The position of women as peaceful civilians, during the war is one of the universal themes addressed by poets, philosophers and writers. As the military conflict drains the country economically and males are not able to support their families as the main breadwinners, the woman faces the challenge of providing for herself, her children and often her ageing parents in the conditions of scarcity of resources. One of the prominent examples of exploring the theme of women and children’s survival during the war is “Occupation” by Eliza Griswold. The present paper argues that developing this theme through such literary elements as rhyming patterns, irony, symbols of defenselessness, femininity and woman’s low value, the author concludes that the vulnerable populations of women and children become even more exposed to social and economic difficulties during the wartime, even though the military conflict is aimed at liberating women.
In the first two lines of the poem, the author introduces the main characters and setting of her work: “The prostitutes in Kabul tap their feet/ beneath their faded burkas in the heat” (Griswold, lines 1-2). The major symbol of the first lie is the tapping feet, commonly associated with anxiety and painful process of waiting for the customer. The woman who is trying to sell her body might be consumed by dark thoughts and anticipations. In the second line t becomes clear that prostitutes from the capital of Afghanistan are still wearing their traditional clothes, burkas, aimed at hiding the woman from the sights of unfamiliar men. However, in the context of the poem, the burka is positioned as a symbol of exotic beauty which her clients expect. Therefore, the author’s decision to introduce this article of clothing is aimed at underlining the irony of the situation: the dress which covers the woman’s face and body, now serves as a lure for the prospective clients, supposedly Europeans and Americans. As an alternative, this symbol might also mean femininity, weakness and fragility, as it is barely possible for the woman to move quickly and protect herself in cases of danger, when she is having on such a long and heavy dress. The burka can be also viewed as a symbol of Islamic society, which judges those women who engage with commercial sex, which points to the idea that the conditions which force the protagonist of the verse to use her body are commodity are really terrifying, so she even violates the law of sharia. In addition, it is noted that the burka is faded, so the woman has been wearing it when waiting for clients for quite a long time. The symbol of fading can be also extrapolated onto the woman herself, as the experience sex worker in the worn-out burka is herself getting old prematurely as a result of the hard work and life difficulties. As the words “feet” and “heat” are rhymed, one can assume that the protagonist’s fatigue as a result of spending the whole day under the sun is underlined.
The following lines explain that the woman’s children do not receive proper nutrition, as her husband and breadwinner is killed in the military conflict. Furthermore, the country seems affected by inflation, since it is noted that “rents have rise twentyfold” after the occupation of Afghanistan began. Interestingly, it is stated that prices have increased “thanks to occupations” which indicates that the prostitute ought to feel gratitude for the united forces which intruded her motherland. In fact, one of the purposes of sending armed troops to Afghanistan was liberation of women and “rescuing” them from discrimination and maltreatment. Nevertheless, the occupation so far has had a reverse effect, as the women of Kabul have turned into sex slaves, who are desperate to feed their families and are ready to take to the bed everyone who gives them a loaf of bread. In order to draw a comprehensive picture of the woman’s life situation, the poet describes the poverty she is enduring: “their chickens, pots, and carpets are sold” (Griswold, line 6). Therefore, the woman’s decision to “betray” her religious values is justified, she is eager to survive and prevent her children from complete starvation; due to the fact that she does not own even the flat her family lives I, her last property available for sale is her own body. The protagonist is initially insecure in the social context, as she has no education or profession, but instead of bringing enlightenment and equality to Afghanistan, soldiers murder her spouse, thus making her even more miserable and disadvantaged. In order to highlight that the sex worker’s last resort is her current occupation, the author rhymes the words “unfed” and “bed” so that the main character seems driven to the despair which forces her to trade her body for food, rather than for financial benefits which would allow her to lead luxurious lifestyle.
In the last three lines, the author shows the value of women in the Afghani society. Before the war, a woman was allegedly “worth her weight in stone”, whereas nowadays her price is in tin. Before the invasion of the united forces, Afghani boys were favored as opposed to girls, which means, a birth of a boy was considered a positive sign for the family and the arrival of the new leader, breadwinner and protector, whereas women could expect for sure only one acquisition, a tombstone after the death. The occupation has not changed the situation substantially, and nowadays the Kabuli women have neither physical nor social value. Interestingly, the complete devaluation of women is stressed through the absence of the rhyme between the sixth and the seventh lines, between the words “sold” and “tin”.
As one can conclude, whereas the war gives each woman an opportunity to try herself as a leader of her family and manage her life by herself in the absence of men, it also blocks all opportunities to earn living honestly. Instead, under the pressure of the circumstances, women should endure the humiliation of commercial sex for a ratio of food. I her poem “Occupation”, Eliza Griswold apparently mocks the “noble” motifs of the European and American forces, associated with “saving” women from the influence of the Islamic fundamentalism through violence, as their intervention enslaves women even more and makes them dependent upon the kindness of their customers.
Works cited
Griswold, E. “Occupation”.