30. WOMAN OPPRESSING WOMAN
Caste, Class, Race and Sex
Hagar and Sarah
Gen. 16 & 21:1-21
Lalrinawmi Ralte
Introduction:
The story of Hagar and Sarah has many
linkages for us in India, where patriarchy, the caste system, and
ethnic differences function. We see bride burning, dowry deaths,
female feoticide and female infanticide, sati and many more evil
practices affecting women. Investigation often reveals that the
women of the husband's family play a major role in the harrassment and
death of many brides. Women often seem to be the enemies of other
women.
Social Location of Hagar:
Hagar is an Egyptian slave woman. Slaves
are treated as property, they are bought and sold. Hagar might
have become a slave because of political turmoil or economic disaster;
she might have sold herself into slavery because of her extreme
poverty. She is a foreigner whose right is denied. Hagar is
a single, fertile, young woman. In this story, she has no option
but to be silent and obedient to her mistress and a voiceless
person. Hagar is a woman who has little control over her destiny,
even her life is not her own, but belongs to her mistress and
master. She belongs to another faith.
Social Location of Sarah:
Sarah is a beautiful woman. She is a wife of a
religious leader with a respectable status and a socially prominent
person. Sarah is a wealthy woman in a community where wealth is
considered as a gift from God. Sarah is a free woman who enjoys the
privileges both in society and in religious life.
But Sarah is barren. Her barrenness makes her
a woman to be scorned. In the culture in which Sarah lives, a
woman's womb is her destiny. Sarah is a local person who is
influential even in the Hebrew patriarchal society, based on her age,
wisdom and maturity.
Issues:
We see many contrasts between Sarah and Hagar, such
as: owner and property, wife and servant, rich and poor, barren and
fertile, respect and disrespect, free and slave, old and young.
Hagar is treated as subordinate to Sarah and also subservient to
Abraham. So, their relationships are blocked by these
circumstances. There are many issues involved in this
story. Let us discuss:
a. Barrenness:
Barrenness is an oppressive issue for women in
Israel. Barrenness is considered a curse. The worth of a
woman is judged by her capacity to produce heirs for her husband,
meaning sons. Childlessness is regarded as a sign of divine
disfavor. Inability to conceive is viewed as the fault of the woman. If
there is no reproductivity by a woman then the family line is
closed. Fertility, on the other hand, is a proof of womanhood and
is a matter of pride and power.
Sarah is barren which lowers her esteem.
Therefore, in order to maintain her status as a wife, Sarah uses her
maid Hagar to keep the family line alive. Sarah's intention is to
have a child through her maid. In order to do that, Sarah lets
her husband sleep with her maid. Hagar becomes an instrument of
reproductivity. Sarah has power over her, including her
sexuality. Hagar's fertility is exploited. She is Sarah's
property, as servant she is converted to sexual service of the
patriarch. Sarah participates in the Hebrew patriarchal cultural
values by victimizing Hagar.
If we look carefully at this story from Sarah's
perspective, we can see that she is caught up by the social and
religious system which holds that bearing a child is a source of pride
to a woman because that protects the continuity of the family
line. But Sarah can not fulfill her role as a woman and mother
because of her barrenness. The same system degrades her and makes
her insecure.
In India too, barrenness is considered a curse to
women. A barren woman is abused and harassed. The demand
for a child, particularly a boy, is very great. If a wife fails
to have a boy child, she may be in danger even of losing her
life. The female child is unwelcomed and seen as a
liability. Therefore, various methods of killing baby girls have
been practiced for centuries, and new methods have been devised
too. "Female feoticide" through abortion is practiced after
having identified it as female, with the help of modern
technology. This practice is popular in the cities. "Female
infanticide," killing the new born baby by suffocating, choking, or
other methods, is more popular in villages of Tamil Nadu and
Bihar. Therefore, not only barrenness is a curse but inability to
bear a male child is also considered a curse for Indian women.
