|
Rise of Feminism
by Anwar Shaikh |
Man, The Mouse
The Bible (Genesis: 1-3) states that Adam
defied God to obey Eve. This episode describes an immortal truth about the
relationship between man and woman:
a. Seeing Eve, Adam exclaims joyfully: "This
is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh .."
It means that woman is closer to man than
anything else, and therefore his greatest pleasure.
b. This is why that man wants woman desperately
and is even prepared to disobey God to please her. Thus her displeasure
is man's greatest fear, which makes him a mouse in relation to woman.
However, man's concern for woman is not reverential
but functional i.e, she is the source of carnal delight, man's greatest
pleasure. Therefore, he wants her at all costs. Unfortunately, his methods
of acquiring her, have been more foul and less fair. This is what reduced
her to the status of a bondswoman. Despite continual oppression by man,
she has been fighting back to retrieve her human rights. The article:
"Rise of Feminism" traces the steps, leading to woman's victory. |
RISE OF FEMINISM
Feminism means, advocacy of women's rights
with a view to liberating them from disabilities, which have contributed to
their lower status in relation to man. In this sense, not only a woman believing
in the feminine cause is a feminist but a -man caring about female equality may
also be called a feminist.
Feminism, as we know it, is a recent event, and one is
inclined to think of it as a permanent way of life. Some men, especially from
the East, are baffled by it and cannot believe that male supremacy, which has
been there since inception of civilisation, can wither away for ever; they deem
it a passing affair, hoping that man will assert his ascendancy in due course.
There is an episode of Egyptian history which may have
some value in this context. The honour of restoring female dignity i n antiquity
goes to Egypt, and not Rome. It was in Egypt that marriage was considered an act
of adoration to womanhood; by a custom which became firmly rooted, it was
husband who took the vow of obedience to wife at the time of entering the
marriage-contract. Contrary to the modern traditions, wooing was considered
woman's prerogative; it was she who wrote him emotive letters, sought his
friendship, asked for love trysts, and proposed marriage. Ladies' privilege to
be pretty, and conquer men with the beguiling force of beauty, both physical and
moral, was acknowledged. They wore transparent robes of seductive character,
which served to flash their fleshy treasures. The appeal of their diaphanous
garments was magnified by the lustre of matching jewellery, pleasing and
perplexing simultaneously.
Love matches, as they blossomed into marital unions,
usually lasted. Divorces were rare, and both man and woman could dissolve a
marriage. Both sexes had substantive rights recognised by the law. Woman's share
in matrimonial property was one-third. She initiated and performed all those
legal acts that a man could. Feminine prestige is confirmed by the fact that
when a free woman married a slave, he became a free man. Whereas in other
religions, past and present, woman was held polluted by menstruation, and thus
looked down upon as inferior and unfit to perform divine rites, many Egyptian
women are known to have acted as official chantresses of the God Ammon, who rose
to become the universal God like Allah or the Christian God.
The honour for a woman to become Queen, was essentially
Egyptian in nature and character. We have heard of the famous Queen Cleopatra
but the story of the more successful Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut is not well
known. She crowned herself in 1503 B.C., as the pharaoh and adopted a Horus
title associated with the pharaonic tradition. Not only did she glorify herself
with the regalia of a pharaoh, but also wore a false beard to command the
dignity of any male ruler. She proved herself to be every inch a queen whose
authority was wholeheartedly accepted by her courtiers. She ruled Egypt for
twenty-one years, from 1503 to 1482 B.C., with as great a skill, strenuity and
splendour as did any pharaoh before or after her.
This phenomenon of feminism, which rose in Egypt,
collapsed, and the dignity of womanhood perished with it for many centuries to
come. What was the cause of it? One can think of many reasons such as conquest
of Egypt by Iran and Greece where male chauvinism flourished, rise of religions
such as Christianity and Islam, overreaching by women, male jealousy, and so on.
