Transcript Patriarchy and Violence against Women

A Brief Biblical Historical Survey of the Subordination of Women
By Annick M. Brennen, M.A., Andrews University
October 2011, Nassau, The Bahamas
The Case for the Eradication of all Remnant of Patriarchal
Philosophy
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Gender-based violence, which impairs or
nullifies the enjoyment by women of human
rights and fundamental freedoms under
general international law or under human
rights conventions, is discrimination within
the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention.”
(Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
general recommendation No. 19, paragraph 7)
Patriarchy is defined as “a state or stage of
social development characterized by the
supremacy of the father in the clan or family
in both domestic and religious functions, the
legal dependence of wife, or wives, and
children, and the reckoning of descent and
inheritance in the male line” (Webster’s New
International Dictionary of the English
Language 2nd Ed. unabridged).
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Family model based upon a male parenting at
least one male child
The husband is the supreme ruler of the
extended family
He oversees the family’s labors
He makes major decisions
He represents the family within the larger
society
He is the religious leader
He defends the family honor
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Inherent within the patriarchal system are:
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an imbalance of power between males and females
women as sexual property
the disenfranchisement of women
unequal favoritism toward children, specifically the
first-born sons
 the legal and economic dependence of wives and
children
 the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male
line.
The basis for Women Subjugation and Male Dominance
As documented and explained by John Temple Bristow in his book, “What the
Bible Really Says about Love, Marriage, and Family, Chalice Press, 1994.
The phrase, “women, slaves, children” appear
frequently in ancient literature. In many
societies during biblical times women were
regarded as one of three classes of humans
owned by others. Female children and female
slaves were, in a sense, doubly owned.
(Bristow, p. 7)
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You shall become engaged to a woman, but
another man shall lie with her. You shall build a
house, but not live in it. You shall plant a
vineyard, but not enjoy its fruit. Deut 28:30
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“The author of this passage placed a
betrothed woman in the same category as a
man’s house or a man’s vineyard. All three are
a man’s property, possessions that may be
taken away from him.” (Bristow, p. 7)
If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and I
have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door; then let
my wife grind for another, and let other men kneel
over her. Job 31-9-10
“Job was saying, in effect, ‘if I have stolen
another man’s wife, then let the same be done
to me—let my wife be stolen.’ Job was not
thinking of his wife as a person in her own right,
with feelings and self-will. Instead, he spoke of
her as an item of property, however precious
that property might be.” (Bristow, p. 8)
Concubines as sexual property
“Go in to your father’s concubines, the ones he has left to look after the house; and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your fa
A concubine was valuable not so much for who she was, but whose she was. If she belonged to the ruling patriarch or king, her actions may effect t
Go in to your father’s concubines, the ones he has left
to look after the house; and all Israel will hear that you
have made yourself odious to your father, and the
hands of all who are with will be strengthened. So they
pitched a tent for Absalom upon the roof; and Absalom
went in to this father’s concubine in the sight of all
Israel. 2 Samuel 16:21-22
A concubine was valuable not so much for who she
was, but whose she was. If she belonged to the ruling
patriarch or king, her actions may effect the course of
a nation’s history. (Bristow, p. 11)
“. . . adultery, according to the law of Moses, was not
regarded as a crime against the male offender’s wife. Even
though a wife was her husband’s property, he was not her
property. Therefore, although a wife might violate her
husband’s marital rights, he could not violate her marital
rights—simply because she did not possess any such
rights. A man could commit adultery, to be sure, but the
victim—the only victim—was the adulterous partner’s
husband. Hence, if a married man engaged in sexual
intercourse with a unmarried women, he was not guilty of
adultery. But if a married woman engaged in sexual
intercourse with an unmarried man, she was guilty of a
capital offense.” (Bristow, pp. 11-12)
If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be
married and sleeps with her, he must pay the
bride-price, and she shall be his wife. 17 If her
father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he
must still pay the bride-price for virgins. Exodus
22:16-17
“A man who seduces a maiden, the law stated,
must pay her father the amount normally given
