Feminism in the 15th Century

Christine de Pizan has been recorded as being perhaps the first woman to write about the position of women in society. These days she could well be known as a feminist, but as during the days in which she was writing, such a term was a long way off some have suggested that to suggest such a thing is an anachronism. Some prefer to call her a protofeminist –a term used to define women in a philosophical tradition that anticipated modern feminist concepts, yet lived in a time when the term "feminist" was unknown, that is, prior to the twentieth century.

Christine de Pizan was born in Venice in 1364; the daughter of Tommaso di Benvenuto da Pizzano (Thomas de Pizan after the family’s origins in the town of Pizzano). Her father accepted an appointment at the court of Charles V as astrologer, alchemist and physician and Christine joined him there at the age of 4. It was at court that Christine was able to indulge her intellectual interests, where she educated herself in languages made good use of the vast amount of manuscripts in Charles V’s royal archives. When the king died in 1380 her father was out of a job, and he died soon after.

At the tender age of 15 she married Etienne du Castel, who was a royal secretary to the court. She bore him three children: a son, Jean; a daughter who went as a companion of the King’s daughter Marie, to the Dominican Abbey in Poissy in 1397, and another child who died in childhood. It was not until she was widowed at the age of 25 in 1389 and found herself without a protector, that she made her intellectual abilities and skill in writing known. This was mainly due to the fact that she had three children to look after, plus a niece and her mother to support. Upon her husband’s death she found herself facing complicated law suits with regard to claiming her husband’s salary and by 1393 she was writing love ballads that caught the attention of wealthy patrons within the court due to them being intrigued by the novelty of such prose being written by a woman. They asked her to compose poetry based on their own romantic escapades. In 1399 she began to study latin poets and between then and 1405 she composed 15 important literary works (as she herself declared) and between 1393 and 1412 she wrote over 300 ballads and many short poems.


It was in 1401-1402, however, that her literary fight for women began. She became involved in a literary quarrel known as the “Querelle du Roman de la Rose” concerning the Romance of the Rose written in the 13th Century by Jean de Meun in which he satirises the conventions of courtly love while depicting women as nothing more than seducers. Christine specifically objected to the use of vulgar terms used within the poem and argued that they denigrated the proper and natural function of sexuality and that such language was inappropriate for female characters in the poem , such Madam Raison. She saw him as slandering women deliberately through this debated text. Whilst the argument began with this poem, it finished with a general observation from Christine that women were unjustly slandered in literary texts. Hence she was seen that she could defend her claims in the male-dominated literary world in which she lived and she continued to do so.


Christine’s most notable works were finished by 1405 – The Book of a City of Ladies and The Treasure of the City of Ladies (or The Book of the Three Virtues). Her final work was a poem about Joan of Arc and is a poem important to historians as it is the only record of Joan outside the documents relating to her trial.


Christine finally decided to retire from writing at the age of 65 but the exact date of her death is unknown. Simon de Beauvoir wrote in 1949 that her part in the literary quarrel regarding the Romance of the Rose was "the first time we see a woman take up her pen in defense of her sex”.

The virginity industry

You can't change people's belief in their own religion and it would be wrong to impose our own moral standards on that of other races, but upon reading the article below it made me both angry and sad to think that there are women out there in the world who have to abide by rules laid down centuries before. They live in a world that is still dominated by their opposite sex and face dire consequences if they try to move into the 21st Century. 

Young Arab women wait in an upmarket medical clinic for an operation that will not only change their lives, but quite possibly save it. Yet the operation is a matter of choice and not necessity. It costs about 2,000 euros (£1,700) and carries very little risk.


The clinic is not in Dubai or Cairo, but in Paris. And the surgery they are waiting for is to restore their virginity.


Whether in Asia or the Arab world, an unknown number of women face an agonising problem having broken a deep taboo. They've had sex outside marriage and if found out, risk being ostracised by their communities, or even murdered.


Now more and more of them are undergoing surgery to re-connect their hymens and hide any sign of past sexual activity. They want to ensure that blood is spilled on their wedding night sheets.


The social pressure is so great that some women have even taken their own lives.


Sonia wants to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. She is a slender young brunette studying at art college in Paris.


