The Lingering Breath of Oppression

Origins

Oppression, originally meaning “to suffocate”, is a social concept found in the history of humans very frequently. Dating back to ancient times, a trend that seems to arise again and again with oppression is the abuse of power, and essentially, the existence of said power.

Ofcourse, we as a society have developed a lot since then, and one would think oppression does not exist anymore. Hundreds of welfare organizations have been set up to ensure the eradication of oppression in all its forms from society. But does that solve the problem?

Over centuries, many vulnerable groups have been oppressed, by the Romans, the British, the Mongols and so on. India has been subject to oppression for more than a thousand years. In every piece of culture, there is a layer of oppression. As I write this, I do not mean to spit hate at any group, instead, I am trying to locate the long lasting effect of oppression on a society, and whether in 2023, oppression still exists.

Effects of oppression

It is a fact, something that outlives the oppressor and the oppressed, is the oppression that existed between them. It seeps in the culture, the architecture, the language, the behavior of the group. Someone once said, “the history we read, is not ours, simply what our oppressors wanted us to read” and I think that in itself is the biggest wound of suffocation.

It is true that this oppression in many forms, like colonialism, has globalized and glorified different cultures, different foods, different practices, but at what cost? Your family heirloom now rests in a whitewashed house as a “collectible” because a person in power found it astonishing. We forget our language as someone else imposes their own. Within these small cracks, the suffocation disguises itself into westernization, and your level of suffocation becomes your elite standard in society.

Are we still oppressed?

It goes beyond nations. It is curious how buying firearms is simpler than having an abortion. It is curious how a woman can be silenced but a man can speak out. It is curious how we are still fighting for the right to speak, when we already have the right to be heard. We reached the space before we reached religious harmony.

Perhaps to truly extract oppression from humanity, we need to first take off our blindfolds and recognize it. It walks besides on empty streets, it lies in the eyes of every predator. It breathes the same air as us, and lurks in the dark corners of our own homes, in the holes of walls and voices of patriarchy. It stands in front of us each day and we look away, and you think it does not concern you, does not oppress you, yet you suffocate a little in it, and it engulfs you more everyday.