The Image of Women from the Perspective of Popular Proverbs

Abstract

Kurdish proverbs are considered one of the cultural components that extended their influence on social life despite the technological and scientific development during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Therefore, the researcher identified the image of women from the perspective of popular proverbs as a study topic by focusing on three main aspects: the relationship between both genders, the status of women compared to the status of men, and women’s actions in various life situations compared to men. The researcher adopted the content analysis approach in analyzing the contents of the eleven popular proverbs, as well as adopting a gender analysis that focuses on the genders and their related roles and status as a theoretical framework for analyzing the contents of popular proverbs related to the topic of the research. The researcher relied on gender indicators: gender issue, gender bias, and gender discrimination to reach conclusions related to the research topic. It is concluded that: six of the popular proverbs correspond with the gender discrimination indicator which is attributed to dealing based on gender by giving privileges to men depending on gender stereotypical roles, and five of the popular proverbs match with the gender bias indicator which is attributed to all verbal and nonverbal behaviors directed against women based on the perception that men and women are not equal. Thus, they do not deserve the same rights and status.