Male members occupy an important position in the
family. Sons are always treated as assets to the family,
daughters are liabilities. Therefore, birth of a male child is
acclaimed and glorified.
It is important to note that in spite of blame being
put on women for not having sons, we should remind our readers that it
is the male's sperm which determines the sex of the child, not the
woman's egg.
b. Inheritance:
Inheritance is very important in the Hebrew
culture. Property usually goes to the first born son.
Actually, the Hebrew law legitimates the children of slaves as
legitimate children and heirs. It is quite common in the Mediterranean
region for wives to give slaves as concubines to their husbands, that
they might have descendants.
In the case of Ishmael, he has a right to inherit
his father's property. But Sarah raises objection because she
does not want her son to share the property of his father with his half
brother Ishmael (21:10). Ishmael and Hagar were sent away. Sarah
abused the Hebrew inheritance law and expelled Ishmael and Hagar into
the wilderness (21:14).
Though in our Indian society, the child of a
concubine is not legitimate heir, I would like to discuss some of the
issues related to inheritance in India.
In India, inheritance laws are different, depending
on your community. Christian Personal Law of inheritance is
discriminatory to women. Many tribal societies do not have
inheritance laws. Even if they have, it is abused. Changing
inheritance laws requires a continued fight by women.
Since inheritance in India is not equal, in theory
dowry is given to compensate. Unfortunately, dowry, initially
well intentioned has become a curse to women, because the daughter's
share and the son's share of the parents’ property can never be equally
distributed. Daughters often get their share by cash, whereas the
sons get the property.
Married women face problems when the husband
dies. The widow loses respect soon after the husband dies.
There are laws to protect the widow and the children, but the social
system supports the oppressive structures, for example, some schools do
not admit children whose father is dead. Some firms do not employ
the illegitimate people. The husband's family often disturb the
inheritance law.
Many wives experience that when the husband dies,
the husband's family claim the property, not giving to the widow as
well as the children. Inheritance law is there, but it is not
obeyed.
For those people who follow the customary law, e.g.
tribal communities, there are no inheritance rights for
daughters. A daughter can inherit her father's property only in
the absence of a son. In the case of a husband’s death, a wife
cannot inherit her husband’s property, she can only be the guardian of
her children. But if there is a guarantee of maintaining her
children, then only she can inherit her husband’s property. This
customary law has often been abused by the husband's family in order to
take by force whatever property the husband left for the family.
The court can not protect the woman on the basis of the customary law.
One of the Mizo sayings, "Bad fence and bad wife can
be replaced," indicates the ease with which a man can divorce his
wife under Mizo customary law. The wife does not have a right to
divorce or to inherit property, because she herself is a property of
her husband.
There are many people who are in Hagar's position
today in India. Many families could not continue to live together
with the husband's family because they are literally expelled from the
house for fear of claiming the property.
c. Betrayal of Woman by Woman:
Betrayal of woman by woman is painful. Sarah
betrays Hagar. The betrayal is as painful as rejection and
abandonment, which is unbearable for Hagar. Hagar becomes
rebellious because Sarah expects her to obey, there is no mutuality.
Their broken relationship seems to begin on the
issue of barrenness. There is no understanding between the two
and no reconciliation is made. There is neither conversation nor
sharing of feelings. Their relationship is dominated by
competition over capacity to bear a child that results in
jealousy. Neither friendship nor trust is developed between the
two because their relationship is hierarchical.
There is no mutuality because Sarah has power over
Hagar. Sarah uses Hagar, but Hagar cannot use Sarah.
Inequality, opposition and distance separate the two women and breed
violence. Sarah afflicts Hagar (16:6b).
Hagar is used to resolve the problem of Sarah's
barrenness. Sarah has no feeling for Hagar. Sarah treats
Hagar harshly so that Hagar flees to the desert (16:6), and later Sarah
banishes her and the child Ishmael after Sarah has her own son (21: 14).
