Middle East and Patriarchy

¶ … Growth of Patriarchy in Ancient Societies Patriarchy is a term used to denote an ideological and social construct that deems the patriarchs (males) to be superior to females. In the patriarchal social system, men's role as principal authority figures forms a crucial element of social organization, with men holding authority over material assets, women, and children. This construct enforces femininity and masculinity trait stereotypes in communities, thus reinforcing unfair power relationships between males and females (Rawat 44).

This essay will discuss the role of diverse ancient civilizations in developing correlation factors associated with patriarchy's growth. In Walby's opinion, patriarchy comprises of six interdependent components that constitute the basis for exploitation, namely, the household, the State, violence perpetrated by males against females, paid employment, cultural institutions and sexuality (Walby 1-5). Walby's definition of a patriarchal household is the domestic environment in which the homemaker and her efforts towards smooth management of family affairs and needs are scorned, unappreciated and belittled.

At the domestic level, the husband represents the expropriating party. Patriarchy in paid employment deals with employment environments where females are given worse jobs, or accorded lesser pay compared to male colleagues for the very same position. The state's role in fostering patriarchy revolves around its support of patriarchal, capitalist, and racist interests, by deliberately not intervening or reacting slowly to complaints of bias against females (Rawat 44).

The component of violence, a disturbing occurrence, refers to discrimination and abuse of females due to the misguided belief that females are inferior and need to be subdued before males. This attitude typically leads to female abuse, a malice that society systematically experiences and tolerates, with the state looking the other way when it hears of instances of domestic abuse.

With respect to sexuality in patriarchal communities, heterosexuality is the norm and any other sexual inclination is viewed as a desecration of patriarchal values, thereby being punishable by society and the law. Patriarchal society defends female objectification, does not censure open male regard of females, and views females as instruments to gratify male desires. Finally, patriarchal relations within cultural institutions regulate female conduct in public, including dress code and freedom of movement (Rawat 44).

The patriarchal approach has traditionally been a dominant part of the social, political, economic, and legal organization of Chinese, Hebrew, Roman, Greek, Indian and other early civilizations. Different patriarchal civilizations are characterized by different extents of controlling and subjugating females. Hence, patriarchy is no constant, and the complicated, dynamic gender relations have evolved across different eras (Rawat 44).

Although females were largely considered on par with males in the Epic and Vedic eras of Indian history, reinforcement of patriarchal principles restricting females, their mobility, and sexuality occurred after the Vedic era (Medieval and Brahmanical ages). Folklore of post-Vedic India highlights the 'pure woman', self-sacrifice, self-effacing, etc. Society extensively recognized females' role as pious mothers and faithful wives. Manu laws also encouraged the subjugation of females. Indian patriarchal households considered the coming of a boy into the family as auspicious, over a female child's birth.

Appallingly, whereas boys were regarded as inheritors of family wealth and property, girls were termed "other's property" ('paraya dhan') (Uberoi 370-385). Family is a key factor in the development of hierarchical societal systems. Socialization's femininity and masculinity stereotypes have been internalized by females as well as males (Rawat 44-45). Female subordination in agrarian or kin-ordered societies was connected to the peasantry or kin group's reproduction and division of work based on gender. For instance, childbearing essentially represents a female labor task.

However, just as capitalist society doesn't regard a worker's fabricated goods as his property, patriarchal societies do not regard a female's 'products' (whether children or material goods) as her property. Rather, all her efforts become the patriarchal family's (particularly male relatives') property. A tendency towards male domination is innate in the relationship between pre-capitalist agrarian families and the government's and landlords' world, in reproducing kin-ordered groups. Classic patriarchal approaches demean women by regarding them as property of a sort.

Their honor represents the family's honor, which is largely dependent on their comportment and virginity (Moghadam 141). The development of class system in civilization, and the agrarian revolution, raised certain remarks of a world-historical overpowering of females. But this was withdrawn because of a narrative which argued that female subordination -- the development of patriarchy implemented by Near Eastern ancient legal standards -- facilitated state power and private property development there and everywhere else across the globe (Moghadam 141-142).

Furthermore, a clear divide existed between personal and public spheres of an individual's life. Within the household sphere, patriarchs enjoyed arbitrary influence over every female, child and younger male. Outside the household, male patriarchs shared authority based on other operational stratification codes. While nearly all males anticipated stepping into the patriarch role sometime in life, no woman could hope to hold official public posts of ideological, political, military, or economic power. At home, they could informally influence the male patriarch, but this was the limit of their power.

Such an arrangement ensured no room was left for collective female action, and females who wished for public influence could not proceed unless patriarchs allowed them to do so (Moghadam 142-143). Islam, just like the previous Semitic religions of Christianity and Judaism, was born into a highly patriarchal society. In fact, female oppression witnessed in certain Muslim communities originated in ancient times, with the introduction of patrilineal societies. Endogamy or a practice of marriage within the family set the scene for female oppression in patrilineal communities, long before Islam's advent.

Endogamy ensured animals and lands remained within the family. It also served to safeguard patriarchs' political and economic interests (Moghadam 142-143). Some argue that the Middle East (including Iran and Turkey), North Africa, and East and South Asia (rural China, North India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan) constitute the classic patriarchy "belt," marked by preference for sons, male domination, restricted female activity and conduct, and the female virtue-family honor link.

The gender system of the patriarchy belt's Muslim societies is characterized by sex-segregation and female veiling, legitimated by the Quran and the Hadith. Numerous communities preoccupied with the female virtue-family honor concept witness honor killings if any female dares to engage in actual or supposed sexual misconduct (Moghadam 143). It is highly imperative to remark, at this juncture, that Roman spousal relationships were dissimilar to that of the father and child. No Roman work that mentions alleged life-and-death authority has any reference to wives.

"Patriarchy" is not applicable to the spousal relationship. On the other hand, females belonging to Roman elite households usually handled family property and exerted influence over their families. "Paterfamilias" is a gendered word that denotes household management. This choice of word conceals at least certain females' relative empowerment. The paterfamilias concept considers females' and males' economic roles as complementary -- the wife dominates domestic life and occasionally even exercises influence over her husband.

This portrayal is corroborated by Greek and Roman household space analyses by feminist archaeologists of the third wave, who challenged the age-old idea of defenseless sequestered females by presenting proof of female influence when it came to certain important aspects of domestic life (Meyers 17-24). One can find evidence of ancient Greek females' participation in the arguably-political sphere of public religious events, as well as their leadership status in particular festivals or cults.

Additionally, Roman females actively participated in the mainstream cults of the age, rather than mere marginal female cults. Ancient inscriptions and iconography suggest other female community roles, depicting them in.