Women acting as agents are generally found to do so through the impacts of their actions on their societies and cultures, to achieve a certain goal – which, in this case, is a change in the structure of political power throughout the world. They may not necessarily be conscious of the significance of their actions, nor may they be aware of their political outcomes. However, this does not change the fact that women are impacting the political structures of their societies and cultures, slowly but surely. One observable trend of globalization in politics is the rise in soft power versus hard power over the years. According to Joseph S. Nye, the success of soft power, or co-optive power, rests in “the attractiveness of one’s culture and values or the ability to manipulate the agenda of political choices”, in lieu of hard power’s strategy of coercion and intimidation. Western principles like democracy and equal opportunities for women and men are being disseminated throughout the globe to other nations through global media like the Internet and television, and the actions of women both support and contribute to this phenomenon. However, that does not mean that women embrace other forms of globalization; many find themselves marginalized by global phenomena such as modernization and unequal economic development. This essay will examine how women support and repel different forces of globalization, simultaneously taking a closer look at power shifts within oppressive societies.
Feminism and democracy in the Middle-East
Muslim countries in Middle-East are notorious for the subjugation and mistreatment of women, oft under the pretext of following the rules of Islam. Under a well-established patriarchal system, women are seen as one step below men in the social hierarchy. They are denied the authority, as well as social and economic privileges that most men of similar age have. Tradition dictates that only when they have the support of their families are women, not being property owners themselves, able to gain some form of power and status; this results in their being bound to follow patriarchal norms, in and out of the house.
However, Suad J. Joseph and Susan Slyomovics state in their introduction to “Women and Power in the Middle East” that feminist activists in a number of countries have lobbied to change family laws such that family, religion and the individual are intertwined to a lesser degree. While there has been little significant progress in that department, the victories won by feminists in countries like Iraq, Morocco, and Yemen are still far from negligible. Furthermore, another significant political movement is being helped along by the actions of women: the spread of democracy. Nayereh Tohidi states that “pushed by the forces of globalization, young Iranians in Iran and elsewhere – young Iranian American women in particular – are nudging [Iran] toward genuine progress [in democratic reform]”. Younger Iranians, being more educated and more literate than their predecessors, are pushing for “more liberal sexual mores and secularization of politics”. Furthermore, Iran’s past history of negotiation with modernity – the Constitutional Revolution (1906-11) and the Islamic Revolution (1978-79) – has taught Iranian women to contend with the patriarchal system by using their political muscle and prepared the nation for democracy. The movement has been so strong that even pro-government Islamic women have been influenced by Muslim feminism and have learnt to query Islam’s social system. Is Islam truly about putting men in the positions of power and subjugating women to their whims? Should the government be a mere extension of Islam or should it be separated from religion? These are some of the questions that Muslim women are beginning to ask, as they become more exposed to Western ideologies through U.N.-sponsored conferences, contact with global feminist networks, the Internet and Iranians who have left the country.
Women’s narratives of the supernatural in the Ecuadorian Andes: a demonstration of resistance
The 1960s-70s saw the implementation of farming methods of the Green Revolution in countries around the world. These were capital-intensive methods that involved the buying of new strains of seeds and machinery, thus giving large agribusinesses and commercial farmers with economies of scale the monetary advantage over peasants using traditional agricultural methods. Traditional farmers found themselves marginalized by the shift from labor-intensive to capital-intensive production; for instance, peasants in the Ecuadorian Andes found themselves selling off most of their land to commercial farmers. Being left with insufficient or no land to support themselves, they sought jobs in the very agribusinesses that had initially deprived them of their livelihoods. Peasants in the employ of commercial farmers found themselves subject to low pay, long hours and dangerous working conditions. Furthermore, women in particular were even more marginalized; agribusinesses favored the employment of male laborers, and many women found themselves excluded from the new trend of commercial farming.
According to Mary M. Crain, female peasants, not being employed by agribusiness and thus having more freedom to criticize commercial farmers than their male counterparts, started to associate technology, machinery, and anything that represented commercial farming with the devil, circulating stories of devil possession and death. The devil appeared in various guises, more often than not in a physical form similar to Caucasian Americans, sometimes accompanied by the temptation of ill-gotten material wealth. These narratives all had a similar structure: a male employee working in one of the capitalist farms would become possessed by an evil spirit, often falling sick or dying. Crain believed that the narratives were “prominent idiom[s] for talking about material change and the women’s opposition to that change”. She also referred to the narratives as “coded political language” for peasant women to communicate in. Women were able to make use of gossip to “shape public opinion and alter power relations in a community”, subtly acting out against not only oppression under capitalist outsiders, but even the male peasants in the community as well.
