Women Liberation Movement - Essay Example

?WOMEN LIBERATION MOVEMENT Introduction Women Liberation Movement can be defined as a combined effort by women in order to regain their rights and avoid male supremacy. This movement is referred as the ‘second wave’ of the feminist movement. The prime motive being freedom from oppression, it has been observed that this movement was most active during the time of 1960’s and 1970’s. However, Women Liberation Movement not only consisted of different liberation groups but it also included various advocates and a variety of groups who aimed to represent women and their rights. In addition to this, Women Liberation Movement also appeared formally in organizations like the Women’s Action Group or Women Electoral Lobby. Women Liberation Movement is said to be the biggest landmark in the women history of UK. Throughout the years, their hard work did pay off. They succeeded in their aims in a short span of time. One cannot ignore the fact that this movement did improve the status of women in British society. Before this movement was established, women were not allowed to do outdoor jobs and it was obligatory for them to obey their husbands no matter what. Due to this low status of women in British society, Mary Wollstonecraft, first feminist, advocated that this movement purely aimed for equitable distribution of rights between male and female. Even though Women Liberation Movement achieved its goals, but along this, some problems still remained. All in all, this movement is a continuous battle which includes women struggling against the world in order to improve their life, work and sexuality1. History and Foundation As mentioned above, Women Liberation Movement is the ‘second wave’ of the feminist movement. Before Women Liberation Movement, the ‘first wave’ of feminist movement actively played its role in the 19th and 20th century. The first wave of feminist movement mainly focused on women’s right to vote and work in an office. Therefore, at the first convention of Women’s right held at Britain, a pact of 12 resolutions was introduced which emphasized on equal gender rights, along with the right to vote for women2. First wave feminism consisted of a large group of women. It included women from conservative Christian groups as well. However, the movement had two leaders. Their two leaders, along with the other members, carried out a number of campaigns at UK in order to promote the rights of women. However, the first wave feminism ended when the government allowed women to vote and work in office. The effort of first wave feminism certainly paid off when women were granted the right to vote. The end of first wave feminism was followed by the establishment of the second wave feminism – Women Liberation Movement. However, in the early phase of this movement, women all over UK were gathering in small groups only to realize that they were not the only one exhausted by the gender discrimination and male supremacy. It was a time when women were paid low salaries and they could only work as a nurse or assistant. It was in this era when women gathered under a united platform to struggle in order to gain a separate identity in British society. At this very time, a feminist, Sheila Rowbotham stated that this was the time when the movement actually came into its existence. Consequently, the first conference of Women Liberation Movement was held at Britain in the year 1969 at Ruskin College. Unlike first wave feminism, Women Liberation Movement focused on how women were treated in an unfair means in terms of laws and culture. They aimed to bring a change in laws and culture which would benefit women and improve their status in British society. During these years, the movement carried out many campaigns against the unfair cultural and political rights women had in the British society. They attempted to convince women that they have a separate identity and they should be given freedom from male supremacy and oppression. Along this, Women Liberation Movement also stated that women should play a separate role in politics too. All in all, Women Liberation Movement purely had an objective to end the discrimination between male and female. In addition to this, Women Liberation Movement not only aimed to change laws for the benefit of women but they also concentrated on various aspects of society. Along with the change they tried to bring in the British society, they also changed themselves. They enhanced themselves in such a way that their capability could match and compete with the capability of various men in the surrounding. As a result, Women Liberation Movement caused dramatic improvement in the social status of women within a small period of time. Aims and Doings There was a wide range of the aims of Women Liberation Movement which concentrated on different features of the society. The aims of Women Liberation Movement depict the fact that it was a movement which aims to improve a woman’s personal live, educational background, politics and economic activities of the state. Following are the different areas of concern which the Women Liberation Movement targets to gain and improve. Cultural and educational growth According to Women Liberation Movement, education is as important for women as it is for men. They aimed to raise educational and cultural consciousness among the women and the rest of the society. For this purpose, they intended to improve the level of education in schools specifically for female students. They made sure that the education in schools is not influenced by the concept of patriarchy. One of their aims was also to encourage girls in order to opt for higher studies and consider the career options just like boys do. In addition to this, they introduced those career paths for women which were previously considered as male areas only. Examples include science or sports. Health Women Liberation Movement also focused on the area of health rights for women living in United Kingdom. They aimed to improve the rights of abortion and contraception. Apart from this, another objective which they had was to end the violence by men. In addition to this, they carried out a detailed research in order to cure breast cancers, one of the common diseases which caused deaths of women in that time. The Women Liberation Movement brought up matters of rape and violence in courts which were previously considered as ‘private’ issues3. Women’s role as housewives Women Liberation Movement aimed to convince people that bringing up of children is not the sole responsibility of women only and that men should equally contribute. They wanted women to enter in fields of science, politics and business instead of just spending their whole life as housewives. Equitable distribution of income Another concern which Women