This year, the Jewish festival of Purim is celebrated within days of International Women’s Day. Purim and International Women’s Day (IWD), both serve to share the message of the remarkable actions and contributions of women to society.
IWD, which was established in 1911, celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for advancing gender equality.
The Purim story, told through the Book of Esther, recounts the bravery of two remarkable and heroic women. 2,500 years ago in ancient Persia, Queen Vashti and Queen Esther defied patriarchal authority to assert agency and save their people. Whilst their tactics differed with Vashti asserting her power by refusing her objectification by the King. Versus Esther risking her life to manipulate the power structure and thus saving her Community, both women can inspire us to enact change and establish gender equality.
Vashti and Esther were women who found themselves vulnerable due to their gender but demonstrated amazing bravery and empowerment. This enduring historical story, read in its original form by Jews all over the world at Purim, reinforces the ongoing quest for women’s rights – a theme also marked by International Women’s Day.
The Book of Esther begins with the story of Queen Vashti, whose headstrong and defiant nature threatened her own freedom, when she refused to dance for King Ahasuerus at a party. By asserting herself, thus undermining and shifting the gender dynamic which existed between her and her husband, Vashti is banished. King Ahasuerus responds to Vashti’s brave act by subjecting the women of Persia to oppressive laws dictating their rights. Feminists such as Harriet Beecher Stowe praise Vashti’s actions as the “first stand for women’s rights”, exemplifying the revolutionary nature of her behaviour.
“Queen Vashti has committed an offense not only against Your Majesty but also… against all the peoples in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen’s behaviour will make all wives despise their husbands, as they reflect that King Ahasuerus himself ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come…. let it be written into the laws of Persia and Media…that Vashti shall never enter the presence of King Ahasuerus…. and all wives will treat their husbands with respect, high and low alike” (Esther 1:16-20).
Whilst these laws and Ahasuerus’ extreme response might seem humorous to us now, discrimination and violence against women are enduring problems. Globally, women bear a disproportionate share of the burden of inequality and poverty.
Having banished Vashti, the King sought a new Queen, by holding a beauty pageant. A Jewish woman, Esther, is chosen to be Ahasuerus’ new queen. In contrast to Vashti, Esther is initially cautious and passive, hiding her Jewish identity from the King. However, following her cousin Mordecai’s discovery of a plan by the King’s evil advisor (Haman) to exterminate the Jews of Persia, she is forced to consider intervening, in order to save the Jewish people.
Queen Esther must act strategically and cleverly. She summons the courage to confront King Ahasuerus and asks him and Haman to feast with her, an act that in itself resisted conventions of female subordination. By bravely pushing against the limitations of her position as a wife and woman, she is able to overcome stereotypes and ultimately save the Jewish people. Esther’s bravery is rewarded, as the King is furious with Haman for persecuting the people of his Queen and thus Esther is declared a hero.
As those who celebrate Purim remember a victory over oppression, we appreciate and celebrate the brave Jewish women who ensured the safety of their people and became a powerful symbol of feminist empowerment. As we mark International Women’s Day, may we also remember those, including millions of women, who are not yet free.
