✦ Market System’s Oppression of Women and the Importance of Family Protection ✦
In a traditional family system, a woman enjoys a balanced role of responsibility and protection. Imagine a society where:
◈ A man (husband, father, brother, or son) takes full responsibility for a woman’s financial needs.
◈ Security, livelihood, and expenses are considered the man’s duty.
◈ The woman has decision-making authority within the home.
This is not a utopian dream—it still exists in many traditional societies. In contrast, the hardships some women face are more often due to failures in social or economic systems, not the family structure itself.
In contrast, modern society often expects women to bear their own financial burden, resulting in:
◈ Taking care of household and children
◈ Handling workplace pressure
◈ Managing evening chores, cooking, cleaning, and laundry
◈ Without spousal support, she must carry all this alone.
Such women become part of the market system merely to meet basic needs, but in doing so, they become vulnerable to exploitation under that same system.
The market system views women as isolated individuals and offers no inherent family or social protection. Key characteristics of this system include:
Government institutions fail to ensure complete safety, and in weakly governed regions, the powerful exploit the vulnerable without hesitation.
In market-based societies, women are more exposed to sexual violence and assault. In contrast, traditional family systems provide natural protection through the presence of close, responsible male relatives (maḥram).
In a family structure, a woman is part of a network of love, compassion, and mutual trust.
In contrast, the market treats her as a mere economic unit, where she must fight for survival alone.
That is why a traditional woman enjoys a safer and more content life, whereas the market-driven woman lives in constant insecurity.
While some women—like widows or divorcees—may face injustice, this is usually due to individual misconduct, not systemic failure.
◈ There are countless examples of families supporting widowed or divorced women, where brothers, fathers, or relatives assume responsibility.
◈ Sometimes a younger brother even marries his widowed sister-in-law as a form of support and protection.
While the market offers temporary relief, it also extracts a heavy price from society:
◈ Women who cannot earn or barely manage to do so are offered no sustainable solution.
◈ States do not have the capacity to support every underprivileged woman adequately.
So, if the market never had a viable system to support women, why did it undermine the family structure in the first place?
Rather than dismantling families, we must educate and reform men to understand and fulfill their responsibilities.
At the same time, limiting the reach of the market system is crucial, as it continues to erode traditional values and relationships.
Relationships based on love, kinship, and cooperation are the true foundations of well-being.
A strong family system protects not just women, but also the elderly and children. The expansion of the market system weakens these bonds, leaving everyone more vulnerable.
❖ Woman’s Position in the Traditional Family Structure
In a traditional family system, a woman enjoys a balanced role of responsibility and protection. Imagine a society where:
◈ A man (husband, father, brother, or son) takes full responsibility for a woman’s financial needs.
◈ Security, livelihood, and expenses are considered the man’s duty.
◈ The woman has decision-making authority within the home.
This is not a utopian dream—it still exists in many traditional societies. In contrast, the hardships some women face are more often due to failures in social or economic systems, not the family structure itself.
❖ Woman’s Burden in Modern Society
In contrast, modern society often expects women to bear their own financial burden, resulting in:
◈ Taking care of household and children
◈ Handling workplace pressure
◈ Managing evening chores, cooking, cleaning, and laundry
◈ Without spousal support, she must carry all this alone.
Such women become part of the market system merely to meet basic needs, but in doing so, they become vulnerable to exploitation under that same system.
❖ Market System and the Exploitation of Women
The market system views women as isolated individuals and offers no inherent family or social protection. Key characteristics of this system include:
✔ Lack of Protection
Government institutions fail to ensure complete safety, and in weakly governed regions, the powerful exploit the vulnerable without hesitation.
✔ Increased Crime and Insecurity
In market-based societies, women are more exposed to sexual violence and assault. In contrast, traditional family systems provide natural protection through the presence of close, responsible male relatives (maḥram).
❖ Comparison: Family System vs. Market System
In a family structure, a woman is part of a network of love, compassion, and mutual trust.
In contrast, the market treats her as a mere economic unit, where she must fight for survival alone.
That is why a traditional woman enjoys a safer and more content life, whereas the market-driven woman lives in constant insecurity.
❖ Market System’s Oppression: Responses to Common Objections
Objection 1:
While some women—like widows or divorcees—may face injustice, this is usually due to individual misconduct, not systemic failure.
◈ There are countless examples of families supporting widowed or divorced women, where brothers, fathers, or relatives assume responsibility.
◈ Sometimes a younger brother even marries his widowed sister-in-law as a form of support and protection.
Objection 2:
While the market offers temporary relief, it also extracts a heavy price from society:
◈ Women who cannot earn or barely manage to do so are offered no sustainable solution.
◈ States do not have the capacity to support every underprivileged woman adequately.
So, if the market never had a viable system to support women, why did it undermine the family structure in the first place?
❖ The Way Forward
✔ Reinforce the Family, Reform the Men
Rather than dismantling families, we must educate and reform men to understand and fulfill their responsibilities.
At the same time, limiting the reach of the market system is crucial, as it continues to erode traditional values and relationships.
✔ Preserving Traditional Bonds
Relationships based on love, kinship, and cooperation are the true foundations of well-being.
A strong family system protects not just women, but also the elderly and children. The expansion of the market system weakens these bonds, leaving everyone more vulnerable.
