By Monica Calderon
Along with political and economic interests, culture has been one of the main factors that have historically influenced the law and deepened gender inequality. In different societies the defense of cultural traditions has prevented women from having the same rights as men and in most cases cultural and religious values prevail over the rights of the people and any attempt at change is interpreted as an attack on traditions.
One example of this influence is Nigeria. In her Ted Talks “We should all be feminist” Chimamanda Ngozi reflects how in traditional societies like Nigerian, the biological differences between men and women that make the former physically stronger than the latter have justified the dominance of men and that they are the ones who impose the rules in society because the idea persists that physical strength is the most important attribute for survival.
Among the institutions that have deepened the difference between men and women, the two that may have played a decisive role in Nigeria are the family and the marriage.Regarding the family, Chimamanda Ngozi emphasizes how boys are raised in an environment where an obtuse look of masculinity prevents them from developing and expressing their feelings while girls are taught that they may have ambitions but not too many, both attitudes limit integral development as human beings of girls as of boys.
Meanwhile, marriage has different meanings for men and women. While women are encouraged to marry and that is the highest aspiration of their lives, for men it is not, therefore this leads to the woman being the one who assumes the commitment in the relationship.
The above has resulted in Nigerian women continuing to be seen as weak and inferior and that those who self-declare feminists such as Chimamanda Ngozi are stigmatized and accused of attacking their culture.
Another example of how culture deepens gender differences, is the role played by the Islamic family law in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries. As Nahda Shehada presents in “The Assymmetrical Representation of Gender in Islamic Family Law”, in these countries, family law is derived from the Sharia which in turn is highly influenced by the religious precepts of Islam. There are different aspects of this law related to marriage,custody of children and inheritance that treat women inferiorly and subordinate them to men.
Regarding marriage, in the Islamic law it is seen more as a means to guarantee the political and economic interests of the family than as a way to respond to the interests of women. The above is reflected in the minimum age in which marriage is allowed for women, that is generally lower than that of men, even in many cases the families themselves falsify the age of girls and young women without taking into account their feelings and violating openly their rights.
Another characteristic aspect of marriage in the Islamic culture is the dowry. Through it the man offers financial support to the woman and this in return must obey. In most countries, the obedience of women in Islamic marriage translates into being at home renouncing the possibility of having a paid job and thus perpetuating their economic dependence on their husbands.
The inequalities of marriage are also reflected in the custody of children and inheritance. According to Islamic law, custody is divided in two areas reflecting a sexual division of labour. In this way, the physical care is assigned to the mother while the issues related to future, education and financial responsability are assignated to the father. In the case of the inheritance, daughters receive half the amount of sons in similar situations thus solidifying the ties within the extended patrilineal group.
Both Nigeria and Islamic countries show the importance of a social change. This social change must include not only reforms to the laws but first of all changes in the perceptions, beliefs, practices and attitudes of people around the gender. As Chimamanda Ngozi points out the problem with conceptions around gender is that they are the product of a social and cultural construction that exaggerates the differences between men and women and that instead of recognizing how we are, it prescribes how we should be, forgetting that “culture does not make people, the people make the culture”.