Do we need feminism?
Have you ever wondered why feminism was needed in our society and why it started? The structures that exist in our society that create the identities of men and women, the structures that show us how a man should be and how a woman should be? The masculine and feminine nature that is told to us by our elders – has it always existed naturally, or is it shaped through history?
Social structures and ideas have always influenced each other in our history. Every idea that comes next is influenced by previous ideas until someone decides to break the chain and question the structures of society. Yes, feminism has also arrived in this way in our history when someone just decided to question the normalised ideas about the identity of women in society.
If we look at the history of ancient Mesopotamia, the gender constructs were structured in a way that education was only meant for men, while women were restricted from education. If a woman spoke for her education or social rights, her mouth was crushed with a fired rock. Today, women walk on the roads in protest of women’s rights, but the struggle started in ancient times when the punishment for speaking was so severe.
The Code of Hammurabi
This code was designed against women so that if a man’s wife has been pointed out because of another man, even though she has not been caught with him, for her husband’s sake, she must plunge into the river.
This side of history shows how women have always been considered as an object for honour, nothing else. If their man’s honour were in danger, they were supposed to sacrifice themselves. Doesn’t this sound similar to the era we live in? Do you think patriarchy has decreased with the time and struggles of women, or are we still living in those ancient times?
The Middle Assyrians’ laws about women
According to the history of Middle Assyria, a man may whip his wife, pull her hair, and bruise and destroy her ears. There is no liability, therefore.
Doesn’t this law seem similar?
Yes, the struggle continues till today.
The recent conditions of Afghanistan show similar conditions to the ancient history of women’s laws. According to Afghanistan’s laws, girls over 12 cannot go to school. Women are restricted from many government jobs and from playing sports.
Over recent years, the Taliban have issued more restrictions for women. Women and girls are now supposed to have a male chaperone (Mahram) to do all sorts of day-to-day activities. The Taliban have shut beauty salons where women can work and meet. The identity of women is shaped in a way in some of the areas of the world as something separate from humans, as a creature that doesn’t deserve to be treated as human, or we can say they are considered as objects (objects for the representation of honour, objects to sacrifice, to own).
In Afghanistan, women can’t go to universities; they can’t study and become doctors, which means there will be no female doctors or midwives to help the women of Afghanistan in childbirth, and just because of that, many women lose their innocent children.
This is not just a story of Afghanistan; this is the representation of women in many countries of the world that are still living like ancient civilisations.
What do you think after looking at the history and today’s conditions and comparing both? Do you think we need feminism in today’s society, or are our conditions better now? Is this modern world any better than the ancient Mesopotamians or Middle Assyrians?