Throughout time, women have been perceived as “objects” or have been treated differently because of past roles developed in history. In 1769, the American colonies formed a law in which women and their husband’s were considered one person under the law. Married women were owned by their husband’s and took on the role of being a housewife meaning they were responsible for domestic chores along with conceiving children. Women were not expected to detain an education and pursue a professional career, but instead meet the “husband’s needs” and obey the husband’s orders. Women have also been victims of domestic violence, in the 1800s domestic violence was not a crime, so women were constantly abused. Although, there are now laws that punish abusers, domestic violence and the abuse of women continues to occur. Recently, there has been the abuse of women in Hollywood by men who abuse their power as directors, producers, etc.
There has been stories about undocumented women who do not report the abuse for fear of getting deported and as a result must put up with the constant abuse of their husband’s or boyfriend’s. Women are sometimes perceived as being inferior to men not only in real life, but also in works of literature. For example, in Coetzee’s novel, Waiting for the Barbarians, the males hold power and control over the women, the magistrate abuses his power to lure the barbarian girl into his bed. Joll and his soldiers tortured the barbarian girl and left permanent scars; this is an example of the abuse some women have endured. The barbarian girl can be compared to an undocumented women who is also a victim of abuse because like the barbarian girl who never really spoke about how she was tortured and violently abused, an undocumented women keeps the abuse to herself. As mentioned before, women were owned by their husbands which may be the reason for why they felt they had the right to violently attack their wives. The magistrate states, “…she will never be courted and married in the normal way: she is marked for life as the property of a stranger…”(Coetzee 135). Women being referred to as property is an example of how women are portrayed as less of a person.
In addition to not speaking up against domestic abuse for fear of deportation, undocumented women fear the loss of financial stability because most depend on their abusive husband’s for supporting their family. The undocumented woman’s income alone may not be enough to support her family or worse because she may be forced by her spouse to stay home, she endures the violence and stays for her children’s sake. Women are sometimes treated inferiorly to men, for example, in the Aeneid by Virgil, Aeneas loses his wife and does not remember about her until later. This example shows how women are sometimes treated less because of their gender even if it is their wife.
Under the Trump administration, undocumented women have feared being deported now more than ever because the immigration policies have become very strict. In other cases the abusive spouse threatens to inform the immigration officials of the undocumented victim if they report the abuse, so as a result the victim never comes forward. Although now it may not seem like women are looked down upon, it has still been a common problem in today’s society where women fall as victims to their abusive spouses. It has especially been a problem for undocumented women who fear the loss of financial stability, but more importantly the fear of deportation and potential separation from their children.
Works Cited:
Coetzee, J. M. Waiting for the Barbarians. Penguin Books, 1982. Print.
Virgil, and Robert Fagles. The Aeneid. Penguin, 2010.
Header Source: https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Womens-Rights-Will-Face-Many-Challenges-in-2017-Activists-Say-20161229-0005.html
Being Aware 
Leave a comment