Women, Violence, and Jung’s Archetypes

Abstract

Jung’s concept of the shadow will be applied to cases of violence against women in the regional context of the
Middle East. This paper will present an explanation of the reasons why Middle Eastern women are often subject to
gender inequality and violence against women. In order to do so, Jung’s conception of archetypes will be applied to
the specific cultural context of the Middle East.
Objective: To further understanding of gender inequality in the Middle East.
Methods: Phenomenology/Analytic Psychology
Results: Liberation from violence from men is the women’s shadow since this is a desire which they deny or
consciously ignore primarily because it is in contrast with societal and cultural norms that teach them to be
submissive and inferior to males.
Conclusions: Women should identify, understand, and reveal this shadow. Once revealed, women will realize their
rights, particularly to be free from acts of discrimination and violence, and can begin to fight for these rights and for
empowerment.