In India, the caste system virtually rules out equal
relationships between the so-called high caste women and dalit
women. It is not easy to make friends across the many barriers of
caste, class, religion and language. The so-called high caste
women do not support the struggles of dalit women for liberation.
Betrayal goes on in different forms; economic and social structures
separate women from women. So-called high caste women are silent
to dalit women’s harassment, and to the economic crises of the poor and
minority women.
Within the framework of patriarchy each woman became
the rival of the other in providing Abraham with an heir; each let the
other down instead of expressing solidarity. Hagar's loyalty to
Sarah is not rewarded. Likewise, the dalit women are not given
any reward for serving the so-called high caste women for low wages.
Every woman has different capabilities, instead of competition, the
need is for standing in solidarity.
Instead of addressing the oppressive system, Sarah
turns her anger towards Hagar. We can only guess that Sarah
thinks that her bad treatment toward Hagar is the only way that she can
avoid being put to shame, and losing respect and hope. But what a
pity, the same system which oppresses her, subjects her to suffering
and pain. Either Sarah is blind to see the suffering and pain of
Hagar, or she never intends to listen to Hagar, because Hagar is not
important except as a tool for Sarah's sake. I wish Sarah could
realize that she herself is caught up in the patriarchal system, which
oppresses her too. Actually, neither woman is safe in the
patriarchal structures of oppression.
d. Foreigner Issues:
The treatment foreigners received in the history of
Israel is painful. The foreigners do not have status and identity
in the Hebrew land. The experience of discrimination is based on
race and class. No one comes to support Hagar because the
community's focus is on Sarah. Strangers in Israel are
discriminated against, and are counted among the least important ones,
obviously Hagar’s oppression is also because of this.
India is a land of diversity. The diversity is
based on caste, creed, sex, class, race, language and culture,
geography, food, dress, and the like. We treat members of other
communities with suspicion and mistrust. It is our task to
appreciate India's diversity and the country's wealth as God's gift.
Our treatment towards tourists and refugees are
entirely different. We welcome tourists because they contribute
to our income. Even among tourists, we welcome whites but shun
people of color. We mistrust and reject refugees, suspecting that
they are only trouble makers, and a burden to our country.
e. Competition Between Two Women:
Jealousy and competition dominate the relationship
between Sarah and Hagar, beginning with the barrenness issue.
Sarah enjoys the privileges and security that come from being the wife
of a wealthy and prominent herdsman. Hagar is an Egyptian, a
slave; she has no say in the decision to have her body used for
surrogate motherhood.
Sarah knows that she has lost status and complains
to her husband because she is jealous of Hagar. This is a woman's
world of competition.
Actually, here both Sarah and Hagar are at
fault. Both are the victims of patriarchy. Jealousy blinds
them and they treat each other in an inhuman manner.
e. Silence of Abraham:
Abraham's role is ambiguous because he is silent and
takes no decisions himself. He plays minor and passive roles,
leaving it to Sarah to resolve the conflict. When Sarah asks him
to sleep with Hagar he simply obeys. When Sarah makes the
decision for Hagar to leave the house he is silent. In a society
where women were expected to be submissive toward their husbands, what
is Abraham's role as a husband, and as a religious leader?
Abraham’s status as a religious leader and father of
faith is challenged by Hagar. He is complicit with the values of
patriarchy, speaking up neither for Hagar nor Sarah. He is
silent when his voice might have made a difference. Abraham's silence
is sin because he fails to do what he ought to do.
Man's silence may be questioned in contemporary
Indian social issues. Man is silent at the harassment of women
for dowry and other forms of women’s suffering. Men allow women
to act as long as it serves their interest. In many dowry
harassment cases, mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law play the major
role, while men are often silent, they do not protest. Their
silence is sin because they are not willing to challenge the unjust and
violent social practices against women. If men intervene more in
the whole oppressive systems on the side of the victim, things might
change for the better.
