The Persecution of Women as Healers
It is astonishing to think that is was just thirty years ago that the Women's Equality Action League filed a complaint against every medical school in the county for gender discrimination. The right for women to practice medicine has been a bloody and certainly historic process. Women have been excluded not only from the educational system but also from attaining licenses to practice medicine as far back as ancient Greece. Agnodice was one of the first recorded women to fight against this injustice. She attended medical school disguised as a man and studied under the Greek physician, Herophilus (c.33BCE). She practiced secretly under the threat of death and when discovered, she was tried, found guilty and sentenced to death. A mass of female protesters threatened to commit suicide unless the sentence was pardoned which it was in the end and Agnodice was set free with a fine. However, this situation exemplifies the uphill struggle that women have faced over the centuries to practice what seems in some ways to be so natural for us, the scared task of healing.
Another significant force of exclusionary thinking originated from none other than the Catholic Church. A truly misogynist institution, this organization's edicts basically demanded that a woman's rightful place was in the home. Of course it was all right to treat and heal the members of ones immediate family but practices outside the home were met with instantaneous legal and religious disapproval. The climax of this female oppression began in 1486 when two Jesuit priests, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger authored the Malleus Maleficarum, the Witch-Hunters Bible. This document was to be used as the basis for a death squad whose main function was to seek and murder female healers. This reign of terror swept through Europe sanctioning torture, public stripping, gang rape, ducking and the rack. These practices killed millions of women and as the women died, the church became very rich as they confiscated the possessions of the dead. In particular, they targeted strong, independent women, spinsters, widows, women healers and midwives. It wasn't until 1826 that he church ended the legal sanction of torture for women healers. That was just about 180 years ago, two generations!
This persecution was not isolated to European countries though. Seventeenth century New England was also contributing to this outrageous activity. Female midwives were blamed for delivering deformed babes and many healers were accused of witchcraft and executed. One theory presented for why there was such an intense attack on these women was because it was the midwife and female healers who were working directly with issues related to virginity, menstruation, impotence and the paternity of illegitimate children. Each of these issues can certainly generate many volatile emotions and especially in a society heavily influenced by strict religious doctrine marked by righteousness. Women became the scapegoat for avoiding serious social issues. This was possibly one of the greatest examples of "Kill the Messenger" behavior which no doubt created great losses of healing knowledge and experience for future generations.
Today, I give thanks that as a female healer, I am given the opportunity to explore the full expression of my healing nature without fear of injury or death. I pray that all healers that have died in order to practice their sacred healing arts are at peace and that their knowledge and wisdom passes through the gates of the collective unconscious into the present day healers so that we may utilize their great skills and carry on their great work. This article was written to honor all those that have died and to celebrate the freedom we as women healers share today as a result of their sacrifices.
Another significant force of exclusionary thinking originated from none other than the Catholic Church. A truly misogynist institution, this organization's edicts basically demanded that a woman's rightful place was in the home. Of course it was all right to treat and heal the members of ones immediate family but practices outside the home were met with instantaneous legal and religious disapproval. The climax of this female oppression began in 1486 when two Jesuit priests, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger authored the Malleus Maleficarum, the Witch-Hunters Bible. This document was to be used as the basis for a death squad whose main function was to seek and murder female healers. This reign of terror swept through Europe sanctioning torture, public stripping, gang rape, ducking and the rack. These practices killed millions of women and as the women died, the church became very rich as they confiscated the possessions of the dead. In particular, they targeted strong, independent women, spinsters, widows, women healers and midwives. It wasn't until 1826 that he church ended the legal sanction of torture for women healers. That was just about 180 years ago, two generations!
This persecution was not isolated to European countries though. Seventeenth century New England was also contributing to this outrageous activity. Female midwives were blamed for delivering deformed babes and many healers were accused of witchcraft and executed. One theory presented for why there was such an intense attack on these women was because it was the midwife and female healers who were working directly with issues related to virginity, menstruation, impotence and the paternity of illegitimate children. Each of these issues can certainly generate many volatile emotions and especially in a society heavily influenced by strict religious doctrine marked by righteousness. Women became the scapegoat for avoiding serious social issues. This was possibly one of the greatest examples of "Kill the Messenger" behavior which no doubt created great losses of healing knowledge and experience for future generations.
Today, I give thanks that as a female healer, I am given the opportunity to explore the full expression of my healing nature without fear of injury or death. I pray that all healers that have died in order to practice their sacred healing arts are at peace and that their knowledge and wisdom passes through the gates of the collective unconscious into the present day healers so that we may utilize their great skills and carry on their great work. This article was written to honor all those that have died and to celebrate the freedom we as women healers share today as a result of their sacrifices.
visit my sister website at www.healtHive.com
