In “The Pillow Book”, Sei Shonagon depicts the life women had in medieval Japan. Through her stories and various lists, she demonstrates how women were not treated equal to men. From birth, women were seen as subordinate to men. Especially in the role of marriage, men were given full control. When describing depressing things, Shonagon writes about a husband who fails to come home because a court lady has taken him as her lover, the wife’s family says, “will he eventually tire of the women and come back to us?” (B, 251) . A woman’s role was to wait, while the man had the power to start the relationship or end it. Women were expected to respect and honor their husbands no matter what. Women had no opportunities besides to become a housewife. This concept has changed through time. In today’s world, women have gained the same rights as men and have become successful CEO’s and influential politicians. Unfortunately women in the Middle East have not joined in this advancement.
In the NY Times article ” For Afghan wives, a desperate, fiery way out” by Alissa J. Rubin, young Afghani women are being denied their rights. Lives for Afghani women are similar to the life Shonagon describes in her book. The roles and demands of Afghani women has never changed or reached enlightenment. Married off when they are teenagers to a man chosen by their parents, they are left with no options. This act empowers the husband and his family who believe that abusing his wife is appropriate since she is not worthy of respect. “The choices for Afghan women are extraordinarily restricted: Their family is their fate. There is little chance for education, little choice about whom a woman marries, no choice at all about her role in her own house. Her primary job is to serve her husband’s family. Outside that world, she is an outcast.” These women feel like their only way to escape is death, and the cheapest way to do so is by burning themselves. These self-inflicting burns by women have grown tremendously in recent years but no one has made the initiative to stop it. One can only hope that one day women in Afghanistan and in similar countries will be granted equal opportunity the way we have it here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/world/asia/08burn.html?scp=1&sq=afghani%20women%20self%20inflicting%20burns&st=cse
