Communist Feminism: Who Would Have Thought?!

I really liked the piece on Communist Feminism in chapter 21. Who would have ever thought that “communist countries in fact pioneered forms of women’s liberation that only later were adopted in the West.” (Strayer & Nelson, 940). For a short period of time, women in Russia had legal and political equality: “marriage became a civil procedure among freely consenting adults; divorce was legalized and made easier, as was abortion; illegitimacy was abolished; women no longer had to take their husbands’ surname; pregnancy leave for employed women was mandated; and women were actively mobilized as workers in the country’s drive to industrialization.” Lenin believed that men and women should rule the state. Women organized themselves by forming a special organization called Zhenotdel and taught each other how to run day-care centers and medical clinics, publish newspapers and magazines aimed at female audiences, and provide literacy and prenatal classes. These women seemed to have been ahead of the curve! I love what Alexandra Rodionova said about herself, “This former illiterate working girl had been transformed into a person, powerful with the knowledge of her own rights, a consciousness of responsibility for everything happening in the country.” (Strayer & Nelson, 941). It is unfortunate that men fear women’s strength and intelligence. I wondered how women must have felt when Stalin came into power and abolished that special organization of Zhenotdel. Reading and writing about these women in Russia in the 1930s made me think of the class exercise Professor Andrews had us do last week. The lesson of this exercise bothered me. I could not imagine having the rights that I have as a woman be taken away from me. I would go into a deep depression, one from which I am not sure I could ever recover. 

Ode to Kartini

As I read the story of Kartini, I found myself agreeing with her beliefs. I loved what she said, “Are we fine women of no use to civilization?” Even though a lot has changed since Kartini’s time, in some countries and/or cultures men still believe that women are subordinate to them, do not deserve to have an education, and do not have a say in whom we should marry. I came from a country where men think women are to obey them and not think for themselves. While I personally would have had the opportunity to choose my husband, I was not encouraged to go to college and get an education like my brother did. I was expected to marry at a young age, obey my husband, not have an opinion of my own, and bear his children. Yes, you read that right. Once married, our children would not have been considered ours, but his. Kartini would say that this is unacceptable, and I would agree with her. I could not ever imagine what Kartini must have felt when she found out that she was to marry a much older and polygamous man. The thought of it makes me angry and sad. It also saddened me that her dreams of opening a school for girls were never realized while she was still alive. But the silver lining in this story is that we now know of her and that because her writings became known in Indonesia that a number of “Kartini schools” (Strayer & Nelson, 727) were established in her memory.

Need a Reason to Cry?

This week’s reading was a bit tough for me. I cried while reading these chapters and not because I am naïve, unaware of the violence in our world, have never heard of slavery, or I think that I am Mother Theresa (I, too, criticize people and call them names in my head). But these 55 words, which I had not read before, made me hurt all over: “There she no doubt saw the whips and leg irons used to discipline the captured Africans as well as the windowless dungeons in which hundreds were crammed while waiting for the ships that would carry them across the Atlantic to the Americas. Almost certainly she also caught sight of the infamous ‘gate of no return’.” (Strayer & Nelson 601). After I read this quote, I felt such sadness and such anger at the same time. Once again, I question those religious individuals who speak and/or preach about loving God. Who is this God we must love, devote ourselves to, kill for, eradicate, or displace those we conquer? No one has ever seen or heard this God ask these things of us. Strayer writes that not all slaves experienced the same oppression and/or mistreatment, that some were able to have decent living conditions, but a slave is a slave. No human being should ever be bought or sold and most certainly not tortured, raped, or discriminated against because of his or her skin color. Nor should a person from Africa be thought of as being of an inferior race or being anything less than human. (Strayer & Nelson, 624)

How Civilized Are We?

After reading Chapters 9, 11, and 12, I cannot help but think that we, as people, have become extremely violent toward one another as we have supposedly become “more civilized.” Even though I have lived through a civil war and understand why my countrymen fought against each other to overthrow a dictator, I cannot ever support the ideas behind wars and most certainly do not support the killing of innocent people. Muhammad, for example, claimed that God spoke to him over a period of 22 years. He fought many wars and was not only a religious figure, but he was also a military leader who would harshly suppress, exile, enslave, or even kill those who opposed him. We then have Chinggis Khan, who is believed to have been an excellent military leader. But from my point of view, he was a despicable human being who is said to have used a form of psychological warfare. “Whoever submits shall be spared, but those who resist, they shall be destroyed with their wives, children and dependents … so that the others who hear and see should fear and not act the same.” (Strayer & Nelson, 471) These are just two examples of two human beings who would not think twice about taking a life if that life did not serve their political or religious agenda. There were other rulers, kings, and emperors before and after Muhammad and Chinggis Khan who have used violence in order to gain power. Perhaps the civilization we are forming now could use a “time-out,” take a deep/closer look at the age of agriculture, and in some wishful thinking way go back in time to avoid such violence. If we all came from one place, aren’t we killing our own family members?