as a bride price for a virgin and then either marry
her or not, depending entirely on the father’s
decision.” (Bristow, p. 13)
If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be
married and rapes her and they are discovered, 29 he shall
pay her father fifty shekels[a] of silver. He must marry the
young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce
her as long as he lives. Deuteronomy 22:28-29
“A man who rapes a maiden, however (but only if the
commission of his crime is witnessed!), shall pay the
victim’s father fifty shekels of silver and then marry her
and never be allowed to divorce her. The woman herself is
not given a choice over whether or not to marry her
attacker.” (Bristow, p. 13)
Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has that Amnon, your brother,
been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t
take this thing to heart.” And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s
house, a desolate woman. 2 Samuel 13:20
“Regarding women as sexual property tends to focus attention
upon those men to whom the women belong. Even when the
woman has been abused by a third party, as in the story of Tamar,
the seriousness of such a crime is evaluated in terms of its effect,
not upon the woman herself, but upon the men who perceive her
as “theirs” (i.e., wife or daughter or sister) whom they must
defend. So this story shifts from Tamar’s plight to the question of
what punishment her father and brother will extract from Amnon
for his sexual crime.” (Bristow, p. 15)
“In the Old Testament, incest was defined according
to the principle of sexual property, not of genetic
proximity. Examples of incest: Nahor married his
niece Milcah (Gen 11:29), Abraham married his sister
Sarah (Genesis 20:12), and Isaac married his cousin
Rebekah (Genesis 24:15), Jacob married two of his
cousins, Rachel and Leah (Genesis 29:12). Tamar, the
victim of her brother Amnon’s rape, talks to him into
marrying her instead of raping her (2 Samuel 13:13).
Her statement, affirms that marriage between
siblings (at least with paternal consent) was regarded
as permissible in that society.” (Bristow, p. 16)
“Even when the incest laws were changed
(Leviticus 18:6-18), incest within Hebrew society
was defined without reference to genetics. It
consisted of engaging in sexual intercourse with
the sexual property of one’s father, one’s
paternal uncle, one’s brother, or one’s son, or—
by extension—the daughters of the wives of
these relatives. Incest consisted of taking and
using another man’s sexual property.” (Bristow,
p. 17)
“Because sexual moral codes were based on the
concept of women as sexual property, prostitution in
and of itself receives little if any condemnation in the
Old Testament. We find no criticism leveled at Judah
when he hired the sexual services of a prostitute
(Genesis 3*)—who was actually Tamar, his widowed
daughter-in-law, in disguise (a different Tamar than
the woman who was raped by Amnon). Moreover,
Hosea stated that God will not punish prostitutes,
since it was men of Israel who visited them (Hosea
4:12-14). In Fact, Proverbs 6:23-29 declares quite
openly that it is better to visit a prostitute than to
commit adultery.” (Bristow, p. 18)
“In the law of Moses divorce could be initiated
only by the husband. The possibility that a man’s
wife might find displeasure in him and wish to
divorce him was not even considered. This onesided view of the matter originates with the
attitude that regarded women as sexual
property. Women could not initiate divorce,
because they were their husbands’ property. In
fact, a woman was expected to address her
spouse with the phrase, lord husband.” (Bristow,
p. 106)
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Most of the human rights granted to men are denied to women in
the public and private spheres when they are sexual property
subordinated to men in the patriarchal system or its derivatives:
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The right to life, liberty and security of person
The right to own property
The right to free speech
The right to be safe from violence
The right to be recognized as a person before the law
The right to vote
The right to think freely
The right to believe and practice a preferred religion
The right to peacefully protest a government or group
The right to access health care
The right to education
The right not to be forced into marriage
A non-exhaustive classified list of examples of violent acts against women
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“Any act of gender-based violence that
results in, or is likely to result in, physical,
sexual or psychological harm or suffering to
women, including threats of such acts,
coercion or the arbitrary deprivation of
liberty, whether occurring in public or private
life.” (Declaration on the Elimination of
VAW, 1993)
Violence is the expression of power as the
capacity to inflict pain to impose order, control,
and domination. Violence against women is one
of the “main mechanisms for perpetuating the
subordinate position of women in the
patriarchal order that still predominates in our
culture” (ECLAC, 2007) and violence against
girls of all ages is the installment of this
mechanism from the beginning of the
socialization process.