Liberation Movement had was that women should be given equal salaries just as men are given. Before this movement was formed, a female worker was given a pay of 68 cents while a man working the same was given $1. Therefore, Women Liberation Movement made sure that such unfair distribution of income should be avoided. Above mentioned are the areas where Women Liberation Movement focused specifically. All in all, these aims directly led to the consciousness raising process in women and British society. To an extent, Women Liberation Movement did succeed in achieving their goals and were successful enough to change the social status of women in British society. However, different methods were adopted by this movement to improve the different aspects of British society in terms of women social rights4. Methods Women Liberation Movement specifically didn’t follow a common method. Different women opted different methods in order to achieve one common goal. There were some women who followed the traditions and ways of their ancestors and believed women would only have an equal voice in the society if the unjust laws are changed accordingly. For this purpose, they targeted the powerful political institutions such as parliament houses and different unions. They adopted methods through which women representation could be increased in such institutions. In addition to this, they also attempted to increase women participation in business institutions and management companies. Apart from this, Women Liberation Movement worked with the government in order to change laws about salaries and maternity leave in a way which would certainly benefit the women in British society. Unlike the first wave of feminism, Women Liberation Movement explored different methods and ideas to bring in a positive change in the society. They remained aloof from areas which were dominated by males and tried to operate things in a different manner. At that time of the society, difference between men and women was deep rooted and it was mostly encouraged by the concept of patriarchy. Therefore, they tried to change their understanding of the society and made women capable of competing men. This was done by educating women in different fields, increasing job opportunities for women and ending violence by men. Other than this, they arranged a number of demonstrations and campaigns to increase the consciousness of women rights among the society. International Women Day became a well-attended event each year. Unlike before, Women Liberation Movement made sure to celebrate this day in a well-organized manner. In addition to this, women also arranged protests against unfair laws. For example, Zelda D’Aprano protested in order to finish the unfair distribution of income. One cannot ignore the fact that this movement brought a positive change for women in British society. However, if this movement continues with the same spirit and unity, it would certainly bring fruitful changes in the British society in the long term5. Achievements of Women Liberation Movement Throughout the 1960’s, Women Liberation Movement was successful enough to gain social, economic, educational and political rights for women. Particularly, prominent gains in the employment sector were observed. The percentage of working women reached till 42%. Women started opting for jobs which were previously considered as men’s profession or occupation. There was a 9% increase in the percentage of women working as a lawyer, an increase of 6% in the area of teaching and an increase of 6% in the percentage of women working as doctors in the medical field. Therefore, it is rightly said that Women Liberation Movement caused a significant change in the employment sector of the British Society. During the 1960’s and 1970’s, women no longer lived their lives as simple housewives. Instead, they were actively being employed in different sectors of UK. Since women employment level increased with a major margin, this way, they undoubtedly contributed in the economy of the state as well. It was because of the Women Liberation Movement that the economy of UK was now not only was affected by men’s employment activities, but women also contributed significantly. In the political section, 15% of the total nation lawyers were women. Administration and country’s management also consisted of 29% of women. Other than this, women had now started giving services in public offices and state legislatures. For the very first time in 1984, a woman was nominated for the post of vice president by a major political party. This percentage of women working in politics clearly depicted the success of Women Liberation Movement in gaining political rights for women. Talking about the educational aspect of the society, it is only because of Women Liberation Movement that majority of the students studying at colleges are females. In addition to this, the ratio of women receiving their master degrees is equal to the ratio of the men graduating at UK. In the early 1960’s, around 1400 to 1500 women received their professional degrees in the fields of medicine, dentistry and law. However, in 1990’s, number of women receiving degrees in these professional fields was increased to 20,000. Around one third of the students studying at the law and medical colleges are women. This is why it is said that the year of 1960 brought various changes with itself. The first contraceptive was introduced by the health and care department of UK. This decision by the government was certainly considered as the first step towards the success of Women Liberation Movement. Moreover, the government introduced a commission as well. This commission was specially introduced in order to explore and analyze women related issues about sexual rights, political rights and educational rights6. All in all, analyzing the overall history of Women Liberation Movement, the fact is clearly stated of how much beneficial it was for the women in British society. It is because of this movement that UK now sees a large number of working women population. This is why people often refer Women Liberation Movement as the biggest trademark of the British history. Failures of Women Liberation Movement If we analyze the overall progress of Women Liberation Movement, even though they were successful enough to change the social lives of women in their society, there were still some problems observed. There were still some areas where they were unable to cause a favorable change. One of a major drawback of the Women Liberation Movement is that they never had proper office buildings, a printed agenda and they had no contacting email id as well. This led to the organization working in an unorganized way. Apart from this, it is still observed that families headed by female members are relatively poor as compared