Women's Roles in Society - Essay Example

Womens roles in society Over the past few decades, the role of women’s roles in society has been changed considerably. The freedom enjoying by the current women was not there few decades before. Apart from some fundamental societies in Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan, the status of the women has been changed considerably now. 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 kingdoms 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” (Dr. Ud din et al, p.468). The story of Aisha, an Afghan teenage girl is relevant here. When Aisha was 12, her father promised her in marriage to a Taliban fighter to pay a debt. She was handed over to his family who abused her and forced her to sleep in the stable with the animals. When she attempted to flee, she was caught and her nose and ears were hacked off by her husband as punishment (Bates) The story of Aisha reveals the extent of brutalities facing by the women in third world, especially in fundamental societies. Male domination is not a myth, but a fact, especially in third world countries. According to John Mcmurtry (2010) “the claim that men like seriously to battle one another to some sort of finish is a myth”(Mcmurtry, p.5). Mcmurtry has every right to believe so since he is a Canadian. In Canada, as mentioned earlier, women are enjoying almost the same status as that of men. However, it would be interesting to know whether Mcmurtry stick with his opinion or not after reading the story of Aisha. Women have always had lower status than men, but the extent of the gap between the sexes varies across cultures and time (some arguing that it is inversely related to social evolution). In 1980, the United Nations summed up the burden of this inequality: Women, who comprise half the worlds population, do two thirds of the worlds work, earn one tenth of the worlds income and own one hundredth of the worlds property (Mead) Sex is a biological construct whereas gender is a social construct. In other words, segregation of men and women based on sex has been implemented by the creator rather than a society whereas the assigning of jobs or responsibilities with respect to gender is implemented by the society rather than the creator. In short all the natural differences with respect to sex should be accepted whereas the gender differences attached by the society need not be accepted. In a male dominant society, males will always try to safeguard their interests at the expense of female interests, which are not right. As in the case of sex and gender, human is a natural construct whereas religion is a social construct. All the religions were constructed by the society whereas the humans were constructed by the nature or God. So, all the human rights are natural rights which should not be denied whereas religious beliefs and traditions are social constructs which need not be obeyed. Even though nature created human as men and women; it never assigned some particular roles to males and females. In fact the dominant males forced the females to undertake certain jobs in order to safeguard their interests. To conclude, women roles in most of the modern societies are changing rapidly whereas in some fundamental societies, the change is still blocked by the dominant male community. The conditions of women in totalitarian countries like China and Africa are comparatively better than that of the women in Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan. Politics has nothing to do with women liberation whereas religious beliefs play an important role while deciding whether the roles of the women should be changed or not in the contemporary society. Religions and gender are social constructs whereas sex and human are natural constructs. Natural constructs should not be changed whereas social constructs should be changed, if it allows the society to develop more. In short, the roles of women has been changing rapidly in many parts of the world, Works Cited Afisi, Oseni Taiwo. “Power and Womanhood in Africa: An Introductory Evaluation”. 2010. The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.3, no.6, March 2010 Bates, Claire. The Smile that Defies the Taliban: Afghan Teenager Whose Mutilated Face Shocked the World Unveils Her New Image. Mail Online. Web. 01 August 2011. Dube, Rebecca Cook. “Canadas new PM worries gay couples”. 2006. USA Today. February 14, 2006. Web. 01 August 2011. Dr Benson Jill, Dr Maldari Toni, Williams Jan, Hanifi Hoda. “The Impact Of Culture And Ethnicity On Women’s Perceived Role In Society And Their Attendant Health Beliefs” InnovAiT, Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 358–365, 2010 doi:10.1093/innovait/inp227 Oxford University Press Dr Ud Din Muhammad Naseer, Khan Faridullah, Khan Munir, Dr Khaleeq Abdul Rehman & Rani Imrana. “Perception of Women”. 2011. Interdisciplinary Journal Of Contemporary Research In Business. Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 468 VOL 2, NO 10 FEBRUARY 2011 Mcmurtry, John "Kill Em! Crush Em! Eat Em Raw”.2010. Web. 01 August 2011. Mead, Margaret. “Gender and Society”. Web. 01 August 2011. “Saudi Arabia Women Drive Cars In Protest At Ban”. 2011. BBC. 17 June 2011. Web. 01 August 2011. Thompson, James C. “Women in the Ancient World”.201. Web. 01 August 2011.   Read More