However, modern feminism is the product of substantive
changes which affect life throughout the world. Unless these change are
reversed, feminism cannot be uprooted, though its dec ine is likely to be
brought about by the excessive female behaviour. Neither the author is
ill-disposed to sexual equality nor is this article concerned with the fall of
feminism. On the contrary, it seeks to trace the causes leading to the growth of
feminism:
1. Pondering over such causes, leads one to the same
sources which contributed to the rise of male chauvinism. The law, both divine
and secular, as in case of male ascendancy, seems to be a factor in the spread
of feminism.
One can treat the crowning of Elizabeth, in 1558 as the
starting point of feminism. Of course, womanhood during that period was
generally, devalued, degraded and depressed, for having only purpose of life -
to be bossed, bullied and battered by man. Yet the succession in England of
Elizabeth to Mary was a spectacle, which remained unnoticed by the European
history. Mary, as some historians believe, might have been a kind-hearted woman
in her private life, but as a queen, her curtness, cruelty and callousness
earned her the title of "Bloody Mary," which must have convinced
people that a woman could be as ruthless and courageous as a man in expressing
his will. Her sister, Elizabeth, set so glorious d record of cunning and
patriotism, especially in advancing the cause of her people, that she can safely
be declared the greatest ruler of England. This strange experience could not
have remained unnoticed by the elite of this island. I Elizabethan period was
marked by the parliamentary struggle for transferring power to the people.
Though a silent revolution it was, it did not by-pass the social conscience in
other fields. This is quite visible in the sphere of law. The English mind had
begun to speculate in terms of natural law i.e., the law. of reason, instead of
treating it as the tool of command and government. This is confirmed by the
famous case of Bonham in 1610, containing the judgement of the celebrated
English Jurist, Lord Coke. He observed: "When an act of Parliament is
against right or reason or repugnant or impossible to be performed, the common
law will control it, and adjudge such act to be void."
The English principle of treating law as rational, and
not the tool of convenience, gradually became a tradition, which was honoured in
other countries as well. The American Declaration of Independence came to be
founded o,n human rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These
rights concerned both man and woman and could be guaranteed by the law based on
reason only. This is what gave judiciary the power to review legislation and
declare what was constitutional and what w,as not. So, the legislation had to be
according to the "eternal principles of justice which no government has a
right to disregard."
This change in legal thinking was more rapid and
effective in the Untied States than in Britain, making the former birthplace of
Women's Lib. The English law has been remarkably affected by feminine bias:
cases like Eves and Eves (1975) and the Matrimonial Causes Act, 1973, prove it.
Since the English law is practised in a large number of countries, its feminine
influence has been noticed far beyond the frontiers of England.
In this connection, one should also pay a tribute of
reverence to the French revolution, 1789, based on demand of equality, liberty
and human rights. This brought a change in general and legal thinking, which
raised the status of womanhood.
2. As a corollary of the above discussion, one may add
that the rise of secular law has added to the decline of Divine law, which has
dominated fate of woman since the dawn of civilisation. This phenomenon started
in England during the days of Henry VIII who wanted to destroy the Papal power,
believed to represent the Divine Law. The parliamentary acts though paid lip
sympathy to the laws of Christ, in fact, contradicted them and aimed at their
gradual abolition. As the Parliamentary legislative process matured, law- making
became the duty of man, barring God's interference in human affairs.
Reformation, of which Henry VIII was an active agent,
eventually weakened the grip of Christianity over Western mind, affecting
thinking and living of the people. The East, dominated by the West, naturally
followed the social pattern. No doubt, Islamic countries have always claimed to
be the custodians of Divine Law, which is said to be perfect and eternal.
However, the Divine Law in these lands has never worked, and is totally obsolete
now. But, as the faithful are completely conditioned to their religious tenets,
it is much easier to manipulate them in the name of religion than reason, which
needs proof and demonstration of honesty. For this reason, politicians and
priests, keep paying verbal deference to the Divine Law but show it
disrespcct through their deeds, demeanour and
deportment. I or example, in Islam, woman is a household chattel and is
forbidden to participate in public life but several countries such as India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey, which practice this religion, have had women as
their head of state.
