Women Bound by Religion
"Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them" (Oscar Wilde). As stated in this quote, all over the world women are restricted by their religions, from doing many things that men can do freely. An example would be to wear anything they want (pants), or pursue a career. Such situations are portrayed in various mediums including: Hillary Jordan's book When She Woke, Roland Joffé's film The Scarlet Letter, and Ida Lichter's article "Misogyny in the Muslim World: Bound by Culture or Religion?". In all three sources, religion is such a practice that imposes many restrictions on females, which results in women having to sacrifice their rights and face humiliation in front of society.
"In a society that tries to standardize thinking, individuality is not highly prized" (Alex Grey). Religion imposes many restrictions on women, which results in women having to sacrifice their individuality, in order to stay within the barriers of their religion. One example, from Jordan's book When She Woke, is when Hannah complains why it is ethically right for men to wear pants but not women; "She'd been taught that pants are inappropriate for girls because they are immodest, an explanation that had never made sense to her, given that pants, unlike all but floor-length skirts, covered a hundred percent of a women's legs" (Jordan 180). Hannah belongs to a very traditional Catholic family, where the females of the family, have to modestly cover themselves, and entirely get rid of their personal desires. For Hannah, that is to make sexy wedding gowns and to wear pants, but her parents taught her that it is not right for a women to wear them. Hannah is not able to express h...
... middle of paper ...
... make it her own. Religion and its teaching are the one thing that is holding Hannah back, and she has to sacrifice her identity because of her religion. Similarly in Joffé's film The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne a woman that has sex with a reverend, is accused of adultery, even though her husband is dead. She is her husband's property, for seven years after his death, and she may not remarry until then. Hester wonders if it is a good thing to be a woman, even the most powerful of them all. Even after his death, Hester carries the identity of her dead husband, she has no identity of her own. In both examples, religion forces many restrictions onto females, which results in women having to sacrifice their rights, especially the right to an identity.
"I grew up among strong women so I know what it's like to be loved and humiliated in a heartbeat"(Chris O'Dowd).
2) Hannah tells stories of her “other” life in which she attends school and looks forward to the weekends. As Chaya, her new friends are again shocked by the fact that she-a girl-attends school. Hannah explains that he...
Both el Saadawi and Al-Shaykh both show how perception and expression are both affected within the confines of politics, social opportunities, and male privilege depicted in their stories. Whether the reader is a follower of the feminist movement or not, it is very clear and easy to see that these women are not being treated with the respect that any human being deserves. The misogynistic stranglehold on society, especially in this part of the world, is excessive and avoidable in today’s world but it is very likely that the traditional, conservative ways of the past will continue to control and inhibit women from being able to be fully treated as equals for many years to come, perhaps even after this generation has
The exterior influences of society affect a woman’s autonomy, forcing her to conform to other’s expectations; however, once confident she creates her own
Hannah's attitude towards men is peculiar, for she feels no possessiveness towards them, and enjoys having multiple lovers. The presence of air in Hannah is evident from her relations with the opposite sex. "Her flirting was, low and guileless...the smile-eyes, the turn of the head-all so welcoming, light and playful." (42). Hannah's sweet, guileless flirting presents her as an innocent woman, and her playful manner demonstrates her child-like ways. Her amiability and charisma are evident because "...Hannah rubbed no edges, made no demands, made the man feel as though he were complete and wonderful just as he was...he (the man) swooned in the Hannah-light simply because he was." (43). Hannah is len...
