If the reasons offered for restricting women are not fundamentally religious, then what arguments are used? There are two basic rationales given: the existence of dangers to women on the outside and the dangers that come from women within the household:
- Women are not expected to be able to cope with the exigencies of the outside world. The prime danger is from male strangers who are seen as liable to take advantage of an unescorted woman. Such strangers, as a category, are presumed to be sexually predatory and always ready to pounce. ...In the anonymity of the streets, some men who would spring fiercely to the defense of the women of their own families, leer, hoot, pinch, and make sexually pointed remarks at passing women whom they do not know and who do not know them. ...Women are viewed by men and view themselves as physically weak, perhaps sensually willing, certainly exceedingly vulnerable...people tend to suspect that assaulted women may, wittingly or unwittingly, have led a man on.
As much as women are subject to dangers outside the homes, they are treated as sources of danger within the home:
- Wives are...seen as both guarantors and disruptors of family and patrilineage. ...A woman’s sexuality is suspect because, for one reason, it may be a means by which she can entice her husband away from unswerving allegiance to parents and brothers. The potential of sex to impart shame is abated by such devices as the separateness of wife and husband in public and by the hurried, almost clandestine visitations for intercourse.
Both inside and outside her household, a woman must continually send forth a stream of signals that communicate her subordination to all of the men in her life. She must carefully veil herself in certain ways depending upon what sort of men she sees — and with strangers around, she can’t even make eye contact. This is the culture in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and northern India — it does not go completely unchallenged, but it remains a given that is not very pleasant for those who must endure it.
In relatively few pages Mandelbaum is able to synthesize the available literature as well as his own personal research. His writing is clear and understandable, making this an excellent resource for both students and non-specialists. Anyone wishing to learn more about Indian culture and the role of women in this region should look at this book.
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