Saturday, October 25, 2008

Gender Roles in Third World Countries

Through the first timeline on passed/past, where I was looking at Hindu funerals, I came across the concept of ‘Sati’. This is the act of immolating the widow of the deceased on her late husband’s pyre, often against her wish. The literal translation of the word is ‘true’, and it is derived from the traditional dialect of Sanskrit. The word is related to the act through the belief that a wife is always to be truthful and loyal to her husband, and she is expected to willingly sacrifice herself once he is dead so that she can continue to be with him and serve him in his life after death. People continued to practice the ritual of Sati even after it was banned by the British Government in 1829. The law was reinforced in 1956, after which Sati was carried out much more discreetly, mainly in the rural areas of India. Although the practice of Sati is almost obsolete now, there still have been some highly controversial cases in the recent past where it has been put into practice. One famous case took place in a village in Madhya Pradesh in 2002 where a man was taken into custody for abetting his sister’s death on her husband’s pyre.

On the other hand, in the Hindu culture a widower is expected to remarry in order fulfill his duty to God. Getting married and producing children is a part of the ‘Grihastha’ phase of life, which is one of the four main phases a man should follow in order to lead a complete life. This differentiation between the correct way of living life for a Hindu woman and a Hindu man led me to think about how society is designed, not only in India but in all under-developed and developing countries. For example, in China, women had to have their feet bound in order to be a part of the society. And in parts of Africa, women went through, and are still undergoing, major genital mutilation when they hit puberty.

Foot binding started circa tenth century and ended in the early twentieth century. It is a tradition that continued on for about a thousand years before it was banned in 1911 by the new Republic of China Government. Although the exact origin of foot binding is unknown, it is believed that the practice was enforced by a Chinese Emperor in 960 AD who thought that women with smaller ‘lotus-shaped’ feet were much more feminine and graceful. Initially foot binding was contained to the royal family alone, after which it was followed by the wealthy families in China, and it soon spread to everyone. The process of foot binding started when the girl was anywhere between the age of four and six. It was done at this age so that the feet did not have much time to develop, and the bones were still relatively malleable. The mother was usually the one to carry out the process, by first soaking her daughter’s feet in warm water or animal blood and herbs, depending on what they could afford, then by cutting her toenails as short as possible before breaking the four smallest toes on both feet. Bandages were then wrapped around the toes and pulled tightly towards the heel, essentially bending the feet in half (Image 1). The bandages were removed and rebound tighter every couple of days for about ten years to ensure that the feet stay small, about 5 inches long (Image 2). Usually diseases and infections followed foot binding, and depending on the severity, many a times this resulted in death. Other health problems arose such as low hip bone density, which led to fractures.

This painful tradition was carried on for centuries because men would refuse to marry women who did not have their feet bound. All the mothers would refuse to let their sons marry women with ‘clown feet’. This was partly because no man wanted a strong, independent woman. Foot binding was a way to divide men and women by crippling the women and making them weak, both physically and mentally. Men would dominate over their partners, and women would believe that they need to be taken care of. They were almost perceived as objects that were supposed to look beautiful at all times.

Foot binding was more than just a fashion statement, it was a way of living for over a billion women. It was identified as an art that was a significant part of the society, and was deeply enriched by the Chinese culture. It gave a woman and her family a higher social status, making her more desirable. It was a custom that started out to define beauty but ended up defining the society and its norms.

A similar concept was implemented in African societies and tribes, where women were physically weakened so that they could be dominated by men. Female genital mutilation (FGM) was, and still is in many parts of Africa, very popular. The World Health Organization has estimated that between a 100 and 130 million females have been subjected to FGM, and at present a further 2 million girls are at risk each year; approximately 6,000 per day. Female genital mutilation means the removal of part, or all, of the female genitalia. The most severe form of this is infibulation, which consists of clitoridectomy and excision, then stitching the rest of the vagina up. Clitoridectomy is when all or a part of the clitoris is removed, and excision when the inner labia is cut off. The outer labia is trimmed to create a rough surface that can be stitched together to cover the vagina. A small hole, usually the size of a head of a matchstick, is left open to allow urine and menstrual blood to pass. Less severe forms of FGM consist of only clitoridectomy and/or excision.

The effects of genital mutilation can undoubtedly lead to death due to susceptibility to several chronic infections and diseases. Along with the extreme pain and discomfort, infections such as intermittent bleeding, abscesses and small tumors, urinary tract infections, stones in the bladder and urethra, kidney damage, reproductive tract infections, pelvic infections and infertility can be a direct result of clitoridectomy and excision. HIV is commonly spread by these procedures too, because the same instruments are used on several females without being sterilized. The first sexual intercourse for infibulated women takes place after a painful dilation of the opening left after the mutilation. In most cases it is necessary to cut the hole a little bigger before intercourse, which is usually done unskillfully with a blade by then woman’s husband. The outer labium also has to be cut apart during childbirth. It is important that this is done or perineal tears can occur when the woman is giving birth, which usually results in death. After giving birth, women are often reinfibulated to make them ‘tight’ for their husbands. The constant cutting and restitching of a woman's genitals with each birth results in tough scar tissue in the genital area, and makes her much more susceptible to diseases.

A reason why the practice of female genital mutilation started was because women were seen as the weaker sex, which meant that they were much more likely to be possessed by evil spirits. Genital mutilation, especially infibulation, was believed to be a way to keep the spirits away from a woman’s body. Although this was one of the main reasons why this ritual started, it does not seem to be the reason anymore. Now it is done because it is seen as a custom or tradition that is supposed to be carried out and passed on to generations to come. Also, perhaps because men like to see their women weak so that they can take control and dominate. Female genital mutilation was not only a custom, but it was a significant part of the African society. It is more of a defining point for the society now than before because it does not hold as much cultural value as it did.

The examples of sati, foot binding and genital mutilation are only a few of the many cultural traditions in developing countries. These traditions define the society and the way of living for people, and they are designed by man. This brings up the point that men and women are designed differently. Some things will always be different because of the physical differences between males and females. For example, as I mentioned in my ‘Bicycle Seats Timeline’ that the seats designed for women are short and wide while they are long and narrow for men. This is because women generally have wider pelvises. This is a difference between the two genders that is natural, and not created by man. Whereas the cultural discrimination, and the societal differentiation, is designed by mankind.

Image 1


Image 2 - Shoe size scaled next to a pack of cigarettes

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