We Are Our Own Oppressors
How women allowed the corruption of religion to continue to oppress us
Women have needed men from the beginning of time, but it was only for the sake of protection from other men. In the past men treated women however they pleased with no consequences. Women were given away to men by men, these men being their father’s, without any consultation. Women have been expected to lay back and bear children and tend to these children, the household, and their men, all with nothing in return. Today we have no need for such protection because we have all gained civility and knowledge. Women and men are aware of how men should act in terms of propriety. However, the oppressed state of women still remains. As Andrea Canaan said, she wants to blame everyone else; the white women, the white men, men of color. Canaan came to the conclusion however, that everyone is to blame. She has oppressed herself just like any other woman or person of color has. We know we are passed those barbaric times of white men “necessarily” protecting us (again, from themselves) however we have made no move to overthrow their control over us, and have instead meekly agreed to it because that was what we were taught. I am to blame for letting a man tell me what I should do with my body, he is to blame for forcing his will over me, and everyone else is to blame for staying in that same pattern somewhere somehow whether it be between men and women, people of color, or people with different sexual orientations. We have all allowed it to continue, but it is time for us to say enough is enough.
In more ancient civilizations women were worshiped and revered, which can be seen in the art inspired by women and the statues erected in their honor. Other civilizations did not have the same view of women and sought to degrade women through physical control, religion, and many other forms of oppression. In the past this oppression is understood because women never had the right to learn any different; women were not allowed to read, or even leave the house without a suitable male companion. Throughout this article I will focus on the effects of religion on female oppression and give examples that falsify men’s twisted “translation” of their religious books that they used to support their sinful treatment of women. I use the word sinful because there is no point in these religious books where they say that women are below men, are property, or should follow them without question.
Those practicing any of the three Abrahamic religions, both men and unfortunately even women, have used their religious books to justify the treatment of women, however try as they might to blame women there is no point where God blames woman for the first sin, or thinks of them differently compared to men. In Christian religion God instead punished both Adam and Eve equally for committing the first sin. Another Christian contradiction seen by the actions of men compared to the bible is when Jesus heals women and treats them with the same respect as any other man he crosses. An example of this is when Jesus heals a woman who was bleeding for 12 years, this being at a time where women who were menstruating were isolated from the rest of the population because they were viewed as unclean, and he touched her and blessed her while every other man shamed her and degraded her. Similarly in the Qur’an it says that both men and women are to perform the same duties and good deeds as each other, and there is no difference between them. All of these religions have been twisted by men in order to oppress women, today however women have the knowledge to push past this corrupted norm. Information is no longer hidden from women through not being taught how to read due to geographic location and social class, also being discouraged to read, or not being allowed to grow through gathering with one another and becoming stronger.
Religious women have agreed to stand by as men use their religion against them. Women were not allowed to read for a very long time which contributed to our ignorance, but that is no excuse today. Women still do their husbands bidding as if their words come from God himself, however that is not the case. Women are becoming aware and have started to fight against the oppressive hands of men, but we must continue to fight, and fight harder. Every woman must be on the same page whether they identify with social class or racially with one another or not because in the end we are all women suffering who are fighting the same “enemy”, the enemy being the system through which oppression has grown. It is important to remember though, that we are all guilty of this oppression and are to blame for its continued presence in the world.
