Paper Topic:

History of Asia

p 11 . What role did shame play in the punishment systems of traditional Asian societies

India 's traditional societies have largely upheld cultural and family values in all aspects . Public shaming was popularly used as a form of punishment especially to adulterous women . This was further followed up by other forms of punishment such as desertion and even change in inheritance laws if the accused was a potential inheritor . This however is not exclusive to Indian or Asian societies but in many traditional societies all over the world . Fessler (2004 ) says that

shame has been a prosocial emotion with important impact in conflict and cooperation Frembgen (2006 ) defines shame as the feeling of guilt or responsibility for over an action or behavior that in most cases contravenes social and moral expectations . He says that many societies in India presumed that fear for shame deterred members of the society from contravening such norms

While shame was at times used as a form of punishment in its entirety through public naming and branding of the involved , it was again used as a follow up punishment after another form of punishment has been meted on an individual . Frembgen (2006 ) says that in South and West Asia , nose cutting was a popular form of punishment . While the nose is a vital organ , its absence on someone 's face is meant to embarrass someone . He says that this meant alienation from the mainstream society which according to Fessler (2004 ) in some ways created more problems for...

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