Reflection from the Perspective of Dalit Women:
I would like to discuss Hagar and Sarah's
relationship from the caste perspective of Indian society, particularly
the so called high caste woman and so called low caste or dalit woman's
situation.
Dalit communities are socially excluded,
economically exploited, educationally backward, politically deprived
and religiously polluted people. They are dalit because it suits
the convenience of the so called higher castes to keep them at the
bottom. That is their permanent place and there is no way
out because of the social structures. Every effort is made to
keep them there through enforced poverty and social degradation.
Dalit women are treated as the “dalit of the dalit”
in the Indian society. Because of the unjust system, dalit women
live a life of subordination, facing violence and sexual exploitation.
They are also victims of the nexus of caste and patriarchy. Dalit
women are ignored, rejected and are the most despised, least respected
women. Society looks down on dalit women as downtrodden and
treats them as unwanted creatures.
Dalit women who work in the so called high caste
homes often receive humiliating treatment from those women. Due
to poverty, dalit women are compelled to do hard labor equal with men,
but they receive less wages than men. Even in the work place,
dalit women, irrespective of their age, are being sexually harassed and
abused by caste men. Thus, dalit women work under most
dehumanizing conditions. Neither their work nor their wages are
fairly compensated. They are often denied basic amenities, proper
health care, etc. Because of their third class position in the
society and impoverished situation, they have been denied education and
their children too may follow in their footsteps.
Dalit women who constitute the major working force
are thrice alienated and oppressed on the basis of their class, caste,
and gender. They suffer in the family and in the society as women
and as dalits. They are under male domination, and female
exploitation.
It may be possible to say that dalit women and
so-called high caste women are both the victims of patriarchy which
engulfs them within a larger system in a subordinate position. If
each could understand the discrimination and oppression of the other
they might begin to find ways to resolve their own conflicts and
overcome barriers to be in solidarity and work for changing the whole
system.
Theological Reflection:
Looking at the story of Hagar and Sarah we can see a
big problem. We are not sure whom to blame, Abraham or Sarah, or
the whole system of oppression of the socio-cultural and religious life
of the Hebrews. Further, can we find any reason to blame Hagar,
or is she an innocent victim?
Hagar is the first woman who experiences use, abuse
and rejection in the Bible. Hagar experiences triple oppression,
owing to her slave status, her race and her sex. Hagar is
destined to serve Sarah till she dies. Hagar is even compelled to
accept what seems to be God’s injust command to her to return to Sarah
(16:9). Thus, we need to see this passage from Hagar's point of view.
Throughout the study of Hagar and Sarah’s stories,
we must allow ourselves to question God for allowing Hagar to
experience the disastrous wilderness life without a covenant or
otherwise. Hagar is sent out to the wilderness twice (16 &
21). How could God support the jealous anger and abuse by
Sarah? Again, how could God accept Abraham’s silence when Hagar
is afflicted? Would God force a victim to go back to the
victimizer? How can we believe that God will compensate Hagar in
a different way?
In spite of Hagar’s painful experiences, a theology
of liberation is found here through the experiences of Hagar. God does
not leave her alone, God provides for her need (21:19).
Hagar's desperate situation turns out to be the
opening for her liberation, and her life is uplifted. Her bitter
experience at the hands of Sarah and Abraham gives her the possibility
of finding a new life of freedom, but only through suffering and
struggle.
Hagar is not simply a victim, she is also the first
woman to have a theophany, a vision of God. Hagar is the first
person in the Bible to receive a divine messenger, and the only one who
dares to name God. Hagar calls God “El-Roi” “God who sees
me” (16:13). Hagar is again the first person to meet and talk
with God. Hagar also receives a blessing, the same promise of
descendants that Abraham receives (16:10).
This is a story of deliverance because Hagar is
delivered from the bondage of slavery. She receives the promise
to be the mother of a great nation. God allows Hagar to
experience the most painful life of rejection and starvation but also
uplifts her (16:13). Hagar’s life does not end in the wilderness; she
obeys God’s command to return to her mistress. Her obedience to
God becomes a source of blessing and she gives birth to a son, whom she
names Ishmael, “God hears.” God is experienced as the source of
life giving grace by Hagar.
