One of the most distressing pains of human society is violence against women an agony that recognizes no borders, no class, no age. It lurks everywhere, ready to harm women in any place and at any time. Wherever there is a woman, some form of this suffering lies in wait. This pain affects women most severely among the poor and destitute, working women, housewives, women with little or no education, migrant women, women impacted by war, women compelled into sex work, and women struggling with addiction.
Any action that in any way causes pain, suffering, or harm to a woman is a sign of violence against women. This violence appears in diverse forms, on multiple scales, and across different spheres of life claiming countless victims. The most obvious and painful form is physical violence, usually inflicted knowingly and openly by men against women. Yet this is only part of the reality of our world. It is only by recognizing the other forms of violence that the true dimensions of this deep social harm become clear.
In many countries, violence against women is rooted in laws, traditions, and long-standing cultural norms. In a country like Iran under Islamic rule where polygamy, temporary marriage, sigheh, gender segregation, and denying women the right to custody of their children impose some of the harshest emotional pressures on mothers, these and many other examples of violence are justified through legal codes and religious texts drawn from Islam.
That young girl trembling as she waits to be cut and circumcised, condemned to lifelong physical harm; that little girl who still thinks more about her plastic doll than anything else but is handed over to an elderly wealthy man in marriage; that fragile girl who barely manages to escape the beating of her brother; that small girl clutching the hand of an even smaller child, wandering lost through the corridors of the city courthouse; that young woman whose dignity is sold off by a cleric near the supposedly sacred shrines of Qom and Mashhad; that young girl who falls into every trap while trying to obtain drugs for her addicted family members, these and countless more, are victims of a form of violence in which their fate is determined by law, religion, tradition, the state, fathers, brothers, husbands, and a masculine, patriarchal culture.
All of these, and many similar cases, fall within the category of violence where the perpetrator is known. Yet there are other forms of violence that are invisible, violence that operates through social mechanisms. These are enabled by legal structures and cultural justification, functioning automatically. While an abuser in domestic and physical violence is visible and identifiable, in these forms of violence the perpetrator is unseen, but the impacts are clear and measurable.
That divorced woman who is deprived of custody of her child by law; that woman or girl forbidden from traveling alone; that woman who is barred from entering certain sports stadiums; that young girl married off by her father, grandfather, or even brother according to regressive traditions; those social opportunities denied to women because they are women, being unable to choose any job, any academic field, or any sport or art they desire. These and many more examples constitute structural and social violence, invisible in form but highly visible in their effects.
Another form of violence against women occurs in the workplace. These abuses may be direct or indirect, overt or covert, and at times take the form of sexual harassment. The woman who is criticized at work simply because she is a woman, publicly reprimanded in front of colleagues; the woman mockingly belittled by employers and male coworkers; the woman forced to listen to sexual jokes in silence; the woman who is directly or indirectly pressured for sexual favors; the woman whose job security or professional status is threatened because she refuses to appease her boss, supervisor, or male colleagues; the woman who must endure harassment, sexual advances, and insults just to keep her job and protect her “honor”, all are victims of violence and mistreatment in the workplace.
Violence against women recognizes no boundaries. As an ugly social phenomenon, it spans the world and stretches back thousands of years. Yet in our time, it is still sustained by the capitalist system.
For this reason, violence against women despite all its ugliness is a social issue. Like any other social phenomenon, we must understand the foundations that reproduce it. Based on its nature, we must organize collective and large-scale efforts to confront it, mobilizing women and men who value freedom and equality. There must be enough pressure on governments to ensure that any form of violence against women whether in the home, school, workplace, or anywhere else in society carries severe punishment.
No one should be allowed to shield violence against women behind the excuses of personal life, family matters, ethnic customs, cultural norms, or religious beliefs. Anyone who commits violence against a woman must be punished without exception. Not only should all forms of physical assault, humiliation, and verbal abuse in society be strictly prohibited, but employers and perpetrators should also be held legally accountable. If a woman who has suffered violence wishes to leave her workplace for any reason or for no reason at all, she must be entitled to unemployment benefits until she secures appropriate employment.
Only through organized, united struggle engaging the broadest layers of exploited and oppressed women, alongside men who see this oppression as an insult to their own humanity can we begin to create a safer home, more humane social relationships, and more secure workplaces. Ultimately, however, it is only through the overthrow of the capitalist system and the establishment of a socialist society that humanity can forever rid itself of this disgrace.