Rape perpetrated outside the household by a
stranger, the son of a ruler: Genesis 34:2 (Dinah,
daughter of Jacob raped by Shechem son of Hamor
the Hivite, the ruler of that area)
 Rape perpetrated in the streets with the consent of an
intimate male partner and a stranger: Judges 19:25
(Nameless Levite, his concubine, and nameless host)
 Rape perpetrated by a brother: 2 Samuel 13:14 (Tamar
raped by Amnon)
 Rape committed in armed conflict: Zechariah14: 2:
 Forced prostitution of daughters: Leviticus 19:28-30
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State-perpetrated violence by an authority figure:
 2 Samuel 11: 2-4: David uses his royal authority to have sex
with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite
 Esther 2: King Xerxes uses his royal authority to order
young virgins to come into his harem to compete for his
approval and be selected as Queen
 1 Samuel 25:44: King Saul gives his married daughter,
Michal, to another man while her husband, David, is alive
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Wife forces female slave/servant to have sex with her
husband to produce an heir
 Genesis 16:3-5: Sarai orders her Egyptian slave, Hagar, to
copulate with Abram to ensure lineage
Aborting the fetus of an adulteress: Numbers 5: 27b,
31
 Women are declared unclean and are isolated when
they menstruate and after they give birth: Leviticus
12:1-3
 Mental anguish of a childless widow drives her to
copulate with her father-in-law to produce an
offspring to her dead husband
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 Tamar, dressed as a prostitute, copulates with Judah, her
father-in-law, to raise offsprings for Er, her deceased
husband
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Women and children taken as prey in armed conflict:
Genesis 34:29
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Murder and dismemberment perpetrated by
intimate partner: Judges 19:29
Stoning of a woman because she was proven
not to be a virgin when she married:
Deuteronomy 22:20
Threat of burning a pregnant prostitute:
Genesis 28:24
Murder of widows: Psalm 94:6
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Marriage
 Wives obtained by purchase: Genesis 29:20, Ruth 4:10; Hosea
3:2;12:12
 Wives obtained by kidnapping: Judges 21:21-23
 Levirate marriage: The brother is required to marry a brother's
widow so that the deceased may have an heir Genesis 38:8,11;
Deuteronomy 25:5-10; Ruth 4:5; Matthew 22:24; Mark 12:1
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Concubinage: Marriage for Hire
 Marriage model based on economic disparity
 Without a dowry, a woman may not be able to marry; therefore,
she became a concubine
 Concubinage was for the daughter of the poor including
daughters of slaves
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Polygamy
 David had many wives: 2 Samuel 20:3.
 Solomon had over 1,000 wives
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Divorce
 Disobedience of a wife to her husband, a sufficient cause for
divorce, in the Persian empire Esther 1:10-22 (Vashti wife of
King Xerxes)
 In the Law of Moses divorce could be initiated only by the
husband
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Slavery
 Father may sell his daughter as a servant: Exodus 21:7-11
 Forced marriage of captive woman, a spoil of war:
Deuteronomy 21:10-14
 Female slave coerced into sex: Leviticus 19:20
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Incest
 A man sleeps with his father’s wife: 1 Corinthians 5:1.
 Lot’s daughters have sex with and
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become pregnant by their father to ensure lineage:
Genesis 19:35-37
Nahor married his niece Milcah (Gen 11:29)
Abraham married his sister Sarah (Genesis 20:12)
Isaac married his cousin Rebekah (Genesis 24:15)
Jacob married two of his cousins, Rachel and Leah
(Genesis 29:12).
