An Argumentative Essay on Patriarchy, Women's Rights, and Inequality

This argumentative essay delves into the concept of patriarchy and its detrimental effects on women's rights throughout history and in contemporary society. It examines how patriarchal systems, rooted in male dominance, have led to the oppression and denial of rights for women, referencing historical mistreatment, cultural biases, and the suppression of women's voices. The essay further explores how various cultures and ideologies, including interpretations of religious texts and philosophical viewpoints, have contributed to the perpetuation of gender inequality. It also highlights the emergence of feminist theory and activism as a response to patriarchal oppression, advocating for women's empowerment and equal rights. The conclusion emphasizes the need to dismantle patriarchal structures and promote gender equality in all aspects of life.

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Argumentative Essay
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Professor’s Name
Subject
PATRIARCHY
“From the middle ages, Women are seen as weak gender compared to men because of
male dominance. The cultures have actively supported patriarchy and Women have faced
oppression and denial of rights which is against human rights.
Introduction
Both men and female are equal and they should be treated the same without favoring any
side. Patriarchy is the father dominance where the man takes charge of everything including the
decision making. It is very unfair for men to inherit everything and make the decision while the
women are just watching without any contribution. Patriarchy started right from the begging of
mankind where we get the biblical stories and other myths about where the people come from.
The people of the Middle East mistreat the women so much and they do not even allow them to
talk when the men are talking and that is so inhuman (Abdul).
Body
“Women should not work together with men in workplaces”, a statement like that show
oppression of women and disrespect. Women work is to remain at home and cook for the
children as they wait for their husbands. Nobody should dictate what the women should or
should not do because all genders are equal. Men have nobody to question them even when they

come home late unlike women who can even be divorced because of such a petty thing. In
Arabic culture, women are believed to tell rumors and they cannot trust any story coming from
them. "What is said by women is believed after it has passed". That is so impolite because
women are equal with other human beings so what they say should be treated with a lot of
respect.
During the middle ages, women suffered mistreatment since the men viewed women as
their slaves. The submission was a must and failure to do so heavy punishment followed. Giving
birth is a gift from ultimate being because there are some women who cannot manage. In the
ancient world, the culture of mistreated women who were Burren so much and they were even
excommunicated from the community (Hadi). It was viewed as a bad omen to be barren. It is not
a choice for someone to get pregnant and so being barren, therefore punishing the women was
impertinent. If a woman gave birth to girls only again there was mistreatment because the men
wanted boy child.
A woman does not choose the gender of the child they will bear and they should not be
punished for that. Since there was nobody to represent women in the incidences of oppression
they choose to remain silent so that their marriages could stand. “Women who give birth to girls
only should laugh last” a quotation like this come from a community and that is clear
mistreatment of women because they did not choose (Couchman). Women become their own
enemies and they could even mistreat their fellow women only because they do not have a boy
child. Handling of women roughly was the order of the day and even the young men had that
power to treat the women in the way they choose.

The age of enlightenment brought changes on how the women were treated. Philosophers tried to
view women as equals to men and they advocated for equity. The idea comes in the 19th century
after total misuse which was there before.
According to Aristotle women were morally and physically inferior to men and their
submission was a must. There is no proof that women are not morally upright neither are they
intellectual (Scott-Samuel). Men were, in fact, ruthless and they even went to the extent of raping
the women. The statement was just made from a male perspective bearing in mind that Aristotle
was a man. The woman could be in fact the best in moral when we compare them to men by all
means. The statement on men being physically superior is not a must since we also have huge
women are even powerful than men. Women were associated with imperfection from the
biblical story where women broke the commandment of God by taking the forbidden fruit. The
biblical story cannot be taken as the source or reference because it is just a myth and again Eve
was only one woman compared to the thousands (Aggarwal).
Age of enlightenment and the modern age have brought changes in the way women are
treated. Women have been granted right to own property, the right to vote and participate in
politics. "Women who participate in politics are fewer women". It is the right of every citizen to
participate in the election despite their gender or race (Howard-Hassmann). There is nobody who
said that women cannot lead and only men are supposed to run for the seats. Women who have
tried that have failed because they do not get the support since most of the societies are male-
dominated. The women are not supporting other women are they are even envying them since
they feel they cannot make it.
“Women should be faithful and are not expected to re-marry”. Most of the community
will have that quote and they forbid women from remarrying even after their spouse dies

(McCullough). The men are exceptional and they can go ahead and marry while the female is
just suffering. It is the right of an individual to choose the kind of life they want to live. The
culture should respect women and treat them in the right way since they are all the same. Chinese
culture gives an example of women who lived virtuous live even after their husbands had died.
Living according to Neo- Confucian ideal was not easy and it was a pure abuse of women rights.
The emergence of feminist theorist brought the oppression of women to the end. Women
could not feel appreciated as other gender and for once they got the freedom to express their
ideas and concerns (Wetzel). "Women should not make any decision on their own", a patriarchy
society can give that statement which sounds so oppressing and abusing. There is no reason that
they give to show that it is only men responsibility to decide. Women are not children and they
can have their voices since are all equal.
The notion of women decision being treated as inferior should end. Racism and
patriarchy affected women in America so much and feminist theorist like Audre Lorde and
Gerda Lerner addressed it (Adkins). Eleanor Roosevelt represented women and she acted as an
example in America. Women should be actively involved in political arenas so that they can
show men that they are better than them. “What a man can do, a woman can do it better”. Such
phrases support the women and they make them feel appreciated and the oppression plus all
mistreatment have to end. We are all equals and nobody is familiar than the other the only
difference is the sex.

Work Cited
Scott-Samuel, Alex, Paul Crawshaw, and Ann Oakley. "Men behaving badly": patriarchy, public
policy and health inequalities." International Journal of Men’s Health 14.3 (2015).
Aggarwal, Sonali. "Patriarchy and Women’s Subordination." Bhartiyam International Journal of
Education & Research 5 (2016).
Hadi, Abdul. "Patriarchy and Gender-Based Violence in Pakistan." European Journal of Social
Sciences Education and Research 10.2 (2017): 297-304.
McCullough, Susan. "Gender lessons: patriarchy, sex-typing & schools." (2016): 703-705.
Couchman, Jane. The Ashgate research companion to women and gender in early modern
Europe. Routledge, 2016.
Howard-Hassmann, Rhoda E. Human rights and the search for community. Routledge, 2018.
Wetzel, Janice Wood. The world of women: In pursuit of human rights. Springer, 2016.
Adkins, Lisa, and Maryanne Dever. "Feminism re-engaged." (2015): 1-2.