Power Dynamics in a Patriarchal Context
By Karim naamani/Shutterstock.com
Par Karim naamani/Shutterstock.com
Angela Glor
(FR) Le Liban est vu comme l’un des pays les plus avancés et ouverts du Moyen-Orient, mais l’issue de l’égalité des sexes et de l’émancipation des femmes n’a que peu progressé. Les femmes libanaises sont oppressées dans un système patriarcal mis en place dans cette société. Les femmes libanaises sont simultanément victimes et instigatrices de leur propre oppression.
The issue of women’s rights has gained traction and public scrutiny with the third wave of feminism and has become even more problematic within Middle Eastern countries. Women are in a constant state of submission under the rulings of patriarchal ideologies and the state is threatened by anyone who wishes to challenge the status quo. The patriarchal forms of gendered oppression arguably begin with the practice of women assuming their father’s last name at birth. Marriage similarly leads to women assuming the husband’s surname. These practices demonstrate a cultural belief that identity is necessarily determined by the nature of one’s relationships to male members of society, intimating that a woman, as an individual entity, cannot have an identity apart from a man. The resonance with extant literature is that women are conditioned from birth to assume the inferior subject position, which in turn places men at the centre of intimate and social relationships. This conditioning interferes with women’s ability to move past the patriarchy.
Within the Lebanese societal context, religion plays a critical role in reinforcing patterns of patriarchal dominance and female subjugation. Some interpretations of the Genesis narrative conclude that women were formed from men and thus are inherently and biologically inferior to them. The resonance with literature is that the prevailing cultural norms in a given society often present the relational dynamics that become manifested as individuals share common beliefs and narratives that are perceived as objective truth. Religious discourse, as provided, reduces identity to binary conceptualizations of the sexes, normalizes gendered relational dynamics, and perceives women as a homogeneous group that is naturally inferior to men. This view resonates with the critiques that dominate affective feminist theoretical approaches by justifying social hierarchy and stereotyping on the basis of masculine and feminine traits.
The integration of women into distinct social categories and subject positions demonstrates the extent to which they can be victims and enablers of the system in tandem. From the victim perspective, women are not afforded the same degree of decision-making power as men, as they must always conform to what the male members of the family decide, whether that be the father, brother, uncle, or cousin. The inability to make decisions does not permit women to have a life that is not dominated by the male figures. Women are born into the identities of daughters, wives, and mothers, but there is no opportunity to be individuals on their own, often due to societal constraints and shaming within the Lebanese culture. The term 3eib (shame) is a word that is often used to control women.
Assimilation within the system and the reality that most Lebanese women are educated do not present a challenge to the patriarchy, as the inner dynamics and normative barriers within the family remain largely unchanged despite the tangible progress in women’s rights. Women, conditioned on the premise of patriarchal beliefs, are not given the ample opportunity to formulate their own identity that is free from the male patriarch of the family. There are many societal and familial pressures that can fuel tensions for women, especially young women. There are certain levels of shame and fear that tend to reinforce these patriarchal ideologies. Without undoing the conditioning necessary to challenge the normative patriarchal system, women conform to the system of oppression by reinforcing their unconscious biases in younger women and girls (who are at the lower end of the social hierarchy). This demonstrates that patterns of gender inequality still exist, as a woman’s position and role in the family unit or social structure remain unchanged and reinforced, regardless of the extent of educational achievement.
(EN) Angela is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Political Science with a specialization in Feminist and Gender studies at the University of Ottawa. Angela has spent the last 9 months helping build the Marginalized Majority – a platform for workshops and research focused on anti-colonialist, gender sensitive and queer frameworks. The organization focuses on the emotionally vulnerable and marginalized members of the global south community in light of COVID-19.
(FR) Angela poursuit actuellement une maîtrise en Sciences politiques avec une spécialisation en Études féministes et de genre à l’Université d’Ottawa. Durant ces neuf derniers mois, Angela a aidé à construire « Marginalized Majority » — une plate-forme composée d’ateliers et de recherches focalisées sur des cadres anticolonialistes, sensibles au genre et à la question queer. L’organisation se concentre sur une communauté marginalisée et émotionnellement vulnérable provenant du Sud global, à la lumière du COVID-19.