This essay aims to explain how the Egyptian people are affected by British

colonial. And how patriarchy maintains its power amongst families and
communities. Additionally it will look at how patriarchy manifests itself in the
book Palace Walk and the effects of its culture on two characters and the
impact that power relations have in the characters ability to self-actualise. It will
look at secular and religious challenges to patriarchy by Islamic intellectuals,
activists and reformers.

Lerner (1986) describes patriarchy as a historic creation by men and women

taking almost 2500 years to complete and gender being something that was
created. By using women for their sexual and reproductive reasons women
became a valuable commodity to man as much as land did. They became traded
or bought and used for sexual services with their children consequently
becoming owned by their master. Women of conquered tribes became enslaved
first and the men killed and by doing this men then also learned how to enslave
the men from these groups and later on men and women from their own
societies. Thus the enslavement of women, combining both racism and sexism
preceded the formation of classes and class oppression. By the time of the
second millennium young daughters of poor families became sold into marriage
or prostitution. The men that had a greater wealth commanded a higher price for
their daughters, which then brought more financial gains to the family. Where
debts could not be paid a husbands wife or children became used to pay off
debtors. Warriors from this time used their powers over women to conquer tribes
and by doing this they set precedence for future warriors in separating
differences between the conquered and the conquerors. They learned how to use
power over people from the first exchange of women. From this came class
dominance exploiting men for work and women for work but also women for
sexual services and for child bearing. Women from higher classes were still
controlled by men sexually and reproductively but would gain other privileges.
Men and women became dominated by whoever owned the means of
production for example land, businesses and property, namely men. These men
then received services (sexual and reproductive) from women of their own class
and also those of a lower class. Children off the women from the lower classes
became owned by these men and were used as slaves, sold off or traded.
Women only had access to resources or class through men and namely their
fathers and their husbands, breaking rules meant they could be declassed. Most
single women were dependent on a male in some way, although some women
went to convents or other places. From the Second Millennium B.C men who
were exploited and dominated by other men by the state then held dominance
over their families. Male family heads allocated the resources of society to their
families the way the state allocated the resources of society to them
The sexual behaviour of people in all societies was a form of social control from
2000BC. The family became a replica of the state and constantly reinforced. For
patriarchy to survive it needs the cooperation of women. A lack of education,

withholding knowledge of womens history to women and by making access to

resources hard to reach for women are ways of ensuring their cooperation .
Other factors to be considered are by using womens sexual activities to cause a
division from one another and class privileges given to women who conform.
Women have lived mainly unknowingly under patriarchy for nearly 4000 years.
Women were given protection and economic help and in return became
subordinates in all areas for example; sex services and free domestic
services.Their unknowingness of their history is one of the biggest ways of
women being controlled by men. Lerner (1986).

Patriarchy is something which exists but differs between all societies. By looking
at patriarchy in a political light it can be seen how the oppression of women is
upheld by power of government. Ideological conditioning is one way of how this
power is upheld. Socialization of male and females which is suited to favour
males is how the conditioning is gained to keep patriarchy running smoothly.
The family is the unit in which its members are ruled by power of government, by
the socialization of sexes from birth the family actually helps to patriarchy keep
its position by helping its young to conform to what is expected of them. The
family, the larger society and the state are all connected and are the main three
patriarchal institutions and where patriarchy through the state keeps control of
its people through the head of the family so the family becomes a replica of the
larger society, Millet (1971).
Naguib Mahfouzs novel Palace Walk shows the ways in which patriarchy
manifests itself following the lives of an Egyptian family beginning in the year
1917. Al sayyid Ahmed Abd al-Jawad is the husband and father of the
patriarchal household who use rules and fear to hold power over the entire
family, whilst also contradicting himself by breaking his own rules for his own
benefit. Amina is the wife and would have to obey her husband on every matter.
Living most of her life in isolation Amina had been forbidden to leave the house
for a full twenty five years. Waking early each morning to help her husband
dress, she would then go about preparing breakfast to be served on the top floor
of the house; this floor was to be used predominantly by the males in the
household. Amina would stand on duty awaiting instruction by her husband. This
experience for the male children was always a tense and nerve wracking and the
only part of the day in which the sons were together with their father. Their
father would strictly examine each of them looking for some fault, where they
would then be seriously reprimanded. Once the father left the house for work the
atmosphere would dramatically change, this would be met with relief, leaving
each of them to be able to talk, laugh, sing or play free from fear. This would be
the start of a typical day in the household, the male sons would then head out to
work or school leaving Amina and her daughters doing daily chores.
The daughters would then become ruled by the mother, who would divide the
chores that needed to be completed for the day, although the mother would
show love and kindness more than anything else. Aminas day would finally end

when she would greet and serve her husband after his nightly trips out
socialising and drinking with friends unaware of his involvement with other
women.Amina had showed an objection to these nites out early on in the
marriage with al sayyidsresponse being to grab her by the ears and say Im a
man. I am the one who commands and forbids. I will not accept any criticism of
my behaviour. All I ask of you is to obey me. Dont force me to discipline you.
Patriarchy would also show its form in much other stronger ways. The father
would have control over any marriage for his children. Both daughters unable to
show themselves to any other male would have their choice of partner made for
them. A marriage proposal would come from the family of any future husband
and the decision of whether to accept or decline would be made by the father.
Once the daughters were married they then escaped the control of their father
but would then become under the control of their husband and their new in-laws.

