma
Women are
considered the pillars of their families, homemakers, and contributors in
society, but some continue to be subjected to oppression and discrimination in any
male chauvinist culture. They can, however,
prove to be resilient and independent people who can overcome these challenges
and rise to success in a patriarchal society.
Women of Africa and the African
diaspora have been through many challenges that include biased cultural
practices, gender discrimination, sexism, racism, economic dependency, among
others. Their problems always seem to stem from the fact that they are women.
Understanding Gender
Gender, according
to Butler is “a social role that is performed” Butler describes gender as
something you don’t have but as an identity constituted in time through a
stylized repetition of acts (Butler 2004, 157). Children grow up with a notion
that they are either boys or girls and internalize the social roles assigned to
their respective gender through their performative acts. Michael Milles offers varied definitions of
gender in the article “Distinction Between Sex and Gender.” According to the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,
"Gender
is cultural and is the term to use when referring to women and men as social
groups while Sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics
that define men and women.” Also, Gender
refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes
that a given society considers appropriate for men and women." (Milles Oct
20, 2011)
Young People were being
made to perform their roles according to their gender. From this perspective,
women were considered insubordinate to men because of the role they performed.
David Bwakali’s article on “Gender Inequality in Africa” points out that;
Traditional
African culture had clearly stipulated the different roles of men and women in
society. As boys herded their livestock, girls would fetch firewood and
water... Then marriage would come along and young men would grow into husbands
that fit the society’s description of a husband. The same applied to young
women. Thus would their lives be lived; in this age-old pattern more according
to the norms of the society and less according to individual aspirations.” (Bwakali 2001, 270)
The Condition of Women of Africa and the African
Diaspora
The pathway of a
woman of color is riddled with many obstacles as captured by Elizabeth Stanton
“The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpation on the
part of man towards women, having in direct object the establishment of an
absolute tyranny over her.” (Stanton 1848, 68)
In this excerpt, Stanton laments
how man has denied a woman her right to vote and voice her concerns in the
formation of law by taking away from her all rights in the property, even to
the wages she earns. She accuses the man of monopolizing nearly all the
profitable employments and denying her access to thorough education. The man
has gone further to relegate her to a subordinate role in the church and
endeavoring in every way to destroy her confidence in her powers to lessen her
self-respect and make her willing to lead a dependent and abject life.
Women of
Africa and the African diaspora have had to maneuver around questions of class
and problems of race. In many scenarios, they have been handicapped on the
account of their Gender. Deborah King in the article on “multiple jeopardies,”
asks whether Black women’s primary commitments with regard to activism should
be to fight against race, sex, or class” (king 1988, 43); to
establish what ought to be addressed by the women of color in their multiple
struggles.
Gender
discrimination is evident in education, economy and social relations. Women in sub-Sahara Africa face a number of
disparities in their social status. They have high rates of illiteracy hence
make up less than 10% of the formal labor force. Female genital mutilation is a
persistent practice in some rural areas. Women’s legal rights are blunted by
such practices as polygamy and Islamic law involving property ownership.
Molly
Melching in the book However Long the Night, (2013). narrates the ordeal of the Senegalese women’s
attempts to evade child /forced marriage and declaration to abandon the
centuries-old practice of female genital mutilation. “When the month passed and
no preparations were made for the cutting ceremonies, the women of Malicound
Bambara knew that perhaps they were truly on their way to doing what they had
never once believed possible, abandoning the tradition for good.” David
Bwakali’s’ article in Gender inequality in African claims that
The
gender equality scenario in developing nations is definitely not similar to
that of developed nations. Women in the latter have economic empowerment, which
gives them a powerful voice that demands an audience and positive actions.
However, women in developing nations are generally silent. Their voices have
been stifled by economic and cultural handicaps. (Bwakali 2011, 272)
Gender
is the Agenda by Otas Belinda shows the extent to
which education for girls is unbalanced in Africa.
In
2011, UNICEF estimated that 31 million girls of primary school age and 34
million girls of lower secondary school age were not enrolled in school, one in
four women globally are still illiterate, with most of them living in sub -Sahara
Africa. It's reported that in 47 out of 54 African countries, girls have less
than a 50 percent chance of completing primary school. (Otas 2015, 45)
The question of
Gender has continued to weigh heavily on women of Africa and the African
diaspora. They, however, have continued to fight against systems that propagate
gender inequalities and oppression which thrives upon gender discrimination,
class identity, and racial prejudices. With determination, some women have made
a great impact in advancing their rights and were successful in liberating
themselves from patriarchal ideologies. In essence, they also gained admission
into quarters previously reserved for the male gender.
Social behavior is
a strong driver of the marginalization of the girl child from getting equal
access to education. The mindset of the people in less privileged and rural
areas is the reason behind such alarming numbers of illiteracy. Zahn, Afshan,
in "Girl Child Education." Life & Style, Women,” claims that “the
majority of parents believe that by educating their son they are rightfully
investing in their future, whereas they feel that educating their daughter is
purely a waste of money because they eventually get married” (Afshan 2016, 3).
To change such patriarchal practices and retrogressive social attitudes,
awareness about the importance of female education and empowerment should be
encouraged. This is important because “educated mothers are better aware of
their kid’s nutritional needs, health care and education” (Afshan 2016, 4)
Girls should be educated to secure the future of the Nation.
For more on this topic watch our video on Gender Equality
References
Rosalyn Terborg-Penn and
Andrea Benton Rushing Women in Africa and the African diaspora: A reader
Washington, DC. Howard University Press.
1996:
Otas Belinda.
"Empowering African Women: Gender Is the Agenda." New Africa 49, no.
548 (March 25, 2015): 44-45. Accessed March 03, 2020.
Bwakali, David John.
"Gender Inequality in Africa." Sex Discrimination 279, no. 1630
(November 2001): 270. Accessed March 03, 2020.
Grimke, Sarah. Excerpt from
“Letters on the Equality of the Sexes,” pp. 65-67, In Feminist
Theory: A Reader. 1838.
Butler, Judith. Performative
Acts and Gender Constitution” in The Performance Studies Reader, pgs.
154-166.
King, Deborah K. 1988.
“Multiple Jeopardy, Multiple Consciousness,” Signs, Vol. 14,
No. 1, pp. 42-72.Do you have a story/article/poem to share? email thedecentconversations@gmail.com
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