Religionists are desperate to maintain their hold on
people's minds, no matter, what it takes to achieve this goal. In the East, such
as in Pakistan (India) Iran and Afghanistan, bloody revolutions have been
engineered for this purpose, and in the West, the Church has ordained women
priests and set up sex-centres to advise young people about the use of
contraceptives. Yet they call it Christianity!
3. Another factor of feminine growth is the
emancipation of women through democracy. Liberty is the basic human right. A
society which grants liberty to men only, denies liberty to all, because in this
situation men become tyrannical, and thus destroy the concept of liberty. Unless
liberty is for all, irrespective of sex, race, colour and creed, it is not real
liberty.
Of course, it was the United States (Wyoming), which
accorded women suffrage in 1869, and New Zealand granted them electoral equality
with men in 1893, but this phenomenon really gathered momentum in the 20th
century. Finland took this step in 1906; Norway followed in 1913; Denmark and
Iceland in 1915. After the First World War, this process was accelerated: the
Netherlands and the Soviet Union granted electoral parity to women in 1917,
Germany in 1919, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Sweden in 1918 and Great
Britain in 1928. Many other countries followed suit during the interwar period.
among them were Union of South Africa, Spain, Brazil, Thailand (Siam), Ceylon,
Cuba, Turkey, Burma, Romania and the Philippines.
4. One remarkable contribution to this effect has been
made by the scientific c advancement which has nearly rendered inoperative
Sigmund Freud's famous dictum that "anatomy is destiny"
Child-bearing has been considered the main function of
woman since time in memorial. About a century ago, when the rate of infant
mortality was excessively high, she was expected to bear 10-15 children in quick
succession, which she did. A woman, who had to go through such a torturous
routine for the survival of human-kind, had no time to think about herself. The
thought of personal liberty was not only alien to her but also repugnant. If she
were to accept this ideal, who was to look after her children?
The cause of this attitude was her anatomy; her
conjugal duties led to her pregnancy. Now, the Pill, and variety of
contraceptives have given her a high degree of control over her anatomy. She
does not have to bear children against her will. In fact, she can live like a
man if she so chooses. This has also affected her psychology; she is no longer
all-tenderness. Though mothers still love their children, "self-care"
seems to have become the motivating factor. Women, free from anatomical
encumbrances, have become man's competitors in most fields of life.
5. Economic opportunity is yet another factor in the
growth of feminism. In addition to carrying the household burden, women have
always acted slavishly in agrarian economies, yet denied the reward of labour:
it all went to the husband, and she sweated just for her maintenance. Her
economic dependence on man, has possibly been the biggest cause of her civil
disabilities. With the inception of Industrial Revolution, women's status
started changing. Since the Elizabethan days, the English homes had become
workshops but as the nineteenth-century approached, not only the technical
skills became colossal but demand for the products of these skills also grew
considerably, giving birth to factories, more suited to the ideal of industrial
change. The new culture affected the English family life, and as a result,
countless people left their homes to work in the cities and mines. As women were
cheaper to hire and easier to fire, demand for their services rose rapidly.
After a long period of exploitation, as the law championed the cause of their
welfare and safety, women began to realise their importance as workers on the
factory floor and in offices. As the wheel of time rolled forward, so did the
feminine desire for dignified employment and entrepreneurial status. Having
played a remarkable part in the domestic economy during the Second World War,
women became conscious of their industrial importance, and started equipping
themselves with secretarial, technical, legal and accountancy skills. This fact
has changed the way of life to such an extent that it has become difficult for
any man to support his family without his wife having a full- time or part-time
employment.
As a result of this economic opportunity, a woman is
not only a lawyer, accountant, doctor, teacher, engineer, councilor and member
of parliament, she has also become an explorer, mountaineer, pilot, racing
driver, adventurer, wrestler and boxer. She is no longer the "fair-
sex" in the true sense of the word, and is considered as the "tougher
sex" for her resistance to both man's will and disease, which have extended
her lease of life compared to that of man.
