In a country where women were once revered as goddesses—essential, free individuals—they are now subjected to various forms of oppression. Sometimes society uses overt force to undermine their social standing, while at other times, it employs more subtle gestures. It sounds bizarre, doesn’t it?
How did this transformation even come about?
The answer to this question dates back around 2,500 years when men and women collectively began to build a society in which a man ended up gaining all fundamental rights—political, social, economic, and sexual. This development led to the establishment of what we now recognize as a “patriarchal society.”
The inter-community exchange of women for marriage was the primary source of patriarchy. Women’s inferior status resulted from their biological role of producing and raising children. The development of farming and agriculture began this gradual, dramatic shift in the societal power structure. Although women had their proper rights and freedom at that time, as humans gradually shifted from tribal life to settling into communities, things began to change. What started as an attempt to organize daily tasks evolved into the formation of gender roles, which eventually led to women’s exclusion from education, positions of influence, or leadership.
This abuse of power and position in society resulted in enslavement. Female slaves were, in fact, the first slaves. Physical and professional male dominance over women became the new socially and culturally accepted norm. Staying at home to raise children and care for the home quickly became the only acceptable, and in many ages and places, the only allowable option for women.
I believe that patriarchy is not a war between ‘men’ and ‘women’. Instead, it’s a battle between two completely different sets of ideologies, both of which distinguish people based on jobs, sexual needs, political participation, etc. The only difference between the two is that one is so extreme it gives almost all its power to one gender, whereas the other gives “freedom” and “choice” to both (and/or all) genders and the power to create their own identity. In other words, the former restricts and binds people to unrealistic expectations, while the latter aspires to create a greater sense of harmony and balance between the two/all genders.
It can be interpreted that men, and even women, were responsible for the rise of patriarchy, and on the other side, women, and even men, are fighting this together. So, it’s a fight between two conflicting ideologies and not just about “men” and “women.” This also implies that women were themselves part of this chain of events and, in some ways, gave up control to men.
Laws were enacted to enforce this gender role delegation, officially determining women’s exclusion from education, law, and theory-formation, preventing their participation in legislation formation, and minimizing women’s presence in collective historical memory. The Hammurabi Code is a well-known example of patriarchal family model institutionalization. As a result, a male’s social status determines that of the female because women were not granted the same access and ability to gain power and influence as men. Even women considered “elite” or “well-off” were only so because of their fathers’ or husbands’ social standing.
Feminine figures began to fade as people developed and refined their cultural symbolism and religious doctrines. Goddesses once worshipped for their sexuality and fertility vanished in favour of the Abrahamic. Female sexuality was once praised for its life-giving power before being condemned as sinful. A woman’s power and influence were solely determined by her sexual ties, implying that sex was the only way for a woman to gain power or influence over herself.
The patriarchal power structure confines women to a domestic, passive, and ultimately powerless role, one from which they are unable to escape.
Men and women participate in the “play of life,” though men set the stage, write the lines, and play the lead roles. Women’s support roles are equally important to the production of the play, but their artistic vision is not considered or incorporated. The patriarchal power structure confines women to a domestic, passive, and ultimately powerless role, one from which they are unable to escape.
Matriarchy provides the radical re-imagining of the past, present, and future that is required to counteract centuries of systemized inferiority imposed on women.
Source – “Creation of Patriarchy” by Gerda Lerner