30th Anniversary Series: Women in Society
The Baha’i Chair for World Peace’s 2017 Annual Lecture was “The First Political Order: Sex, Governance, and National Security” by Valerie Hudson. In her talk, Professor Hudson refers to a Bahai quote that says: “The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly.” The status of women in society is linked to every other part of how a country runs.
The role women play in the patriarchal society starts at home. The relationship dynamic between many marriages across the world consist of men as head of the household. Not only are men in charge of the household but they are in charge of their wives. Women start as second-class citizens in their own homes.
While Professor Hudson goes further into how this extends into many other aspects of countries' national security I remained stuck on another quote. “A bride is cut off from her family and support system once married causing her birth parents not to need to further invest in her. She will realize once she moves in with her husband and his family that they are not really her family either.” Women’s role in marriage throughout history has been merely a part of two families' transactions. Fathers make decisions on when and whom their daughters should marry. The husband's family pays the daughter's father a dowry for their contribution.
Women were and in many places still are viewed as nothing more than a pawn in men’s affairs. Someone there to provide a son for their husband to pass on his money and land to. The tradition of women being given away to their future husbands is dangerous. It causes her birth family to not feel the need to invest the same resources and attention in their daughter that they may give their son. Professor Hudson mentions that the family may give more food and health care to their son because the daughter is just going to one day leave them.
The routine and widespread treatment of women as subordinates in the home is deeply embedded in all aspects of society as well. As men continue to lead in their communities and in their countries, women are treated as beneath them, unequal members of society. A system is unable to run at full efficiency if half its members are not given the opportunity to contribute. When women are empowered to lead and take part in society the same way as their male counterparts is only when the world will start reaching its full potential.
Women are so much more than just a transaction or a pawn in the male game. Women are powerful, strong, intelligent, and productive members of society. They have the ability to change the world once they are released from society’s binds. Would men rather hinder society's potential for the fear of losing control? Perhaps that is the real reason for women being put down for all these years. It is known that if you allow a woman to flourish and empower her to reach her full potential she is unstoppable.
About the Author:
Meredith is a senior at the University of Maryland majoring in Marketing and Management. After college, she hopes to travel the world and learn more about different countries and cultures. Meredith wants to combine her interest in business with her passion for helping others.