God hears Hagar and comforts her throughout her
life. Though God sends Hagar back to the same situation of
slavery to Sarah, the story does not end there. God compensates
her through the promise to have too many descendants to count.
Hagar is an example to many women because she is a
strong and courageous woman who does not give up in situations of
rejection and starvation, but continues to struggle for survival.
She is a single parent, a homeless woman, the exploited worker who has
dignity and resists oppression, she finds both inner and external
resources to sustain her and she becomes the mother of a great nation.
Conclusion:
I have reflected on this story in relation to our
present life of the so-called high and dalit women in the
society. Sarah may represent the high castes who use all the
resources of the dalits by exploiting, dominating and oppressing them
to guarantee their own comfort. Hagar represents the dalit who is
forced to provide her fertility, labor, property, resources, otherwise
she will be a loser. Though Hagar needed to return for a time to
her oppressive mistress Sarah for her survival, she eventually
experienced liberation.
The system of patriarchy causes women to be
degraded, disempowered, and makes women insecure. But let us
remember this is not our ending. We women must empower each other
in our struggle for liberation. Let us be in solidarity, one
woman to another woman, and find the possibility of sisterhood in our
struggle. Our sisterhood is the only means of integrity,
equality, sharing, empowerment and liberation from one woman to another.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Imagine yourself to be Hagar. Share your
feelings.
2. How do you interpret Abraham's silence?
3. Can you identify situations similar to that of
Sarah and Hagar today?
4. How do you respond to this kind of situation today?
Is it a forgotten history? Or a live story for us?
Endnotes:
1. Elsa Tamez, “The Woman who Complicated
the History of Salvation,” New Eyes for Reading
... ed., John S. Pobee and Barbel
von Wartenberg-Potter, Geneva: WCC,
1986, p. 8
2. Mary Zimmer, Sister Images, Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1993, p. 102.
3. Tamez, p. 7
4. Renita J. Weems, Just A Sister
Away, California: LuraMedia,
1988, p. 3.
5. Carol Newsom & Sharon Ringe, Women’s Bible
Commentary, Louisville: Westminster/John Knox,
1992, p. 17.
6. Joyce Hollyday, Joyce, Clothed with the Sun:
Louisville: Westminster, 1994, p. 5.
7. Tamez, p. 8
8. Phyllis Trible, Texts of Terror,
Philadelphia: Fortress Press,
1985, p. 13.
9. Savina J. Tuebal, Hagar the Egyptian,
San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990, p. xxii. .
10. Tamez, p. 8
11. Zimmer, p. 102.
12. Alice Laffey, Wives, Harlots and
Concubines, Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 1998, p. 34.
13. Thomas Mathew, “Dalit Women,” Paper
presented at the Class of “Women in Religion
& Society” 1998, p.1
14. Trible, p. 9
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hollyday, Joyce, Clothed with the Sun: Biblical Women
Social Justice & Us, Kentucky:
Westminster, 1994.
Laffey, Alice L., Wives, Harlots and Concubines: The Old
Testament in Feminist Perspective,
Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1998.
Pobee, John S. & Barbel von Wartenberg-Potter, eds., New
Eyes for Reading: Biblical and Theological
Reflections
by women from the Third World, Geneva: WCC, 1986.
Teubal, Savina J., Hagar and Egyptian: The Lost
Tradition of
the Matriarchs, San Francisco: Harper &
Row, 1990.
Trible, Phyllis, Text of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings
of
Biblical Narratives, Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 1985.
Weems, Renita J. Just A Sister Away: A Womanist Vision
of Women’s Relationships in the Bible,
California: LuraMedia, 1988,
Zimmer, Mary, Sister Images, Nashville: Abingdon
Press, 1993.