Mahmmod (1962) researched six womensmosques across Egypt anddid an

overview of three of them. She found that all though they all had differences
such as the ages of women who attended, dress codes and their social
background they all shared the view of a worry of an increase in secularization of
Egyptian society. The women attending these mosques mainly viewed
secularization as something that had happened to where Islam has become
nothing more than a set of beliefs that has no actual impact on the way in which
people conduct their lives. In the process of this happening some viewed Islam
as becoming more westernised caused by modern government policies. The
womens mosque movement came about to help women wishing to return to
living their lives in all areas according to Islamic principles and keeping their
cultural identity.Hajja Samira a religious woman teacher expresses her concerns
in this way Currently, religion seems to have become separated from the texts
or scriptures (nusus), especially in issues of mu amalat (commercial and social
transactions). The challenge that we face as Muslims right now is how to
understand and follow the example of the Prophet, how to act according to the
Quaran and the hadith in our daily lives(biyimilbil-hadith wil-quranizzay). All of
us Muslims know the basics of religion (al-din), such as praying, fasting, and
other acts of worship (ibadat). But the difficult question is how to make our daily
lives congruent with our religion while at the same time moving with the world
(muharrikina a id-dinya), especially given that the present period is one of great
change and transformation. For me, proselytization (da wa) means doing it from
within ordinary acts and practicalities (amaliyyat), and translating worship
(ibada) into everyday practices so that these are always directed toward God
(fahmil-ibadakulluyittagihilallah).Mahmood also describes of how mosque
activities have grown fast over the last twenty years and that the government
have tried to regulate these activities out of a fear of them being used to
promote critical views of the state whilst putting an end to militant Islamic
threat.
Badram (2009, describes feminism in Islam as something which has caused
confusion to many in the West who have denied its existence or used Muslims

womens oppression as something which justifies colonial or neo-colonial

intrusion. Some Muslims see feminism as another way of becoming Westernised
and is viewed as an attack on their culture and not in line with their religion.
research has been shown though to prove that feminism which has been called
Secular or Islamic feminism is something in which Muslim women have
themselves created and not something that is Western. Secular feminism is
something that came about more as a social movement looking more at human
rights regardless of religion, and focusing on education, work issue and family
roles. Secular feminism though did not take on board the construction of the
patriarchal family when looking at family law to be reformed. Islamic feminism
was based more on Islamic interpretation and of analysis of the Quran and have
argued that the patriarchal family is not in line with womens equality and human
rights that are main Quranic values.

Ibrahim (2007) a leading spokesman for democracy and human rights in the Arab
world says to understand Islamic thinking today an historical approach must be
used by understanding three main things. By understanding Islam as something
that came to very old societies it became mixed with other cultures over the
course of a century which then in turn changed again which has lasted right up
until now. The second thing is that understanding that every child from every
generation learns through history books that this first century of Islam was the
most glorious time and a revival of that era of civilisation to return are how the
Muslim Brothers, Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Quada have come about. The third
thing is the question that Muslims have struggled to agree an answer on is the
question of why the West has progressed so much whilst they havent. They
have been presented with three answers. One answer is that they must go right
back to pure religion, a second answer is that they didnt keep up with the West
and were then conquered so they must try to be like the West. The third answer
is that they dont need to do either but they could combine the best of both as in
using both modernity and the best of their early heritage, culture and tradition.
The Islam Reformation project is something that was started by Ibraham after
9/11. One thesis that has been put across is the theory that although the Koran is
based upon freedom, democracy, gender equality and human rights Islamic
thought has not been updated or changed for one thousand years. The reason
for this being that religious authoritys shutdown Ijtihad which is the
reinterpretation of the text and said it was the foreign pressure upon Islam was
the reason. It is thought that by reinterpreting the text it would then be felt as
being controlled by the West. The Islamic reformation project has asked Islamic
thinkers from across the world to think about this statement Please, as you read
the Koran and the basic heritage of Islam, develop 21 st century Islamic answers
that will help keep our youngsters to be faithful to their religion and their
heritage but also help them to live in the 21 st century as full partners, not as
enemies and not as warriors.

Bibliography
N,Mahfouz (1956). The Cairo Trilogy, Germany, Everymans Library.
G, Lerner (1986), The Creation of Patriarchy, New York, Oxford University Press.
K, Millett (1977), Sexual Politics, Great Britain, Virago Press.
M, Badran, (2009), Feminism in Islam, Oxford, AOneworld Book.
S, Mahmood, (1962), Politics of Piety, New Jersey, Princeton University Press.
T,Ramadan, (2010), What I believe, New York, Oxford University Press.
A, Millen, (2009), For your own good : Hidden cruelty in child-rearing and the
roots of violence, London, Urago.
M, Isday, (2008), The history of Human Rights, Los Angeles, University of
California Press.

Wider Reading.
A politics of inclusion: An interview with SaadEddin Ibrahim.

Come September : Arundhati Roy, Lensic Performing Arts Center.