For many years we have beenhearing this word, for many years we have been hearing this argument, by ‘we’ Imean men. That man is oppressing woman, that the basic human nature is sexist!So does this really exist? Or are females just insecure about their position inthe society?
There has been a theory putforward by Plato in which he clearly states that there is a soul and body thatconstitutes the human nature. Out of which, he says, the soul is related to thedivinity and the body related to mundane affairs. By divinity he means reasonand power of rational thinking and by body he means appetite, emotion, angerand etc.
And so Aristotle makes it morecontroversial by relating the male to reason and female to the emotion andother mundane affairs, which, according to Plato, are superior and inferiorrespectively. So the feminists have argued onthis presumption, of Plato, of reason and emotion being superior and inferiorrespectively. So my question is, isreason not superior? Or is appetite and emotion not inferior? Certainly,appetite and other related mundane characters are inferior. If we suppose for amoment that these characters are not inferior to reason then why today thereare theories like EQ? Which is the level a person can intelligently controlhis/her emotion. Why not controlling your reason and logics? Why make reasonand logic a criterion for intelligence and aptitude? Why not make appetite acriterion for intelligence? Certainly we, as a world and not as women and men,have accepted that these mundane feelings need to be curbed. We cannot letthese foster upon our minds. Certainly reason is to rule!
So why associate men with reason?And why associate women with mundane characters? We already have seen around usthat women are emotional! Its not what I am saying, its what we all have experienced!Lets take an example of a family. The father/mother is the judge of a civiliancourt of law and the son is the murderer.
CASE 1:
The son is bought to the court oflaw, and the father is the judge.
CASE 2:
The son is bought to the court oflaw, and the mother is the judge.
In which case do you think thereis a higher probability of justice being served? I think now we all know theanswer; in case 1 the chances are more because the male is usually dominated byreason rather than emotions. And the female is usually dominated by emotionrather than reason. Obviously justice will be served in both the cases, but Iam talking about the probability.
Of course there are exceptionalwomen in the world! But again you would agree that they are exceptional becausethey are decision makers and rational thinkers rather than being emotional andwhimsical. Emotion would get everybody nowhere.
So feminism, the movement, isjust either a fact as an inevitable reality or a myth as an argument. The womenand men who are falling in the domination of mundane characters are supposed tobe ruled! It’s not anyone’s fault that there are more women than men in thiscategory! It’s just a fact…
In the initial lines of your blog you ask a question....do the male have an oppressing approach towards women or not.....the answer to this very evidently is a YES! how many cases in a year do we see that a feudal lord or an illiterate man for that mater, "HONOUR" killed his own son because he thought, I repeat THOUGHT that he had a girlfriend? Do we even get to hear about such a case....No or a very few number of times I believe...But incase of women every now n then we get to hear such cases...A woman in our society is seen like something inferior to man. If she likes someone they kill her but they themselves don't even hesitate of pay s*x....they have the right to select their bride, but the bride doesn't get to select the groom. Ever wondered why? Male oppression is the answer. Now this was just one ignorant part of the society, ignorant as in "JAAHIL AWAAM"....coming towards the modern cities and countries and media. A woman in media is always seen with an eye full of lust. They are said to be of low moral and character values. But the hero acting just opposite her never faces the same attitude. e.g. Veena Malik after the FHM case has been thrown out of the Indian Muslim Community. Haven't the so called torch bearers of faith seen Mr. Shahrukh Khan enjoying X-rated scenes with the beauties of the world and playing homosexual pranks on stage??
ReplyDeleteI would conclude my comment with this that MALE OPPRESSION on women is no myth but a pure simple FACT in the prevalent society! :)
hhmmm A well explained problem , Nice article
ReplyDeleteali,excuse me for being harsh here,but your argument seems not only very vague, but you also seem to be confused about your argument since you've digressed from your question. You started off by asking if its merely a 'myth' that women are oppressed by men.Well, you only need to read the front page of any newspaper to answer that yourself. I'm rather surprised that you,being an educated and well-read person, could pose such a question,despite living in a society where female rape, murder, molestation,domestic violence honor killing, etc are the norm. According to the 2010 report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan,every third Pakistani woman is a victim of domestic violence. Need I say more? Unfortunately, many(if not most) men as well as many privileged women amongst us choose to close our eyes to the reality wwhich is glaring at our faces simply because it doesn't affect us.
ReplyDeleteTo counterargue the second part of your statement, i.e, that the 'basic human nature is sexist', well, thats a gross generalization about human behaviour.
Futhermore, Plato's theory about the division between the body and soul was long ago dismissed by many theorists as being invalid. Also,I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but most historical philosophers(as well as most other male theorists) are highly misogynistic in their views, and their theories are extremely hard to prove due to being based on assumptions. That in itself contradicts their claim that 'reason triumphs over emotion' since their own theories cannot be scientifically proven. After all, how can one 'scientifically' prove that reasoning is more valid than emotion?
There is a reason why God has designed men and women in a way that men use reasoning more while women tend to act upon their emotions,since that creates a healthy balance between the two sexes. It doesn't in any way make one sex 'superior' or 'inferior' to the other.
Another important thing that most of us are unfortunately fed in today's age is that science is the 'be all and end all' of knowledge. Who exactly is feeding us this notion? The world of science itself, right? So who are scientists to force their opinion on us?
I think its very important to think deeply about such matters before jumping to overly generalized and misinformed conclusions. Feminism isn't all about male bashing. That is a huge misperception. It is about fighting for the rights of women, the rights that we deserve as much as men do:)
MUNIBA:
ReplyDeleteThankyou for taking time for your valuable comment and reading the post.
Well muniba i clearly justified ruling of men over women! I didnt justify and would never even try to justify what news the paper has that you are talking about! in your comment you yourself are saying that its not only about male bashing...!
Now about the plato's theory, i still think its valid... I am a separate mind and a thinker. I do think that the human nature is made up of the soul and mind out of which soul is superior. I do know about the criticism from with in and with out on that theory :)
"There is a reason why God has designed men and women in a way that men use reasoning more while women tend to act upon their emotions,since that creates a healthy balance between the two sexes. It doesn't in any way make one sex 'superior' or 'inferior' to the other."
Exactly my point muniba... Thats why feminism as a movement is a myth...
Well about the digression... in the article, last para i answered the question... explicitely saying, the answer is: Women are not insecure about their position, but yes, feminism, the movement, is just either a fact as an inevitable reality or a myth as an argument"
Hope that answers your question :) dont worry i know this post has already been harsh enough.. This is just an opinion and i am always open to discussions and interventions :) Regards
Y MUHAJIR:
ReplyDeleteI think the above comment answers your question as well...
yo,but why are you calling feminism a myth?its a reality, a movement(although a disintegrated one now) by women to fight for disprivileged women's rights, as well as fight against the injustices carried out against many women in the daily course of their lives,such as rape, domestic violence, discrimination at work,etc.
ReplyDeleteThat is the cruelty of man! this part of feminism as something i may support. You are right. But the other oppression of man? and the wish of women not to be ruled by man? I am not a fan! ;)
ReplyDelete