Subordination: The Politics of Gender

By
Showkeen Bilal Ahmad Gul
Subordination the dictionary says is, the act of placing in a lower rank or position. So
subordination is concerned with the concept of gender. Gender bias is behaviour that shows
favouritism toward one gender over another. Most often, gender bias is the act of favouring
men and/or boys over women and/or girls. Specifically, girls and women are expected to
demonstrate feminine behaviour, and boys and men are expected to act masculine. The term
gender bias is often (wrongly) used interchangeably with the term sexism. Sexism is typically
defined as the subordination of one sex, usually female, based on the assumed superiority of
the other sex or an ideology that defines females as different from and inferior to males.
Feminists see society as patriarchal- based on male domination. Many feminists regard
religion as also patriarchal that reflects and perpetuates this inequality. Religious beliefs
function as a patriarchal ideology that legitimates female subordination. Places of worship are
often separate the sexes and marginalise women, e.g. seating them behind screens while the
men occupy the central and more sacred spaces. Womens participation may be restricted, for
example, not being able to preach or to read from sacred texts. Taboos that regard
menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth as polluting may also prevent participation. Religious
laws and customs may give women fewer rights than men, e.g. in access to divorce, how
many spouses they may marry, decision making, dress codes etc. Religious influences on
cultural norms may also lead to unequal treatment, such as genital mutilation or punishments
for sexual transgressions. Many religions legitimate and regulate womens traditional
domestic and reproductive role.
Women also use religion to gain status and respect for their roles within the private
sphere of home and family e.g. belonging to an evangelical group can be empowering for
some women. Despite the strong belief in traditional gender roles that such groups hold,
women are able to use religion to increase their power and influence. For instance, a strongly
held belief among evangelicals is that men should respect women. This gives women power
to influence mens behaviour by insisting that they practise what they preach and refrain from
macho actions. Similarly, women make use of activities linked to the church, such as bible
study groups to share experiences and to find support. We should also note that the position
of women within some religions is changing. For instance the Church of England has
permitted womens ordination into the priesthood since 1992 and about a fifth of all priests
are now female.