Even a more stunning aspect of modern woman is her
desire to fight. Among the American bombers in the Gulf War were female pilots.
Gone are the days when timidity was a symbol of womanhood and female tears
gripped man's heart. She has become a combatant - ready to fight her way
through.
6. Women's Lib. seems to have sharpened man's sexual
desire. He has always been fascinated b~ female beauty; his adoration for
sculpture and poetry testifies to this fact. All the mythologies which
culminated into religions, exerted tremendous influence on man's mind owing to
their sexual appeal: the beauty of the Greek goddess Aphrodite and her carnal
favours, lent her the grace to be worshipped in the east and west by her
devotees; attraction of apsaras to the Hindus and of houris to the Muslims have
mellowed the hearts of the faithful, who will do anything for the company of
these celestial nymphs. There is no proof of their existence, yet their mention
has accelerated heartbeats of the believers. Compared to these myths, the modern
woman has raised herself to the status of a real heavenly nymph. (Gone are the
days when women dressed themselves t~ be drab and dowdy for expressing their
meekness and modesty as compliance to the divine commandments, and to impress
man with their piety, purity and probity. This depressing sight, which they
usually presented, sharpened men's desire to apsaras and houris, adept in the
art of self-beautification. The political franchise coupled with economic
affluence, stirred woman's imagination to replace the image of celestial nymphs
with the majesty of her own beauty, which could be enhanced manifold by the use
of face powder, lipstick, foundation cream, blusher, mascara, eye-liner,
eye-shadow, nail varnish, including cosmetic surgery to improve her face and
breasts. Consciousness of self-care has augmented the feminine fervour for
dieting and calisthenic exercises. The use of gaudy fashions, jewellery, hairdos
and playful trysts on beaches in bikinis, has nearly strangled masculinity.
The men who enjoy sexual provocation cannot suppress
women, determined to achieve equality.
7. Change of sexual peculiarities in men and women, are
adding to the growth of feminism.
Self-exhibition has always been associated with woman's
nature. Being the "fair-sex," it has been held that frailty is part of
her disposition, which entitles her to use flirtation, pretence, prevarication,
deception n, cunning and fabrication as genuine tools of self-defence. It is the
use of these traits which makes her enigmatic, and her "yes" means
"no" and vice versa.
Her metamorphosis into tougher-sex has made her
outspoken and forthcoming; she is straight, staunch and stern. Her right to
work, own property, divorce at will and the power to charge her husband with
rape, carrying harsh penalty, has changed her spousal role into that of a
competitor. She has developed masculine character. Dressing themselves like men
and having short hair is a comlmon experience these days. Like men, women have
become rough- spoken and lavish in the use of swear-words. It was believed that
"mounting" is a part of maleness, but now women perform this function.
Man is becoming more afraid of woman every day. As a
result, he is developing feminine character; he is beginning to use the same
jewellery and cosmetics; his use of scents and after-shave speak loud and clear.
Worse still, there is a new breed of men who call themselves
"house-husbands" (compared to housewife. They feed babies, change
nappies, cook, clean, wash, polish women's shoes and carry their handbags.
Since men and women are developing features which may
eliminate their psychological differences, it is likely that they will lead to
biological similarity, if the modern trend of Women's Lib. continues to progress
at the same level.
8. Social Security is also one of the major
contributors to feminism. Man has been considered the breadwinner since
inception of civilisation despite the fact that woman has worked harder than he
has: she has kept the house and also acted as the unpaid dairy-maid and
farm-assistant. Man may have shared the reward of labour with her but has
retained the control of wealth legally and socially. This fact kept woman
dependent on him, thus depriving her of feminine rights.
