Summary
Some of the best characters inStar Trekaren’t the starring roles. The more memorable characters are those who show up in an episode or two. Although, Quark is easily the best thing to come out ofDeep Space Nine, one of the most influential characters in all ofStar Trekis a female Ferengi who changed an entire culture with her perseverance and self-worth.
Ishka only appeared infive episodes ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, but she had a lasting effect on the franchise, forcing future screenwriters and filmmakers to take into account her actions when dealing with Ferengi in any capacity. She aimed a mirror at society to illuminate its flaws in an attempt to elevate it. Ishka dares the audience to do better.
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Women in Ferengi Culture
The Ferengi live in a patriarchal, misogynistic society that values earning profit above all else. Everything on Ferenginar revolves around money. They even call their sacred precepts The Rules of Acquisition, which contains 173 rules about acquiring wealth. While this alien speciesevolved from villains inThe Next Generationto comedic relief inDeep Space Nine, one aspect of their culture remained constant: their greed. Furthermore, the society expects its women to be completely subservient to its men. It forbids women from going out in public, having a career, participating in trade of any kind, reading, and even wearing clothes.
Star Trekis at its best when it mirrors reality, and the culture on Ferenginar is steeped in reality. It’s easy to say that the Ferengi society is an exaggerated view of misogyny; the real world isn’t like that. But in truth, 40% of countries around the world limit women’s property rights. Meanwhile, 18 different countries enforce laws that require women to obey every word from their husbands, including their permission to work outside the home.
If anyFerengi man catches Ferengi women earning a profit, she must return all that she earned or surrender to indentured servitude. It’s no different from their lives before they made a profit, really. Ferengi women are completely beholden to men. Even marriage and pregnancy are business transactions, where fathers lease their daughters to men for a set fee. Ferengi women aren’t allowed to own property, because they are property themselves. The Ferengi men believe women to be inferior and incapable of making sound business decisions. However, there just might be a change a turning of the tide afoot.
Who Is Ishka?
Quite simply, Ishka isthe mother of Quark’s and Rom’s mother from. However, she’s so much more than that. She’s the mother of a movement that pushes the Ferengi culture forward. When one grows up in a society that tells them everything must be one specific way, it’s difficult for members of that society to even consider life any other way. It takes a forward-thinking vision to imagine change. It takes potentially rebellious action to force change. Ishka of Ferenginar is that rebellious action.
Everything Ferengi culture forbids womento do, Ishka does. She defies everything Ferengi culture is about from the momentStar Trekintroduces her. Ishka embarrasses Quark when he returns to Ferenginar because of charges brought against her, and she’s wearing clothes. He even demands she disrobe immediately, as their society dictates. What were the charges against her? She earned a profit. However, Ishka’s entire thought process can’t comprehend what she did wrong. She declines to disrobe, and when she returns the money, it’s implied that she wasn’t honest about the total earnings.
Even after she admits guilt in acquiring wealth, Ishka’s rebellious antics persist. In fact, it’s eventually revealed that the Ferenginar leader, the Grand Negus Zek, encourages it — mostly because he profits from it. Whenseason five ofDeep Space Ninecomes around, audiences learn that Ishka is the Grand Negus’s lover as well as his senior financial advisor.
The series further explored the lives of Ferengi women when it introduced the character Pel. Pel disguised herself as a male to acquire her own wealth, and she was quite talented at it. She found her way to the Deep Space Nine space station where she earned Quark’s praise. Moreover, Pel gained favor over Quark’s own brother Rom when it came to increasing profits in his bar and trade meetings. Of course, Quark was ignorant of Pel’s true identity, but when he learned the truth, that didn’t change his opinion of her. In fact, he defended her against the Grand Negus.
ByDeep Space Nine’ssixth season, the Grand Negus himself had a different outlook on Ferengi culture, influenced by his experience with Ishka and encounter with Pel. Zek went on to reform his homeworld’s society by amending the Bill of Opportunities, allowing women to wear clothing. There’s pushback from prominent Ferengi figures, of course, but it’s Ishka who successfully convinces them of its benefits. This leads to more changes, ultimately altering the culture forever.
Ishkarepresents female empowermentlike no other character in the franchise had before. WhileStar Trekputs women in positions of power and shows them equal to their male counterparts, Ishka shows the path forward within an oppressive culture. Even when her own people, her own family, tried to stop her, she persisted. She refused to stop until she lived in a world where her equals acknowledged her worth and gave other female Ferengi the respect she knew they deserved.