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Capital punishment for
 marriage violations: Deuteronomy 22:20
 fornication: Deuteronomy 22:23
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Prostitution
 Men can use the services of a prostitute with impunity:
Proverbs 6:23-29
 Because women are economically deprived, they resort to
prostitution
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Human Sacrifice
 Sacrifice of daughters and sons as food to idols: Ezekiel 16:
20
 Sacrifice of a daughter (Jephthah’s) as a vow to God:
Judges 11:38
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Daughters may inherit only when there are
no sons:
 Numbers 27:1-8: The daughters of Zelophehad
son of Hepher: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and
Tirzah
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The economic oppression and destitution of
widows and women without a male relative:
 2 King 4:1, Job 22:-10, Job 24:3, Isaiah 1:23, Isaiah
10:2, Malachi 3:5,the story of Naomi, Ruth, and
Orpah in Ruth 1 and 2
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Patriarchy breeds corruption, polygamy, and a
host of other abuses
The role of women is enforced using violence
The practice of polygamy and the reckoning of
descent in the male line promote jealousy and
discord among women
It is opposed to God’s original plan for marriage
which is the union of one man and one woman in
mutual companionship on the basis of equality
It misrepresents God’s character and will
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Women are not human beings endowed with freewill, but
“things” to be controlled by male owners—Complete
subjugation to another human being, slavery
Establishment of an order of precedence in the home with
husbands exercising unilateral authority, making most or
all of the decisions, having the last say, controlling female
behavior and activities
Deprivation of personal liberty and ability to make one’s
own decision
Economic disempowerment of women, poverty,
destitution
Violence against women in all its possible forms:
psychological, physical, sexual, economic, etc. from the
cradle to the grave
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Denial of legal, marital, and parental rights
Denial of sexual and reproductive rights
Denial of development and career
Denial to participate in the body politic
Restriction of movement in the public and
private spheres
Sexual exploitation for the owners’ financial
gain (sale of women and bride price/dowry)
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State codification and enactment of discriminatory and unjust
laws to restrict women in the public and private spheres and keep
them in a state of complete subordination to and dependence on
men, thus normalizing and institutionalizing male dominance and
women subordination
Churches refusal to confer ecclesiastical and pastoral authority to
women
Women practice manipulation and use their sexuality to achieve a
certain degree of power over men and obtain what they want,
since power is otherwise denied to them. They become male
pleasers.
Women are of value to their owners as long as they can procreate,
preferably sons
Women either resist patriarchy or they enable and enforce it.
When they resist patriarchy, they are labeled “feminists.”
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States, civil society, politicians, movers and shakers, the Church,
men and women must unite every where to denounce and
eradicate all vestige of the patriarchal system.
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Theologians, religious, pastors, priests have a moral responsibility
to stop the misuse of Scripture, especially using texts without
explaining its historical context and packaging harmful cultural
and traditional practices into the gospel for universal
consumption.
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Religious leaders must stop perpetuating the subordination of
women in the private and public sphere to maintain their
monopoly on ecclesiastical power and authority.
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Practice Christ’s example of power sharing: John 15:15: I no longer call
you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business.
Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my
Father I have made known to you. Revelation 3:21: To the one who is
victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was
victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
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Religious organizations must confront abusers, hold them accountable,
require a change not only in behavior but also in the premise and
patriarchal philosophy they use to justify their behavior.
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Religious organizations must lead in the development of a model for
male-female relations that is congruent with Christ’s teaching of love,
companionship, mutuality, humility, service, harmony, and equality
between males and females.
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Bristow, John Temple:
 What the Bible Really Says about Love, Marriage, and
Family, Chalice Press, St. Louis, Missouri, 1994.
 What Paul Really Said About Women: An Apostle’s
Liberating Views on Equality in Marriage, Leadership,
and Love, Harper, San Francisco, 1988.
Kenner, Craig. Paul, Women & Wives, Marriage
and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul,
Hendrickson Publishers, Massachusetts, 1992
 United Nations, Study of the Secretary General,
Ending violence against women From words to
action, 2006
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