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CULTURES:
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Patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which the father is head of the household, having authority over women and children and in which title is traced throught the male line. Patriarchy also refers to a system of government by males, and to the dominance of men in social or cultural systems, which may be detrimental to women. Patriarchy clearly still exists in some denominations of the Christian church. For more information on its history and various advocates See a variety of definitions and other links and an interesting link to feminist geography which suggests that urban design overwhelmingly reflects the male viewpoint; for example, a cycle track in Oxford has been hidden from the main road by a hedge-topped bank. From a male point of view this makes the track quieter and less polluted. The track is desperately unsafe for women, and a number have been attacked along it. A paper exploring the theories of patriarchy Reflection on the group’s fact-finding visit to Romania: For me, more of the impact of the visit was personal stuff - and I've had to work at also reflecting on the feelings about the trafficking issue … though actually, I wonder whether maybe they are linked when the culture is so patriarchal in the Orthodox Church and 86% of the Romanian population profess to be Orthodox. Are there actually big questions about domestic violence and the ability to sell women in that sort of context? Certainly the African churches represented at the WFMUCW (World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women) Conference in Korea last year spoke about how much work they had to do in terms of educating men that hitting your wife was wrong before they could get anywhere on this issue. And I am not convinced by Elena’s suggestion that there is not child abuse by Orthodox priests because a) they are married, and b) they wouldn’t do it because of the publicity it would cause. So maybe my reaction to the system isn't unconnected. But the first issue was watching an Orthodox priest take an ordained Methodist male member of the group 'behind the curtain' in the church – and suddenly realising "of course - he’s a male priest". And then wondering what that was saying about my own ordination (as a female Methodist minister) – but closely followed by the question as to what that was saying about ordination and other forms of ministry and calling. So I wrote: And so they enter that most holy place, But if I too, enter that holy place: "And the curtain of the temple was torn in two." So why 'me' and why not 'us'? But an AIDROM employee says "not in a thousand years" when we ask her if she thinks the Romanian Orthodox Church will allow women to be ordained, and we hear her pain that as a theologically trained woman she dare not lead worship during the Ecumenical Forum of Christian Women in case it gets back to the Patriarch. And we learn that menstruating women must either stay outside the church and hear the service broadcast to them or only go into the first area just inside the door – a part of the Bible I've just used as an example of something we choose to ignore these days (just imagine doing the Methodist Circuit plan taking that into account!). WHAT IS ALL THIS SAYING ABOUT WOMEN? I know it isn't only women who are trafficked – but it must be part of the context for them. And it's certainly part of a context for me.
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