Although born in France, Arab culture and traditions are central to Sonia's life. Life was strict growing up under the watchful eyes of a large traditional Arab family.


Virginity certificates
"I thought of suicide after my first sexual relationship," she says, "because I couldn't see any other solution." But Sonia did find a solution.


She eventually went to the Paris clinic of Dr Marc Abecassis to have surgery to restore her hymen. She says she will never reveal her secret to anyone, especially her husband to be
"I consider this is my sex life and I don't have to tell anyone about it," she says. It's men that are obliging her to lie about it, she says.


Dr Abecassis performs a "hymenoplasty" as it's called, at least two to three times a week. Re-connecting the tissue of the hymen takes about 30 minutes under local anaesthetic.


He says the average age of the patient is about 25, and they come from all social backgrounds. Although the surgery is performed in clinics around the world, Dr Abecassis is one of the few Arab surgeons who talks openly about it. Some of the women come to him because they need virginity certificates in order to marry.


"She can be in danger because sometimes it's a matter of traditions and family," says Dr Abecassis. "I believe we as doctors have no right to decide for her or judge her."


With Chinese manufacturers leading the way, there are now non-surgical options on the market as well. One website sells artificial hymens for just £20 (23 euros). The Chinese hymen is made of elastic and filled with fake blood. Once inserted in the vagina, the woman can simulate virginity, the company claims.


'Caught out'
But this was not an option for Nada. As a young girl growing up in the Lebanese countryside she fell in love and lost her virginity. "I was scared my family would find out especially since they didn't approve of my relationship," she says. "I was terrified they might kill me."


After seven years in the relationship, her lover's family wanted him to marry someone else. Nada attempted suicide. "I got a bottle of Panadol and a bottle of household chemicals," she says. "I drank them and said, 'That's it'."


Nada is now 40, and found out about surgical hymen restoration just six years ago. She married and had two children. Her wedding night was a stressful ordeal. "I didn't sleep that night. I was crying," she says. "I was very scared but he didn't suspect anything."


It's a secret that Nada - which is not her real name - will carry to her grave. "I am ready to hide it until death," she says. "Only God will know about it."


But it's not only the older generation that subscribes to traditional views about sex before marriage, when it comes to choosing a wife.


Noor is a trendy professional who works in Damascus. He's fairly representative of young Syrian men in a secular society. But although Noor says he believes in equality for women, underneath the liberal facade lies a deep-rooted conservatism.


"I know girls who went through this restoration and they were caught out on their wedding night by their husbands," he says. "They realised they weren't virgins. Even if society accepts such a thing, I would still refuse to marry her."


Muslim clerics are quick to point out that the virginity issue is not about religion. "We should remember that when people wait for the virgin's blood to be spilled on the sheet, these are all cultural traditions," says Syrian cleric, Sheikh Mohamad Habash. "This is not related to Shariah law."


Christian communities in the Middle East are often just as firm in their belief that women should be virgins when they marry.


Arab writer and social commentator, Sana Al Khayat believes the whole issue has much to with the notion of "control".


"If she's a virgin, she doesn't have any way of comparing [her husband to other men]. If she's been with other men, then she has experience. Having experience makes women stronger."


It may be the 21st Century but the issue of virginity in Arab culture can still be a matter of life and death, especially for women like Sonia and Nada.


And while hymen repair may be a quick fix, it can't reconcile centuries of ingrained tradition with the attitudes of modern society.

Introduction

For a few years now I have posted blogs on Female of the Species. The blog started as I became part of the CFZ in that it was a sort of woman's eye view of what it is like living with three blokes - wife of one and - well I am not sure what I am to the other two.  It was originally intended to be a record of events seen from my point of view and has grown into something a bit more over the last couple of years.  It has always left a gap in that I have not been able to write about some of things most dear to my heart - and also not to be able to write about my family in a more personal way as it detracts from the general CFZ.  So I have decided to start a new blog totally separate from the other in which I can moan about life as a female without it having to fit into CFZ life.

I am not a 100% feminist, but I have a huge interest in how women have been treated over the centuries.  I am hoping to draw on information on how the treatment of women has changed or not as may be the case in some areas.  It is not intended to be a direct swipe at men but is purely a look at womanhood through the ages.