Scholarly Paper of Islam M. Shihda "The Patriarchal Class System"

The Patriarchal Class System in Nawal El Saadawi’s God Dies
by the Nile.
By Isam M. Shihada
June 2007

Socialist feminists see class as central to women's lives, yet at the same time not ignoring the impact of patriarchy on their lives too.I argue further that for patriarchal class ideology to survive as an oppressive system, brutal force implements and instills such ideology in society. The impact of such ideology on women has been manifested through double moral standards, rape, sexual exploitation, psychological instability, illegitimate children and violence.

For Socialist feminists, women are victims of both class and patriarchy. Nancy Holmstrom defines socialist feminism as an attempt “to understand women's subordination in a coherent and systematic way that integrates class and sex, as well as other aspects of identity such as race/ethnicity or sexual orientation, with the aim of using this analysis to help liberate women.”(2003:38). In other words, socialist feminists see class as central to women's lives, yet at the same time not ignoring the impact of patriarchy on women’s lives.. For example, Juliet Mitchell believes that some aspects of women’s lives in the family are economic while the others are social and ideological.

Shihada: Saadawi’ s God Dies By the Nile.... 162

Mitchell argues that any change in the status of women should be accompanied by the defeat of capitalism as well as patriarchy through social and ideological means respectively. “The Marxist revolutionary must link arms with the Freudian Psychoanalyst in order to effect women’s full and final liberation.” (1974:412). She suggests that we should use Marxist strategies to topple capitalism and psychoanalytic strategies to overthrow patriarchy. Socialist feminists like Nancy Holmstrom, Juliet Mitchell and Heidi Hartmanni summarize Nawal El-Saadawi’s socialist feminist views centering on original causes of women‘s oppression; “the patriarchal class system which manifests itself internationally as world capitalism and imperialism, and nationally in the feudal and capitalist classes of the third world countries.” (1997: 91).

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