“The emotional, sexual and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, ‘It’s a girl.’”
Those are the words of Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to Congress.
Chisholm’s comment certainly gives us something to ponder, huh?
Not too far in the distant past women in America were seen as nothing more than the property of their fathers and husbands. Women could not own land, vote, or even attend school beyond a certain point. Thankfully, times have changed, but we are still faced with many challenges in regards to equal pay and the over-sexualization of women and girls.
While women’s rights in the United States are always a concern for me, Chisholm’s comment actually led me to think about women in other countries.
Consider Malawi, for instance.
Malawi is located in southern Africa and is considered the poorest country on the continent.
In addition to Malawian women being devalued in a multitude of ways throughout their lives, there is a specific act these women have to endure that is especially discriminatory and demoralizing.
Widow cleansing.
Widow cleansing is a “custom” in Malawi where widows are expected to have sex in an effort to be cleansed. The women are led to believe that if they do not sleep with someone, her family will be cursed and the spirit of her dead husband will visit her.
Interestingly enough, the custom is not forced on the women, but the underlying pressure is very evident. The pressure to have sex and the belief of being cursed are so overt that many widows actively look for someone to have sex with them. One Malawian woman was quoted as saying “I don’t want to die; I don’t want a curse to come to my husband and our family.”
It’s a mindset issue. Now do you see the correlation between Chisholm’s comment about the emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females and widow cleansing? The two are related.
People in Malawi take advantage of a widow’s emotional and psychological state by abusing them sexually. Sure, the Malawian women agree to have sex, making it consensual, but that agreement is based on lies.
Widow cleansing has become a popular business for many men in Malawi who consider themselves professional cleansers. The average cost of a “cleansing” is $50. Malawi’s minimum wage is less than $1 a day.
Incorporate the cost of the cleansing and it’s clear to see that the widows are also being taken advantage of financially. They are also being subjected to disease such as HIV and AIDS because the cleansing tradition involves having unprotected sex.
Another example of inequality amongst Malawian women is what happens between the widow and her husband’s family.
Since husbands and wives are not considered related (they essentially belong to their respective families even after marriage), the husband’s family can take anything that belonged to the deceased man. Oftentimes that means the very home the married couple once shared as well as its belongings go to the husband’s relatives. The widow and her children are often left homeless and destitute.
Unjust treatment such as that of the Malawian women should remind us why we need to advocate for women’s rights in the United States and beyond. Properly educating women is one solution, but before that can be done, more advocacy efforts need to be implemented.
In the words of journalist Abigail Duniway, “The debt that each generation owes to the past, it must pay to the future.”
We have benefited greatly over the years – specifically due to the efforts of advocates before us, so now it is our turn to pay it forward.
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