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Yes, women do play a role in upholding the patriarchy. Some women still follow patriarchal norms because they feel that it is the standard.
We have seen it everywhere: Women enforcing gender roles because that is what they’re used to. For example, women are supposed to be quiet and polite individuals according to the gender roles given to us. Sadly, women themselves push this stereotype on us and make it seem as if anything else is abnormal. Women are taught to be submissive and if they see a woman who isn’t like that, they think less of them.
Women are subject to unnecessary comments not only from men but also from women. They comment on how she acts, how she carries herself and how she dresses. It is cruel that they are subject to these type of comments from their own kind.
In rape cases, I’ve heard of women asking why she was out so late and what she was wearing. All of that is useless. Men should stop having these attitudes. Some mothers baby their sons and think they can do no wrong, even defending their child when they’re the perpetrator of a crime saying that the girl must have provoked him or that he was falsely accused. They never hold their sons accountable. They never correct their sons when they’re wrong and this is wrong because as a parent, you must correct your child when they’re wrong so that they do not repeat the mistake or do something even worse in the future. Some women are tough with their daughters-in-law and will scrutinize everything about them because they have to be the perfect wife to their son.
We should understand that as women we should all join hands, educate others and help abolish patriarchy. If we contribute to patriarchy while being women ourselves, it will be a long time before we can be seen as equals.