The Universality of Patriarchal Control Over Women
September 8th, 2008 by SocProf and tagged Gender, Health, Human Rights, Mass Violence, Patriarchy, Politics, Sexism, Social Inequalities, Social Interaction, Social Privileges, Social Stratification, Structural Violence, Symbolic Violence, Tribalism
I have posted before about the horrific story of an Austrian woman sequestered for 24 years by her father who raped her repeatedly and got her pregnant several times. This sad story was itself reminiscent of a similar case that had taken place in Austria several years before. So, there was some questioning as to what in Austrian culture could promote such behavior. There is nothing specifically Austrian about the patriarchal control over women and girls taken to pathological extremes. Indeed, my repeated postings on honor killings are testament to that fact. So, it is not surprising to see emerge three stories of patriarchal control from three different countries.
First, this story from Sweden:
Nine years of sequestration and mistreatment at the hands of a man without anyone noticing (which seems to be a common trait in such stories, which, in itself, is revealing). This woman has advanced MS, which has not improved as a result of such conditions, but which also made her more easily controlled since she had limited mobility. Besides, it’s not easy to fight back and escape when one weighs 35 to 40 kilos. She has been hospitalized in critical condition but seems to be improving now that she is receiving proper care. The man denies the accusations against him.
Well, at least, it is not an incestuous case, as opposed to the Austrian case mentioned above and the Polish case reported in the BBC:
The similarities are indeed striking. Again, the common thread is gaining absolute control over a woman or one’s daughter seen as sexual property. Take that as the pathological extension of the purity balls. These are clear illustrations of extreme forms of patriarchy, understood as the rule of the father over his children, especially daughters, but sons as well, here illustrated by exclusivity of sexual access to the daughter.
Finally, another day, another honor killing in Pakistan over a girl’s resistance to patriarchal rule, in this case, forced marriage, via Jonathan Turley:
Honor Killing: Parents Kill Girl Who Sought Annulment After She was Forced to Marry 45-Year-Old Man — at Age 9 « JONATHAN TURLEY via kwout
The countries and actual acts may vary in details and contexts, but the background is the same: girls and women are treated as objects of sexual satisfaction to be controlled to extreme extents by fathers and men. This is the universality of patriarchy whether it is expressed in mild paternalistic tones or in violent and barbaric ways. To be sure, there is misogyny involved in all these controlling practices, as Arthur Silber demonstrates with his usual passionately constructed arguments, blaming one man Augustine, for the hatred of women, seen as a the root of all evils in Christian-influenced cultures.
And Anglachel takes it from there just as brilliantly, showing how the Democratic primary and the developing General Election campaign are mixing gender, race and social class into a toxic brew of hateful contempt for the disadvantaged, using as examples Senator Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama and Governor Sarah Palin.
Posted in Gender, Health, Human Rights, Mass Violence, Patriarchy, Sexism, Slavery, Social Inequalities, Social Privilege, Social Stratification, Sociology, Structural Violence, Surveillance Society, Symbolic Violence | No Comments »
