Discussion on Gender Roles and Feminism

The point isn't that you shouldn't be financially independent. No.

You marry a man who provides for you, and you stay comfortable at home.

Why are you wearing yourself out with work? It's a man's duty to provide for you.

And you're a woman, so you should be pampered at home.

The point isn't that you shouldn't make any decisions in your life.

But men know what's best for you. Your father worries about you.

Your brother worries about you. Your husband worries about you. So when they tell you

where you're going, where you're headed, who you're with, when you're coming back.

That's not called control. That's called protection.

The point isn't that you have to obey your husband.

But how can a household run with two captains and two ships and—

How? There has to be one person with the final say.

Of course, by coincidence, that person is always a man. But still.

The point isn't that you're inferior to him at all.

It's just that

you and he complement each other. He leads.

He's firm. He makes the decisions. You're

the tenderness, the nurturing, the cooking, raising

the children. Meaning, give him the traits that give him authority.

And you take the traits that

It lets you take that authority. Don't call it inequality.

Call it complementarity.

The point isn't that your body is shameful. No. But respect yourself.

I mean, men are men. You know. You know what society is like.

The point isn't that men aren't responsible for their actions.

But you shouldn't give him an opening either. It doesn't mean his jealousy is control.

No. Jealousy is proof of love. When he stops you from

seeing your friends, traveling, going out, or what you wear, he's just

jealous of you. The point isn't that you should endure an unhappy marriage.

But a sensible, respectable woman protects her home.

The point isn't that you have to stay silent about abuse.

But don't blow problems out of proportion. Every home has problems.

I'm not saying you should put up with his infidelity. But men are different from women.

That's their nature. They have desires. It also isn't about

your life ending if you get divorced. But think of your children and your reputation.

What will people say about you? Your ambition isn't wrong.

But in the end, what good will it do you, honestly? You have no one but your husband and children.

What good will this success do you if you don't have a husband and children?

You see the game. Have you noticed it? We rarely see

male chauvinism telling women, "You're less than a man."

So submit. That sentence is ugly. No one would accept it.

Instead, they tell her that submission means femininity.

Your obedience means respect. Restricting you is protection

for you. Your silence is wisdom. Your endurance is

sacrifice. His jealousy and control are masculinity and love.

Giving up your independence is for your comfort and pampering.

Then, if you reject all this "honoring," they tell you, "Look at feminism."

It's ruined Arab women and made them compete with men

instead of living their femininity. Feminism didn't tell women not to

love, marry, raise children, or let their partner support them,

if that's what they love or if that's what suits them.

Feminism told you something much simpler. Don't let these

things be imposed on women just because they were born women.

There's a huge difference between a woman choosing to be a homemaker.

A home and a society that have raised her since childhood to believe that home is

her natural place. Then they tell you it’s innate.

There’s a difference between your partner caring for you and you

having to need his permission and financial support just to live.

There’s a difference between love and control,

when we dress it up in romantic language. Modern patriarchy no longer tells women

“Submit.”

It has become smarter. It tells her, “Submit,

but consider your submission femininity.”