Unmasking Patriarchy

1. Understanding the basic concepts of gender/sex and Sex role stereotypes

According to Kamla Bhasin Genders refers to the socio-cultural definition of man and woman, the way societies distinguish men and women and assign them social roles. The distinction between sex and gender was introduced to deal with the general tendency to attribute women’s subordination to their anatomy. The concept of gender enables us to state that’s ex is one thing but gender is quite another. Ann Oakley says that, “Gender is a matter of culture; it refers to the social classification of men and women into masculine and feminine.

Difference between these two terms

SEX	GENDER
Sex is natural	Gender is socio-cultural and it is man-made
Sex is biological; differences in genitalia and procreative function.	Gender is socio-cultural refers to masculine and feminine qualities, behavior patterns, roles and responsibilities.
Sex is constant	Gender is variable changes time to time, culture to culture and family to family.
Sex cannot be changed	Gender can be changed.

 

The key concepts sex and gender in modern feminist literature: (i) Sex is a biological designation and corresponds to male and female as biological/sexual definitions. (ii) Gender is a social designation referring to socio-cultural consequences or implications of sex, i.e. the particular cultural shape of sex (biological nature) into different roles, status and normative patterns of behavior attributed to men and women in a given culture. (iii) Gender can also be distinguished as a symbolic, ideological category referring to sexual myths, ideas about female and male nature, polarized philosophical and ideological definitions of masculine and feminine; these provide the foundation for socio-cultural inequality.

Sex Roles Stereotypes

In many Asian cultures the birth of a son is celebrated, the birth of a daughter is bemoaned; sons are showered with love, respect, better food and better health care. Boys are encouraged to be tough and outgoing; girls are encouraged to be demure and home-bound.

Men are considered to be heads of households, bread-winners, owners and managers of property, and active in politics, religion, business and the professions. Women, on the other hand are expected and trained to bear and look after children, to nurse the infirm and old, do all household works, so on.

2. Different theories of gender and origin of patriarchy

Patriarchy simply implies “male domination”, “male prejudice (against women)”, or simply “male power”. So, the term is simply “the absolute rule of the father or the eldest male member over his family”. Patriarchy is thus the rule of the father over all women in the family and also over younger socially and economically subordinate males. Literally, patriarchy means rule by the male head of a social unit (like family, tribe). The patriarch is typically a societal elder who has legitimate power over others in the social unit. It refer to the system of legal, social, economic and political structures through which men exercises collective sovereignty over women, children and less powerful males.

According to Robert M. Strozier, historical research has not yet found a specific "initiating event" of the origin of patriarchy. Some scholars point to the concept of 'fatherhood root' as the beginning of the spread of patriarchy as it came into being six thousand years ago. Domination of women by men is found even in the Ancient Near East as far back as 3100 BCE, as there were restrictions imposed on a woman's reproductive capacity. There is also the evidence of her exclusion from "the process of representing or the construction of history." With the appearance of the Hebrews, there was also "the exclusion of woman from the God-humanity covenant".

Feminist theory typically characterizes patriarchy as a social construction, which can be overcome by revealing and critically analyzing its manifestations. According to standard sociological theory, patriarchy is the result of sociological constructions that are passed down from generation to generation. These constructions are most pronounced in societies with traditional cultures and less economic development.

Some socio-biologists, such as Steven Goldberg argue that social behavior is primarily determined by genetics and that patriarchy comes into being more as a result of inherent biology than social conditioning. He also contends that patriarchy is a universal feature of human culture.

3. Analyzing the concerns of “ideal women”/ “man” in the patriarchal culture

Patriarchy not only explains how our society functions but also as to how it controls women. It is best defined as 'control' by men. Its opposite is 'matriarchy,' where women are in charge and act as heads of families. The culture of the majority of the countries including India is patriarchal as men arguably have power and control over women.

Women must constantly fight for their rights and at times even struggle just to survive without power. The majority of the world leaders are a living testimony to the fact that patriarchy reigns supreme. Nevertheless, given an opportunity, women can be as powerful as men are. For average women, on the contrary, it would be a distant dream to be on par with men simply because men have the advantage of a culturally conditioned mindset.

Sarojini Naidu, is considered to be an ideal women. During political activity she campaigned for women’s right. In 1917, she was involved in the campaign for women right’s lecturing or women’s emancipation and petitioning the secretary of state on women’s franchise rights, but her views were conservative as she had a traditional view of the ideal women. Moreover, she emphasis was on harmony and comradely cooperation between man and women in the common struggle for freedom and progress.

Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati (23 April 1858 – 5 April 1922) was an Indian social reformer, a pioneer in the education and emancipation of women in India. She was the first woman to be accorded the titles of Pandita as a Sanskrit scholar and Sarasvati after being examined by the faculty of the University of Calcutta.

Ramabai went to Khedgaon near Pune, where she had purchased 100 acres of land, and set up Mukti Mission. She provided housing to women and children attending the school. Widows were encouraged not only to be independent, but were taught a variety of skills – from carpentry to running a printing press, the kind of skill sets that women were barred from acquiring and learning then. She also designed a remedial curriculum which included subjects like physiology and botany. It also included learning about one’s own body and physical world around them. Industrial training, printing, carpentry, tailoring, masonry, wood-cutting, weaving and needlework, as well as training in farming and gardening was taught.

Pandita Ramabai was a truly remarkable woman who pioneered women’s education and rebelliously championed for women’s rights and empowerment. eminist scholarship remains in debt to the philosophy and work of Pandita Ramabai. Her vision continues to drive the feminist movement and scholarship even today, as it also continues to impact the lives of many women and young girls. She remains one of the most prominent women leader of Maharashtra and India.

Mother Teresa, Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation that had over 4,500 nuns and was active in 133 countries in 2012. The congregation manages homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis. It also runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, children's and family counselling programmes, as well as orphanages and schools. Members take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, and also profess a fourth vow – to give "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor."

Teresa received a number of honors, including the 1962 Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize and 1979 Nobel Peace Prize (first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize). She was canonised on 4 September 2016, and the anniversary of her death (5 September) is her feast day. Known for her extensive work for the poor and the downtrodden people.

She dedicated her life to working for the poor people of India. She received many awards in India and elsewhere in the world. Through her Missionary of Charities organization, she personally cared for thousands of sick and dying people in Calcutta. She also worked tirelessly 24/7 to eradicate poverty and improve lives around the world. She is frequently featured on any list of "women who changed the world."

Annie Besant, In 1893, touched the shores of India as a leader of the Theosophical Society. In India, Besant is widely known for her involvement in the Home Rule Movement and as president of the Indian National Congress, the chief political organisation in the Indian freedom struggle. Before entering into the political arena of the country, Besant was actively involved in the religious education of Hindu youths. After six years of establishing a college and a school for upper caste Hindu boys, she founded a school for upper caste Hindu girls in the city of Benares in the United Provinces of British India. The formal education of girls was in a nascent stage in the United Provinces compared to those in the presidencies of Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. One of the reasons behind this lag, particularly in Benares, was the deep-rooted orthodoxy which was either opposed to the formal education of girls or enforced restrictions on it. The life of Annie throws light on engagement with the question of female education not only in terms of physical access to school but also with regard to “what” the girls were being taught at the school.