Separate sphere ideology can very much be connected to this; what separate spheres are is that they are the domestic spheres that separate men and women. Men inhabit the public sphere, whereas women inhabit the private sphere, or sometimes referred to as the “proper sphere.” Hannah falls under a third sphere, I will refer to it as “Hannah’s Sphere.” Hannah’s Sphere, is different, whereas like the public sphere it is masculine, has conflict, and physical work; but like the “proper sphere” it is also feminine, consists of housework, and compassion. It is to say that in a binary society, such as Victorian England and even today, everyone placed themselves in one of the two, but Hannah did not care for that, she did as she pleased for her own self and was viewed as
She also expresses her desire not be limited within her Church because of her gender. She confesses to Irie that “‘Sometime I tink I could be one of dem dat teach, you know? Even though I am a woman...I feel like the Lord talk to me in a special way’” (Smith 321-322). She later reiterates this admission to Irie by telling her that “‘I still hope to be one of de Anointed evan if I am a woman. I want it all my life. I want to be dere wid de Lord making de laws and de decisions. [...] ‘I gat so tired wid de church always tellin’ me I’m a woman” (Smith 338). Despite all the factors in her life that tell Hortense that she be submissive, she has an insatiable need for agency. She also tells Irie that “‘My mudder was strong-willed depp down, and I’m de same. Lord knows, your mudder was de same. And you de same’” (Smith 338). Hortense expresses a legacy of strong willed Bowden women to Irie--a legacy of women who were subjugated by the men in their worlds--whether that be because of colonialism of religion--but who ultimately rejected that role. Hortense and the matriarchal structure and legacy of her family undermine the patriarchal expectations set forth by her fundamentalist Jehovah’s witness
The constant smear remarks from media headlines are chiseled into the minds of Westerners and no amount of “educated [and] articulate women fulfilling the modest conditions of the hijab can do little to dispel the myths” (Stacey). She writes how even when these women are simply placing their focus on the spiritually constructed values rather than socially constructed ones they still may be labeled as oppressed. Indeed, the majority of the women in the world have the free choice to where a hijab or not. The Gallup Poll mentioned earlier actually concludes that that “most women in the Muslim world are well aware that they have the same capabilities and deserve the same fundamental rights as men”
There are many socially constructed beliefs that help feed gender inequality. One of the primitive and initial source that influences gender inequality is tradition developed by religion.
Nothing simply begins. Everything needs something else in order to develop and live continuously. Fire needs wood to burn, water needs heat to boil, and the women’s right movement needed abolition to begin the real fight. The women’s rights movement of the nineteenth century emerged out of abolition activism because it was not until after abolitionist groups formed and began fighting slavery that women began to realize they had no rights themselves and began their own fight.
Throughout this essay it will be discussed how female representations affects society, what has changed, if has changed during the years. Representations of women were a crucial subject of discussion especially in the concepts of the gaze that often refers to women as objects of the active gaze. The gaze establishes relationships of power, representing different codes such as dominance and subjugation, difference and otherness (Sturken and Cartwright 2009: 111).
Lila Abu-Lughod’s article titled, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” takes a closer look at the problematic ethnocentric approach many have when trying to gain an understanding of another culture that may be foreign to that individual. In this analytical paper, Lughod looks at women in Islam, specifically the treatment of women and how it might be utilized as a justification for invading into a country and liberating its people. The country Lughod refers to in her article is Afghanistan, and Lughod points out the misunderstanding from the people to the Bush administration like First Lady Laura Bush who believed that intervention was necessary to free women from the captivity of their own homes. It is important to consider the role that different lenses play into all of this, especially when one’s lenses are being shaped by the media. Depictions of covered women secluded from society leave a permanent image in the minds of many, who would then later support the idea of liberation. This paper will discuss that the practice of using propaganda when referring to the lifestyle in the Middle East is not exclusive to the U.S; rather it has been utilized throughout history. Additionally, we will take a closer look on the importance of symbols, such as veils in this case; help to further emphasize the cause to liberate. Finally, we will analyze Lughod’s plea towards cultural relativism and away from liberal imperialism.
Introduced as the novel’s protagonist, Hester Prynne is faced with the dilemma of finding and expressing her true identity in the face of a strict Puritan society.
Objectivity towards women has always been rooted to sexuality. Men and women are distinctly different in many aspects not just sexually, however knowing this has placed objectivity on both sexes more specifically women. The knowledge of differences can be transferred into further opinions and judgments which can lead to discrimination, sexual bias, and inequality against women.
The role of women in religious scripture dictates an inferior position in society. Beginning with the creation of Adam and then Eve, as his helpmate. Her purpose was that Adam would not be lonely. This origin provides the ground work for inequality of genders on the basis of religious scripture. The roles prescribed determined that women should be in a subordinate position to man. The female role and relationship with God is defined by the various books of the Old and New Testaments, the reported actions of Jesus Christ, and finally the Qur'an.
Through the entire history we saw how human beings were fighting for power and their rights. Men or women, they were looking for power. Some people wanted that power to use it in a wrong way, for example, slaving others or steal people’s belongings. Other wanted that power so they can be equal. People of color wanted that power to be equal with white people, in most cases, and women wanted that power so they can be equal to men. It was not an easy journey and as we can still see it today all the problems are not fix yet and so there’s still women out there, fighting constantly, so we can all be equal.