Page 189 - DSOC202_SOCIAL_STRATIFICATION_ENGLISH

Social Stratification

Notes family is more on the man, the women are supposed to do the menial jobs and take care of their
children and even other members of the family. It is because of these gender stereotypes that
women are at a disadvantage and are vulnerable to violence and other kinds of discriminations
and injustices. Systemic deprivation and violence against women : rape, sexual harassment, sexual
abuse, female foeticide, infanticide, witch-killing, sati, dowry deaths, wife-beating, high level of
female illiteracy, malnutrition, undernourishment and continued sense of insecurity keeps women
bound to home, economically exploited, socially suppressed and politically passive.
Patriarchal constructions of knowledge perpetuate patriarchal ideology and this is reflected in
educational institutions, knowledge system and media which reinforce male dominance. More
subtle expressions of patriarchy was through symbolism giving messages of inferiority of women
through legends highlighting the self-sacrificing, self-effacing pure image of women and through
ritual practice which emphasized the dominant role of women as a faithful wife and devout
mother. Laws of Manu insist that since women by their very nature are disloyal they should be
made dependent on men. The husband should be constantly worshiped as a god, which symbolized
that man is a lord, master, owner, or provider and the shudras and women were the subordinates.
It legitimized that a woman should never be made independent, as a daughter she should be
under the surveillance of her father, as a wife of her husband and as a widow of her son. While in
ancient India (Vedic and Epic periods), women were by and large treated as equal to men, the
restrictions on women and patriarchal values regulating women’s sexuality and mobility got
strengthened in the post-vedic periods (Brahmanical and Medieval periods) with the rise of private
property and establishment of class society.
Patriarchal constructions of social practices are legitimized by religion and religious institution as
most religious practices regard male authority as superior and the laws and norms regarding
family, marriage, divorce and inheritance are linked to patriarchal control over property biased
against women. A person’s legal identity with regard to marriage, divorce and inheritance are
determined by his or her religion, which laid down duties for men and women and their
relationship. Most religions endorse patriarchal values and all major religions have been interpreted
and controlled by men of upper caste and class. The imposition of parda, restrictions on leaving
the domestic space, separation between public and private are all gender specific and men are not
subject to similar constraints. Thus the mobility of women is controlled. They have no right to
decide whether they want to be mothers, when they want to be, the number of children they want
to have, whether they can use contraception or terminate a pregnancy and so on and so forth Male
dominated institutions like church and state also lay down rules regarding women’s reproductive
capacity.
Similarly caste and gender are closely related and the sexuality of women is directly linked to the
question of purity of race. The caste system and caste endogamy retained control over the labour
and sexuality of women. Anuloma and pratiloma marriage by definition denigrate women. Caste
not only determines social division of labour but also sexual division of labour. Ideologically
concepts of caste purity of women to maintain patrilineal succession justified subordination of
women. The prohibition of sacred thread ceremony for both women and sudhra, similar punishment
for killing a women and sudhra, denial of religious privileges are illustrations which indicate how
caste and gender get entrenched.
Therefore it is important to emphasize the substantive question of sub-ordination of certain sections
of society and the structures that make their sub-ordination. For feminist scholars the issue is no
longer whether the status of women was low or high but the specific nature and basis of their
subordination in society (Chakravarti, 2006 : 25). Hence the historical developments of patriarchy/
ies and how they have come to stay is important.

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