Women's roles in society - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages... The development of feminist’s movements and the increased awareness about the capabilities of women forced male communities to accept the identity of women in a more liberal manner. In liberal societies, today’s women enjoy the same freedom as that of men; they can work in any professions they like and engage in any activities they like. For example, Canada is the fourth country in the world to legalize gay and lesbian marriage (Dube). In other words, Canada has not shown any discrimination while legalizing same sex marriage; along gay marriage, lesbian marriage was also legalized in Canada. At the same time, it should be noted that in countries like Saudi Arabia, women are not even allowed to drive their vehicles. BBC (17 June 2011) has reported that a women was arrested in Saudi Arabia in May 2011, for uploading a video of herself driving a vehicle. “Manal al-Sherif was accused of "besmirching the kingdom's reputation abroad and stirring up public opinion", but was released after 10 days having promised not to drive again” (Saudi Arabia women drive cars in protest at ban). From the above two incidents it is evident that the roles of women in liberal societies are changing rapidly whereas in traditional societies, it remains the same. Thompson (2010) has mentioned that “jobs for women were largely limited to work as household servants during ancient times” (Thompson). Dr. Benson et al, (2010) have pointed out that “women in some cultures have been denied access to education or there may be no education system due to circumstances in their country” (Dr. Benson et al, p.359). Lack of education or denial of educational opportunities forced women in totalitarian countries like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan etc to limit their activities within the boundaries of their house. The over influence of religion over social life is the major reason for the underdevelopment of women life in these countries. It should be noted that even in communist China, the role of women has been changed drastically over the last few decades. Africa is a region which is famous for totalitarian or autocratic administrations. Even the African women enjoy much more freedom than the women in fundamental Muslim societies. The leadership roles women have played in the development of various African societies cannot be underestimated. The contributions of women towards the social, economic, political and educational developments of African societies cannot also be gainsaid. In fact, traditional African society attached no importance to gender issues because every individual had a role to play both in the family as well as in the larger society (Afisi, p.230) It is evident from the above discussions that the major obstacle which prevents women from development is not politics, but religion or religious beliefs. Western countries are more aware of the changing roles of women in society and they are ready to make necessary changes in their social life. As stated earlier, women in western countries can engage in all activities in which their male counterparts engaged in. For example, it should be noted that many biggest organizations like Pepsi are currently run by women CEO’s. Such things were unimaginable around thirty or forty years before. The capabilities of women in handling pressure and undertaking risky jobs are well accepted by the western societies. However, the conditions of the women in third world are not like that in the western world. In third world, women are still considered as second class citizens. “They are denied even some of the fundamental rights and privileges which are so essential for the preservation of human dignity” ...Download file to see next pagesRead More