Portrayal of Women

“Aurat ke sirf teen roop hotay hain – maan, biwi, aur tawaif”  A woman has only three identities – mother, wife, and prostitute. Having had the privilege of a genderless upbringing, we were amused when we heard  this dialogue in a Pakistani film of the 70s -  until we realized many endorsed this view. Today, while the strong word prostitute is not used, women are often reduced to a simplistic dichotomy of  haya and be hayai (modesty and shamelessness).  Once centred around the female body, modesty or shamelessness now expands to incorporate the female voice – modest silence or shamelessly speaking out. 

Human society is commonly divided into men, women and children, of which the role of women has been subjected to the greatest vagaries over time. The visual representations of women over the years and in diverse cultures makes for a complex narrative.

A predominance of female figurines found in ancient civilizations, assumed to be mother goddesses, suggest a prominent role for women. They were depicted as symbols of fertility rather than sexuality. The first anatomically detailed female (and male) forms are seen in Greek Art. However these reflect the  Greek belief in humans as descendants of gods, whose  physical perfection  and ‘arete’, or perfection of thought, ensured cosmic balance.  In medieval European art, the style of clothing rather than anatomy  identified figures as women. Etruscan and Egyptian statuary depicted women in an abstract or rigid form. 

While anatomical accuracy returned in the European Renaissance It was not until Titain’s Venus of Urbino, 1538, made for the Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, that the female body was presented as an object of desire.  Since then, there has been no turning back in Western art. As art historian Lynda Nead writes, “Anyone who examines the history of Western Art must be struck by the prevalence of images of the female body”.  Depiction of women in the traditional art of China, Japan, Africa, Persia, Mughal India  focused on their spiritual, political or emotional power, or  lyricism of lines. However, as Western  culture permeated into all modernizing nations, the image of women as sensual objects of desire also crossed into cinema, advertising, glamour photography and fashion, somewhat modified by the value systems of each nation. This is not to say women have not been vulnerable throughout history and across cultures to the lust of men, which seems to be an unfortunate reality.

The Venus of Urbino was also the first well known work in which the woman looks directly at the viewer, inspiring Edouard Manet's Olympia (1863), even more shocking, not for her nudity, but because  she wore shoes, jewelry and a flower in her hair, placing her not in mythology but in contemporary society of the time.  Seeing the viewer viewing her, reflects a confidence and challenge to the male gaze. Conversely the averted gaze of a woman allows her to be looked at without crossing the boundaries of ‘decency’. Interestingly, in post Khomeini Iranian cinema, women were allowed to act on the condition they did not look into the camera.

There is so much more to women that their appearance. In many tribal societies such as the African Ashante and Native American Hopi, once women occupied a prominent  position in the community. Australian Aboriginal author, Jackie Huggins, writes ‘women leaders are respected holders of knowledge who truly have the interests of our community at heart’. We have examples of the fire of Bi Amma, the compassion of Mother Teresa, the tactical skills of Suhai Talpur, the physical strength of Samina Baig, and the sharp mind of Arfa Karim.

What women are fighting for the world over, is to be have their three dimensionality acknowledged.

Durriya Kazi

March 9, 2020