Political Intervention: Sexist Attitude Towards Women

Political Invention Not only does this Western view of the veil help assert sexist attitudes, it also helps legitimize political intervention in the East. Narratives in gender are essential to political intervention and have been for centuries. By creating narratives of saving women, it provides national support to wage war on these countries in the name of helping (Shephard, 2006). After 9/11, the images the media used were specifically meant to tie modernity to liberation. Meaning that they framed the veil as oppressive because it was unmodern. It then seemed as if it was and is the duty and burden of the West to liberate these women through the act of war, when in fact, their true motives for war contradict their sentiments. While a strategic …show more content…
Through orientalist discourse, the West has asserted a sexist attitude towards women, claimed their superiority over Middle Eastern men, and claimed political and religious superiority. Essentially, the orientalist discourse has created is the opposite of the Christian sentiments Westerners claim. History has allowed itself to repeat so that Western civilizations stay superior when compared to the East. This discourse is not only toxic to the Eastern societies they try to control, but to the West as well. It enhances an arrogance about the West and allows for complacency. It shifts Westerners minds towards other societies supposed downfalls, so that they do not notice their own. It disseminates the discussion on cultural relativism that needs to occur instead. Destroying the orientalist view at large is not going to be a short battle, but rather a long and grueling war, much like the ones in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is imperative that future directions are inclusive of Eastern voices and specifically those of Eastern women. Western societies need to initiate highlighting the fact that Eastern women have caused change in the Middle East and continue to do so. This is not to say that Middle Eastern societies do not need improvement in women’s rights, it means that the discussion and rhetoric need to change so that the man-made orient and occident do not appear inherently opposing towards one another. History has been the West telling the East that they need to change and yet has not considered change themselves. It makes Westerners incredibly uncomfortable when there are new ideas of what women’s rights and freedom could possibly look like. This is not necessarily their fault, as they are taught through propagated material that the West is the most free, has the most rights, and is the most superior. At this point in history, women have created great change in society and have