"Patriarchy", according to princeton.edu, is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. Among the warrior class in Tokugawa Japan, male samurai defended a patriarchal social order developing a code of chivalry, which is called bushido. In pre-colonial West Africa, the social order of the Ibo promoted patriarchy by excluding women from participating in meaningful production and they undermined the economic and political power of African women. In nineteenth-century Europe, both industrialization and the spread of democracy favored male interests over those of women in the middle class because men have already …show more content…
“The Tokugawa era was an age of social as well as demographic change in Japan” (Bentley p. 441). The Tokugawa period, also known as the Edo period was during 1603-1807. This era was the final period of traditional Japan, a time of political stability, internal peace, and the economic growth under the shoguntae that was founded by Tokugawa Ieysau. Shoguntae was the military dictatorship. Women in the Edo period had a lower status and fewer rights than men. Due to Tokugawa law, women could not own property and they lost their political and economical rights such as picking their own husbands, which was to be arranged by her parents. “As a child she was to be obedient to her father; as a wife she owed fealty to her husband; and as a widow she was to obey her adult son.”(Perez p. …show more content…
“Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper…” (Achebe p. 12). The Igbo people of Nigeria traditionally follow gender divisions of crops such as the male yam and the female cassava plants. In Ibo, power is won within the gender groups by having success in the fruition crops because of trade and cash markets. Because of their polygamous practices men were able to have multiple wives. They used their many wives to gain labor power. Female industriousness is to oversee the crop production and economy. Patriarchy has been defined as a gender power system and as a pervasive parasite that has eaten away at a very rich and beautiful African culture. Patriarchy is demonstrated in many ways, but the one that stands out to me is how much power the men have, from having multiple wives and then using them for their