A Tribute to Womanhood

Welcome to "I Am Woman"...a tribute to all those women who had the courage and perseverance to stand up and fight for their rights. Thanks to those who came before us we enjoy a freedom unknown to women not too long ago. But, sadly, in many parts of the world, women continue to be repressed. In fact, even in this country there are women living today under the threat of violence...completely controlled by a violent spouse. Some may make it; others won't. Hopefully, one day ALL women will be free. May that day come soon.

9/28/2010

This Should Get Your Dander Up


“Instructing a woman is like holding a sack of sand whose sides have split open.”
- Ankhsheshong, scribe. Late Period Ancient Egypt

“Neither wives of lords, nor widows, nor Assyrian women who go out on the street, may have their heads uncovered.....when they go out on the street alone, they must veil themselves.”
- Middle Assyrian Law, 1383-1000 B.C.E.

“A proper wife should be as obedient as a slave...The female is a female by virtue of a certain lack of qualities - a natural defectiveness.”
- Aristotle

“A woman...cultivates the skills required in the women’s quarters and has no ambition to manage affairs outside the house...She must follow the ‘three submissions.’ When she is young, she must submit to her parents. After her marriage, she must submit to her husband. When she is widowed, she must submit to her son.”
- “The Mother of Mencius,” Waring States, 475-221 B.C.E, China

“Women, even though they are of full age, because of their levity of mind shall be under guardianship.”
- The Twelve Tables, Rome, 450 B.C.E.

“You must be like the heart in the body. You must not leave the home...You must be like embers in the hearth.”
- Advice given Aztec girls at ceremonies honoring their birth.

“Women are as different from men as earth from the heaven. She depends on the light of her husband to shine.” and “Woman’s virginity and chastity are more important than her life.”
- Neo-Confucian Sayings, China.

“If you have a son, you can say you have a descendant. But you cannot say thus, even if you have ten daughters.”
- Vietnamese proverb

“Even though you sleep intimately on the same bed and under the same cover with him, you must treat your husband as if he were your king.”
- Upper Class Confucian marriage manual, Vietnam

“There are only two places for a woman, the house and the grave”
- Pakistani proverb

“Women have long hair and a short mind.”
- Swedish proverb

“The best way to keep a woman is barefoot in the winter and pregnant in the summer”
- American proverb

1 comment:

  1. These make me laugh and go mad at the same time. My favorite, however, is, "You can chain me to the stove, as long as I get to boil you in the kettle."

    (Sometimes I believe that men tried to restrict and "chain" women because they knew we are dangerous. (^v^) )

    ReplyDelete