to the families which consist of more male members. Apart from this, even today, majority of the women are seen doing traditional jobs rather than other professional jobs. Unlike before, their incomes did increase, but even today, they are paid less as compared to the salaries men are given. The most prominent failure of Women Liberation Movement was that feminism poverty was observed as being a common trend during the years of 1970s and 1980s7. This depicted the fact that Women Liberation Movement had failed with its methods to some extent. According to the young generation today, the methods and the way women protested that time was just not the right way. According to them, those protests were way too radical. They also argue that due to the concepts raised by the Women Liberation Movement in 1960’s, men are often considered as being inferior for women. Therefore, not only Women Liberation Movement failed to some extent but there are some women today who are against the ways and methods this movement opted to raise consciousness among the British society. The Women Liberation Movement also came with some drawbacks for the rest of the society. Since professional degrees in medical and law were introduced for women, most of them left their teaching jobs at the public schools. As a result, the total number of teachers available for students reduced. Other than this, since majority of the married women became working women, it was observed that children in homes were left alone with no one to look after them. As a result, debates were raised if women were fulfilling their responsibilities towards their children or not. People argued that it would have been more preferable if while protesting, Women Liberation Movement should have kept the rights of the rest of the society into their consideration. Rise and Decline of Women Liberation Movement If one explores the life of women before 1960’s, nobody can deny the positive changes Women Liberation Movement bought for women living in a British society. Before this movement was formed, women were never given their rights related to anything, be it job opportunities, political or health rights. However, things changed and took a positive turn due to Women Liberation Movement. Therefore, 1960 is considered as the year when this movement actually experienced a rise and succeeded enough to achieve their goals. Women were now able to work in offices. They were given professional degrees in medical and law, unlike before. Abortion rights were revised. In addition to this, government approved contraceptive for the first time. Apart from this, through the protests and demonstrations carried out by Women Liberation Movement, women were now allowed to participate in politics too. They became nation lawyers and worked in public offices or government administrations. All in all, Women Liberation Movement was such a battle of struggle against the world which the women did not only win, but even today, women living in British society are enjoying the freedom and rights which were not given to the women living in the society before this movement was formed8. Just as quickly Women Liberation Movement achieved their goals; it didn’t take time for this movement to decline as well. However, the decline of Women Liberation Movement was quite the same thing which happened with the other mass movements. The main cause of the decline of this movement was the internal differences between cast, class and political parties. Once a united movement was now divided according to class and caste. The movement was almost finished due to caste discrimination but even then, it came under middle class leadership which changed a dynamic united movement into a politically divided movement. A movement divided itself can never bring changes in the society. As a result, all the protests and demonstrations became ineffective, slowly and gradually, this without doubt led to the decline of the movement. Remedies of Betterment Although Women Liberation Movement was successful enough, but it would have been lasted longer just by improving some of its ways and methods. Just as it was established, the movement should have constructed its proper buildings and offices. Along this, it would have been preferable if they would’ve made a proper printed agenda which clearly stated the movement’s aims, objectives and methods. This would have helped them to lead the organization in an organized way. Apart from this, at times, the protests and the demonstrations which they carried out gave an inferior picture of men to the rest of the society9. Therefore, it’s better if they carry out such protests and demonstrations which along with securing the rights of women also make sure that they do not degrade rest of the people living in the society. Most importantly, the movement should have made sure that they always remain united under one platform, for disunity was the main cause of the movement’s decline. Women Liberation Movement undoubtedly would have seen more colors of success, only if they wouldn’t have created differences among them based on caste and class10. After analyzing Women Liberation Movement’s foundation, methods, failures and achievements, one cannot deny that the above mentioned remedies would have enhanced the movement even better. Conclusion To conclude, nobody can deny the fact that 1960 brought productive changes for the women in British society. Be it domestic issues, political or medical rights, the government started treating women fairly to some extent. Although today, women still earn 65 cents as compared to a dollar earned by men, they are still considered responsible for taking care of the children, women have still won the fight of struggle if one compares their lives before 1960. However, it is because of Women Liberation Movement that women today are free from their traditional customs. Therefore, even if this movement is not so powerful today; women should try rethinking and understanding the society in an even better way. It has always been beneficial to come up with new ideas and concepts to bring in a successful revolution, this is exactly what Women Liberation Movement did in order to flourish and improve the lives of women living in UK. Bibliography Martha A. Ackelsberg, Mujeres Libres and the Role of Women in Anarchist Revolution, in Rohrlich and Baruch (eds.) Anne Phillips (ed.), Feminism and Equality, NewYork, 1987. Muriel Joy Hughes, Women Healers in Medieval Life and Literature, Books for Libraries Press, Freeport, New York, 1943. Ruby Rohrlich and Elaine Hoffman Baruch (eds.), Women in Search of Utopia, New York, 1984. ACT/UP/New York - Woman and AIDS Book Group, Women AIDS and Activism, Boston, 1990 Emma Goldman, Living My Life (New American Library, Meridian edition, New York, 1977. Read More