As commercial farmers work with other institutions to quench political expression, women limit their discussion of devil possessions only to themselves and their communities, making it difficult for the dominant organizations, being outsiders, to monitor their dialogue. By refusing to collaborate with outsiders and impart information to them, these women are putting on a form of positive resistance against the infiltration of their societies by outsiders. While capitalists may have wrestled economic power away from the peasants, they still maintain some form of underground political power through verbal communication.
On a different level, women also pose a challenge to the male hierarchy through their gossip. Unlike feminists in the Middle-East, female peasants in the Andes demonstrate their subversion in more subtle ways. Using gossip, women compensate for their lack of institutional power by using their verbal skills to mould people’s opinions. While women’s speech has often been devalued in public settings, they can still exert power from their “domestic domains”; Crain cites the forced resignation of Caesar Pilas, a vice-president of the community and thus an individual of high standing, as a result of women’s gossip. Furthermore, the employment of men in commercial farms has been a blessing in disguise for women in these peasant communities; the absence of men has left space for more women to participate in public assemblies and occupy positions of power in the local government.
Again, this shows the increasing importance of soft power over hard power in today’s world. Capitalist outsiders may have the upper hand economically, but women have a subtler form of influence in their verbal communication and spreading of ideas within the community.
Women’s roles in increasing awareness of AIDS in Africa
AIDS is the global plague of modern times. Its influence ranges far and wide, and it is still spreading at alarming rates. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the foremost breeding grounds for this virus, accounting for nearly 65% of the people living with HIV or AIDS in 2005. Women are as much victims of AIDS as are men and children.
The propagation of AIDS in Africa could possibly have been catalyzed by one effect of globalization: mobilization of labor. According to Edwin Bayrd, AIDS was most likely spread to smaller villages by young men and women who left the community in the seeking work in large cities. This contributed to the sex trade, as lonely men and women searched for companionship and comfort away from home. Promiscuity spurred on the spread of AIDS at a rapid pace, and as these men and women grew sick and unable to work, they returned home to their villages.
People in these smaller villages remained silent and shameful about their plights, unaware of the actual cause. Not only insufficient awareness, but a lack of funds for proper healthcare and stigmatizing of AIDS patients have contributed to the virus’ death toll. However, there is evidence that this problem could be alleviated through increased awareness of AIDS, and local women have been able to play a major role in this solution. Take for example the village of Hamburg, where many women and a handful of men gathered together to create a masterpiece inspired by their sense of community in the face of AIDS. This project, the Keiskamma Altarpiece, was organized by Dr. Carol Hofmeyr, the village’s AIDS doctor, with the goal of bringing the people of Hamburg together to commemorate the lives lost to AIDS and console those left behind. The altarpiece reflects how Hamburg was ravaged by AIDS in the beginning, and how the villagers are now learning to cope with it, slowly but surely; it is a symbol of their ability to “rise above adversity”.
From a broader perspective, the altarpiece also serves as a wonderful example of the women’s ability to reach out to people and make them think. By exhibiting this altarpiece in North America, viewers of this spectacular work of art have been allowed a glimpse into Hamburg as its residents see it; a beautiful place that has unfortunately suffered the ravages of the AIDS pandemic. Even though the women of Hamburg are for the most part unable to physically communicate with people in other nations, they are indirectly doing so through their art, sending the important message of how AIDS is affecting their lives to all who view the altarpiece. By increasing awareness of AIDS in Africa through their artwork, the women of Hamburg are actually exercising some form of political power, in that they are able to transcend the oppressiveness and inefficiency of the African government and healthcare system to move people in other countries; people who could potentially contribute to helping AIDS-stricken Africa to recover.
Conclusion
Women around the world do have some form of political clout, even in countries with oppressive, patriarchal social systems. It is with this political power that they are able to act as cultural and social agents to the political aspect of globalization, such as promoting equality between men and women and supporting the rise of democracy in different parts of the world. It is rather ironic, however, that at times they can use this power to oppose other forces of globalization – for example, modernization and capitalism in the Ecuadorian Andes. However, I believe that the rising trend in feminine power over the years is a positive thing, as it has had observable effects on power relations in oppressed societies. Hopefully this phenomenon will continue and grow stronger over the years; it may not be too much to hope for a future where men and women are given equal treatment all over the world.
Bibliography
Nye, Joseph S. 2004. Soft Power,1st ed. p. 7. United States: Public Affairs.
Suad, Joseph, and Susan Slyomovics. 2001. “Introduction”, in Women and Power in the Middle-East, pp. 1-14. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Crain, Mary M. 1991. “Poetics and Politics in the Ecuadorean Andes”, American Ethnologist, vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 67-82.
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