LET US BE MORE HUMAN AND FIGHT ‘PRICK-POWER’!
Recently there has been a general outcry against generalised gender violence which has even culminated into loss of lives. Let it be made clear at the outset that 99.9% of victims are females and 99.9% of perpetrators are males. N’en déplaise à certains who want to believe that men and women are equally responsible. Machos whose brain is found between their legs should be advised to belt up and stop making fools of themselves. Mental bins are too good for them.
A good thing is that the discussion has gone public and both men and women are willing to talk about this openly. But unfortunately, the focus has been more on EFFECT and not on CAUSE.
No real solution will be found if we continue to turn a blind eye on the fundamental cause which is PATRIARCHY.
WHAT IS PATRIARCHY?
Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. Like all systems, patriarchy generates its own ideology which sustains and promotes the system. Patriarchal ideology is present in all fields of life. Here are some examples:
• The new-born son is ‘premie lo’ (first prize);
• In some ethnic cultures a daughter is ‘a burden’ as a dowry (dahej) has to be provided to secure a husband for her;
• God has a beard; He is ‘Father’ in Heaven;
• In many religions women are not ordained as priest;
• The bride is expected to be ‘a virgin’ and there must be blood spots on the nuptial sheet;
• In some religions, a man may have several wives;
• LGBTQ people are harassed, persecuted, tortured and murdered etc.
It is not true to say that patriarchy is ‘GOD-ORDAINED’. There has been and there are still matriarchal and matrilineal societies. Don’t forget that Princess Draupadi, heroine of the Mahabharata, had 5 husbands and that Queen Kunti, after the death of her husband, showed great political acumen.
THE SITUATION TODAY
If in the past, daughters were not entitled to any inheritance; were not sent to school; did not have the right to vote or stand as candidates; were not allowed to work outside the home etc. the situation has much changed. With the passage of time, more and more women have climbed the professional and social ladder to reach the top. In many fields, they are doing better than men. GENDER EQUALITY is now the order of the day. Enlightened men have no problem with this but machos are not prepared to accept the fact that, although different, women and men are equal. As it was quite rightly pointed out by Pope Francis, the story of Adam and Eve is a fable for children, but ‘machismo’ teaches imbeciles that Eve was made with one of Adam’s ribs. So, a woman is bound to be inferior.
When two equal human beings live as a couple, there will be moments of tension because they may not see things in the same way. The solution is a civilised discussion based on facts and logic and not on one imposing his or her will on the other. Unfortunately, many men are not prepared to accept this. When they cannot find arguments to defend their views, they resort to violence and the law of the jungle where MIGHT IS RIGHT.
CONCLUSION
Humanity has known matriarchy and patriarchy and we are aware of the limits of both systems. It is not a question of replacing phallocracy by vaginocracy. We must now strive to build gender equality which includes recognition of LGBTQ reality. LET US BE MORE HUMAN AND FIGHT ‘PRICK-POWER’!
09.12.22