Over the last four decades, social conditions have
changed considerably in countries like Great Britain where the State has
accepted welfare of its people as one of its basic duties. Everybody has
benefited from the state handouts, and women have probably fared better than
men. Realising the availability of Social Security benefits, women have become
conscious of their human rights and are not willing to submit to the tyrannical
will of their husbands. Again, in a compassionate country like Great Britain.
people have a soft spot for children. Since woman as a mother can get almost
everything gratis, she is inclined to do without husband, it is not unusual of
her to boss and even molest her partner. Since spousal laws have become
woman-oriented as it is obvious from the rape laws and police- powers to
interfere in conjugal affairs, women's attitude towards their partners have
become harsh and uncompromising. Though it was never the purpose of
reform-seekers this is how feminism has turned out to be.
9. Education has made important contribution to the
growth of feminism. Gone are the days when ignorance was bliss. Women were
deliberately kept illiterate by their families because men would not readily
accept educated women as their spouses. Knowledge meant the ability to argue and
criticise. Until the middle of the 20th century, a man who could not command his
wife, and if necessary enforce his behests with stick, swearing and slashing,
was not though: of as a man-proper. No parent was prepared to enhance the
nuptial hazards to daughters. Even in higher circles, the ladies were given
shallow education to be able to act as an ornament for their husbands, who could
command them at will.
Now, the situation has been changed completely; girls
are entitled to the same curriculum as boys. As a general rule, they go to the
same school and are instructed together irrespective of whether the subject is
sex or sociology.
The most important point is the nature of knowledge. In
earlier times, woman's social status was based on the mythological tales of Eve
and Pandora but now it is founded on scientific facts. The old fiction that
reproduction is the miracle of man, and woman is just a back seat passenger,
does not hold good any longer. An educated woman knows the mystery of her
chromosomes which carry hereditary information in the form of genes. She also
understands that woman is a half-partner in procreation, and man's role is not
superior to her's as drummed up by religion. In fact, conceiving, carrying and
delivering make her the greater partner. Again, she has found out that sex of a
baby is a changeable affair, which sounds the death knell of masculine
superiority.
10. Perhaps, the major cause for the growth of feminism
is the zeal of women who have become man-haters for one reason or another, and
also find it an effective weapon for realising their wishes to gain wealth and
weal, which may be difficult to win through wisdom and wizardry.
In the beginning, I said that the origin of feminism
could be traced to the Tudor Queens of England because no such phenomenon had
occurred elsewhere in the East or West. Having expressed my own opinion, I
should also state what other scholars have said on the subject. Feminism, as a
definite phenomenon, has been ascribed to the French philosopher and
revolutionary, Condorcet. It is because in 1790, he wrote: "The Admission
of Women to Full Citizenship." It is doubtful if this essay had an effect
on the revolutionary mind of France owing to the chauvinistic attitude of
Napoleon towards womanhood. May be, this could be taken as the starting point in
this field. During 1792, in England, appeared Wollstonecratt's Vindication of
The Rights of Woman. However, it was John Stuart Mill's book known as Subjection
of Women, published in 1869, which provided fillip to the feminist movement in
Great Britain.
Gradually, feminism became an international movement in
the West, influencing the rest of the world. Now it is generating similar
friction between man and woman as exists between cat and mouse or a believer and
unbeliever. Feminists think that no respectable woman should call herself a
woman because the word woman contains the element of man in it i.e., wo+man =
woman. Thus natural dichotomy of the human race into man and woman must be
abolished and everybody should be called "human."
The truth is that man is afraid of woman. To overcome
this tear he succeeded in turning her into a household chattel through religious
and political manipulations. Being human, woman possesses the natural desire to
be free. Her dare, deviltry and determination have borne fruit, and she feels
retributive for the past sufferings, whereas man has withdrawn into a world of
make-believe pretending that he is still the boss. It has given birth to spousal
strife, which I have described in my book "Sexual Conflict," mainly in
the form of true short stories. I will start its serialization in the next issue
of Liberty" which the readers may find pleasing and informative.
|
