The patriarchy was planned in detail several thousand years ago. It is a monstrous octopus with big arms of chauvinism, racism, sexism, colonialism, class systems, hatred in every form and extermination of those who do not obey the big head.
It is a hierarchical system. A system in which a nun denies an attack by a drunken priest with a visible bruise on his face.
It is a system in which aggressive journalists thirsty for other people’s suffering, pain, and shame come as inquisitors and begin their witch hunt. Why did they come to ask the nun, why did they not ask the main and responsible culprits, the church credentials who have been protecting and covering up their bullies for years who preach morality from the altar?
Why do they further stigmatize a victim who is forced to protect a priest even though he has hit her? She is afraid and her fear is quite understandable.
All victims of violence are afraid because they know well what blackmails, manipulations, and threats their perpetrators are ready for. They are aware that society will greet them with a knife or publicly stone them with the phrases of a priest’s mistress, whore, provocateur, and a woman who did not submit to patriarchy.
Freedom is expensive to pay
Throughout history, women have fled to a convent or been courtesans to escape the terror of violence or escape the Inquisition that raged in Europe for 500 years. These are the two extremes that provided women with security, shelter, food, livelihood, and education. The nuns had access to read philosophical, theological, historical, and literary works and could be trained to be nurses, nurses.
The nuns were protected and respected. They were understood to be chaste and innocent by the standards of patriarchy. The other extreme was courtesans. If you watch a film about the legendary Venetian courtesan Veronica Franco, Dangerous Beauty you will see her demonstration with banana and Latin.
Men at the time had irresistible intelligence, charm, and sex appeal and they could find that in brothels. They demanded that their wives be subordinated to social norms and wrapped in a mold. Some of them never found their identity. The point of this is that both the nuns and the courtesans sought freedom and escape within the walls.
I deliberately draw a parallel between these two extremes because these women were looking for something different, liberating, motivating, and different from the life of a submissive married woman with a muzzle on her mouth as punishment if she spoke too much. They had a share of freedom of expression within their communities. I am afraid that this freedom has disappeared throughout history because now we see nuns beating and prostitutes dragged into the hell of human trafficking. That is the essence of patriarchy.
The victim is guilty because she is a whore
Mariana Seiffert’s recent disappearance has rekindled sexist views of the missing person. Various speculations have emerged that only make it difficult for her loved ones and institutions to search for her.
The media is relentlessly searching for all the details of Marijana’s past. And the hypocritical society condemns Marijana for cheating on her husband and being a participant in the reality show Big Brother. These are not important facts that will help Mariana return home.
This is a ruthless modern inquisition. The enormous pressure of condemnation, lies, fabrications, gossip, and slander that society sends to the victims of unfortunate circumstances. These plagues are forcing them to commit suicide, to flee.
We kill each other with our words and after death, we hypocritically comment on how scary and sad it is. I responsibly claim that patriarchy and its rules are one of the main causes of these disasters. And women victims of violence have nowhere to run.
Mischievous Words by Marta 